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.
Author: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
“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.
By taking cannabis products off street corners and placing them behind the counter, lawmakers are providing cannabis consumers with safer experiences and greatly reducing their risk of being inadvertently exposed to contaminated products.
Regardless of whether you live in a red or blue state, or in a jurisdiction where cannabis is legal or illicit, it’s time for legalization advocates to stand up and assert themselves.
Those who support legalizing marijuana are not part of the ideological fringe; we are the majority. It’s time for us to act like it and for lawmakers to treat cannabis consumers with the respect they deserve.