From the federal standpoint, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 still makes it illegal to possess, use, buy, sell, or cultivate marijuana, but many of the individual states have passed their own laws and have basically dared the federal government to go against them. While Colorado is the only state to allow the commercial sale of marijuana, Washington is not far behind, having legalized personal possession (up to a reasonable amount). Several of the larger cities in the state, in response, passed initiatives basically directing their law enforcement agencies to turn a blind eye to pot users. Twenty other states have either legalized medical marijuana or decriminalized personal possession (and in the case of nine of them, both).
To call this a sea change in the “War on Weed” would be a complete understatement. But wait, as they say on late night television, there’s more. Just this past Thursday, lawmakers in Alabama unanimously passed a bill legalizing medical marijuana, which Gov. Robert Bentley has said he will sign. Granted, the bill only allows for the prescription of the nonintoxicating cannabidiol (CBD, for short), a medical grade extract that has a number of detractors claiming it is largely ineffective. But this action is still a major step forward in the ongoing medical marijuana movement. After watching closely how Colorado has benefited from outright legalization, residents of six more states and the District of Columbia are likely to see either a bill in the state legislature, a ballot initiative, or an executive order from the governor to make medical marijuana (or even outright legalization) a reality. Arizona, Alaska and the District of Columbia are all considering following Colorado’s lead and making recreational use of the wacky weed completely legal. The “Safer Arizona” group is pushing for a ballot initiative (with recent polling showing a majority of Arizonans in support). In Alaska, supporters turned in more than 45,000 signatures on a legalization petition. Only 30,169 were needed for the petition to make it onto the August ballot. Likewise, residents of the nation’s capital likely will get to vote this fall to make D.C. an even more popular tourist destination. And while Tennessee is not on the “make it legal for everyone” bandwagon, back in January, Rep. Sherry Jones (D-Nashville) announced she would be filing a bill to allow the prescription sale of marijuana in the state. The “Koozer-Kuhn Medical Cannabis Act” (HB1385) is currently pending in the House Health Subcommittee. “It’s just simply a matter of being rational and compassionate,” Rep. Jones told the Knoxville News-Sentinel, though she was quick to explain that her bill would be very limited and highly restrictive. “It would apply to only the most severely debilitated people,” which she categorized as severely epilep10 • The Pulse • march 27-APRIL 2, 2014 • chattanoogapulse.com
tic children, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, sufferers of multiple sclerosis, or people “with a plethora of diseases.”
So how did we get here? And how did the “War on Drugs” get started in the first place? When President Nixon announced the beginning of the “War on Drugs” in 1971, the stated goal was to reduce illegal drug trade and to diminish demand for substances deemed immoral, harmful, dangerous, or undesirable. During the Nixon era, the goal was not to incarcerate and punish drug users, but to stop the drug trade and begin programs to help Americans reduce their dependence on narcotics. It was the only time that more funding went towards treatment than law enforcement. But, like many government programs that start with the best of intentions, the war became distorted by those seeking political gain by appearing “tough on crime”, and the anti-drug warriors turned their attention inwards. The end result has been the highest percentage of incarcerated Americans of any time in our history. More than 2.2 million people are behind bars and another 4.8 million are on probation or parole, a quadrupling of our prison population, with well over 40 million arrests nationwide since 1971 on nonviolent drug charges. Worse yet, in the past three decades, the number of deaths related to drug overdoses has risen more than 540 percent. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, conducted annually by the federal government, is the most commonly cited set of statistics on the prevalence of drug use. According to the latest survey, an estimated 22.5 million Americans aged 12 or older have used some illegal drug in the last month. Not too surprisingly, marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug, with just over 18 million current users.
But what about illicit drugs other than marijuana? Of the most commonly used drugs in the United States, the top five are pharmaceuticals, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. Regionally, use of each drug is quite different. Here in the Southeast, for example, cocaine is by far the illicit drug of choice, with slightly more than 50 percent of drug users imbibing some form of the narcotic. Meth is second in popularity, followed by pharmaceuticals and marijuana, with heroin a distant fifth. The growth of methamphetamine use, at epidemic levels out West, has been making steady inroads in the South during the past decade. It’s regarded by medical professionals as one of the most dangerous drugs ever