Treat Me Right!

Some parents of children with hundreds of daily seizures have found that the use of cannabis derivatives (medical marijuana – MMJ) can eliminate all but a straggling few of those life-disruptors. But even in states where MMJ is permitted, using cannabis on kids is simply illegal. Still the United States is slowly and seemingly irretrievably marching toward rather complete legalization of marijuana, not just for medical purposes but across the board. The federal government is considering revising banking regulations for legal marijuana entities, the FDA is considering reclassifying the weed to a lesser level of controlled substances and states across the land (beyond recreationally-accepting Washington State and Colorado and the almost two dozen total states where MMJ is legal at some level) are considering opening their statutes to accepting at least MMJ. Perhaps they are looking at the tax revenues that are making Colorado legislators (most of them) smile.

There are still tons of hurdles that have to be crossed, and one of the biggest issues – hampered by federal laws that make crossing state lines exceptionally difficult – involve quality control standards and dosage uniformity. If MMJ and recreational marijuana are to be legal, at the very least we need national standards to insure consistency and consumer safety. Not later. Now! It’s pretty necessary medical preventative step, since even legal users are puzzled over exactly how much they are ingesting and what the impact of any particular product might have on their bodies.

Internationally, we have watched as Uruguay has legalized marijuana, and Mexico is now debating whether their expensive and bribe-generating battle with drug cartels – mostly protecting their trade routes into the United States – can be moderated by legalizing marijuana. They are having difficulty sustaining their laws in light of obviously increasing legal tolerance in many states north of their border.

A June UN Office on Drugs and Crime's World Drugs Report indicated that the changes in recreational drug use laws in Washington and Colorado are just too recent to ascertain their overall impact on marijuana usage. “‘In the United States, the lower perceived risk of cannabis use has led to an increase in its use,’ the report said, although global use of cannabis appeared to have fallen.

“There was a 56% increase in US cannabis-related emergency department visits between 2006 and 2010, and a 14% increase in admission to treatment centres for drug abuse over the same period, the report said, citing US government data… The percentage of people in the US aged 12 or older who admitted to using marijuana in the past year had increased from 10% in 2008 to 12% in 2012, the report added.” BBC.co.uk, June 26^th. Emergency room visit statistics tell us exactly how necessary uniform cannabis standards have become.

“One reason for the increased need for medical treatment [from marijuana overdose] is thought to be an increased potency in the drug, the report said… ‘In some parts of the world we have seen that the content of the main psychotic substance, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has increased, and this in a way makes the cannabis more harmful,’ UNODC research branch chief Angela Me told the BBC… Research showed that young people considered the use of cannabis less risky when it was legalised, the report said… However, Ms. Me said that ‘the relationship between risk perception and legalisation’ was ‘complex.’” BBC.co.uk.

For many Americans, who hate the trend of liberalizing marijuana laws – despite the obvious failure of Prohibition in the last century – they prefer a head-in-the-sand approach. They would rather not deal with rather simple solutions of medical risks (including death) by reason of the absence of clear and understandable dosage and quality standards of legalized marijuana products. It’s time to live in the real world, accept the rather clearly-proven benefits (many of them seemingly unique for many people in extreme discomfort and pain) and the recreational usage patterns that just about anyone under 30 knows directly or indirectly (okay, and a good number over that age cohort!).

I’m Peter Dekom, and as world values change, attitudes and supporting pragmatics need to change with them.