Each week, my frustration ebbs and flows. I still believe that people always win, but in the world of cannabis, we are still fighting an uphill battle. All good things take time.
We have been forced into the narrative for decades that drugs are bad and alcohol is ok, even though alcoholism is the worst. What is starting to take place, particularly with Gen Z, is that drugs and alcohol are a no-no, but weed is good for a daily puff or an edible to take the edge off. Data is shown, of course it is all fungible, that some of the myths around weed are ebbing, and more Americans are partaking in the plant daily but not in the drink.
There is no doubt that people are out to lunch about cannabis. The DEA debacle has proven to be another government office that is not trustworthy. The DEA appears to be corrupt and misguided. The DEA was created in 1974 merging together the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, the Office of National Narcotics Intelligence, and parts of the U.S. Customs Service that worked in drug trafficking intelligence and investigation. Think people wanted to keep their jobs and drugs bad? That is exactly what Harry Ainsler did who ran the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. He wasn’t finding much until he made cannabis the scapegoat, which in turn kept Black and brown families in jail even though almost the majority of pharmacy representives objected his desire to categorize cannabis as a schedule I drug.
The good news is Long Island is beginning to wake up to the desire to have cannabis dispensaries in their towns. It is like having a wine store, and it provides worthy taxes for each city. Municipalities are beginning to send public petitions. That is a good thing.
As we move forward with fixing another governmental mess, it is time for politicians to stop using this plant to make the minority of people with big pockets happy and pay attention to the reality of this new industry. It is growing, and more people are using it, which is better for the healthcare system in more ways than we know. Where is the political will here and what is holding everyone back? As always, can someone follow the money?
