Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
The Issue:
More states see marijuana's medical value, but the federal government refuses to.
The Stakes:
Patients and businesses pay the price for an outdated policy.
Nearly half the states, including New York, have deemed marijuana to have medicinal value, yet Congress and the federal government seem to think they know better than doctors and patients.
So much for getting government off people's backs.
The situation has created unnecessary obstacles, particularly for the suppliers of medical marijuana, who face legal complications even though they are, in the views of many states, legitimate businesses.
The problem is that marijuana remains on the 1970 Controlled Substance Act as a Schedule I drug, reserved for substances that meet three conditions: high potential for abuse; no currently accepted medical use; and no accepted safe use under medical supervision.
On at least two of those three counts, marijuana shouldn't even make the list. Twenty-three states, noting overwhelming research pointing to the medical value in marijuana, allow patients with certain conditions to grow it at home, buy it from a dispensary, or, in New York's case, purchase it in a refined, nonsmokable form.
But with marijuana categorized in the same way as drugs like heroin and LSD, producers face challenges. Banks don't want to lend them money for fear of running afoul of federal regulators. The Internal Revenue Service expects them to pay taxes, of course, but they can't take many of the deductions that any other business can. And while the Obama administration has taken a laissez-faire approach to medical or recreational marijuana in states that allow it, the specter of federal enforcement remains should the political winds shift.
All this undoubtedly raises the price of medical marijuana, perhaps giving the federal government a few extra dollars, but benefiting no one else, least of all patients.
There are two ways to end this nonsense. The Food and Drug Administration could reclassify marijuana, or Congress could do it through legislation.
Such a bill has been introduced in the House by two Democrats, Jared Polis of Colorado and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. It would take marijuana off the Control Substances Act list and put it under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which would regulate marijuana like alcohol. States could continue to ban the drug. One downside of the bill: a hefty excise tax of 50 percent, which will raise patient costs.
If there was ever an issue ripe for bipartisan agreement, this is it. Medical marijuana is legal in both red and blue states; if those legislators voted as a bloc, they would be just five votes short of a majority in the Senate and only nine votes short in the House.
This is an issue that transcends political philosophies. It's about states' rights and easing burdens on business; it's about getting government out of the examination room and out of decisions best left between doctors and their patients. Really, it's about time.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Editorial: The marijuana roadblock - Times Union
Author: Web Staff
Contact: tuletters@timesunion.com
Photo Credit: Tyswan Stewart / Times Union
Website: ttp://www.timesunion.com
More states see marijuana's medical value, but the federal government refuses to.
The Stakes:
Patients and businesses pay the price for an outdated policy.
Nearly half the states, including New York, have deemed marijuana to have medicinal value, yet Congress and the federal government seem to think they know better than doctors and patients.
So much for getting government off people's backs.
The situation has created unnecessary obstacles, particularly for the suppliers of medical marijuana, who face legal complications even though they are, in the views of many states, legitimate businesses.
The problem is that marijuana remains on the 1970 Controlled Substance Act as a Schedule I drug, reserved for substances that meet three conditions: high potential for abuse; no currently accepted medical use; and no accepted safe use under medical supervision.
On at least two of those three counts, marijuana shouldn't even make the list. Twenty-three states, noting overwhelming research pointing to the medical value in marijuana, allow patients with certain conditions to grow it at home, buy it from a dispensary, or, in New York's case, purchase it in a refined, nonsmokable form.
But with marijuana categorized in the same way as drugs like heroin and LSD, producers face challenges. Banks don't want to lend them money for fear of running afoul of federal regulators. The Internal Revenue Service expects them to pay taxes, of course, but they can't take many of the deductions that any other business can. And while the Obama administration has taken a laissez-faire approach to medical or recreational marijuana in states that allow it, the specter of federal enforcement remains should the political winds shift.
All this undoubtedly raises the price of medical marijuana, perhaps giving the federal government a few extra dollars, but benefiting no one else, least of all patients.
There are two ways to end this nonsense. The Food and Drug Administration could reclassify marijuana, or Congress could do it through legislation.
Such a bill has been introduced in the House by two Democrats, Jared Polis of Colorado and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. It would take marijuana off the Control Substances Act list and put it under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which would regulate marijuana like alcohol. States could continue to ban the drug. One downside of the bill: a hefty excise tax of 50 percent, which will raise patient costs.
If there was ever an issue ripe for bipartisan agreement, this is it. Medical marijuana is legal in both red and blue states; if those legislators voted as a bloc, they would be just five votes short of a majority in the Senate and only nine votes short in the House.
This is an issue that transcends political philosophies. It's about states' rights and easing burdens on business; it's about getting government out of the examination room and out of decisions best left between doctors and their patients. Really, it's about time.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Editorial: The marijuana roadblock - Times Union
Author: Web Staff
Contact: tuletters@timesunion.com
Photo Credit: Tyswan Stewart / Times Union
Website: ttp://www.timesunion.com
