Poll: Strong Support For Ending Cannabis Prohibition In New Jersey
While playing for the New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets) from 2005 to 2007, Cliff Robinson saw first hand that the failures of cannabis prohibition in New Jersey. Cannabis prohibition has a disproportionate impact on New Jersey’s African American community. Arrest data shows that African Americans are three times more likely to be arrested for cannabis in New Jersey compared to Caucasians.
In some parts of New Jersey, the disparity is even greater. In Pleasant Beach, New Jersey African Americans are 31.8 times as likely to be arrested for cannabis. That is obviously unacceptable. No one should be arrested for possessing and/or consuming a plant that has been found to be 114 times safer than alcohol. It is beyond time that New Jersey got on the right side of history and ended cannabis prohibition. According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, such a move would have strong support from New Jersey voters. Per the poll:
Garden State voters support 59 – 38 percent allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Every listed group supports legalized marijuana, except Republicans, who are opposed 53 – 43 percent, and voters over 65 years old, who are divided, with 47 percent in favor and 50 percent opposed.
The biggest hurdle to legalization in New Jersey is its Governor, Chris Christie. Fortunately Chris Christie is on his way out of office, and a new person will be leading New Jersey after the 2018 election. As it stands right now, the front runner to succeed Governor Christie is candidate Phil Murphy. Democrat Phil Murphy has a 25 point lead over his Republican rival New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno according to the previously mentioned Quinnipiac poll. How does candidate Phil Murphy feel about cannabis reform? Per a recent NJ.com article:
Murphy promises to join states like Colorado that have legalized recreational use of pot. In fact, it’s part of how he plans to shore up a $1.3 billion tax hike in the state to help pay for all sorts of state spending programs he’s promised on the campaign trail.
For the record, candidate Kim Guadagno does not support legalization. A lot of time is left between now and Election Day, so it’s still anyone’s race despite Murphy’s enormous lead. But the recent poll results showing strong support for legalization, and the expressed desire to end cannabis prohibition by the upcoming election’s front runner is extremely encouraging. The Uncle Cliffy team is hopeful that legalization comes to New Jersey sooner rather than later. Free the plant!
Tonight: First Annual DECODE Cannabis Education Fund Gala
The Uncle Cliffy team would like to publicly express support for a new endeavor being spearheaded by Reverend Al Sharpton. Mr. Sharpton has launched a new organization called DECODE Cannabis which is organizing a national mobilization effort to educate Americans on the social benefits of a federal mandate removing cannabis from its current Schedule I classification. Tonight the new organization is hosting its first annual education fund gala. If you are in the area, the Uncle Cliffy team urges you to attend, and to sign up for alerts from the organization via the DECODE Cannabis website. Below are more details about tonight’s gala:
Decode Cannabis Education Fund is a 501c3 organization tasked with organizing a national mobiliazation effort to educate Americans on the social benefits of a federal mandate removing cannabis from the Schedule 1. In doing so, DECODE will support important issues in the industry such as the decriminalization, inclusion, women and minority business, civil rights, research, caregiver/patients rights, workers’ rights, saftey & testing and responsible advertising.
The 1st Annual National Decode Cannabis Education Fund Awards Gala – California will honor CWCB Expo, The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and CannaKids as our special awardees. The evening will also see special remarks being brought by the Reverend Al Sharpton and others.
What Better way is there to advocate social justice, civil rights and inclusion than saluting those on the forefront of the cannabis reform and supporting this new movement? Hope to see you there!
When: Wed, September 13, 2017 6:30 PM – 11:59 PM PDT
Where: Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles 506 South Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90071
To find out more, check out the event’s listing on Eventbrite
Four Facts Which Prove That Cannabis Legalization Is Working
Federal cannabis prohibition started in the United States in 1937. Cannabis is still prohibited at the federal level, but a number of states have voted to end prohibition. Colorado and Washington were the first to do so in 2012. Oregon, Alaska, and Washington D.C. followed in 2014, and 2016 saw California, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts join the list of legal states. Michigan is hopefully on its way in 2018, along with one or more other states that may end cannabis prohibition via legislative action.
