Part 8: Emphasizing MMJ in the present pushes true legalization back to the future
The unholy matrimony of “medical” and “marijuana” has jeopardized the repeal of marijuana prohibition. Superglued into “medical marijuana,” the media and patients’ rights groups have fixated on the unhappy couple at the expense of the more worthy crusade.
Each of the patients’ advocacy groups scattered around the country has its own agenda. Those individual agendas are at odds with the concept of presenting a unified front against prohibition.
By emphasizing MMJ in the present, true legalization is reduced to an afterthought, one we may or may not come to fruition in the future.
If today’s media were covering the Exodus, we’d have a zillion one-paragraph “stories” describing the drama in the wilderness — with barely a word about the Promised Land. The Jews wandered in the wilderness for forty years. The magical herb’s already got that doubled. Patient rights groups, states’ rights groups, and the media are so fond of MMJ in chains, if they had their way, the herb would have never even see the wilderness — it would have remained forever enslaved in Egypt.
As far as these entities are concerned, if the sick and wounded can trudge to an oasis which vaguely approximates the Promised Land, the Exodus is over. Done. Finito. The concept of everyone pulling together to will their way into Canaan [translation = “canna land”] is reduced to an afterthought.
MMJ regulatory skirmishes, occurring as we speak in every state and hamlet [or if they’re not, wait a week], are tailor made for “hard hitting” news stories and news aggregation. They’re quick. Disposable. Digestible at a glance. Sending a reporter or a small film crew to cover a city council meeting is a snap. It’s just a short hop across town. Simple
Repealing prohibition is much harder to pin down. Where is it taking place? Who do you ask about it? It’s hard to know. What you know for sure is that you’re not going to be cobbling a story together about pot prohibition that you can run tomorrow. Maybe you’ll cover it next week, next month, next year, next lifetime.
Conversely, “Loveland votes tonight to expel dispensaries” is a guaranteed story for today — and a guaranteed story, with a guaranteed result, for tomorrow’s edition — and the nightly news.
Old guard media is just much better equipped to answer the question, “What happened?” than “What’s going to happen?” As a result, marijuana coverage has become, by and large, MMJ coverage. MMJ regulatory skirmishes are waged all over hill and dale. They provide an inexhaustible supply of usable stories and clips.
So the MMJ hits keep coming.
One can hardly blame the media for being the media. “Medical marijuana” has a nice ring to it. It flows off the tongue. It’s easily abbreviated as “MMJ.” Looks kind of snazzy on the page, or in a headline. When you sound it out, the acronym “MMJ” seems like an amalgam of “M&Ms” and “mary jane.” There just one problem with the pretty poison: MMJ requests your firm commitment to exclude ninety-five percent of the people who wish ganja could light up their lives. Indefinitely.
If blame must be meted out, look no further than patient rights groups — they’re all over the place. Every state’s got some.
But more is not merrier.
MLK’s Southern Christian Leadership Council was comprised of only six independent groups. Keeping those six groups on the same page was sufficiently challenging. There are probably six marijuana advocacy groups in New Mexico alone. Small wonder advocates can hardly agree on anything, much less come to a consensus on how to end prohibition.
But each advocacy group has a perfect idea of how to implement MMJ in their weed-infested fiefdoms. Unsurprisingly, it’s “their way.”
Groups like Americans For Safe Access, Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition, and Rhode Island Patient Advocacy train our focus on MMJ. People and politicians on the fence — who are actually open to repealing prohibition — lose track of the larger objective. They can’t see the forest for the weeds.
The whole mess makes me close my eyes, inhale a deep breath, and sigh.
Then I have a vision. A large transport ship, The Repeal, waits offshore, ready to ferry Ganja Nation to the Promised Land. It’s there for all the world to see. But all anyone notices are a few kayaks and canoes, looking like minnows next to a whale, coming to take MMJ soldiers to regulatory skirmishes playing out all over the wilderness. Meanwhile, The Repeal drifts further and further from the shore. Eventually, it disappears over the horizon.
Then I snap out of it, waking to the startling realization that MMJ really could kill marijuana legalization.
It absolutely could.
But what do I know? I had no idea the word “marijuana” was lonely, longing for an adjective friend to keep it company. Yet “medical marijuana” appears to have replaced “marijuana” in the collective unconscious. That shift has begun a “chain” reaction producing all the negative consequences identified in this report.
It’s an epic mistake to keep asking the question, “How should we regulate MMJ in each state and locality?”
Rather, the pertinent question is, “Is MMJ something we should ever vote on at all?”
Ditto for, “Which state will be the next MMJ state?”
How about, “Why not organize across state lines instead of acting like there’s a Berlin Wall around each state?”
Consider:
- MMJ is a ball and chain for the five percent who have it and nonexistent for the ninety-five percent who don’t. If a big MMJ initiative is coming up at a polling place near you, are you thinking you can’t wait to wear a ball and chain like Colorado’s “industry” players? That’s how it begins. Google “exorcists” and add your zip code. If you act now, you may still be saved.
- MMJ is shortsighted, a stopgap measure, and a major distraction. Emphasizing MMJ in the present pushes true legalization back to the future.
- That brings us to MJ. Those initials represent nothing less than personal and economic freedom. They connote life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for everyman. They signify Cannabis Liberation Day will someday dawn — if we keep our eyes on the prize and just say no to MMJ.
