Are We Getting Cannabis Legalization All Wrong?

Dr. Jessica Knox, MD MBA MPH

Cannabis is now medically legal in 36 of the United States plus DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and legal for adult use in 15 of these jurisdictions, with more flirting heavily with such an update to their law books. Federally, we haven’t seen more mainstream political interest and momentum in cannabis law reform since the passage of the Marihuana (sic) Tax Act in 1937. And as far as the public is concerned, more Americans than ever are supportive of sweeping cannabis legalization. The coronavirus pandemic made occasion for most cannabis businesses to be deemed essential and 2020 saw record-breaking demand for cannabis products as consumers sought natural remedies for their ailments, anxieties, and coping needs. By almost all accounts, we are in the midst of a full-blown cannabis renaissance. And yet, I have a strong sense of dread that we’re getting it all wrong.

Each introduction of a legal adult cannabis market has delivered a crippling blow to its respective state’s medical market, leaving patients with poor access to the high quality and affordably priced medicine they require as manufacturers and dispensaries divert their attention to what they believe will be a more lucrative recreational market. Social equity programs are typically hyper-local afterthoughts to cannabis legalization, halfbaked attempts to assuage the righteous cries of the people who organize to uplift the communities most abused by the war on drugs and often riddled with corruption and exploitation. Large corporations are positioning themselves to dominate a federally legalized cannabis market, no doubt with intentions of applying their usual playbooks that minimize value to customers while maximizing profits for shareholders. Meanwhile, Black and brown people continue to be arrested for cannabis possession at higher rates than their white counterparts, even in jurisdictions where cannabis is legal for adult use.

So many stakeholders are scrambling to make a quick fortune off the economics of cannabis that most have completely overlooked the true potential and promise of this plant. Most know nothing at all of the endocannabinoid system and broader endocannabinoidome on which the plant works, and therefore miss entirely the wisdom and power the combined physiology and pharmacology yield. Thus we find ourselves at the precipice of squandering the opportunities that cannabis affords us. Opportunities to heal as individuals and as communities - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and yes, financially too, but in a way that benefits the many instead of only the few. Opportunities to restore the earth our species has decimated and build our way of life more sustainably. Opportunities, ultimately, to take better care of ourselves and each other.

It’s not too late to do things right when it comes to cannabis. We can still amend our early missteps in legalization and erect the infrastructure of a cannabis ecosystem that would heal so much of the damage we’ve inflicted upon each other and the world. But we must be humble and curious and open to learning from the endocannabinoid system and the cannabis plant.

The endocannabinoid system shows us how everything is connected - our bodies to our minds to our spirits, ourselves to others, and us to the earth. The endocannabinoid system seeks and promotes and thrives in a state of balance. Cannabis is a plant put forth from the earth that harmonizes with our endocannabinoid systems. It is medicinal by its very nature, and not only that but so much more because from its roots to its tips it can be utilized and innovated for myriad applications - nutritional, agricultural, industrial, and otherwise. We should take these lessons seriously and use them to make life better for all people, rather than wield cannabis simplistically to perpetuate the systems that have left all of us sicker and poorer, at least spiritually if not also in the pocket book. I still believe in the great promise of cannabis. I just hope we can prove ourselves worthy of its blessings.

About The Author: Dr. Jessica Knox is a board-certified preventive medicine physician with 6 years of clinical experience in cannabinoid medicine. Dr. Jessica is a co-founder of several organizations, including the American Cannabinoid Clinics, which aims to deliver precision cannabinoid medicine to patients; Pivital EDU, which develops comprehensive training for healthcare professionals in the ECS, endocannabinology, and cannabinology; Doctors Knox, Inc., a popular ECS and cannabis medicine education brand; and the Association for Cannabis Health Equity and Medicine (ACHEM), the first national medical association for BIPOC professionals seeking to heal themselves and their communities through cannabis education, advocacy, and application.