Medical Marijuana

What’s the issue? Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote a letter to Congress seeking permission to prosecute medical marijuana providers, which would undo federal protections that have been in place since 2014. According to Sessions, “it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime.”

Why do I care? There is a historic drug epidemic happening in the United States right now, but it has nothing to do with marijuana. The epidemic centers around opioids, offered both as prescription painkillers and procured on the black market as heroin. According to the Centers for Disease control, there were more than 59,000 opioid overdose deaths in 2016, a 19% jump from 2015 and the largest annual increase ever recorded in the United States. This is a crisis that deserves it’s own post and has many potential solutions, none of which have anything to do with criminalizing medical marijuana. In fact, prescribing marijuana instead of opioids could be a viable alternative for managing pain that would help decrease the opioid epidemic. As for “an uptick in violent crime,” this is also an exaggerated claim. While some cities have seen a slight uptick in crime recently, violent crime in the United States has actually is still near historic lows.

Meanwhile, the legal prescription of medical marijuana has shown some very real benefits including the reduction of nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients, fewer spasms in patients with multiple sclerosis, and the reduction of pain. In states such as Colorado, where both medical and recreational marijuana use have been legalized, there have been few reported problems with many benefits.

I have to go on a quick tangent here to mention that the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana would also be a major boon for prison reform. There were 8.2 million arrests for marijuana possession and distribution in the US from 2001-2010. Arrests for simple drug possession are higher than for all violent crimes combined. Additionally, black are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than whites. Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers an estimated $3.6 billion a year, and meanwhile those arrested are separated from their families and prevented from living fully productive lives.

If anything we should be investigating ways to further decriminalize and legalize marijuana, and absolutely not prosecute medical dealers who are providing a net benefit for our society.

What to do if you care too:

1. Call your Congresspeople and tell them to join the Cannabis Caucus, to support the Ending Marijuana Prohibition Act 2017, and to stand up to Jeff Sessions and his false claims against medical marijuana.
2. If you live in one of these 8 states, keep an eye out for an opportunity to support legalization legislation in 2017.
3. If you are a user of medical marijuana, check out Americans for Safe Access for tips on becoming a medical marijuana advocate.
4. Check out this Federal Activist Toolkit from the Drug Policy Alliance to take action to end the war on drugs.
5. Send a letter to Congress supporting the CARERS act, which would end the federal prohibition of medical marijuana using this form.

 

Cover image by morgan from Flickr.