Several studies have shown that increased access to medical cannabis is correlated with decreases in the rate of opioid prescriptions and subsequent addictions and overdose deaths. Learn more about this positive development on www.yesweekly.com.
If you care about people and public health, this is obviously great news. On the other hand, it’s a total nightmare for big pharma, and the entire “medical industrial establishment.”
Then there’s the drug warriors who have a professional and financial stake in keeping safe and affordable medicines away from those that would otherwise be prescribed dangerous, addictive and expensive narcotics.
But here’s where it gets really interesting. There’s not much in the way of a connection between what people vote for (in terms of policies) and the actual policy outcomes after elections are settled. The failure to raise the minimum wage or to invoke the Defense Production Act are just two of the countless examples.
Policy outcomes, at least in the US, are usually determined not by electoral outcomes, but rather through political lobbying, advertising and political messaging. As for the latter, The New York Times has provided us with a great example of that messaging in what appears to be an opinion piece entitled, “Medical Marijuana Is Not Regulated as Most Medicines Are,” authored by a ‘health columnist.’
It’s pretty standard as far as pro-drug war and Big Pharma advocacy stuff is concerned. “People are using a medical excuse for their recreational marijuana habit,” said Dr. Kenneth Finn, a pain management specialist in Colorado Springs.”
Alternatively, the folks over at Bloomberg seem more concerned with the earnings that will come with a more adult and science-based approach to cannabis and medical cannabis. “Cannabis use is taking off at the same time that quarantines are reshaping consumer behavior. That could mean big opportunities for other industries looking to capitalize . . . ” the article at Bloomberg reads.
The good news is that there are enough wealthy people currently invested in the medical cannabis industry and cannabis generally to get something done. For every Reefer-Madness scare screed from Big Pharma you see in The New York Times, there will probably be a Bloomberg article talking about hedge funds and venture capital types recognizing how much money they can make on legal weed.
If there are any young researchers out there bored during lock downs – finding out whether the big pharma interests have more money and influence than the investors who see an opportunity to make money from from the cannabis plant would be a useful project.