Congressmen, Former NFL Player, And Navy SEAL To Hold Press Conference On Medical Cannabis
GOP Congressmen, with leading Cannabis advocacy firm The Liaison Group (TLG) and Public Affairs firm Gide, will hold a press conference to bring together a diverse set of patients who have all benefited from medical Cannabis to share their personal stories on Capitol Hill. This press event is presented in conjunction with broad bi-partisan legislative efforts to continue the protection of State-enacted, State-regulated medical Cannabis programs from federal interference.
“Support for medicinal Cannabis has become widely accepted across the country with 46 States and the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico, allowing the medical use of the plant. However, at the Federal level, Cannabis continues to be a Schedule I substance—the most restrictive classification,” said Saphira Galoob, TLG Principal. “We are holding this press event to give patients who have benefited from medicinal Cannabis a platform to speak to Congress about why Federal Cannabis policies must be updated to respect States rights, protect patients and reflect modern scientific research that demonstrates how the Cannabis plant can effectively treat a variety of medical conditions.”
“It was important for us to bring together a diverse set of individuals to show that so many people today are benefiting from medical Cannabis—Veterans, athletes, children, as well as their parents. Many Members of Congress are taking positions on medical Cannabis policies without hearing the real-world stories of how the plant is transforming some of their constituents’ lives, which is why we wanted to bring these voices directly to Capitol Hill,” said Gide Principal, Arika Pierce.
During the press event, speakers will include:
• GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Congressman Tom Garrett (R-VA) who are actively working in Congress to reform Federal Cannabis laws, including to remove research restrictions and to protect State-enacted medical Cannabis programs from federal interference.
• Former NFL star Kyle Turley whose eight-year NFL career and over 100 concussions caused him to become reliant on pain killers which contributed to his 20-year struggle with depression, anxiety, and rage. Kyle will share his experience with medical Cannabis and how it ultimately saved his life, and now allows him to live opioid-free.
• Former Navy SEAL Nick Etten who is the Founder and Executive Director of the Veterans Cannabis Project, an organization dedicated to improving US military Veterans’ quality of life through legal access to medical Cannabis.
• Nurse Holley Moseley who has over 14 years of nursing experience, specializing in pediatrics and clinical research. Her daughter suffered from daily seizures despite the use of anti-epileptic medications, special diets and an implantable device. It wasn’t until she began using high-CBD cannabis oil that she found relief. As a result, Holley has become a medical Cannabis advocate and was instrumental in passing the first cannabis legislation in the state of Florida, known as “The Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014”.
Other speakers will include parents of children who have effectively used Cannabis to treat illnesses such as epilepsy and chronic pain, as well as other Republican Congressional Members who support efforts to advance Federal Cannabis policies that respect the robust and sophisticated State Cannabis programs that have been enacted throughout the country.
Details for the press conference are as follows:
WHAT:
A press conference calling on Congress to recognize the modern medical developments of Cannabis through first-hand patient stories from the many different faces that benefit from medicinal Cannabis—children, parents, Veterans, and athletes.
WHEN:
Tuesday, November 14, 2017, at 11.00 a.m. ET
WHERE:
Rayburn House Office Building (Gold Room), Room 2168
Source: EIN Presswire
Cannabis Legalization Appears To Be Coming To New Jersey Soon
Yesterday was a big day for cannabis reform, especially in New Jersey where Clifford Robinson played for the New Jersey Nets from 2005-2007. Yesterday was Election Day in New Jersey, with voters selecting a new Governor to replace staunch cannabis reform opponent Chris Christie. As the Uncle Cliffy team has pointed out before, the 2017 Governor race in New Jersey featured Phil Murphy and Kim Guadagno as the two major party candidates, and the outcome would largely determine cannabis legalization’s chances in New Jersey in 2018.
Phil Murphy was very clear during the campaign that he intended to help make cannabis legalization a reality in New Jersey if he won the race, whereas his opponent opposed full legalization. Fortunately for cannabis legalization efforts in New Jersey, and for social justice in the Garden State, Phil Murphy won the election. He doubled down on his campaign promise to end cannabis prohibition during his victory speech, as outlined below in a press release from our friends at NORML:
After making the legalization of marijuana a core issue in both his primary and general election campaigns, Democratic candidate Phil Murphy has claimed victory in the New Jersey gubernatorial election over Republican Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno.
In fact, in his primary victory speech, Phil Murphy proclaimed his desire to sign a marijuana legalization bill within his first 100 days in office.
“Candidates across the country should take notice, as Phil Murphy won the Governor’s seat soundly because of, not in spite of, his open and vocal support for legalizing marijuana – a position supported by 65% of New Jersey voters and 64% of Americans nationwide,” said NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri, “NORML looks forward to working with Governor-Elect Murphy and other stakeholders in the state to end the disastrous policy of marijuana prohibition and to implement the moral, economic, and scientifically sound policy of legalization and regulation in the Garden State.”
Polling data released this week by Predictwise/Pollfish Survey revealed that a 65% of New Jersey voters support legalizing marijuana outright.
Currently in New Jersey, a possession conviction of anything under 50 grams of marijuana can carry a sentence of 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The ACLU-NJ found that police make a marijuana possession arrest in New Jersey on average every 22 minutes and that black New Jerseyans were three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites, despite similar usage rates.
It will be interesting to see how things play out in New Jersey, and equally interesting to see how ramped up legalization efforts in New Jersey will affect surrounding states such as New York and Connecticut. Cliff Robinson was born and raised in New York State, and played college basketball in Connecticut. Cliff has seen firsthand the failures of cannabis prohibition in New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York, which is why he fights so hard to help reform efforts in those states and will continue to do so until all three states free the plant. Congratulations Phil Murphy, please keep your campaign promise!