Leading up to successful legalization votes in current legal states cannabis opponents made many wild claims that time has since proven to be false. A lot of those same claims are being made by league officials in an attempt to keep prohibition in place in professional sports. The sky has not fallen over legal states. In fact, things are going quite well by many measures. Part of being an effective cannabis advocate both inside and outside of the sports world is being armed with the facts. Below are four facts that prove that legalization is working, and that the Uncle Cliffy team strongly believes everyone should be familiar with.
Falling teen use
One of the most frequently made claims by cannabis opponents about legalization is that a massive spike in teen use would follow implementation. Opponents have long went to the ‘what about the children’ argument early and often. The Uncle Cliffy team does not support kids using cannabis, and has always made it clear that we believe that cannabis should only be used by adults 21 and over (with exceptions for medical use). This does not mean that the Uncle Cliffy team believes that prohibition is the best way to prevent America’s youth from using cannabis.
What the Uncle Cliffy team does believe in is legalization and regulation which requires cannabis retailers to check people’s IDs before a transaction. The unregulated market has no age limit, and regulating cannabis is the best way to help ensure that America’s youth cannot access cannabis. Math is proving cannabis advocates to be right, and opponents to be wrong. According to the federal government’s own data, teen cannabis use in America is at a 20 year low. With 8 states and Washington D.C. having legalized cannabis for adult use, and 29 states having passed comprehensive medical cannabis reforms, not only is there not a spike in teen use, the overall usage rate among America’s youth is at a twenty year low. That is a fact that is worth repeating over and over.
Jobs
The spread of legalization has resulted in the cannabis industry expanding at a dramatic rate. The expansion of the industry has been paralleled by a boom in job creation. In June Marijuana Business Daily published a report which estimated that the cannabis industry had created as many as 230,000 full and part-time jobs. The jobs pay a fair wage, and the positions were essentially created out of thin air. To put that number into perspective, the cannabis industry now employs more people than the massage therapist industry and the baking industry. There are now more cannabis workers than there are dental hygienists in America, and the industry is creating more jobs every day.
Tax revenues
One way that cannabis legalization benefits everyone is via tax revenues. In an unregulated cannabis market, no tax revenues are generated. But in a legal and regulated cannabis system, cannabis sales generate tax revenue. According to New Frontier Data, states with legal cannabis sales are expected to generate approximately $655 million in state taxes on retail sales in 2017. That number is obviously going to increase in the future. The taxes are going to go to many things that would otherwise go unfunded. In towns like Huntington, Oregon, which is home to legal cannabis sales, the tax revenue is expected to double the town’s budget, which is obviously significant.
Saved money from not enforcing prohibition
Enforcing cannabis prohibition, which is a failed public policy, is expensive. According to Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer at Harvard University, cannabis prohibition cost the United States $20 billion dollars annually as of 2013. Paying to fine and/or arrest and/or prosecute and/or incarcerate people for cannabis adds up quick. All of that money is wasted given that cannabis is safer than alcohol and many other substances that are perfectly legal. Fortunately since Mr. Miron’s study, 8 states and Washington D.C. have voted to legalize cannabis for adult use, which is hopefully taking a significant chunk out of the $20 billion figure that Jeffrey Miron’s research arrived at. All of the money saved from not enforcing failed prohibition is now going to much more worthy things in legal states, which would also be true in any other state that ended cannabis prohibition within its borders. Government resources are limited. They should be going towards fighting real crime, towards schools, and towards improving America’s infrastructure, not enforcing harmful cannabis prohibition.
Manhattan D.A. Announces New Policy To Reduce Impact Of Cannabis Possession Arrests
The Uncle Cliffy team fully supports cannabis reform efforts in New York State. This is true at the state level, as well as at the local level. Cliff Robinson was born and raised in New York State, as were other members of the Uncle Cliffy team, and they witnessed first hand the harms of cannabis prohibition in New York. In some of the team members’ situations, including Cliff Robinson’s, they were the victims of the failed cannabis prohibition policies of New York. Encouraging cannabis reform news was announced out of New York this week at the local level (Manhattan). It’s a great step in the right direction that will hopefully lead to further reforms. Below is more information about the news via the Drug Policy Alliance:
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. announced a shift in his office’s policy for New Yorkers arrested for low level marijuana possession. This policy change was created in an effort to reduce the number of New Yorkers, mostly young people of color, who face lasting collateral consequences as the result of a marijuana possession arrest and conviction.
