“Perhaps, this is the last stretch to ending the failed drug war.” Can Congress be far behind the NCAA in calling for a rational, reasonable drug policy? ?”
By Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards & Medical Aspects of Sports recommends the removal of marijuana from its list of banned substances. Likewise, it says that drug testing for college athletes should be limited to performance-enhancing drugs, and that cannabis does not enhance performance.
Is there any hope for the Veterans Administration or the Department of Justice now that college sports are on board?
Oregon began a revolution fifty years ago when it became the state that decriminalized cannabis possession. Since then, attitudes toward cannabis have changed. From skepticism to fear, the popularity of cannabis has exploded. Medical professionals are increasingly acknowledging marijuana’s use in treating a variety of diseases and conditions.
Former professional athletes are some of the loudest supporters of medical marijuana. Former footballers have said that cannabis is one of the few medicines that can help them control the pain caused by years of intense training and playing.
Slowly but surely, America has come to its senses after a century-long misguided effort to demonize cannabis and regulate its use.
The effects of this prohibition go beyond the suffering of athletes. The failed prohibition campaign has caused untold damage to people of color and especially Black Americans. The unequal application cannabis prohibition caused unnecessarily disruption in the lives of at least one million people. People of color were disproportionately affected by the selective enforcement, which had devastating effects on communities and individuals.
A young person caught on the wrong side of the law faces lifelong implications for housing, education, employment and–of course–incarceration. All this for a ban that never had a justification. In fact, the prohibition was never enforced with the same zeal as it was against white or privileged youth. The consequences are still felt today.
Marijuana is the leading cause of drug test failures. The result has been a shortage of workers, including drivers and railroaders. This can have real implications for young people that want to work and are needed in the workplace.
This insanity reached even the White House where qualified young people who were to be working at the highest levels of the government were disqualified for past cannabis use. Ironic that an administration won Arizona’s highly contested presidential elections largely due to a resoundingly popular vote for cannabis legalization.
There is no doubt about it, if cannabis had not been on ballots, young voters wouldn’t have come out to vote. It was on the ballot, and young voters came to vote. These young voters, who overwhelmingly supported legalization, provided President Biden with the 30,000 votes needed to win.
Other halting measures have been taken as states continue reforming their outdated, unfair and ineffective cannabis policies. New products and applications for medical cannabis continue to be developed. The state legal industry employs close to 500,000 Americans. The sales are in the hundreds of billions, and state and local tax revenues amount to millions.
The administration’s small, but significant step of pardoning federal offenders to clear their records was a positive development. The administration is also considering the declassification of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act.
Internationally, there has been progress as countries such as Portugal and Netherlands have adopted a completely different philosophy for managing controlled substances including cannabis. Mexico, Canada and our neighbors in Latin America have all moved toward legalization. This shows how out of touch the U.S. Drug Policy is.
Seven times, the House of Representatives passed legislation allowing state-legal marijuana companies to use banking services. It is crucial to stop the violence and stifle legitimate businesses.
Maybe this is it. The failed war on drug may finally be over. Can Congress follow suit if the NCAA calls for a rational, reasonable drug policy? We can only keep hoping and working hard to make our case.
Image element provided by Tim Evanson.
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The article If NCAA can end marijuana ban, so can the federal government, congressman says (Op-Ed:) appeared first on Marijuana Moment.
