A packed room eagerly waited for discussion to begin on the first agenda item of the Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection Committee’s hearing in the capitol annex of Frankfort: Should cannabis be legalized in Kentucky? While 80% of the public in Kentucky approve of legalizing medical cannabis and 58% support making recreational marijuana legal, anti-cannabis state legislators in control of the committee made no attempt to conceal their two part strategy. First, to kick the can down the road in hopes public support for cannabis will subside, and second to pour cold water on the growing pro-cannabis movement in Kentucky. Judging from the public response, these efforts have only energized pro-cannabis supporters and increased public support for legalization.
Given no opportunity to speak during the committee hearings, pro-cannabis supporters held a separate press conference to tell their side of the story. Dan Seum pointed out twenty-nine states already have some form of legalized cannabis, and over half the population of our country lives in states where cannabis is legal. David Adams, CEO of Intracellular Dynamics, put it more directly: “I don’t smoke the drug of big government propaganda. But you have to admit, the government does a terrible job of protecting us from ourselves. It’s time they left us alone, and got out of our way.”
Across the hall the panel of mostly retired law enforcement officials called by the committee painted a very different picture. The National Marijuana Institute, whose stated mission is “disrupting domestic trafficking and production of, and reducing demand for, marijuana and derivative products” cited alleged uncertainty in the scientific community about the medical benefits of cannabis and adverse health effects stemming from long term use. Kentucky’s Office of Drug Control further argued against legalization of cannabis because “pharmaceutical companies told us opioids weren’t addictive either, then we found out they were.”
While I do not question the motives of the speakers who testified before the committee, I do question their conclusions. The speakers used an unsound argument built on an enormous logical fallacy: in unison they cited a long list of alleged scientific unknowns surrounding the health effects of cannabis consumption, then concluded by stating as an absolute certainty cannabis legalization would do enormous harm to the public. According to the speakers’ own testimony, there is no scientific basis for their conclusion. But only anti-cannabis speakers were called because the anti-cannabis legislators in control of the committee do not want the public to know the truth about cannabis.
Politicians have been whipping up fear of the unknown to justify foot dragging on a range of progressive goals, from women’s suffrage to civil rights, for generations. Unfortunately that’s the approach Kentucky’s current administration has chosen to take with cannabis. The House committee chair at the Frankfort meeting on October 12th stated Kentucky shouldn’t take any steps toward legalization until he personally receives a hand delivered letter from the Food and Drug Administration approving legal cannabis for public use. Kentucky’s Governor Matt Bevin went further, characterizing the economic benefits of legalizing cannabis as a “sucker’s bet.” Both positions are not only on the wrong side of public opinion, they’re an insult to the intelligence of the people of Kentucky. Here’s why.
In 2017 the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine published a report using peer reviewed scientific studies to form evidence based conclusions, among them: “In adults with chronic pain, patients who were treated with cannabis or cannabinoids are more likely to experience a clinically significant reduction in pain symptoms.” 80% of the people in Kentucky support legalizing medical cannabis, and for good reason. Kentucky has a high number of adults with chronic pain problems, including wounded veterans and sufferers of chronic illnesses. Rather than ease their suffering, anti-cannabis legislators would rather kick the can down the road by waiting for an FDA letter they know they’ll never get.
They’ll never get it because as long as the Drug Enforcement Agency supports keeping cannabis on the schedule one list of controlled substances, the FDA will never approve it for medical or recreational use. The FDA and the DEA have coordinated their decision making on this issue in order to maintain the status quo. Federal bureaucracies have created a Catch-22 easily exploited by state lawmakers looking for a way to pass responsibility for their opposition to cannabis on to the feds. Meanwhile the marketplace is filled with products lacking FDA approval which consumers legally purchase every day, including cannabis in twenty-nine states. And anti-cannabis state legislators in Kentucky would rather bow to the federal bureaucracy than give needed medical care to wounded veterans.
But the speakers at the committee hearing did manage to make (unintentionally I’m sure) an excellent case for Congress to remove Cannabis from Schedule One completely, meaning total legalization nationwide for recreational and medical use. The speakers correctly cited a confusing array of state laws and contradictory state Supreme Court rulings about cannabis. Can employees legally buy cannabis across the state line then be fired for having it in their system when they come back? Conflicting state laws and court rulings are imposing an unnecessary expense on employers and employees.
Amazingly the speakers bragged about how federal anti-drug agencies now consider cannabis legal states to be drug trafficking areas. A minority group of states, along with some federal agencies, now consider cannabis legal states to be criminal enterprises. That, literally, is insane. One of the reasons why we have a federal government is to prevent states from creating this kind of confusion and waste through a patchwork of contradictory laws. Congress can end all the confusion, waste of law enforcement resources, and needless litigation by removing cannabis from schedule one.
Beyond the medical benefits, the economic potential for Kentucky is one our Governor belittled as a “sucker’s bet.” Meanwhile Colorado makes over $100 million a month in revenue from cannabis sales, and most of that from out of state visitors. Colorado is located in the western United States, where population density is relatively low. By contrast Kentucky is centrally located within a day’s drive of 2/3 of the population of the entire United States. Just based on population density and proximity, Kentucky could double Colorado’s revenue from cannabis sales, which would equal $2.4 billion a year and thousands of jobs. We can count, Governor Bevin.
Justin Lewandowski, an Army veteran, former city councilman, Republican and passionate supporter of legalization put it clearly: “It’s time we save Kentucky by legalizing adult use. When someone testifies in front of legislators it should be actual facts and not lies and myths. Our legislators need to know the truth about cannabis.” Meanwhile wounded veterans and the chronically ill in Kentucky continue to suffer, potential revenue goes unearned, with anti-cannabis state legislators along with our Governor sneering at pro-cannabis supporters. The result has energized supporters of legal cannabis, who now believe more strongly and in greater numbers than ever, cannabis should be legalized in Kentucky and across the entire country.