The new policy expands the use of a pre-existing judicial tool, the Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD). The ACD has previously been offered following a person’s first arrest for low-level marijuana possession. If granted an ACD, an individual would not have to plea to a criminal misdemeanor or violation charge. However, the ACD would appear as a pending case on a person’s criminal record for a year and would only be dismissed and sealed should that person not get re-arrested in that year.
“Until the legislature makes progress on marijuana, we are making these ACDs as short as practicable in order to reduce these harmful collateral consequences,” Vance said. “No one should be denied a home or a college education for something as trivial as pot possession.”
The new policy will reduce some of the impact that marijuana prohibition enforcement has on New Yorkers by reducing the amount of time that a person has to retain the ACD on their criminal record and by allowing people who have been arrested for a second time for marijuana possession to also be granted ACDs. Under the new policy, people arrested for marijuana possession can receive an ACD for three months for the first offense (instead of 12 months) and an ACD for six months for the second offense.
“We applaud the District Attorney’s recognition of problematic and harmful marijuana possession enforcement, and the collateral consequences that result, as a significant issue. Yet this policy shift is a band-aid solution to a bullet wound. The NYPD continues to use marijuana prohibition as a justification for massive violations of civil and human rights. As we work toward ending marijuana prohibition, it is imperative that other District Attorneys across the city and state recognize the human toll that marijuana law enforcement has collected and do more to stop the bleeding. If there are District Attorneys who agree with the majority of New Yorkers that marijuana should be made legal, they can and should also decline to prosecute all low-level marijuana possession arrests,” said Chris Alexander, Policy Coordinator at the Drug Policy Alliance.
Marijuana prohibition enforcement has been, and remains, a priority for the NYPD, who have arrested over 800,000 New Yorkers for low-level marijuana possession over the last 20 years and 17,000 New Yorkers in 2016 alone. Manhattan had more arrests than any other county in New York City in 2016.
“We commend the Manhattan District Attorney for this change. As this City’s primary public defender we see the obstacles that arrest and prosecution for marijuana cause our clients, who exclusively come from communities of color,” said Tina Luongo, Attorney-In-Charge of the Criminal Practice at The Legal Aid Society. “But to fully address the problem, NYPD must end its overzealous and discriminatory enforcement of marijuana possession on communities of color and Albany must take legislative action. While we wait for that, the other three DAs should follow Manhattan and Brooklyn.”
Many of these arrests were the product of unconstitutional stops and searches of overwhelmingly young people of color. Some of these individuals were granted ACDs on their first arrest, but continued racially-biased policing practices, as evidenced by persistent racial disparities, will likely impact the overall success of this adjudicative policy shift. Previous policy changes by the NYPD and the current Mayoral Administration have resulted in a small reduction in arrests but did nothing to curb the racial disparities present in those arrested for marijuana possession.
The District Attorney also announced that his office would be launching a new diversion program in 2018 for individuals given Desk Appearance Tickets (DATs), in lieu of an arrest, when found to be in possession of illicit substances by law enforcement. A low-level drug possession arrest and conviction can result in the loss of access to housing, licensing, employment and educational opportunities, and a person’s status and ability to stay in the country should they not be a citizen. Entrance into the Manhattan Hope program for people given a DAT will result in the DA declining to prosecute the charges against them and will thus alleviate many of these potential collateral consequences.
“The District Attorney’s promise to decline to prosecute New Yorkers for low level drug possession is a very positive step. What is most important moving forward is ensuring that all New Yorkers who could benefit from diversion programs are given the opportunity to do so regardless of their arrest record. If the District Attorney is serious about helping to end these collateral consequences then he should consider expanding the eligibility for the diversion program from those receiving DATs to any New Yorker who is charged with possessing small amounts of drugs,” said Alyssa Aguilera, Co-Executive Director at VOCAL-NY.
