Here on the True Blue Terpenes blog, we are dedicated to not only educating our readers about cannabis terpenes and weed flavor drops, but also about marijuana in general. And the top of this article is a perennial political issue - legalization. As the laws surrounding the use, distribution, and growing of cannabis change, we are able to do more with and learn more about this plant and its effects. While some states have moved to legalize recreational or medical marijuana use, it’s still illegal at the federal level. Over the next few weeks, we want to take an in-depth look at the laws surrounding marijuana starting from one simple question: why is marijuana still illegal? A big reason stems from misconceptions about it. Throughout this series, we will address these misconceptions, as well as discuss the history of the laws that keep marijuana a federally regulated drug.
Marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which means it concerned highly dangerous and totally lacking in medical potential. However, alcohol and cigarettes are also technically drugs, yet you can walk into any grocery store and buy them. What makes marijuana different? Heroin and cocaine - both of which are highly addictive and dangerous are also designated as Schedule 1. Should marijuana fall into this same category? Continue reading to find out.
How Dangerous Is Marijuana?
When you look at statistics and studies, cannabis is relatively safe. In fact, one peer-reviewed medical journal took at look at some statistics regarding the danger levels of different drugs, including how dangerous they are to the user and to others around the user. You can read an in-depth analysis of that study here, but the results are pretty clear.
Of the 20 drugs that were studied, the one that had the biggest danger factor was alcohol. While some people don’t consider alcohol a drug - mainly because you can simply walk into a store and buy it - it meets the parameters that define it as such. A drug is defined as “a medicine or substance which has a physiological effect when introduced to the body.” Alcohol, in particular, has been shown to be highly addictive, and in large quantities incredibly dangerous. What separates alcohol from the other drugs on the list, though, was that it was the only drug that presented a higher danger level to others than to the user. It’s no surprise that most of the danger to others comes in the form of physical violence or drunk driving auto accidents. The World Health Organization estimated that over 3 million deaths every year are the result of harmful alcohol consumption. That number breaks down to nearly 6% of all deaths annually.
Directly following alcohol on the list of dangerous substances was heroin, crack, meth, cocaine, and - still more dangerous than cannabis - tobacco. On the safer end of the spectrum are mushrooms, LSD, and ecstasy which showed almost zero risks to people other than the user. It is important to remember that inhaling smoke of any kind can be dangerous and have long-lasting health effects, but thankfully today there are almost countless ways to consume cannabis, from vaping to edibles. Moreover, there have been numerous studies funded by the federal government that have all come to the same conclusion - that the laws surrounding this whole issue don’t make much sense.
Overdosing And Death From Marijuana
You may have heard something along the lines of “no one has ever died from marijuana.” That is not 100 percent true. To clear things up, it is believed to be impossible to overdose on marijuana - one DEA judge even estimated it would take 20,000 times the amount of THC contained in a single joint to cause a lethal overdose. To compare to narcotics, last year there were over 60,000 fatal overdoses in America. In fact, opioids including oxycodone and methadone cause the most overdoses.
While there has never been a reported fatal overdose of marijuana it has been the indirect cause of fatalities, mainly due to risky behavior that users engage in while high. For example, after alcohol, marijuana is the intoxicant most often found in the bloodstream of those involved in car accidents. This isn’t a perfect measurement though, as THC can stay in your system for weeks after using. Several more studies articulated that drivers who showed detectable amounts in their blood were twice as likely to be responsible for a fatal car crash than those who had no evidence of intoxicants in their blood. Again, these studies are inconclusive because there is not currently a proper roadside test that can prove a person is currently under the influence of marijuana. But because cannabis slows reaction time and impairs judgment of time and distance, driving while high can definitely be dangerous and can warrant a DUI arrest. Therefore, if cannabis is “only” as dangerous as alcohol, they why hasn’t it been legalized?
Ending Misconceptions About Marijuana
So, we’ve learned that marijuana is significantly less dangerous than alcohol - and you probably already knew that it’s not nearly as dangerous as heroin or meth. Despite all of this, it is still illegal at a national level. While eight states have legalized the recreational use of cannabis, the best way to convince the remaining 42 is through education. There has also been a growing activist movement that has brought pressure to bear on the federal government directly, to change laws at a national level. There are also a lot of myths and misconceptions about cannabis usage, including ideas that it is an addictive “gateway drug,” which we will discuss in-depth in our next blog in this series.
