As part of the big push for drug legalisation in the USA, it is becoming very clear that this is not only being funded by organisations and individuals who have been pushing for this for years, but also by those who expect to make a great deal of money out of it. Parent groups and others in the drug prevention field are horrified that financial gain is being put above the health and welfare of their children – and of society in general. The following comment was sent to the New York Times following their editorial agreeing with the legalisation of marijuana.
In, the United Kingdom, we have not legalised marijuana for spurious so-called ‘medical reasons or for ‘recreational use’. Guess what – the findings of a report just released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows that drug use amongst secondary school students in England has plummeted by 50% since 2003…. In stark contrast to what is happening to students in the USA. If you want your young people to continue using marijuana take note that research shows this will reduce their IQ points – and for heavy, regular users they are statistically more likely to move on to using cocaine.
Those standing to make big bucks out of the sale of marijuana will tell you soothingly that the relaxation of your drug laws will only be for adults and that minors will be protected….. yes, like they are not supposed to be able to purchase tobacco and alcohol products ?
The younger a person is when they start to use an addictive substance the more likely they are to become problem drug users.
Brent Lewin | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Big Oil has one. Big Telecom has one. Big Pharma has one. If you’re an industry with a true foothold in Washington—a “Big” lobby, in other words—you’ve got to have a “revolving door.”
And increasingly, it seems like the $2.5 billion-a-year (and growing) American cannabis trade is building its own—let’s call it a “revolving hotbox,” to use the pot smoker’s parlance—attracting a growing number of ex-politicians and former political staffers to the industry’s cause.
Earlier this summer, Jack Lavin, former chief of staff to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, resigned to become a lobbyist. One of his first three clients was a marijuana start-up company, which hired Lavin specifically to lobby the governor’s office. Read MoreWARNING!!! Legalizing pot will make income inequality a lot worse
William Delahunt, a former U.S. representative from Massachusetts, started a nonprofit medical marijuana company last year. That outfit became the subject of controversy last month, when the state pulled its three dispensary licenses, after public outcry over its financial ties to a consulting firm Delahunt runs.
Gary Johnson, a former New Mexico governor and Libertarian Party presidential candidate, recently became CEO of Cannabis Sativa, a publicly traded marijuana company whose stock price has been skyrocketing of late.
“Overall, I don’t see a downside to any of this,” Johnson said of the increasing involvement of people like him. “From the standpoint of the legalized environment nationwide, it is all headed that way, and it is headed that way very quickly.”
Steve Katz, an upstate New York Assembly member, has boasted of his intentions to get into the weed business after his term in office expires. Read MoreThe New York Times calls on US to legalize marijuana
And the National Cannabis Industry Association, the nation’s leading marijuana trade group, hired Michael Correia, a former GOP congressional staffer, to be its first full-time lobbyist.
Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101886620 August, 1, 2014.