Legalized recreational marijuana jumped from zero to 24 states and D.C., with more sure to follow. The big holdout: the federal government–at least for now.
After all, pot’s one helluva money-maker, adding $20 billion to state coffers since markets first opened 10 years ago, says a recent Marijuana Policy Project report. Banner year 2023 alone generated more than $4 billion from adult-use!
History tells us that ball got rolling during 1910s’ Mexican Revolution, inspiring a flood of immigrants to the US, with weed coming right along with them. Came to be known as the “Marijuana Menace.”
By 1931, 29 states had outlawed marijuana, and six years later the Marijuana Tax Act made its use a crime. By the 1950s, mandatory sentences for drug-related offences were in place, but not for long.
Not only did they loosen up during the 60s, most were ultimately repealed. The 1972 bipartisan Shafter Commission then decriminalized the personal use of marijuana. Eleven states followed suit, with others reducing the severity of their penalties. Very unwelcome by some…
By 1976, a parent-led, anti-marijuana movement had taken hold, leading to the War on Drugs and mandatory sentencing in the 80s.
BUT then …
- California legalized medical marijuana in 1996. Today, 47 states, plus Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands are on board.
- In 2012, Colorado and Washington opened their doors to recreational use. Today, 24 states and DC are on board.
- Some 15,000 cannabis dispensaries have now opened, led by California’s 3,659.
But beware:
It all comes down to Tetrahydrocannabinol, aka THC—the high-inducing substance in cannabis.
- Before the 1990s, THC levels were less than 2%, rising to 4% that decade.
- By 2017, the THC content ranged from 17% to 28%.
- Today, in products like oils and edibles, concentrations can get as high as 95%.
Says Elizabeth Stuyt, M.D.: “There is absolutely no research that indicates this level of THC is beneficial for any medical condition. The purpose of these products is to produce a high, and the increased potency makes them potentially more dangerous and more likely to result in addiction.”
With thanks to Colorado School of Public Heath’s Gregory Tung:
- Smoking a joint gives a faster high and is “very damaging.”
- Slower-acting edibles are “more difficult to self-regulated dosage.”
- Vaped concentrates and their THC levels between 60% and 90% are “likely the most dangerous option.”
And it’s our kids who are most at risk for addiction and its potential for learning/thinking/memory issues, lung disease, anxiety, depression, even suicides, too.
And now hear this: Back in 2020, Oregon passed Measure 110 ending penalties for the possession of drugs like fentanyl, meth, heroin, and cocaine. The not-surprising consequence: Record numbers of overdoses and so now comes passage of HB4002 increasing penalties for possessing these drugs and expanding addiction treatments–and called a mere band aid for a terrible, self-inflicted wound.