THE REIGNS OF RESEARCH
Though cannabis has been a widely-used medicine for thousands of years, the usage and development of this wonder drug was egregiously halted by US marijuana prohibition established in 1937 by the ruling class of the 20th century (elements of both the federal government and big business).
In 1970, the corrupt administration of President Richard Nixon implemented the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which legally categorized cannabis as a Schedule I drug, regarded as dangerous as narcotics like heroin, with no accepted medical use. In 1973, Nixon created the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a federal agency designed to enforce the CSA.
For nearly the next half-century, the DEA would wage a total war on weed (often disguised as a more sweeping “War on Drugs”), not only eradicating legitimate farms of healthy cannabis, but also spreading propaganda in a failed attempt to convince one generation after another that pot is bad, and bad for you.
In spite of this, the people always knew better—spurred on by cannabis’ potency in helping AIDS patients experience a better quality of life, and even survive the disease in some cases, California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, at a time when most of the nation was still squarely anti-pot.
But year by year, more and more states followed suit and also legalized medical cannabis, or at least cannabidiol (CBD), the popular cannabinoid that has been reported to provide pain relief, among other curative capabilities.
The 21st century has seen the establishment of the cultural legitimacy of medical marijuana and its legalization in the vast majority of US states, though complete validation remained stubbornly suppressed by the federal government.
The personalist former President Donald Trump had little concern for advancing medical marijuana research, so the issue stagnated, and even regressed under Trump’s anti-weed Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
However, there was one significant development during Trump’s feckless single term: In 2017, the National Academy of Sciences published a comprehensive report that reviewed 10,000 scientific abstracts in the Academy reaching nearly 100 conclusions, including proposals to expand and improve the quality of cannabis research.
Despite this, disappointingly so, current President Joe Biden has failed to act in concert with either the will of the people or even scientists in his own government. Biden has been so lacking on the issue, it’s taken Republican lawmakers to publicly urge the 46th president to reschedule cannabis under the CSA.
This past July 19, Representatives David Joyce (R-OH) and Don Young (R-AK)