“Low-level drug possession remains the lion’s share of all drug related arrests in this country and state. These arrests are the product of legislators and decision makers failing to address head on what is, and has always been, a public health issue. The Manhattan Hope diversion program is a good start for the DA but it is also time for the New York State Legislature to take a new approach by putting science based research and compassion first and decriminalize drug use and possession.” said Kassandra Frederique, New York State Director at the Drug Policy Alliance.
The NBA Should Not Penalize Miles Plumlee For Cannabis Arrest
According to multiple reports, Atlanta Hawks center Miles Plumlee was recently arrested for personal cannabis possession in Long Island, New York. The arrest was first reported by longtime NBA reporter Peter Vecsey (the same Peter Vecsey that gave Cliff Robinson the nickname ‘Uncle Spliffy’). Few details about the arrest have surfaced other than that Miles Plumlee paid $100 following the arrest, and that the arrest was for possession of a personal amount of cannabis.
In the state of New York, possession of less than 25 grams of cannabis (first offense) carries a penalty of $100. If that was the case for Miles Plumlee, his situation is not really a big deal. To illustrate that point, consider the fact that possession of up to one ounce while away from a person’s residence is legal in 8 states and our nation’s capital. The possession limits are even greater when someone is possessing cannabis at home in those states. Had Miles been in possession of the same amount of cannabis in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California, Nevada, Massachusetts, Maine, or Washington D.C., he would have been free to go and his name would never have been dragged through the media mud.
Unfortunately now, in addition to the unfair stigma that Plumlee will have to deal with for years to come, Miles is likely to be punished by the NBA. The NBA’s policy dictates that a first time cannabis offense requires a player to enter treatment. The penalties get steeper with every subsequent offense. The NBA does not have a public database that shows how many violations a player has, if any, so it is undetermined at this point what could happen to Miles from a league standpoint.
The Uncle Cliffy team urges the NBA to not penalize Miles Plumlee. If all Miles was doing was possessing a personal amount of cannabis and no one was harmed by his actions, then he really did nothing wrong. Miles is simply the victim of an outdated, failed public policy. Miles Plumlee has been recovering from knee surgery, and it is quite possible that the cannabis he was in possession of was for medical purposes. Had Miles Plumlee been a registered medical cannabis patient in one of the 29 states that have legalized medical cannabis, and been caught in that state or a state that has a reciprocity cannabis law on the books, he would have never been arrested.
Miles is originally from Indiana, and currently plays in Georgia. Where he lives is not known, but unless he is a citizen of New York, he would not be eligible to enroll as a medical cannabis patient in New York where he was caught with cannabis. But just because a player crosses state lines does not mean that the need for medicine goes away. The NBA should apply some logic and have some compassion for its player and not penalize Miles Plumlee. After all, he was caught possessing a plant that is legal in 8 states for adult use, 29 states for medical use, and no one was harmed by his actions. With cannabis being 114 times safer than alcohol, a substance which is widely embraced by the NBA, penalizing Miles Plumlee for a cannabis offense away from the team during the offseason makes no sense. As Dan Feldman from NBC Sports put it in his article about Plumlee’s arrest, ‘Why is the NBA penalizing players for something that ranges from a petty offense to completely legal?’
“I grew up in New York State. Having had my own run in with cannabis prohibition in New York, I can say firsthand that New York’s prohibition laws are unjust and harmful. This is something that Mr. Plumlee will have to deal with long after his encounter with law enforcement. Not only will he have to deal with the stigma that comes with being an NBA player caught with cannabis, his family will have to deal with it too, which is unfortunate. Hopefully the NBA takes a rational approach to the situation, and Miles can get back to focusing on basketball.” said Cliff Robinson.
image via Peach Tree Hoops
Four Ways That Cannabis Can Help Older Athletes
As people age aches, pains, and the risk of developing health conditions increases. This is true for athletes and people that live active lifestyles. Wear and tear comes with the territory when people are consistently putting their bodies through rigorous physical activities, and no matter how ‘in shape’ someone is, as people age they become much more likely to be diagnosed with a number of age-related conditions and/or are at a higher risk of injury.
