As the federal government is reportedly stepping up efforts to impede the use of cannabis for medical purposes, Montanans have already been organizing and fighting back for months. Thanks to the completely unannounced raids earlier this year, timed to coincide with important legislative hearings on the matter. All done in total ignorance of state law.
What’s even more impressive is the federal government’s case doesn’t hold water anymore — according to the statutes of the Controlled Substances Act itself, which clearly says that no substance currently being prescribed as medicine in the U.S. is fit for classification as a “schedule I narcotic.” Furthermore, there is not one shred of evidence to indicate cannabis is particularly dangerous (another requirement of the CSA); and absolutely no evidence that prohibition has ever been anything but viciously counter-productive.
Even the U.N. has recently condemned our drug war as an abject failure, suggesting regulation instead of violence and incarceration. Here is a brief clip from the full report, which represents a much appreciated evolution of social understanding and government priorities.
“..Encourage experimentation by governments with models of legal regulation of drugs to undermine the power of organized crime and safeguard the health and security of their citizens. This recommendation applies especially to cannabis, but we also encourage other experiments in decriminalization and legal regulation that can accomplish these objectives and provide models for others…”
Somehow, this monumental report received very little attention from the press. Perhaps, in part, due to the overwhelming number of other respected world leaders and international committees which have condemned the drug war as well in recent months. Or, maybe the mainstream journalists were too befuddled by the White House’s incoherent response, quoted below, to make any sense of the situation. Yet another gem straight out of 1984, claiming their failed policies:
“are not born out out of a culture war or drug war mentality, but out of the recognition that drug use strains our economy, health, and public safety.”
Never mind that cannabis is far safer than alcohol, tobacco or any of the pills so many people are now addicted to; our government seems oddly immune to the notion that cannabis cures cancer. It has been proven numerous times in a variety of ways, many of which you can learn about simply by watching a youtube video; yet our own public servants try to play off the vast medical utility of this plant as a scam or “backdoor” for full legalization. But science and common sense are in stark contrast to this sadly paranoid way of thinking. No matter how many pensions are at stake, bad policy is bad policy. And my medicine cabinet is beyond the jurisdiction of our federal government, whether they like it or not.
The reality of the situation is we have a government going directly against the will of the people and obvious intent of the law in order to selectively enforce a (failed) prohibition against the oldest and most versatile medicine known to man. This may not be common knowledge yet in the United States, but it is well on its way to getting there. Despite the millions of taxpayer dollars our government spends on spreading lies about the legendary cannabis plant and its myriad of uses. Someday very soon, this fundamental truth of our existence may finally be acknowledged in a U.S. court of law. Triggering much-needed revolutions across the entire spectrum of our ailing society.
Although there are numerous efforts well under way to legalize cannabis in various states, embracing strict adherence to federal law and educating judges about the proven efficacy of cannabis as medicine may prove to be a far more expedient and less expensive means toward ending cannabis prohibition once and for all. The law is our friend, albeit for now. Which brings me to a question, in the form of my very first poll –
