With the Drug Enforcement Administration’s decision last week to continue to categorize marijuana along with the most addictive and harmful drugs, including heroin, the federal government is indicating it is not yet satisfied with the ongoing changing mores around marijuana use occurring at the state level.
Four states including Colorado and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use of marijuana, while fully 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug for medicinal purposes. The number four will increase to nine if voters in five states (Arizona, Nevada, California, Maine and Massachusetts) approve a recreational question on their November ballot, and 25 will be become 27 (with Arizona and Florida) in the ability to use medical marijuana.
These changes are occurring at the state level while the federal government considers marijuana use illegal, a prohibition that makes it impossible for growers and retailers to receive banking services from a banking system that leads back to Washington D.C. It is cash, only.
The Justice Department has signaled that it is watching how each state manages its marijuana industry and usage, and it will not intervene unless there are signs of criminal involvement, violence or underage usage.
Justice Department oversight, and cash only, makes for a dicey business environment.
One positive step by the DEA last week was to announce that more marijuana testing is being authorized. While it is uncertain just how many locations will be approved for testing – given the DEA’s caution, our estimation is that there will be only a few – that is a step forward. Up to this point, only the University of Mississippi has been able to grow marijuana legally for research.
The medical value of marijuana is so far only anecdotal. Many users have said that it is a pain reliever, and some have said that it has reduced the intensity of seizures. Cancer patients have said that using marijuana returns their appetite for food, and helps them sleep. Those effects are significant and welcome.
Nor on the negative side is much known. What is the level of marijuana in an automobile driver or an equipment operator that will render him or her unable to safely drive or use machinery? Because marijuana lingers in the body for days, those numbers should be known for workplace safety and productivity.
It is important that there be broad and thorough research in the coming months and years about the effects of marijuana – especially given how many states have made its usage possible and how many more are moving in that direction.
The DEA has an obligation to be involved in shaping the formats of that research and to be generous with its funding. Marijuana use is with us, and it is growing.