Contributor: KC Scannell
To be blunt, the relationship between the government and marijuana has never been good. In fact, if I am being completely honest, it has been one of the most volatile back-and-forths that I have ever seen. With marijuana advocates fighting an uphill battle against the miseducated, money-hungry politicians in Washington D.C.
The majority of the issues started decades and decades ago, with government officials and politicians doing everything in their power to villainize marijuana, and all who chose to partake in its immensely beneficial effects. Cannabis caregivers and folks who distributed marijuana to those in need were considered criminals and “enemies of the state.” Such was shown in their outrageously harsh penalties and punishments.
Personally, I believe the biggest downfall of the United States government (when it comes to marijuana) is how they have deemed it a Schedule One narcotic. For some unknown reason, officials have placed cannabis in the same category of much harsher, actually lethal drugs like Meth, Cocaine, and PCP. For anyone who has ever smoked marijuana, they know just how ludicrous that sort of distinction is.
Seeing as how they make all the laws, there was really nothing cannabis enthusiasts could do – other than continuing to “fight the good fight” so to speak. Thankfully, since the beginning of the Obama Era, marijuana has slowly started to get more and more backing from folks in Congress. Studies about the therapeutic benefits of THC and CBD, alike, are finally being read and seen as fact – which is something that should have been done eons ago, to be quite honest.
Slowly but surely, over the years, states have started to pass positive legislations that first legalized the medicinal use of marijuana. And, after a brief period of seeing the benefits of such a law, these same states have (more often than not) gone ahead and legalized the recreational use of cannabis, as well. To say such a feat was “long overdue” would be the understatement of the century.
Since that turning of the legal tides have swung in favor of cannabis enthusiasts, a laundry list of dispensaries, companies, and growers have started to sling all sorts of items on the market. And why wouldn’t they? This is one of the fastest-growing, most profitable industries in recent history, and many entrepreneurs have taken full advantage of this recent government alleviation.
More than that, CBD products (the non-psychoactive marijuana medium) have become a global phenomenon. Folks who would have never partaken in cannabis of any kind before, feel comfortable enough to test out these CBD items, as they will not have to worry about any sort of “high” that they may not be able to deal with. They even sell CBD products in mainstream establishments like Bed, Bath & Beyond and Safeway grocery stores. Needless to say, you can find these therapeutic items everywhere.
To be completely honest, there are not a whole lot of regulations going on in the cannabis industry. Not as much as there should be anyway. Like any other industry, that is never going to result in positive growth. If anything, it serves as a minor step backwards. Without any sort of required regulations, the possibility of companies doing illegal things to acquire the optimal profit increases exponentially.
Such could be seen in the recent controversy surrounding counterfeit vape cartridges. Which, to be honest, was a major blow to the cannabis community. For years, we have been able to “hang our hats” on the fact that nobody has ever died from consuming cannabis. Which, to be fair, is still true. But since there has been so many tampered THC and CBD vapes as of late, some of which resulting in deaths, it shines a horrendously guilty light on the cannabis industry.
I am sure we have all read about these vapes and how they have been infused with things like Vitamin E oil to increase the consistency of the concentrate. It is that harmful chemical addition, not marijuana, that is to blame for all of these unfortunate occurrences. What is most alarming is that it is happening more and more with folks who buy products from unlicensed or illegal establishments looking to score a quick buck by selling a tampered product.
In its purest form, cannabis (specifically CBD) is completely harmless. But, since it has become so popular, a lot of blackmarket companies have started to toss their tainted vapes into the mix, making it almost impossible for the uneducated enthusiast to know if they are putting themselves at risk by vaping a certain product. The best way to combat this sort of thing is to implement some sort of government regulation.
Government regulations of this kind have been expected to come for a long time now, but the simple fact that it has not happened yet, is one of the main reasons some of these unsuspecting people have lost their lives or became seriously ill. So, in a move that would have stunned the cannabis community years ago, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently urged the FDA to hurry up and figure out a way to properly regulate these cannabis items, CBD in particular, to avoid any other catastrophes in the future.
McConnell, who is not exactly the most “liked” politician on Capitol Hill under Trump’s horrendous reign as POTUS, seems to be the only person concerned with such regulations. In a world now full of imposters and potentially lethal counterfeits, McConnell this last week introduced some legislation that would, effectively, be based on “enforcement discretion” for all CBD products.
While this is all well and good, we all know how long it takes the governing bodies to do…well, anything. And many experts in the cannabis community fear that even the push from McConnell won’t do much to expedite the process any faster. Which may be true, but you have to applaud and appreciate his efforts in at least trying to speed things up.
The specifics of his proposed legislation, which will be voted on (and hopefully passed) in a few days, details the requirements of such regulations. One of the main aspects of the legislation requires that, within a 90-day period, the FDA delivers a detailed report and analysis to Congress of how they plan to regulate CBD products that meet the “less than 0.3% THC requirement.”
On top of that, McConnell has requested that in a 120-day period, the FDA then adopts and sticks to these agreed-upon regulations, and starts to implement them as soon as possible. And, yes, that sounds great. But, like I alluded to above, the governing bodies in power never seem to adhere to those regulations – and will likely find some legal loophole to extend that deadline.
But, hey, maybe that is just me being pessimistic. Perhaps, this will actually work. I, along with the rest of the nation, sure hope it does. Because this sudden influx of tampered products are becoming more and more of an issue. And since people are actually dying because of it, it is a problem that is far too large to ignore.
Even though I am not the biggest fan of Mitch McConnell and his seedy ways, I am still happy to see that he is, at the very least, attempting to hold the FDA accountable for their lack of regulation when it comes to CBD, and hemp products in general. Hopefully, this will result in safer products for consumers to enjoy carefree. I suppose only time will tell.