Table of Contents:
Part 1: Dynamic MMJ laws force businesses onto the streetPart 2: MMJ limits cannatax to a fraction of what it could be
Part 3: MMJ limits job incubation to a fraction of what it could be
Part 4: MMJ limits cannabis' contribution to GDP to a fraction of what it could be
Part 5: Ironically, MMJ blocks clinical research into cannabis’ healing properties
Part 6: It's taking the tranquilizing drug of gradualism
Part 7: The foot-in-the-door theory is flawed
Part 8: Emphasizing MMJ in the present pushes true legalization back to the future
Part 9: MMJ trivializes recreational and industrial use
Part 10: Fuck the patients
[Bonus] Part 11: It keeps 45,000 pot "offenders" imprisoned
[Bonus] Part 12: It keeps the DEA in business
[Bonus] Part 13: Cities and counties can vote it out anytime
7 comments
Thomas Chong says:
Jul 25, 2011
You must remember medical marijuana has opened the door that can never be shut again so rather than oppose or criticize the the “medical approach”, embrace it. The truth is we all smoke for a medical reason whether we know it or not. Stress relief is probably the number one “medical” reason we healthy people smoke it. “It relaxes me”. ” Helps me enjoy my time off” or helps me enjoy doing boring things. Airline pilots use it for long flights. Athletes use it to wind down after a hard game or practice. Stress relief. But the most compelling argument has to be the “take it or leave it” qualities. Pot is not physically addicting. Studies have shown people who smoked for years can and have stopped cold turkey with no physical side effects. And the good news is stopping a heavy pot habit can be beneficial to ones well being. So don’t get cute and knock the medical approach and realize the number one harmful addiction in America is junk food.
This addiction is killing Americans faster than drunk drivers. Over eating leads to heart problems, diabetics, and a host of other ailments that is encouraged by our so-called American culture of television ads and sit/coms that promote unhealthy habits as a way of life rather than a way of death. Pot, hemp, cannibis was given to us by our Creator when the Universe was created.”I give thee Green Herb and it shall be for meat” Genesis 29. And it was the disgraced President Nixon who gave us the DEA criminal gang and the money draining drug laws. So lets support the medical approach toward pot and educate the masses about the many ills pot can help with instead of trying to be ultra clever with the outlaw comedian approach….tc
Lory Kohn says:
Jul 25, 2011
I could take exception to several of your points. However, you are the co-author of the immortal lines:
mama try to tell me
try to tell me how to live
but I don’t listen to her
cause my head is like a sieve
So you can write whatever you want, whenever you want to write it, and I’ll be grateful for the contribution. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Don McAdams says:
Oct 15, 2011
Len Richmond’s movie is excellent. Under your picture of the youtube video, you state that, “Schedule 1 drugs can’t be tested on humans.” This is actually not the case. NIDA has a mandate that no Schedule 1 drugs can be tested for any benefits, but tests for potential harm are ran all the time. For a host of research, I recommend, well, Len Richmond’s movie. As something just as valuable, if not more so, is this 20 minute seminar from Dr. Abrams, http://projectcbd.org/Medicine.html#CME . He has over 30 years of NIDA funded MJ research that he talks about, as well as other research being done around the world, Dr. Guzman’s work from Spain being the most ground-breaking to date, mitigating glioblastoma multiforme, or brain tumors. Then I would suggest Dr. Tashkin’s NIDA funded 30+ year study confirming no link to MJ and lung cancer – it even suggested a protective effect from the cigarette smokers. I agree with Tommy Chong and Jack Herer – all use is medical. That being said, the MMJ initiatives may have a huge flaw of not offering enough, especially in the way of research, but it was a necessary step. We would never be talking about full legalization or repealing Prohibition 2 in a serious tone today if it wasn’t for the MMJ road paved for US. And yes, certain indicas high in CBD are better for physical treatments, while sativas high in THC and THCV are better for mental treatments, so recommended strains for the ailments isn’t entirely voodoo… You do bring up a necessary reminder for US all, though – no matter if we’re doing a medical or recreational attempt, research should always be included in the wording…
Lory Kohn says:
Oct 19, 2011
I disagree with your theory that MMJ is paving the way for full legalization, as opposed to blocking it — but respect your opinion. More on this soon. btw, is cannabis effective against spam?
Don McAdams says:
Oct 25, 2011
There is some truth that if Cali would have fully legalized cannabis in ’96, we could likely have 16 legal states today instead of medical states. The growing plethora of medical research could very likely have kept cannabis in a medical box for some time, and may have slowed the repeal / legalize progress. Considering how rigid the government still is on “legalizing,” though, medical really was (and unfortunately still is for the most part) the best avenue to get some freedom. I agree that there needs to be a break from medical to legal, and that would have been nice to see happen already. I believe that its lack of harm and vast medical efficacy will create a rapid shift from medical to repeal very soon, though, and that, almost unarguably, would have never been possible had cannabis not been a hot topic already these past several years, and that would have never happened without mmj initiatives being passed by the People. Perhaps it’s not really a paved road. It’s more like a dirt trail, and we need to get on the interstate. I agree with your sentiment of abandoning the medical model now, that time has come, but it’s not as easy to say for the 34 states that have no mj allowances… Our legalization init is lagging in Ohio, and still has all the hoops to get through yet, while the medical init here has jumped through the last hoop and is now collecting the half million signatures needed to get it on the ballot for 2012. I’m still gonna support both efforts, even though I have no qualifying medical condition…
Lory Kohn says:
Oct 25, 2011
Don, thanks for providing those links and sources to the groundbreaking research that has been performed.
You seem to like to write a bit — how’s about writing an article for CC clarifying what research can and can’t be performed on Schedule One drugs in the USA, and perhaps contrasting those regulations with international regulations?
I will admit that there have been benefits that have evolved from the flirtation with MMJ. For example, it has really pushed the envelope in medibles. I’ll be at my “caregiver,” Evergreen Apothecary today, listening to customers’ tales of how medibles have been helping them with their conditions, a variation on the “treat yourself” theme …
air jordan 11 says:
May 27, 2016
I want to say – thank you for this!