This is a three-part series on the Cannabis Community Controversy. Part 1 (Infighting in the Cannabis Community) is published here; Part 2 (Finding Common Ground) will be published on Monday, January 9; and Part 3 (How We “Win” the War on Drugs) will be published on Tuesday, January 10. Subscribe if you would like notification emailed to you whenever articles are published by Jennifer Alexander.
THE DISTRACTION OF INFIGHTING
Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), wrote commentary published in an editorial that appeared in Celeb Stoner on Thursday, January 6, 2012 that has raised a lot of controversy in the cannabis community. St. Pierre began his commentary with "Defending the 'medical' cannabis industry is so yesterday. Why not acknowledge the political and legal farce it is and focus on the real problem at hand: ending cannabis prohibition?"
Ironically, this follows on the heel of statements by Steven D'Angelo that created equal controversy, when D'Angelo, at the end of an episode of the new series "Weed Wars" stated, "I don't believe in legalizing cannabis for recreational use." D'Angelo makes his living providing marijuana for patients through the multimillion dollar dispensary Harborside in Oakland, California, so this raised quite a stir among advocates for legalizing marijuana..
ON-GOING CONTROVERSY
This is nothing new; California proposed a legalization initiative in 2010, known as Prop. 19, which caused an equal divide among activists. While there was a lot of support for the effort, some patient advocates felt that Prop. 19 would place patients in danger of arrest and fought against it. Some claim that this resulted in the ultimate defeat of the legalization initiative and they even organized boycotts against those who fought to defeat the measure.
This has already started, as well, in the state of Washington, with the ACLU backed initiative I-502. The major controversy in Washington is the per se DUI limit of 5 ng/mg, which could place patients in jeopardy of DUI convictions due to their use of the drug as a medication and likelihood of always having at least that much in their system. Another point of contention for I-502 with less coverage is the fact that it does not allow for home gardens, so users will have to purchase cannabis from state-stores that will be taxed at 25%.
SUPPORT IS ON THE RISE
All the various controversies mentioned here illustrate how difficult this issue is to resolve, even among supporters for marijuana reform; notice that none of the above controversy even takes into account those who are opposed to marijuana! While recent polls have shown that support for legalizing marijuana has breached the 50% marker, making it the first time since marijuana was prohibited that the majority support ending prohibition, there still remains about 46% of the population that does NOT support ending prohibition.
When advocates of legalizing marijuana participated in the White House's newly-released online petition process called "We the People", the White House summarily rejected all eight petitions in a single canned response written by the drug czar, Gil Kerlikowski, whose job specifically requires that he oppose the legalization of all Schedule I drugs, no matter what. In 2003, when Congressman Ron Paul wrote a letter to the GAO (General Accountability Office) to inquire into the misinformation being put out by the drug czar, the GAO responded that because of the specific responsibility for the drug czar to oppose legalization efforts, accuracy wasn't a concern:
Finally, apart from considerations of whether any particular law has been violated, you have asked whether the Deputy Director’s letter disseminated misleading information in connection with statements relating to the debate over legalization of marijuana. [...]
ONDCP is specifically charged with the responsibility for “taking such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use” of certain controlled substances such as marijuana —- a responsibility which logically could include the making of advocacy statements in opposition to legalization efforts. The Deputy Director’s statements about marijuana are thus within the statutory role assigned to ONDCP. Given this role, we do not see a need to examine the accuracy of the Deputy Director’s individual statements in detail.
INFIGHTING DISTRACTS FROM ADDRESSING OPPOSITION
The distraction of infighting within the cannabis reform movement ensures that advocates rarely are able to adequately address the major misconceptions of those who oppose ending marijuana prohibition. One source of some of the common misconceptions is Save Our Society From Drugs, a national lobbying group that advocates against all reform efforts for marijuana or other harm reduction strategies in addressing drugs in our society. Among the issues that they address regarding marijuana decriminalization/legalization:
- Drug use, particularly among teens, will increase, potentially doubling or worse.
- Crime-related and societal costs will go up.
- Children will be marketed to, and have access to, marijuana - like tobacco.
- The black market will thrive by undercutting prices of legitimate marijuana sales, and by selling to children.
- Treatment options will be less available, since 'addicts' won't be going through drug courts, and many cannot afford treatment otherwise.
- 'Violent' drug dealers will no longer be behind bars?
None of the infighting among advocates seeks to answer these concerns - which are the primary points used to defend the status quo prohibition. However, each of the statements that has caused the infighting has been attempts to address these issues. Unfortunately, each person has different strategies to "win" the "War on Drugs" or at least the "War on Pot." Where D'Angelo is pursuing a "wellness" strategy, advocating for the underreported benefits of marijuana, and attempting to highlight these benefits in the new series Weed Wars, St. Pierre is pursuing a strategy that highlights the fact that further reform is necessary to protect all users of marijuana in order to discourage any questionable practices. Ultimately, both are fighting the same cause - ending marijuana prohibition.
Part 2 (Finding Common Ground) will be published on Monday, January 9
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