Marijuana, Mary Jane, Pot... whatever you call it... it means MONEY!

OK, so it was just a matter of time.  Marijuana use has been increasing for the last century.  Medical marijuana (MM) use has been on the rise and in the news for the last decade.  Legalization has been the talk of the town for the last few years.  That means the profitability of pot was only a toke away.  A new trade group, the National Cannabis Industry Association, will primarily lobby lawmakers, on behalf of MM businesses.  The MM field has made its mark and now it will get even bigger with the help of legislatures.  Who would have guessed weed would be the new distributor of "green" in Washington and statehouses around the country!?  Somebody has to help these money hungry politicians mellow down slow.


Colorado has also decided it wants to be the first state to regulate production.  This has been attempted in New Mexico to some degree of success already.  Of course, since the drug starts out in the form of a plant, and most of the time is marketed that way (there are other dosage forms: candies, elixirs etc), it is very difficult to determine potency.  It could vary widely throughout parts of the same bud or leaf.  Arguably, there will have to be ranges of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient, for various strains and dosage forms.  Colorado wants to have inspectors and labeling standards set up by early next year.  They obviously want to make John Denver proud and emphasize the "Rocky Mountain High."  It makes sense financially.  Some state has to be the first and 'go to" place.  Might as well be Colorado.  California won't be far behind... besides, they grow more - pot is second largest cash crop, right behind grapes - and they have a bigger budget deficit!


Now, as a drug counselor/social worker, I am most concerned about the damage pot will cause to our youth.  It is truly a "gateway drug" and many kids I treat talk about it being safe as it is "God's herb."  Safe is the last thing I would call it, especially when mixed with other drugs (that includes alcohol, the number one drug of abuse in this country) and/or driving.  Once the lobbying groups start putting money in the lawmakers pockets, legalization and low marketing standards are sure to follow.  If the legislatures around this country really think long and hard about the damage marijuana can cause and the influence it has on kids, they will need to counteract that effect with taxes on pot, to pay for prevention and treatment programs.  The number of people needing help learning about or stopping marijuana abuse will rise exponentially.  The beverage alcohol lobby has gotten away with murder for years, by convincing lawmakers to keep alcohol taxes as low as possible to not deter sales.  Please, don't let pot lobbyists blow smoke in the eyes of the people who can levy high taxes on a product that does more harm than good.