President Joe Biden recently chose a few seconds of his State of the Union address to review his administration’s progress in pardoning marijuana crimes and the controversial schedule change currently being implemented by the DEA at his request. praised.

Certainly no one should be jailed for simple marijuana possession (the fact that they haven’t been jailed for years is another point entirely). And expunging low-level arrest records makes sense. Even the schedule review, a lengthy bureaucratic process for determining controlled substance categories, is a routine process that occurs every five to 10 years.

But the president missed an opportunity to do something bigger. It was to talk, as he well knows, about the dangers of today’s super-potent marijuana and its connection to psychosis, suicide, heart disease, and a myriad of other conditions.

To the “listen to the scientists” camp, the Department of Health and Human Services’ recent review of marijuana is nothing short of anti-science. In one fell swoop, the agency threw away decades of precedent and reinvented a politically expedient non-medical test to justify its marijuana deferral recommendations. Dozens of scientists, including former ONDCP officials, criticized the review process. Their main concerns are accelerating the already massive commercialization of marijuana and cutting taxes on advertising, which often targets children.

Speaking of scientists, today they almost unanimously talk about the unmitigated disaster caused by state legalization of marijuana. The American Psychiatric Association states that “there is currently no scientific evidence supporting the use of cannabis as an effective treatment for mental illness,” and that “no evidence supports the use of cannabis for non-psychiatric medical diagnoses.” Many still remain.” In 2023, the American Medical Association stated, “Scientifically valid, well-controlled clinical trials conducted under federal investigational new drug applications are necessary to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of all drugs.” ” took the position. The FDA currently finds itself in significant conflict with other medical fields regarding marijuana scheduling.

To be clear, although the FDA has recommended rescheduling marijuana to Schedule 3, the FDA still has not approved marijuana to treat any disease or condition. They are also not advocating full legalization, but this nuance is often overlooked.

The expansion of this industry will ultimately harm our children. Despite the commercial marijuana industry’s claims that it does not sell to minors, Colorado marijuana users in the past month were asked about the only source they “regularly” got their marijuana from. However, 4.9% of respondents answered, “Where did you buy it?” In Arizona, 21.0% of 12th graders who used marijuana said they purchased it from a dispensary in Arizona. Apparently, marijuana dispensaries regularly sell to thousands of minors each year. “These young people admit it to themselves.

Since Big Marijuana was born, the plant has been genetically bred from just 3% potency during Woodstock to nearly 99% potency today. This jet fuel is causing many new harms. According to new research, the rate of marijuana addiction has now reached 1 in 3 people, and people are 5 times more likely to develop schizophrenia. The industry lies about “chilling”, but this new, powerful cannabis is causing more anxiety and psychosis than ever before.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that daily marijuana use increases the chance of a heart attack by 25% and the chance of a stroke by 42% compared to non-users. I understand. In addition to other known harms, marijuana use appears to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

But you won’t hear that from Colorado cannabis entrepreneur-turned-marijuana regulator Een Seeb or the industry’s relentless advertising.

Similar to Big Tobacco, which is now one of the top investors in the marijuana industry, Big Weed is playing a similar gambit. Targeting children, it attracts a whole new generation of high-potency users.

They are lacing candy, cookies, soda, and gummies with THC, the ingredient that gets you high, and they are using countless industry influencers on Instagram and TikTok to spread these drugs to our youth. paying money. Their goal is the same as Philip Morris: “Make as much money as possible from the weak before they get caught.” No wonder daily usage is at near all-time highs.

With crime rates rising in cities across America and a youth mental health crisis exacerbated by the pandemic, we can’t afford to play politics with marijuana. States that have legalized marijuana have seen sharp increases in youth use, youth addiction, and youth suicide. In neighborhoods with pot shops, property crime has increased by more than 1,000%.

Legalization has made both Colorado and the United States less safe. Thousands of plants are seized every month from large-scale illegal cultivation sites across the Front Range and on the Western Slope, and taxpayers will provide funding to better equip law enforcement to address this problem. This has led to new subsidy programs. States like Oklahoma and California have seen drug cartels, foreign operators, and gangs take over their state’s legal markets and rake in big bucks. He says 70% of California’s cannabis sales occur in the illicit market.

Far from the 64th Amendment’s TV ads promising that drug dealers will miraculously disappear, they have only gotten stronger and now have the support of foreign actors.

Lawmakers are alarmed that Chinese criminal organizations with potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party are raiding and supporting state-run marijuana companies. An unclassified Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo estimates that Asian transnational criminal organizations are involved in 749 illegal marijuana farms in Maine alone, generating more than $4 billion in revenue. . The Oregon-Idaho Concentrated Drug Trafficking Areas Program, a coalition of law enforcement agencies, reported that transnational criminal organizations are “increasing their presence with ties to China in large-scale marijuana cultivation and export.” Similar operations are underway in Oklahoma and Oklahoma. California.

A bipartisan, bicameral letter from Congress was written to the Department of Justice to address these issues, but disturbingly, only one member of Colorado’s delegation signed the letter. Rep. Doug Lamborn of the 5th Congressional District was the only one to vote.

For the promise of a few drops in the bucket of tax revenue, politicians are sacrificing our children on the altar of marijuana profits. And generations to come will pay the price for higher octane THC availability than ever before.

The loosening of legal restrictions and social deterrents on marijuana through political farce is nothing to celebrate.

I hope that message gets across not only to the President, but also to the rest of Colorado’s Washington delegation.

Luke Niforatos is Executive Vice President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.