Older Americans are the fastest growing demographic of cannabis consumers in the country, and for good reason. Studies have shown that cannabis has the ability to help older Americans (athletes included!) in a number of ways. Below are some of them that the Uncle Cliffy team would like to point out. Please share this article if you know older athletes that are on the fence about using cannabis for wellness purposes.
Pain management
Dealing with ongoing pain is no fun. Virtually every older athlete deals with some form of pain related to injuries incurred while competing and/or exercising. Studies have found that cannabis can be an effective part of a pain management regimen. According to a study from 2010, “Our results support the claim that smoked cannabis reduces pain, improves mood and helps sleep.” A number of other studies have arrived at similar conclusions.
Inflammation
Most athletes deal with inflammation at one point or another when they are competing. It could be from something as simple as a sprained ankle, all the way up to a very serious injury that results in the need for a medical procedure. As the body ages, inflammation becomes more common. The human body is quicker to swell up the older it gets. Cannabis has been found by a number of studies to help reduce inflammation.
Replaces prescription drugs
One of the most commonly referred to signs of a person aging is the increase in prescription drugs present in their medicine cabinet. When people are younger they use less prescriptions, but by the time they are nearing retirement age they are often taking a whole host of prescription drugs. This is especially true for athletes. Some prescriptions result in the need for yet more prescriptions to combat the side effects of the initial prescription(s). Cannabis has been found to reduce the use of prescription drugs, including a number of studies showing a dramatic reduction in the use of opioids. Cannabis is safer than most pharmaceutical drugs, so any reduction in prescription drug use is a great thing.
Helps improve brain health
Brain health is a topic that is being talked about more and more inside and outside of the sports world. Athletes who compete in contact sports are particularly at risk of experiencing a brain injury. Even if an athlete does not experience a brain injury, brain health is something that should be on every older athlete’s radar. Just like the rest of the body, the human brain reduces in functionality as people get older. Cannabis can help improve brain health as people age, as a number of studies have shown.
Study: Cannabis Can Help People Suffering From Musculoskeletal Trauma
When people play sports and/or live an active lifestyle, repetitive motions and impacts can wear down a person’s body. Sometimes that wear and tear leads to injuries. A large percentage of athletes sustain musculoskeletal injuries. A musculoskeletal injury is an injury or disorder that affects the human body’s movement or musculoskeletal system (i.e. muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, discs, blood vessels, etc.).
The injuries can come in many forms, including tendonitis, muscle/tendon strains, ligament strains, and ruptured/herniated discs. Sometimes the conditions can be treated by a primary physician, but other times treatment involves surgery. People suffering from musculoskeletal injuries often turn to opioids and other pharmaceutical drugs to help deal with their condition. Opioids can lead to severe addiction, are harmful for the human body, and often are ineffective.
More and more athletes and people that live active lifestyles are turning to cannabis for relief. A recent study was conducted at two trauma centers in Massachusetts which looked at cannabis use for treating musculoskeletal injuries. The study found that cannabis was an effective treatment. Per the study:
Results: The majority of patients felt that marijuana could be used to treat pain (78%, 390) and anxiety (62%, 309). Most patients (60%, 302) had used marijuana at least once previously, while only 14% reported using marijuana following their injury. Of those that used marijuana during their recovery, 90% (63/70) believed that it reduced symptoms of pain; and 81% (57/70) believed that it reduced the amount of opioid pain medication they used.
Conclusions: The majority of patients in this study believed that medical marijuana is a valid treatment and that it does have a role in reducing post-injury and post-operative pain. Those patients who used marijuana during their recovery felt that it alleviated symptoms of pain and reduced their opioid intake. Our results help inform clinicians regarding the perceptions of trauma patients regarding the usefulness of marijuana in treating pain, and support further study into the utility of medical marijuana in this population.
This study builds on other studies that have found that cannabis can not only help those suffering from pain, but also helped reduce the patients’ reliance on harmful opioids. If you know someone that suffers from a musculoskeletal injury, make sure to share the results of this study with them. If you personally suffer from a musculoskeletal injury, and live in a state where cannabis is legal, the Uncle Cliffy team recommends that you consider trying cannabis as a form of treatment.
