In the interest of full disclosure, I have been on the board of Cannabis Sativa, Inc., for five years, including four years as CEO. I presently serve as CEO of THC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. My earlier professional life included being speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives and two terms representing Alaska in the U.S. Senate. These combined experiences equip me to address some of the problems caused by the U.S. anti-drug campaign.
One of the great domestic political tragedies since the last century is the war on drugs initiated by President Richard Nixon, part of which placed cannabis (marijuana) on the list of Schedule 1 drugs under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
U.S. Coast Guard crews in 2015 offload narcotics seized in eastern Pacific with street value of $22 million. (Chief Petty Officer Luke Pinneo)
Nixon, seeking to shore up his position opposing cannabis, appointed Raymond Shafer, the recently retired governor of Pennsylvania, to head a commission to study the negative effects of marijuana on the American populace. Nixon was incensed when the Shafer Commission’s 1972 report showed no negative effects from the use of marijuana on society and called for it to be decriminalized.
The report was promptly shelved; and Nixon, supported by his religious backers, executed his plan of drug prohibition, interdiction and punishment without the slightest medical or legal rationale, to punish young Americans protesting his continuation of the Vietnam War.
A Failed ‘War’
The war on drugs has not ended drug use or trafficking. Instead it has ravaged the lives of untold Americans and bloated our prison system. It has fostered massive illegality over the decades.
But in 1996 the citizens of California passed Proposition 215 authorizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes, finally breaching the barriers of ignorance and prejudice about cannabis.
Other states followed California’s lead, some via a grassroots initiative process and others by the vote of courageous legislatures. This state-by-state development of the cannabis industry has created inconsistencies that are further complicated by the illegality that the federal government casts over the industry. This is most obvious where the cannabis industry is denied the banking services vital to any economic enterprise for fear of federal prosecution.
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5 comments:
Prohibition was an utter failure.
The Kennedy clan rather enjoyed it. They made a stunning fortune off of it and still today are a band of drunks, rapists, and nere do wells.
the tabacco, achocol, and big pharma are big lobbies against a safer natural cure to allot of issues. funny how big pharma can create armies of homicidal zombies among us and its a fully legal product. comparasion of side effects argument is dead out of the gate. POT does not kill
"Prohibition was an utter failure."
Most everything government does is an utter failure.
There is a split happening. Tobacco is falling and those companies are ready to make money with pot. Give it time. The old reefer madness generation is slowing dying off. We will get it and there is nothing you old block headed people can do about it. The war on drugs is the worst thing that our country has ever let happen.
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