By Jason Williams
The national push to legalize marijuana has enjoyed a robust public relations campaign by well-funded interests. The marijuana industry has figured out that they can get more public support by calling their products “medical.” Now, the propaganda calling for the legalization of “medical marijuana” has made its way to the doorsteps of North Carolina’s state legislature.
Legislators in Raleigh introduced SB3, which would legalize medical marijuana for individuals with one of nearly 15 qualifying medical conditions.
However, supporters of medical marijuana often overlook the health-related harms of this so-called “medicine.” States that legalize it often experience a precipitous rise in adverse health outcomes, ranging from more addiction to emergency department visits and calls to poison control centers. Legalization is associated with more children inadvertently ingesting marijuana edibles––which are often left out by their parents––leading to disastrous consequences, such as a loss of consciousness, respiratory depression, and seizures.
This is the part that the pro-legalization crowd conveniently ignores. It counters what politicians promise when they hype legalization. Now, more than ever, North Carolinians and their legislators must reject legalizing and commercializing marijuana under the guise of “medicine.”
An additional concern is the fact that cartels and crime thrive in areas with legalized marijuana. A study found an increase in property crime of up to 1,400 percent in Colorado neighborhoods where marijuana dispensaries are located. And the DEA has alerted North Carolina that cartels are already targeting the already crime ridden Charlotte area. In particular, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has been plaguing North Carolina’s cities and highways with drug trafficking, crime, and other dangerous acts of violence. This problem will surely get worse if North Carolina legalizes marijuana, as it has in other states that have experimented with it, like California, Oregon, and New York.
Those who think it’s a medicine should skim through the report from the National Academies of Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering on the health effects of marijuana. The report warned there is insufficient evidence for many of the claims peddled by supporters of medical marijuana.
Summarizing the report’s findings in The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell wrote: “Is it good for epilepsy? ‘Insufficient evidence.’ Tourette’s syndrome? Limited evidence. A.L.S., Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s? Insufficient evidence. Irritable-bowel syndrome? Insufficient evidence. Dementia and glaucoma? Probably not. Anxiety? Maybe. Depression? Probably not.” These are, it should be noted, many of the same qualifying conditions for medical marijuana under SB3 – the bill here in North Carolina.
Moreover, the federal government does not recognize so-called medical marijuana as a “medicine.” The DEA’s position is, “Marijuana is a Schedule I substance…meaning that it has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.” The FDA, which is responsible for reviewing and approving medications, came to the same conclusion; “To date, the FDA has not approved a marketing application for cannabis for the treatment of any disease or condition.”
Drawing on the FDA’s position, the American Medical Association declared, “cannabis for medicinal use should not be legalized through the state legislative, ballot initiative, or referendum process.” And the North Carolina Medical Society stated they have “not supported the legalization of medical marijuana.”
Would you rather trust the positions of professional medical associations, or the marijuana industry, which seeks to make a profit in North Carolina?
Who among us would call a lobbyist or a legislator for a medical diagnosis over a qualified physician?
SB3 would put too many North Carolinians, including children, at risk. We urge legislators to reject this bill and shut the door on the marijuana industry’s latest attempt to take root in the Tar Heel State.
Jason Williams is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Faith and Freedom Coalition. In 2020, he led the largest faith based get out the vote effort in the history of North Carolina.