This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on February 21, 2014.
As a legitimate patient and advocate for progressive ‘medical marijuana’ legislation, I am in favor of the adult use of cannabis. Do not get me wrong, no one should be in jail for marijuana, but I am more focused on medical cannabis than the civil rights of others.
So what do I mean, ‘legalizers’ are destroying medical marijuana?
Change comes at a big cost in this country and legalizing marijuana is an expensive road to venture down. Advocating for medical marijuana is a cheaper option, both politically and financially as opposed to lobbying for the recreational use and legalization. As a result, medical marijuana laws in the United States have expanded rapidly thanks to the ‘legalizers’ but also look and feel more recreational in nature, and less of a safe harbor for the legitimate patients stuck in the middle.
In my home state of Michigan, legalizers are advocating for a bill that would let cities decide their own distribution schemes or ban sales outright. This would continue the ‘speakeasy’ style of marijuana distribution in Michigan, but does little to address my medical needs or in a professional and uniform manner.
Unfortunately the trend of ‘legalizers’ re-writing medical marijuana legislation will continue as we head into a non-presidential election year. A 2016 election should bring more focus on recreational cannabis and less on medical, but the result, two more years of rights being stripped from the sick.
Ultimately we need to make a clearer distinction in regards to medical and recreational marijuana, and make certain that my ‘medical marijuana’ is never taxed like your legal ‘recreational marijuana’ will soon be.