The New York Times is setting its sights on cannabis, again.
Author: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
Cannabis does not possess the same risks to health as do other Schedule I substances like heroin, or even unscheduled drugs like cigarettes and alcohol. To argue otherwise is out of step with both public opinion and scientific consensus.
While the administration’s medical cannabis rescheduling order is a welcome step forward, it falls well short of the comprehensive changes necessary to provide nationwide relief to patients — and it fails to harmonize state and federal marijuana policy.
Many states are sacrificing the long-term health and sustainability of the legal cannabis market for theoretical short-term gains reaped by sky-high taxes.
“Cannabis re-legalization is a work in progress. But it’s here to stay and by and large, it’s a process we’re getting right.”
Now is not the time for the cannabis community to rest on the laurels of its past successes or to presume that someone else is going to finish the job.
Since its inception, the criminalization of the marijuana plant and the stigmatization of those who consume it has been predicated almost entirely upon the promotion of gross exaggerations, racial stereotypes, and outright lies.
Unlike alcohol (which is readily available in a variety of potencies, including highly-potent formulations like grain alcohol and absinthe), THC is incapable of causing lethal overdose — regardless of its potency or the quantity consumed.