AAF: Don’t Reschedule Marijuana

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John Shelton at john@advancingamericanfreedom.com

‘Peak Toke’ Is Over: Don’t Reschedule Marijuana

TOPLINE: The Biden Administration proposed rescheduling marijuana in 2024, reducing criminal penalties for drug dealers and conferring tax benefits to marijuana businesses. Now, the Trump Administration is poised to finish what Biden began, despite plunging Republican support and a growing awareness of the social costs.

Marijuana is Addictive: 30% of Users Develop a Cannabis Use Disorder:

 Pot usage is an addictive vice that causes drop-out, exacerbating other social crises.  30 percent of cannabis users report they can’t quit, even as pot causes “problems at home, school, or work” or neglect of “important activities with friends and family” (CDC).

Marijuana is Poisonous: Incidents Are Up 23x Since 2009:

 “Cannabis-related incidents reported to poison control centers has sharply increased: from about 930 cases in 2009 to more than 22,000,” according to NYT.

o The vast majority (more than 75%) involved children or teenagers.  Massachusetts, where marijuana is currently legal, suffers from a plague of youth usage. 1-in-4 kids age 16-20 use marijuana monthly; 13 percent use it almost daily.

Marijuana is Already Researchable: MMCREA

 For medical research, there is a ready alternative without rescheduling downsides.  President Biden signed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act into law in 2022, permitting the manufacture and use of marijuana for research.

Marijuana Is Not Going to Help in the Midterms:

 Anyone who says differently doesn’t know what time it is. Despite a short-lived high in 2023, Republican approval of loosening our nation’s marijuana laws has plummeted.