Steve Birr
Critics are ripping into the Trump administration after a spokesman
signaled the president will crack down on state marijuana laws and
claimed weed exacerbates the opioid epidemic.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer fielded questions on
President Donald Trump’s stance on marijuana legalization during a press
conference Thursday, saying the Department of Justice is likely going
to increase enforcement efforts of federal law.
Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level and is lumped into the
same designation category as heroin. This is sparking fears among
officials in states with legal weed that the Justice Department could
upend their local laws. Spicer differentiated between medical and
recreational marijuana, signaling the focus will be on the latter,
reports The Washington Post.
Spicer provoked more criticism after tying the national opioid
epidemic in with recreational marijuana legalization. He claimed
“encouraging people” to use marijuana would be irresponsible in light of
the high rates of heroin and prescription painkiller addiction.
"Contrary to the ‘alternative facts’ deployed from the podium in the
White House press briefing room, several studies clearly show that
states that allow people to legally access marijuana are seeing reduced
opioid problems,” Tom Angell, chairman of the Marijuana Majority, told
The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Far from being a ‘gateway drug,’
marijuana is actually a relatively safe alternative to dangerous
prescription painkillers.”
States throughout the country are currently pushing to expand medical
marijuana programs to include opioid addiction as a qualifying
condition. Many are also advocating offering medical marijuana as an alternative painkiller
for treatment of a variety of conditions. Opioid deaths contributed to
the first drop in U.S. life expectancy since 1993 and eclipsed deaths
from motor vehicle accidents in 2015.
Connecticut is currently conducting two studies, one with federal
funds and another at the state level, investigating marijuana’s
potential benefit as an alternative painkiller in light of the opioid
epidemic.
Researchers from the University of British Columbia studied the
relationship between marijuana-use and mental health and tested its
interaction with different illnesses. The findings, published in
Clinical Psychology Review in November, suggest marijuana is a helpful
tool for those suffering addictions to more harmful substances, like
prescription painkillers.
A separate study
conducted by Dr. Daniel Clauw, a professor at the University of
Michigan, found patients who were treated for chronic pain with both
opioids and marijuana eventually pivot towards higher levels of weed
consumption.
“They noted on average a two-thirds decrease in their opioid dose,”
Clauw told NPR. “They also noted that they just felt a lot better
overall with respect to side-effect profile when their pain was being
controlled largely with cannabinoids.”
The statements from Spicer are adding to anxiety within the industry
over the future of legal weed across the country, specifically now that
Jeff Sessions is attorney general. Sessions is a staunched opponent of
marijuana legalization but has been very vague on the subject since his
confirmation.
If the administration follows through with enforcement of federal
marijuana laws they will be battling against public opinion. The latest
polling from Quinnipiac shows 59 percent of voters support federal marijuana legalization.
“If the administration is looking for ways to become less popular,
cracking down on voter-approved marijuana laws would be a great way to
do it,” Angell told TheDCNF. “On the campaign trail, President Trump
clearly and repeatedly pledged that he would leave decisions on cannabis
policy to the states. With a clear and growing majority of the country
now supporting legalization, reneging on his promises would be a
political disaster and huge distraction from the rest of the president’s
agenda.”
Sessions fielded several questions on federal marijuana policy during
his hearing in January, however, his answers did not go far in
clarifying whether he will be adversarial to state laws on pot.
Medical marijuana is legal in 28 states and Washington, D.C., where
it is also legal for recreational use. Voters in Maine, Nevada,
California and Massachusetts all approved measures to legalize marijuana
for recreational use on Election Day. Nearly 20 percent of Americans
now have access to legal pot.
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