Federal Response to Medical Marijuana

It is apparent that there are still many states against the use of medical marijuana and and there aren’t any federal laws which allow the use or production of marijuana for medical purposes. The Food and Drug Administration have an active program to help drug developers who are looking to find out about marijuana or its properties through proper and monitored clinical trials, so as to show the potential for both, safe and effective uses.[2] In fact, the fed. laws prohibiting possession, sale and producing marijuana are in direct conflict with a lot of the various state laws that allow the medical use of prescription marijuana.

The CDC states that pot, which can also be called marijuana, or dope, are the dried flowers and stems of the plant. It does contain mindc hanging (e.g., psychoactive) properties such as tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, as well as other active propertes such as cannabidiol, or CBD, which don’t affect the mind. [6]

Plus the production of cannabis by a single or group of people surpasses state limits on the amount that can be harvested or how many mature plants are allowed to be at certain grow site, because if they grow past that they can expect government investigation and prosecution as well. Money laundering or higher cash flow than possible when following compliance rules within state regulations would likely lead to investigation as well.

The memo shows how federal funds throughout the country should focus on fighting against organized narcotics dealing, but, it also shows resources can’t be wasted on people that’re clearly complaint with local laws. As California rep Jarred Huffman stated in an interview earlier this month; “Prosecutorial discretion is everything given the current conflict between the federal law and the law of many states.”[1] Just as Democratic Representative Jim McGovern said recently “I’m not going to block amendments for marijuana…Citizens are passing ballot initiatives, legislatures are passing laws, and we need to respect that. Federal laws and statutes are way behind.”[4]

If a group of suspects is growing cannabis while causing violence, selling to children, selling other illegal drugs or involved in organized crime they will be prosecuted by the gvt. Many young adults are finding it easier to get medical marijuana from ‘vape pens’ that have tetrahydrocannabinol oil. NMI coordinator Ed Shemelya says “This is what scares me, the vaping,” he said. “The fastest growing youth segment is vaping because of the stealth component of it.”[3]

State Rep. John Sims stated in an interview recently that “The research is done. The studies have been conducted. It works, and it’s time we end our idling and start having conversations to bring medical marijuana to the Commonwealth.”[5]

 

[1] – The New York Times, “States Keep Saying Yes to Marijuana Use. Now Comes the Federal No.”, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/15/us/politics/marijuana-laws-state-federal.html

[2] – U.S. Food & Drug Administration- “Statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on the importance of conducting proper research to prove safe and effective medical uses for the active chemicals in marijuana and its components”, https://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm611047.htm

[3] – Richmond Register, “Panel acknowledges potential benefits of medical marijuana”, https://www.richmondregister.com/news/panel-acknowledges-potential-benefits-of-medical-marijuana/article_b71be994-cc18-5652-94e6-0d6444d5112e.html

[4] -Forbes, “Will Marijuana Legalization Be Our Christmas Gift From Congress in 2019”, https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeadams/2018/12/21/will-marijuana-legalization-be-our-christmas-gift-from-congress-in-2019/#4349f0b920a3

[5] – High Times, “Will Kentucky Legalize Medical Marijuana By 2018?”, https://hightimes.com/news/will-kentucky-legalize-medical-marijuana-2018/

[6] – Center of Disease Control & Prevention, “What is marijuana?”, https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/faqs/what-is-marijuana.html

USA Today, Informative video about 3 states pass marijuana legislation in midterm elections, Youtube