Hillary Clinton's new proposal to loosen restrictions on marijuana is a step up from her previous positions, but it is still a continuation of the failed War On Drugs. Her obvious ignorance concerning marijuana, and her outright refusal to better educate herself on the subject, is also extremely bothersome.
I would characterize her current position as "War On Drugs Lite." She told a largely African-American audience in South Carolina on Saturday that she would like to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II in order to spur research.
"What I do want is for us to support research into medical marijuana because a lot more states have passed medical marijuana than have legalized marijuana, so we have got two different experiences or even experiments going on right now," Clinton said. "The problem with medical marijuana is there is a lot of anecdotal evidence about how well it works for certain conditions. But we haven't done any research. Why? Because it is considered that is called a Schedule I drug and you can't even do research in it."
She added, "I would like to move it from what is called Schedule I to Schedule II so that researchers at universities, national institutes of health can start researching what is the best way to use it, how much of a dose does somebody need, how does it interact with other medications."
This is the DEA’s definition of Schedule II drugs:
Schedule II drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse, less abuse potential than Schedule I drugs, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous. Some examples of Schedule II drugs are:
Combination products with less than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone per dosage unit (Vicodin), cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (OxyContin), fentanyl, Dexedrine, Adderall, and Ritalin
But, the truth is that marijuana is extremely safe--one of, if not the safest drugs known to man. There has never bean a verified death from the use of marijuana at any dosage. Ever. Meanwhile, people are suffering and dying because they can't gain legal access to a safe treatment for their long-term and life-threatening conditions:
7 Children Who Died Waiting For Medical Marijuana
While it is obvious that some of the children mentioned in that article may not have benefited from the use of cannabis, the point is that some may have. For many parents cannabis is the option of last resort. Denying them the opportunity to try it based on archaic and false beliefs concerning the dangers marijuana use presents is just plain wrong and totally unjustifiable.
Another problem with her position is that there actually has been some research done on the efficacy of marijuana as a treatment for various conditions and illnesses. Here are a few links to some of those studies:
60 Peer-Reviewed Studies on Medical Marijuana
68 Studies On The Efficiency Of Marijuana Against Cancer
National Cancer Institute - Cannabis and Cannabinoids
While it's true that the evidence is still not conclusive, most studies appear to be moving in the direction of cannabis being an effective treatment for many conditions. And, since it is safe, there should be no obstacles placed in the way of its use by desperate patients who may have few other options, or other options that are not as effective.
Hillary is definitely standing on the wrong side of history here. I can't bring myself to stand there with her.