That Was the Weed that Was

Anyone who tells you that marijuana (a/k/a cannabis), when eaten or smoked, is a harmless organic plant with no long-term negative effects is probably… er… smoking dope. Long-term use seems to degrade brain cells and concomitant brain functionality, and you really don’t want to be on a highway with a truly stoned driver at the wheel. Productivity and accuracy are also impaired. But it is equally clear that there are medical uses for that weed that make life tolerable for many with serious ailments.

A review of medical literature provides “that medical cannabis has established effects in the treatment of nausea, vomiting, premenstrual syndrome, unintentional weight loss, insomnia, and lack of appetite. Other ‘relatively well-confirmed’ effects were in the treatment of ‘spasticity, painful conditions, especially neurogenic pain, movement disorders, asthma, [and] glaucoma’… Preliminary findings indicate that cannabis-based drugs could prove useful in treating inflammatory bowel disease, migraines, fibromyalgia, and related conditions… Medical cannabis has also been found to relieve certain symptoms of multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries by exhibiting antispasmodic and muscle-relaxant properties as well as stimulating appetite.

“[Studies also provide] cannabis or cannabinoids may be useful in treating alcohol abuse, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, collagen-induced arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, bipolar disorder, colorectal cancer, HIV-Associated Sensory Neuropathy depression, dystonia, epilepsy, digestive diseases, gliomas, hepatitis C, Huntington's disease, leukemia, skin tumors, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Parkinson's disease, pruritus, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psoriasis, sickle-cell disease, sleep apnea, and anorexia nervosa.” Wikipedia.

Which brings me to that fascinating new industry, the dispensing of medical marijuana, that has sprung up in places like… fer sure and totally… California, where such use is statutorily sanctioned (at least at the state level). Los Angeles currently has 762 registered and a few hundred yet-unregistered medical marijuana dispensaries, with weed classified as to quality, tendency to produce differing effects, etc., where customers with easy-to-get prescriptions can secure their weed. These dispensaries seem to be very profitable, and indeed there are more such dispensaries in the City than there are McDonald’s fast food franchises… at least now.

The Obama administration, once thought to be on the side of not wasting federal officers to police a trade that still violates federal law, has intermittently moved its enforcement efforts against the local dispensary business. Various towns where such dispensaries are common have tried to create ordinances that limit where they can be situated, often a backhanded effort to get rid of them completely. Now Los Angeles had decided that it wants to ban all such dispensaries within its city limits: “The LA City Council voted unanimously [on July 24^th] to ban all dispensaries, although patients and caretakers still can grow marijuana at home. When the vote was tallied after a full day of deliberation and public comment, a few members of the public stood up and shouted angrily at the city council, as police stood protectively in front of members.” Huffington Post, July 24^th. While the ordinance will undoubtedly be challenged in the courts, it will take effect in September with the potential of devastating this trade… legally anyway.

But the bigger issue remains. Our war against drugs is an abysmal failure. Half of our incarcerated prisoners are in jail because of drug-related crimes (half of those for possessing or dealing). At north of $40 thousand/year to house such prisoners, plus the trillion or more dollars this nation has spent in police action, chasing our tail in the fruitless effort seems about as effective as the efforts to stop alcohol under Prohibition between 1919 and 1933. We’ve empowered drug cartels and street gangs, the only kind of folks who deal with such substances given the legal sanctions, fomented an active cross-border arms industry to support the vicious gangsters who ply this trade resulting in an escalating number of murders, taxed ourselves into oblivion to pay for police and military efforts to stop drugs and missed a massive opportunity to tax and control these currently-illegal substances (except in this medical marijuana field) at a time when we desperately need the money. The U.S. drug trade is as robust and widespread as it has ever been.

It doesn’t look like the U.S. is going to legalize any of these banned narcotics anytime soon, and we will continue to have to raise money for new prisons, police officers, etc. to pay for our “never-to-be-realized” quest. Indeed, we seem to be a nation more concerned with slogans and unworkable policies – no matter the cost – than with common sense, practical solutions.

I’m Peter Dekom, and it would seem that our financial condition would wake up those who want to continue these policies… but it doesn’t… yet.