Louisiana has had a lot of success with the medical marijuana program as of 2022. With patients applying for medical marijuana cards at an historic rate and new product availability arriving, the future is looking hopeful for Louisiana medical marijuana. Louisiana recreational marijuana, however, isn’t getting as much love.
The Governor’s Drug Policy Board approved a resolution drafted by the St. Tammany and Washington Parish district attorney, advising the official position of the board to oppose legalization.
The resolution marks a stark contrast to the state’s medical marijuana program, which seemingly conflicts with the resolution altogether, and appears to put the board at odds with marijuana as a whole.
Governor’s Board Takes Strong Stance on Cannabis Legalization
Drug Policy Board Opposes Legalization, Citing “Studies”
The resolution is essentially an opinionated list of reasons why the team opposes cannabis legalization, citing many of the de facto “cannabis harms” we’ve all heard (and confronted) a million times already.
The Governor’s team, tasked with “motivating” and “coordinating” various entities towards “the goal of eradicating drug and alcohol abuse in Louisiana”, sits somewhere within state sponsored prevention systems and funded advisory boards. That seems to be apparent from Louisiana’s Drug Policy page.
The Governor’s Drug Policy Board appears to be working out how to end drug alcohol abuse through aggregating only the negative impacts of drugs and alcohol, ringing similar bells to previous government agency attempts at vilifying rather than solving complex problems.
It’s ironic because this approach has not only historically failed in America, but it’s historically failed Americans, even by current standards.
Louisiana Governor’s Drug Policy Board Releases Stance, Backed by Familiar Stigmas
We’ve all heard that legalizing cannabis would cause an increase in use by minors in Colorado, and it didn’t. We’ve heard that cannabis can cause a sudden diagnosis of schizophrenia, and of course, it doesn’t.
But the things that make the release from the board hilariously inadequate, if not absurd altogether, are the wild statements backed by no reasonable language whatsoever.
The release, written with colorful language that mentions various figures and “facts” based off cherry picked (and sometimes uncorrelated) studies, idealizes false narratives such as:
· Recreational and medical marijuana legalization causes an uptick in crime
· Consistent use of marijuana shows that it can cause schizophrenia
· The federal government says there’s no medicinal value of cannabis, so it must be true
The whole resolution is littered with statements like “youth access to marijuana is a significant concern”, as if it were a standalone fact against legalization as a sentence all by itself.
Dodgy and Manipulated Stats Won’t Prevent Legalization
Among the most laughable aspects of the resolution are a handful of paragraphs in the beginning of the statement piece.
“WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and various other federal agencies have evaluated the merits of descheduling marijuana and have continually concluded it must remain classified as a Schedule I Controlled Substance; and”
“WHEREAS, 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed marijuana legalization laws that are in clear conflict with the Federal Controlled Substances Act, the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, and various international drug control treaties and could be penalized at any time by the U.S. Department of Justice; and”
With these kinds of statements, you get a good sense of the motivation, interests, and lack of reality that the resolution represents.
Legislators Should Be Tasked with Creating Sensible, Fact-Based Regulation
Ultimately, the resolution is merely paragraphs arranged in such a way to offer clarity on how this particular board feels about cannabis, and it does a good job of that.
That’s really all it does, though, and the content it regurgitates is unfortunately lacking in both significant correlated facts and an intelligent audience to listen to them.
The priorities for comprehensive regulation on drug policies are important, especially with mitigating and reducing drug abuse, and those are good intentions to have. But Louisiana voters and Representatives are smart, so they’ve gotten over many of the stigmas surrounding cannabis and are pushing for a better future for Louisiana.
We hope to see more sensible language from legislators who are genuinely interested in partaking in that better future. There’s a lot of room and hope for Louisiana cannabis in the 21st century, despite some legislators holding archaic beliefs.
Get Your Louisiana Medical Marijuana Certification
Louisiana has approved medical marijuana as an alternative treatment option for a variety of conditions. In Louisiana, a doctor can prescribe medical marijuana for any condition that they believe could benefit from cannabis. Once you receive your medical marijuana certification, you can legally purchase cannabis medicine from any of the approved dispensaries.
Being a medical marijuana patient offers you legal protection to possess medical cannabis, and having a cannabis certification ensures you are following the law in Louisiana.
Beat the lines and get your medical marijuana certification in Louisiana today, and you can even get certified for medical marijuana online for ease of use and convenience!
For questions about Louisiana’s medical marijuana program, or how to become a medical marijuana patient in Louisiana, consult with one of our trusted doctors and book an online medical marijuana appointment today!
Doctors Who Care.
Relief You Can Trust.
At Louisiana Marijuana Card, our mission is helping everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce the stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
Call us at (833) 253-2943, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
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