Pushback Against Legalization of Marijuana Abuse

There has lately been some encouraging pushback against the trend legalization of marijuana abuse, which lately was becoming a one-sided debate. Oklahoma voters last month rejected a referendum to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. I had posted in November that voters had rejected legalization referendums in the 2022 General Election in Arkansas, North and South Dakota, despite the recent trend. An organization called Smart Approach to Marijuana which opposes federal legalization of the drug, led by a former federal official who worked for presidential administrations of both parties, hosted a summit in Washington, D.C. last week. They and health officials have been pushing back against the trend, led by the marijuana industry, of the “legitimization, commercialization and normalization” of marijuana and especially against the recent rushing toward full legalization, which has tempted to politicians to use it to increase tax revenue at the cost of public health. The organization, which is the only one representing opposition to legalization, has been successfully opposing state legalization referendums and federal and state legislative legalization proposals. President Joe Biden, a liberal Democrat, had pardoned people for the federal offense of possession of marijuana, none of whom had been imprisoned for simple possession, contrary to pro-marijuana arguments that there were. Those who are incarcerated for possession by States or territories are usually only through plea deals in exchange for dropping charges for dealing. Biden also ordered a scientific review of the drug’s classification, but he is not in favor or legalization. The anti-legalization organization, which supports the review because it is confident it will illuminate the harms of marijuana abuse, similarly opposes criminalization, meaning that they support civil offenses for recreational use of the drug. Their position is based on the conservative view of government responsibility for public health, in contrast to some “conservatives” who focus only on economic or fiscal matters, or who are more libertarian and thus oppose reasonable public health regulations. Leaving aside any supposedly scientifically proven medical benefits, most doctors, scientists and medical associations oppose legalization, citing a growing body of evidence of the harms of the addictive, mind-altering poison that is often a gateway to the abuse of even worse drugs. There has also been public pushback in some States against overly loose medical marijuana laws. There have also been many unintended consequences of legalization laws that have harmed public health. The anti-legalization organization also notes the use of the scientific name “cannabis” for marijuana by the pro-marijuana industry to make it seem more scientific and thus acceptable. The species name includes hemp, the commercially useful variety of the plant that does not contain the mind-altering compound. Thus, “cannabis” is a shibboleth like “gaming” is for the gambling industry, both of which are misleading and distracting from the harms. The success of the opposition to marijuana abuse is encouraging to true conservatives concerned about public health and safety, and should be supported by them.