As we prepare to usher in our newly elected president of the United States, Joe Biden, many of us wonder what he has in store for the cannabis industry, community and culture. The majority of the eyes seem to be peering upon the newly emerging legal cannabis industry. Meanwhile, the community and culture that helped build this thriving new industry are continually having dirt thrown on them. Cannabis legalization happened at the will of the people and by their determination. The United States federal government has long opposed cannabis legalization and, for the most part, still does.
When it comes to how cannabis should be classified and the science that revolves around it, an organization that has historically opposed it for decades should have no say. Sadly, Joe Biden has picked an Attorney General that has a draconian stance on cannabis. Merrick Garland believes the science of cannabis and its classification should be deferred to the DEA. Way to go, Biden! Let’s appoint a 70-year-old former United States circuit court judge and listen to his fossilized viewpoints on cannabis. It looks like we’re in store for another round of the same old debauchery from the federal government when it comes to cannabis in 2021. Many people were hopeful that cannabis legalization would happen during the 2020 end of the year session when our federal government discussed removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.
When it comes to valid factual information about cannabis or cannabis products, one of the worst sources to go to for this is the DEA. A quick google search will show that the DEA has been sued on multiple occasions by patients and scientists for thwarting cannabis research. In 2012, Garland upheld a lawsuit filed against the DEA regarding their denial of rescheduling cannabis. It was made apparent then that he supported the DEA’s position on cannabis, and it has been made apparent yet again that he continues to support this position over a decade later. Maybe it’s true what they say that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks.
The United States Drug Enforcement Agency provides some of the worst information imaginable when it comes to cannabis. In fact, their guidelines are based on the FDA. Let us not forget the FDA is the organization that approved a medical cannabis product containing botanical medical cannabis extracts for big pharma yet still supports prohibiting cannabis use for American citizens stating that it has no medicinal value.
The Controlled Substance Act became law when it was signed by former President Richard Nixon on October 27th of 1970. The CSA categorized cannabis as a schedule one drug that was highly addictive and had no medicinal value. The Drug Enforcement Administration was founded on July 1st of 1973. Together with the help of the FDA, the DEA has helped the CSA classification remain the same for over 50 years.
The DEA has never been a friend to the cannabis community or culture, so why should they have any say in the newly merging legal cannabis industry? What does this have to say about our next president? It looks like more of the same—money, power, corruption, greed, and control. The United States of America has not yet had a single Attorney General that truly listened to the will of the people regarding cannabis. Support for cannabis legalization has achieved statistics of an all-time high, yet the majority of the lawmakers in office refused to listen to the people still to this day.
The criminalization of cannabis was designed to control people. It knocked hemp off the market, replacing it with cotton. It gave the government the power to divide a nation that was starting to become united. The same government that started cannabis prohibition had harsh viewpoints on minorities or anyone that wasn’t Caucasian. The laws they created then are still in place today. What does that say about our government? When will this change? How long will we continue to allow our government to continue this tyranny against cannabis consumers and patients?
Former Us Attorney General Jeff Sessions once said that “good people don’t smoke marijuana“. Apparently, in the eyes of the federal government, that would mean 68% of Americans aren’t good people seeing as how this majority of citizens believe that cannabis should be legal.
While we agree that an Attorney General should not be chosen solely on his viewpoints regarding one topic, we can’t help but think that if Merrick Garland has such narrow viewpoints regarding a medicinal plant, his mind might also be closed to other progressive ideas. We can only hope that is not the case and allow time to tell if the new administration’s pick for Attorney General will have a positive or negative effect on the burgeoning cannabis industry, culture, and community.
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