Blogging for Freedom

    Jon Gettman is a long time contributor to HIGH TIMES. A former National Director of NORML, Jon has a Ph.D. in public policy and regional economic development and consults with attorneys, advocates, and non-profits on cannabis related research and public policy issues. On October 8, 2002 , along with a coalition of organizations, he filed a new petition to have cannabis rescheduled under federal law.

March 8, 2004
Cannabis and Federal Drug Strategy

The new federal drug control strategy is out. More money for this, more money for that, and more attention to prescription pain killers. That’s the big picture, and it’s pretty much the same year in and year out. A little progress here and there while new challenges are emerging all the time. The most interesting part of the drug strategy, though, is what’s not there – medical cannabis.

The National Drug Control Strategy is produced by the Office of National Drug Control Programs (ONDCP). The election-year theme they’ve adopted for cannabis is this: “marijuana smokers account for the lion’s share of Americans who are dependent on illegal drugs.” The report further stresses that: “twice as many Americans confront problems of abuse and dependence stemming from marijuana smoking as from cocaine and heroin use combined.” The ONDCP report overlooks data from the Treatment Episodes Data Set (or ‘TEDS” report) that indicates that a majority of marijuana smokers entering drug treatment (57%) are referred there by the courts as an alternative to a jail sentence for marijuana possession.

ONDCP reports that 14 million current marijuana smokers consume 8,500 metric tons of cannabis (18.7 million pounds). They neglect to clarify that the latest survey results estimate that there are 25 million annual users of marijuana of which 14 million reported past month use. They report that 5000 metric tons of cannabis was imported from Mexico , 1000 metric tons from Canada and that 2,500 metric tons were grown domestically. However they neglect to report a US government estimate in December 2002 that placed annual domestic production between 5,577 and 16,731 metric tons of cannabis (and first reported in the December 2003 issue of High Times.). These figures indicate that 25 million Americans really consume 37.8 million pounds of cannabis annually.

ONDCP seems to be in utter denial about the implications of the scope and magnitude of U.S. cannabis production. Even if their low estimate of 2500 metric tons were accurate it indicates that the US has been unable to decrease domestic production over the last decade. The government claims that the majority of outdoor cultivation takes place on public lands. Their major response to domestic cultivation in 2004 will be to start their eradication efforts during the spring planting season rather than waiting until late summer. It is unlikely that this will have any major impact on overall U.S. production.

Otherwise ONDCP claims that the Mexicans are seizing 4/5’s of their production. However they are getting a little nervous about the cannabis cultivation in Canada . For example ONDCP reports that only 2000 indoor grow operations were seized in the US in 2001. On the other hand, in 2003 Canadian officials closed down 2,800 indoor grow operations. One Canadian report mentioned by ONDCP indicates that there are 15,000 indoor grow operations in Ontario alone. ONDCP hopes that ongoing cooperation from the Mexican and Canadian authorities will help them keep a lid on these important foreign sources of cannabis for the U.S. market.

So much for supply. On the demand side, ONDCP hopes to reduce demand for all illicit drugs through increased funding for drug testing in the schools (up $23 million), increased funding for anti-drug commercials on radio and TV ($145 million), and more money for community programs (up $10.4 million).

And so much for what’s in the national drug strategy about cannabis. ONDCP flashes some self-serving numbers and changes the subject – after all prescription drug abuse has been getting a lot of media attention in the last year, it’s the a perfect candidate for the role of this. year’s emerging menace that justifies more drug war funding. But the cannabis problem is not going away.

And the medical cannabis is not going away either. The medical use of cannabis is a major threat to the perception of success that permeates the national drug control strategy. Not only has the government failed to control the illicit production, distribution, sale, and use of marijuana in the United States, they have also failed to provide a legal, regulated, and safe source of cannabis for medical use. Their failure in this regard is so pronounced that several states have adopted their own laws to minimize legal harassment of patients so in need of medical cannabis that they have to grow it themselves or otherwise resort to illicit sources of supply.

The omission of the medical cannabis issue from the national drug control strategy is no surprise. This is an election year and the Bush Administration wants to put as positive spin as possible on their anti-drug efforts. Even so, their report on the overall use and supply of cannabis is misleading, and this in turn calls their credibility on all cannabis related issues into question.

 ... and, they say GW is a man of his word.

"Bush: Marijuana Laws Up to States"
    By Spencer S. Hsu
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Friday, October 22, 1999; Page B7

Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush says he believes individual states should choose whether to ban the use of marijuana for medical purposes, but is stopping short of saying the District should enjoy that privilege.

The Texas governor, who in recent weeks has distanced himself from several positions taken by conservative Republicans in Congress, said that when it came to congressional efforts to ban a medical marijuana law here, he was in Congress's corner.

Campaigning in Seattle on Saturday, Bush answered questions about medical marijuana laws by saying, "I believe each state can choose that decision as they so choose."

The GOP presidential front-runner opposes the medical use of marijuana himself, his campaign spokesman said yesterday. Bush added that he felt certain that no attempt would be successful in his own state.

As for the District, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said yesterday that "D.C. laws are subject to congressional review."

Although Bush supports congressional influence in D.C. decisions, his support of states' rights on the medical marijuana issue conflicts with many GOP lawmakers' belief that such laws undermine anti-drug efforts.

House and Senate leaders this fall are seeking to prevent the District from enacting a medical marijuana law, even though 69 percent of D.C. votes approved such a measure last year.

No other presidential candidate has opposed medical use of marijuana while saying states should decide the issue.

R. Keith Stroup, executive director for the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, which has backed D.C.'s drug initiative, said he was "delighted" by Bush's support of state authority.

"Governor Bush is at least being consistent," Stroup said. "Republicans frequently talk about devolution, returning power to the states. . . . It is encouraging to hear him indicate that he would leave this decision to them."

Besides the District, voters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have approved state laws permitting the possession, use, cultivation and distribution of marijuana if recommended by a physician for serious illness.

Advocates say the drug can relieve the symptoms of AIDS, cancer and other illnesses. Opponents maintain that patients have other alternatives and that legalizing drugs sets a dangerous precedent, particularly for children.

Cambridge, Mass. -- Cannabinoids, chemical agents found in the marijuana plant and endogenous to the human body, are the most promising approach to treating a common type of pain, according to an elite group of pain specialists convened by MedPanel to discuss the challenges and future of treating neuropathic (nerve injury) pain.

Despite widespread acknowledgement of the inadequacy of current therapies for this type of pain, the specialists view Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a cannabinoid drug as a thorny process that will be hampered by politics, prejudice and a lack of education on the part of the FDA, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and general public concerning the nature of cannabinoid agents.

While it is difficult to estimate the number of people suffering from neuropathic pain, the condition is frequently seen in patients with diabetes, cancer, carpal tunnel syndrome, HIV, diseases of the central nervous system such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, and in certain post-surgical populations.

"During the summit we asked the group to respond to data pertaining to several novel drug therapies and classes of agents under study, and at the conclusion of the meeting they told us that cannabinoids' potential for a strong analgesic affect, broad action on the central nervous system, reduced side effects and use in combination with other therapies is more exciting to them than several other investigational approaches," said Matt Fearer, Senior Vice President, Content Development for MedPanel.

"It appears, however, that an unfortunate sociopolitical climate could delay or prevent the approval of potentially valuable therapies for millions of people suffering from neuropathic pain," he added.