Cannabis Regulation Needs To Be Included In Connecticut’s Budget
Earlier this year Clifford Robinson joined a coalition that is seeking to end cannabis prohibition in Connecticut. Having played at the University of Connecticut from 1985-1989, Cliff has always had a special place in his heart for the state of Connecticut. During his college experience Cliff saw the harms of Connecticut cannabis prohibition firsthand, and has always advocated for a more sensible approach to cannabis policy in the state.
Lawmakers in Connecticut are currently in the midst of crafting the state’s next budget, which provides for an opportunity for cannabis legalization and regulation to be included in it. That is something that the Uncle Cliffy team absolutely supports, and is encouraging others to support too. Below is an action alert from the Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana which is leading the legalization effort in the state. If you are a Connecticut resident, please participate in the action alert and encourage others to do the same:
As fall approaches, Connecticut lawmakers are still struggling to reach a budget compromise. In May, both House and Senate Democrats released a budget proposal that included the regulating and taxing of marijuana, acknowledging that regulating marijuana like alcohol is a necessary part of a responsible budget solution. However, subsequent House Democratic budgets omitted marijuana legalization. Currently, cities and towns across Connecticut are facing devastating cuts that will result in widespread property tax increases for most residents. Taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol could avert local property tax increases and bring new revenue to the table.
Call your representatives, and let him or her know you want marijuana regulation included in the budget! Our action page makes it fast and easy — providing the lawmaker’s phone number and name, in addition to talking points.
Or, if you aren’t able to make a call, write your lawmakers a quick letter.
Let your lawmakers know 63% of Connecticut residents support legalization, not just because it will generate needed tax revenue, but also because regulation would have public health and safety benefits.
Elected officials are facing many tough choices during the budget debate. It is vital they hear from constituents who support marijuana regulation as the right choice for Connecticut.
Please take a few minutes to write or call your legislator, and share our posts on Facebook and Twitter to encourage your friends to make calls, too.
Thanks,
Sam Tracy
Director
CT Coalition to Regulate Marijuana
The NFL Should Dismiss Jaelen Strong’s Cannabis Suspension
The Uncle Cliffy team has made it clear that we feel that no professional athlete should be suspended for cannabis. That includes not only cannabis suspensions related to random drug testing, but also for suspensions related to cannabis-related interactions with law enforcement away from the team. This would include the case of NFL player Jaelen Strong who is a wide receiver for the Houston Texans.
Jaelen Strong was arrested in 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona after a car he was a passenger in was pulled over, and Jaelen was found to be in possession of three cannabis joints. Arizona is home to some of the harshest cannabis laws in the country, with possession of 3 joints being a felony, carrying a penalty of up to 2 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. Fortunately Jaelen was able to avoid jail time by agreeing to an array of alternative punishments.
But Jaelen is not only being punished by the Arizona court system, he is also being punished by the NFL, who has suspended Mr. Strong for one game because of the arrest in Arizona. In addition to the suspension and court punishments, Jaelen has had to deal with a lot of stigma from the league and the media, and will likely have to continue to deal with the stigma the rest of his promising career. Jaelen Strong has appealed his one game suspension, and the Uncle Cliffy team is hopeful that he will prevail.
As the Uncle Cliffy team has pointed out before, suspending African American NFL players for cannabis arrests away from the team perpetuates institutional racism. In Arizona, African Americans are almost two and a half times more likely to be arrested for cannabis compared to Caucasians despite usage rates being roughly the same between the races. So if an African American player (like Jaelen Strong) is over twice as likely to be arrested for cannabis away from the team, that same player is also over twice as likely to be suspended by the NFL for a cannabis arrest. That policy is unacceptable, and is a policy that the NFL needs to change immediately.
Taking players off the field for a cannabis arrest is absurd on many levels. To put into perspective just how ridiculous the NFL’s policy is, consider the fact that had Jaelen Strong been in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, or Washington D.C. at the time, the amount of cannabis he was possessing would have been perfectly legal (California, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts had not legalized cannabis at the time of arrest, but have since then).
