Biden’s bad gift to Big Pot
Washington Examiner
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The Biden administration ignored “the science” this week and exacerbated a growing national health problem, all to win young people’s votes and give massive tax breaks to friends in the marijuana industry.
The federal Drug Enforcement Agency can and should reject President Joe Biden’s latest pot-pandering proposal, which it has the power to do.
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At issue is whether to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a significantly less restrictive Schedule III one. Drugs on Schedule I, such as heroin, LSD, and ecstasy, are considered to pose a high risk for abuse, whereas Schedule III drugs, such as ketamine and testosterone, are deemed to have “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”
Under Schedule III, marijuana could be obtained legally nationwide with a prescription, although it could not be sold without restriction over the counter. In addition to making it far easier to use and abuse marijuana, moving marijuana to Schedule III would open a floodgate of investment into the industry. It would allow marijuana businesses to take tax exemptions for expenses such as salaries, benefits, office supplies, and travel costs.
The reclassification also would make it easier for marijuana businesses to secure bank services and attract investor cash. The combination of tax breaks and easy capital would lead to a rapid expansion of cannabis accessibility and use.
Expanded marijuana use, though, is already a grave problem, and for the officials to encourage it further would be a travesty. Technically, the recommendation to reclassify the drug comes from the Department of Health and Human Services, although it stemmed from a “review” ordered by Biden last October when he also issued an ill-advised and legally questionable “blanket pardon” to everyone ever convicted under federal law for marijuana possession. What the federal health department is now recommending would be hugely detrimental to public health.
Democrats tendentiously and tediously often claim to have “the science” on their side. But as with ill-advised school closures for COVID and with pretending gender is arbitrarily “assigned at birth” rather than a matter of chromosomal and physiological fact, scientific evidence refutes what our leftist government recommends.
Study after study has shown that marijuana is not the harmless substance that pop culture claims but an addictive and dangerous drug best avoided. The National Library of Medicine notes that “it lingers on body organs longer than alcohol … and may have more carcinogenic potential than tobacco.” The Drug Enforcement Administration notes that marijuana’s effects “are responsible for serious impairments in learning [and] associative processes” and that “long-term, regular use” can lead to “physical dependence” and “psychological addiction.” Also, “marijuana smokers experience serious health problems such as bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma [and] suppression of the immune system.”
New research published this summer shows that marijuana use can cause “changes in the human epigenome,” while in the past few years, other major, peer-reviewed studies have shown it significantly increases the risk of permanent IQ loss, brain abnormalities, schizophrenia, psychotic episodes, and thoughts of suicide.
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States that legalize marijuana have seen surges in corruption, a big increase in traffic accidents and deaths because of impaired drivers, and rising mortality, even from “medical use” of marijuana. With such solid and compelling evidence from so many reputable researchers, how can Washington recommend that the DEA downgrade marijuana’s risk level?
Fortunately, the DEA, by law, now will make its own independent decision. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and her analysts should set politics aside, follow the real science, and reject the HHS recommendation. The marijuana industry is a pox on society, and its practitioners should get no tax benefits for spreading their poison.