Effort to Reclassify Marijuana Falls Flat – Again
There has been an ongoing effort on the part of advocates for therapeutic use of pot, or marijuana, which has been proven useful in several medical usage scenarios, to reclassify the drug out of the current class it sits in. Ready for this?
Pot, the “peace” drug, is currently classified with such dangerous and addictive drugs (as well as deadly) as heroine. Talk about overkill. The worst I’ve ever seen anyone do who smokes weed is be a bit lazy and paranoid.
Rarely do people who smoke weed take to the roads, kill people. or shoot up and lay around all day. Sure, it can be argued that marijuana is a gateway drug, but then again, so can alcohol, and it is perfectly legal.
Advocates for therapeutic usage have been asking the federal government to reclassify marijuana for a while now, hoping that this would legalize it for certain medical usage without prosecuting people who are in possession.
The laws only exist in a few states where you cannot be arrested for possession if you have a doctor’s prescription for the drug, most notably California. Even California still wrestles with the law a bit, blurring the lines between what is legal and what is not legal when it comes to possession and growing the plant.
The federal government has once again come to a verdict that is not favorable for pot advocates. They have stated that the drug will remain in the same class as addictive and dangerous, and will also remain illegal at the federal level.
They have concluded that, after their own research, it cannot be used safely and without addiction, even under a Doctor’s supervision. So, they have essentially said that even with a prescription, the federal law is still that pot possession and growing is deemed illegal.
This is a shame, because the cannabis plant has been very promising in the treatment of things like glaucoma, and is very effective at stimulating the appetite of those on medications such as chemotherapy that kill the appetite.
It is also an excellent pain reliever, and tends to have other positive side effects in users. Of course, there are still the arguments against it as well. It’s not good for your lungs, obviously, as any smoking is not good for the lungs.
It also has been linked to hastening things like psychotic breaks in individuals who are already predisposed, as well as dementia and schizophrenia.