Three joints is roughly 3 grams of cannabis. In all of the previously mentioned states an adult over 21 years old can possess up to 28 grams of cannabis while in transit and it’s perfectly legal. In Washington D.C., the same person could possess up to 56 grams of cannabis in transit. The math alone is enough to highlight how unfairly Jaelen has been treated. Had he simply been in another state (or in Washington D.C.), he would have been allowed to go about his day with no penalty at all. In many other jurisdictions, which have decriminalized personal cannabis possession, Strong would not have been arrested and the NFL likely would have never heard about the incident.
But because Jaelen Strong was in a prohibition state, he was arrested, and because the NFL perpetuates institutional racism via its cannabis policy, he now gets to potentially sit out a game. Even if he wins his appeal, he will still have to deal with the unfair stigma that comes with being a professional athlete associated with cannabis. That is an unfortunate situation that Cliff Robinson is very familiar with.
“I was obviously suspended multiple times for cannabis use during my pro career. I have also had to deal with the stigma that Jaelen Strong is experiencing. It’s nothing I would wish on anyone. Jaelen Strong was caught with a plant that is safer than alcohol and safer than opioids, which are two substances that the NFL widely embraces. The amount he was caught with is a legal amount in 8 states now. No one was harmed by what Jaelen did, so why is he being taken off the field? Jaelen Strong is a talented player, and hopefully he wins his appeal and can put all of this behind him.” said Cliff Robinson.
image via Battle Red Blog
Study: Increased Medical Cannabis Access Reduces Prescription Drug Use
Prescription drug use is a big problem in America, and especially in the sports world. The United States accounts for 34 percent of the world market for pharmaceutical drugs, even though America makes up only 5 percent of the world’s population. The rate of use among athletes is even greater.
The high rate of use of opioids in sports often gets the most attention by the media, but high rates of use for all types of pharmaceutical drugs has long been a problem in sports, with athletes taking prescription drugs for all types of ailments. Some of the prescriptions are warranted and effective, but many are not, and are only prescribed to help the athlete deal with the side effects of other medications they are taking.
Anyone who has seen ads for pharmaceutical drugs knows that they come with a laundry list of potential side effects. The listing of the side effects usually takes up a bulk of the ad airing time, with some pretty horrific stuff being mentioned. Those side effect should be avoided if possible. Cannabis has the ability to reduce prescription drug use according to a new study, which is a great thing considering that cannabis is a much safer choice. Below is more information about the study, which builds on previous studies that have arrived at similar conclusions:
In a soon-to-be published article in the *Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, *University of New Mexico researchers, in collaboration with Industrial Rehabilitation Clinics of Albuquerque, followed patients who enrolled voluntarily in the New Mexico state medical cannabis program and found that they significantly reduced their utilization of scheduled prescription medications in the months following enrollment. All prescriptions for scheduled medications must be reported to the New Mexico Prescription Monitoring Program with opiates and benzodiazepines being the two most common. Based on these prescription records, patients enrolled in the medical cannabis program reduced the monthly average number of prescriptions, types of prescriptions (drug classes), number of prescribers, and number of related pharmacy visits. 71% of medical cannabis program enrollees either ceased or reduced their use of scheduled prescriptions within 6 months of enrolling.
While other studies on medical cannabis have looked at similar state-level outcomes, this study is the first to take the approach of examining individual patients throughout their enrollment in the medical cannabis program and comparing those patients to a comparison group of similar patients who did not enroll in the medical cannabis program.
The findings of this study indicate that once a patient enrolls in the medical cannabis program there is an increased likelihood that the patient will decrease their usage of scheduled medications. These medications include many drugs of abuse such as opiates, benzodiazepines, and sleeping medications. Opiates in particular are in the public discourse because of the danger of overdose, addiction and death.
Stith, S. S., et al “Effects of Legal Access to Cannabis on Scheduled II-V Drug Prescriptions.” (in press). Journal of the American Medical Director’s Association.
Source: PR Newswire