When it comes to cannabis, a lot of presidential candidates are swearing allegiance to states’ rights saying “it should be left up to the states.” That’s all well and good, but what that really tells me is that they they are unwilling to commit to doing anything at the federal level. So all the issues we have now with state-federal conflicts over cannabis will remain.
Colorado schools are denying our kids access to medical cannabis citing “federal law” and federal funding as the reason. Companies are drug-testing and then firing cannabis consumers, even those using medicinally, saying the feds require it in order to qualify as a drug-free workplace. Hospitals turn patients away because they think the feds might pull their funding if they allow them to use cannabis on-site like any other medication, even if that’s the only thing that works. Patients are kicked out of nursing homes and hospice care facilities if they choose cannabis to ease their suffering because the feds say there’s no medicinal value. Desperate patients are denied access to affordable housing because cannabis of any sort is federally illegal. Child welfare continues to target cannabis-consuming parents because “it’s still illegal federally.” Research into the medicinal benefits of cannabis continues to be held hostage by NIDA and the DEA.
I’m glad these candidates are willing to let Colorado and other states continue down this path as “laboratories in democracy,” but until they actually do something to move this issue forward federally, we’ll continue banging our heads against the wall that decades of prohibition has built around cannabis. Candidates saying that they’ll turn this issue over to the individual states sounds great, but it’s a cop out unless the federal government gets out of the way.
No more excuses! Enough is enough!
As president, which of these candidates would be willing to step up and do something, anything, to resolve this conflict? Or is it all just lip service and campaign rhetoric?
Categories: Colorado, Employment, Family & Relationships, Patients, Policy & Politics, Research, Schools & Education, United States, War on Drugs
Cannabis Patients Alliance 
Do you have any information regarding my probation violating me for using medical marijuana in San Diego, California
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I’m sorry, but I don’t know all the ins and outs of California law. It’s hard enough trying to sort through Colorado. But I suspect an attorney well-versed in cannabis law would be in order.
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Yes yes yes.
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I don’t want a candidate to hide behind the tenth amendment. Just come straight out and say I support marijuana and do something about it federally. How long are the going to sit on the carers act? Even though it’s not good enough. They say what they need to say in front of you to get you vote and your money, with no intentions to actually fix anything.
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The wheels of government move more slowly as you move up the chain. The whole banking thing has been an issue for patients for awhile now and they still haven’t managed to fix that yet. That’s another place where the feds need to get out of the way.
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