The Real Reason Marijuana Is Illegal
In order to understand the real reason cannabis is illegal, we need to take a look at its history. Europeans and Anglo-Americans had known about hemp since the 1830s. Marijuana plants came to the New World in the form of hemp plantations that developed in the 17th century American colonies. In fact, in the early Jamestown colonies, farmers were ordered to grow cannabis plants for the production of essential combat equipment - rope, etc. Doctors prescribed medicinal marijuana to treat symptoms of cholera. Cannabis extract was even widely available in pharmacies. In short, the federal government didn’t have much to say on the issue as the legalization of marijuana wasn’t even a question. But all that changed in the early 20th century. It was 1910 and the Mexican Revolution was underway, leading to a burst of Mexican immigration into the United States. Anti-Mexican racism was (and remains) a powerful ideology and it came to encompass Mexicans’ most common form of intoxication - cannabis. Even the word ‘marijuana’, originally spelled ‘marihuana,’ was a term created by US politicians to make cannabis sound more Mexican, and thus give it a bad reputation.
The Anti-Marijuana Paranoia Spreads
Harry Anslinger, the first Commissioner of the Bureau of Narcotics, claimed before Congress that the cannabis plant was altogether evil and that smoking marijuana turned Mexicans into degenerate superhumanly power killers, which played right into the racism of the times. In fact, this is one of the early origins of the “reefer madness” craze, which culminated in the most famous piece of anti-marijuana propaganda ever made which bears the same name. The obvious irony is that alcohol has been consistently shown to be far more hazardous to a person’s health than cannabis. Nevertheless, marijuana prohibition became one of the hot button issues of the day. California became the first state in the Union to pass laws criminalizing possession. In the period from 1907-1931, a total of 29 states passed laws banning cannabis and federal legislation began to be passed turning it into just one more of an ever-growing list of controlled substances.
The War On Drugs
During the 1970s, state-level cannabis laws were softened but federal level marijuana laws become more draconian due to the emerging War on Drugs which was a cornerstone of the Nixon and Reagan administrations. The Reagan administration, in particular, launched a massive propaganda campaign in order to win popular support for their ramping up of penalties for people found in violation of drug laws. Legalization become a totally untenable position for any politician trying to get elected.The federal government also created Operation Pipeline, which empowered law enforcement to profile civilians, often along racial lines, in their attempt to crackdown on marijuana users. One side effect of all this is that the United States is now the only industrialized nation that prohibits the domestic cultivation of industrial hemp. It’s legal to import hemp grown by foreign marijuana businesses and it’s legal to refine and then export it. But domestic production remains out of the question. The result has been a civil rights disaster that law enforcement agencies have yet to fully grapple with. Marijuana possession is still a very serious in most states carrying with it a potentially lengthy prison sentence. This campaign by the federal government that is still in effect today has been an effective pretext to target and control black and brown communities all across the country.
Medical Marijuana - A Source Of Hope
Amidst all this politicking, one cause has remained vital in the cannabis rights community - medical marijuana. While the fight for marijuana legalization is often mocked as a movement composed of stoners, there has been considerable and growing public support for legalized medical marijuana. A significant number of states have legal marijuana with very strict criteria. Medical marijuana laws that provide exceptions for people to use medical cannabis to treat the symptoms of serious illnesses. The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, passed in 2014, prevents the Department of Justice from spending federal funds to prosecute cannabis-related activities if they are permitted under state-specific medical marijuana laws. This amendment has kept the DEA from shutting medical marijuana dispensaries across the country.
Medical Marijuana - Treating Symptoms
Various cannabis strains have become favorites for patients suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It has been well documented that cannabinoids, used in conjunction with other therapies are an effective treatment for chronic pain, anxiety, and insomnia - all of which often accompany post-traumatic stress. Another major area of current research into the medical purposes of the cannabis plant is Parkinson’s Disease. There’s even a section on the Parkinson’s Foundation Website that discusses the case for legal marijuana. Similar research is currently being conducted into its effectiveness at treating Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Where Do We Go From Here
In the last decade, there has been a growing movement, led primarily by young black and brown activists who have identified the legalization of marijuana as just one part of a broader social justice movement against mass incarceration. Politicians are now regularly asked during town halls whether they will consider supporting legalization efforts and, in particular, medical marijuana programs. In addition to the fact that it’s a victimless crime, legalization has therefore become an important moral and civil rights issue as well.
It should be clear from reading this that the case to legalize marijuana is overwhelming. In the meantime, it is important to remember that True Blue terps have no psychoactive effects. Our pure cannabis terpenes are natural, food-grade extracts that are designed to enhance and mimic the flavor profile of your favorite marijuana strains. Shop our weed flavor drops and natural terps today.