Freedom Flower

By Chet Tucker

Based on the most recent publication at MJBizDaily.com, cannabis is currently legalized in 39 states now, 21 of which are adult/recreational use. With a special vote on March 7th, Oklahoma could add to the list of adult use. With the movement of recreational approvals, it’s clear that the question that continues stacking on weight is when and how will there be a decriminalization at the federal level? Additionally, one of the hottest topics is the rippled impact of descheduling cannabis and how it even remains atop of the most debated list of being on the “worst” schedule of substances. Ironically, Schedule I drugs are classified as the most likely to potentially cause severe physical or psychological dependence. They have the highest potential to be abused and no legitimate medical use. So, let’s start with how 80% of the country has legalized “medical marijuana” but at the federal level it sits in the category of having no legitimate legal use? It’s quite simple to think of how many people you know have proven its medicinal merit. With heroin, LSD, and Ecstasy on the list of Schedule I drugs, it’s baffling how cannabis ever got on the list (but we’ve covered some of those reasons in a former article). Bottom line, we know it has medicinal properties and easily fits into one of the safest and most effective ways to manage pain, sleep, and a host of other ailments all the way to cancer.

After a century of stifling the legality of its right to cultivate and use, the plant’s acceptance is still climbing to an all time high (pun fully intended). So, is it medicine or is it a recreational product? The definition on a federal level becomes tricky because of how it’s accepted and how it will be governed. If it becomes medicine via the FDA, then it can be prescribed and controlled on a level that could provide insurance coverage, etc. The flipside of the coin is it then becomes more heavily regulated on a federal level and more privatized and corporatized.

Yet, if it’s lifted and treated as a recreational product then it will also become corporatized and in time, it’ll likely show up on the shelves of your local convenience store. Either scenario will put it in more hands but will the costs ever make it below the current state markets (which have varying pricing due to cost of production, living, and taxation). With a layer of federal taxation and regulation and the corporatized manufacturing, time will tell if they level off.

In the end, the fact is that the plant is getting closer to becoming freer than it’s ever been. We should all have a right to cultivate any plant on the planet and no other human (or host of them formed into governments) should have the right to snuff out our basic rights to our own cultivation and consumption. It’s clear that taxing products is far above the cost to help regulate the production output and safety of clean cannabis which means we are still being held captive in paying for our rights. Joining or forming coalitions against the overregulation and taxation of a plant that cannot be patented will be ever more important in our voice of freedom and fairness.