Has the Marijuana Legalization Movement Sold the U.S. a “Bill of Goods”
By Bill Current, President and Founder of Current Consulting Group
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The U.S. cannabis industry will reach approximately $40 billion in revenue in 2024 while claiming to add more than $115 billion to the economy and employing over 440,000 people.[i] Sounds great, right?
Not so fast. According to Yale Medicine: “About 10% of people who begin smoking cannabis will become addicted, and 30% of current users meet the criteria for addiction.”[ii]
The Yale reported added: “Because cannabis is typically smoked, long-term use may harm the lungs. Marijuana also appears to be associated with deficits such as memory and attention problems.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offers the following: “Marijuana smokers experience serious health problems such as bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial asthma. Extended use may cause suppression of the immune system. Withdrawal from chronic use of high doses of marijuana causes physical signs including headache, shakiness, sweating, and stomach pains and nausea.”[iii]
Predictably, with the widespread legalization of the drug marijuana-related workplace accidents are on the rise. According to the 2024 Drug Testing Index from Quest Diagnostics, “In 2023, post-accident marijuana positivity of urine drug tests in the general U.S. workforce was 7.5%. The new peak follows a steady increase in post-accident marijuana positivity every year from 2015 to 2023. In that 9-year time frame, post-accident marijuana positivity increased 114.3%.”[iv]
Next week, several states, including Florida, will vote to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Smart & Safe Florida, the group heading the pro-legalization campaign, has received about $150 million to promote the passage of Amendment 3. Most of that money has come from major players in the cannabis industry, with most of it coming from Trulieve, Florida’s largest medical marijuana company.[v]
To the people in the cannabis industry, it’s about money and nothing more. And while they speculate about how much revenue legal marijuana will add to a state’s budget, they and the lawmakers who support them ignore the facts. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration, which carefully evaluates all drugs for safety, efficacy, and quality, has not approved marijuana for any therapeutic purposes.[vi]
Have the proponents of marijuana legalization sold the United States a proverbial bill of goods? A bill of goods refers to something that has “intentionally been misrepresented or something passed off in a deception or fraud.”[vii] According to the federal government, cannabis is neither harmless to the user’s health nor free of negative consequences in society.[viii]
Join the discussion with your questions, comments, and opinions.
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[i] 2024 Marijuana Industry Statistics & Data Insights. Flowhub. https://flowhub.com/cannabis-industry-statistics#:~:text=The%20US%20cannabis%20industry%20is,now%20legal%20in%2024%20states.
[ii] Cannabis/Marijuana Use Disorder. Yale Medicine. https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/marijuana-use-disorder#:~:text=About%2010%25%20of%20people%20who,developing%20cannabis%20addiction%20is%20hereditary.
[iii] Drug Fact Sheet. Marijuana/Cannabis. DEA. https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/Marijuana-Cannabis%202022%20Drug%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
[iv] Workforce Drug Test Cheating Surged in 2023, Finds Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index Analysis of Nearly 10 Million Drug Tests. Quest Diagnostics. May 2024. https://newsroom.questdiagnostics.com/2024-05-15-Workforce-Drug-Test-Cheating-Surged-in-2023,-Finds-Quest-Diagnostics-Drug-Testing-Index-Analysis-of-Nearly-10-Million-Drug-Tests
[v] What could Florida’s marijuana market look like if Amendment 3 is approved? Tallahassee Democrat. Oct. 28, 2024. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/28/what-could-floridas-marijuana-market-look-like-under-amendment-3/75083924007/
[vi] “To date, the FDA has not approved a marketing application for cannabis for the treatment of any disease or condition.” “Caregivers and patients can be confident that FDA-approved drugs have been carefully evaluated for safety, efficacy, and quality, and are monitored by the FDA once they are on the market. However, the use of unapproved cannabis and cannabis-derived products can have unpredictable and unintended consequences, including serious safety risks. Also, there has been no FDA review of data from rigorous clinical trials to support that these unapproved products are safe and efficacious for the various therapeutic uses for which they are being used.” FDA and Cannabis: Research and Drug Approval Process. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-and-cannabis-research-and-drug-approval-process
[vii] Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/bill%20of%20goods#:~:text=%3A%20something%20intentionally%20misrepresented%20%3A%20something%20passed,sell%20a%20bill%20of%20goods
[viii] Cannabis (Marijuana) Drug Facts. National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/cannabis-marijuana