Connecticut Misses Opportunity To End Harmful Cannabis Prohibition
Possessing more than 14 grams of cannabis in Connecticut is a crime, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Distributing or cultivating any amount of cannabis in Connecticut is a felony, punishable by up to 7 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. The penalties increase as the amount of cannabis involved increases. Cannabis prohibition in Connecticut has a disproportionate impact on minority communities. An example of that would be in New Caanan, Connecticut where nearly half of all cannabis penalties are given to African Americans even though they make up only about 1 percent of the town’s population.
Cannabis prohibition has obviously failed in Connecticut, and the Uncle Cliffy team was hopeful that cannabis legalization would be included in Connecticut’s next budget. The Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana, which Clifford Robinson is a member of, has been pushing lawmakers for months to include legalization in its budget. Connecticut has been facing huge budget gaps, and while taxing and regulating cannabis would not fix all of Connecticut’s budget woes, it would certainly help. Unfortunately, Connecticut’s budget was approved this week without cannabis legalization provisions being included, as outlined in a message sent by Regulate Connecticut to its supporters this week:
On Tuesday, Governor Dannel Malloy signed into law a $41.3 billion, two-year state budget that increases taxes by approximately $1 billion over that period. That number could have been significantly reduced had the budget included taxing and regulating marijuana for adults’ use.
The budget also cuts municipal aid, higher education funding, social services, and tens of millions of dollars from energy conservation programs. According to the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, when the subsequent governor and General Assembly begin drafting the next budget, they will be facing a deficit of approximately $4.6 billion unless a new source of revenue is created.
It is deeply disappointing that lawmakers missed this opportunity to enact commonsense marijuana policies that could have generated a new source of revenue, thereby saving the state money while creating new jobs and causing a major increase in tourism.
However, this conversation is not over in Connecticut. When lawmakers return in February, we will continue the fight to enact legalization in 2018. In the meantime, please keep talking to lawmakers about this issue, educate your friends and family, and stay tuned for other ways to help in the fight!
The University of Connecticut (UConn), where Clifford Robinson proudly went to college and is a member of the All-Century Men’s Basketball Team, now faces a budget cut of $134 million dollars over the course of the next two years. Legalization would generate over $360 million dollars for Connecticut according to recent estimates. Taxing and regulating cannabis in Connecticut literally has the potential to eliminate budget cuts at UConn and help fill in other budget gaps that other Connecticut institutions are now facing.
The Uncle Cliffy team will keep pushing for legalization in Connecticut, and urges you to do the same if you live there. A recent poll conducted by Sacred Heart University Institute for Public Policy found that ‘more than two out of three residents (70.6%) either “strongly support” or “somewhat support” legalizing and taxing marijuana’ in Connecticut. That level of support is up from 63% from just two years ago. Clearly the citizens of Connecticut want lawmakers to take a more sensible approach to cannabis policy. Connecticut lawmakers need to do what is right and free the plant.
N.J. Governor Race Will Likely Determine Legalization’s Chances In 2018
Clifford Robinson played for the New Jersey Nets from 2005-2007, and lived in New Jersey after retiring from the NBA after an 18-year career in the league. Having grown up in a neighboring state (New York), Robinson has spent a lot of time in New Jersey and has witnessed the failures of cannabis prohibition first hand. That’s why Clifford Robinson has always supported cannabis reform efforts in the Garden State.
Possession of less than 50 grams of cannabis in New Jersey carries a penalty of up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The penalties are even greater for possession of over 50 grams, and for cultivating or distributing any amount of cannabis. The state of New Jersey is arresting people for cannabis at an alarming rate, and to make matters worse, African Americans are being arrested at three times the rate of Caucasians. Cannabis prohibition in New Jersey is a failed, harmful public policy in every measurable way.
Unfortunately New Jersey is home to one of the biggest cannabis opponents on the planet – current New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Governor Christie once stated that he would veto a cannabis decriminalization bill, and was very clear as a candidate for president that he would crackdown on states that have voted to legalize cannabis. Chris Christie really, really hates cannabis and apparently those that use it. But, fortunately for the state of New Jersey Chris Christie is on his way out of office. In roughly two weeks the state of New Jersey will be voting for a new Governor.
The two major party candidates are Democratic nominee Phil Murphy, and Republican nominee Kim Guadagno. The two candidates disagree on issues related to cannabis policy. Phil Murphy has stated a number of times that he supports full legalization, while Kim Guadagno wants to keep adult-use prohibition in place (although she has expressed support for expanding medical cannabis in New Jersey).
According to a poll from last month Phil Murphy has a hefty lead in the race. But, as is always the case in politics, nothing is a sure thing. If you live in New Jersey and are a sensible cannabis policy supporter, make sure to vote in the November election and tell everyone you know to do the same. As media outlets in New Jersey have pointed out leading up to election day, the vote for New Jersey’s next Governor will largely determine the chances of cannabis being legalized in New Jersey in 2018. In theory anything can happen regardless of who gets elected, but it will be an extremely uphill battle to legalize in New Jersey if Guadagno wins. A Phil Murphy victory does not guarantee legalization, but it does significantly improve the odds of it happening.
A reform victory in New Jersey would be a victory for cannabis legalization efforts nationwide, as it would build momentum for reform victories elsewhere. Because Chris Christie has clung so hard to cannabis prohibition in New Jersey for so long, a lot of eyes have been on New Jersey from both the pro-reform and anti-reform communities. Two states in the Northeastern part of the country (Maine and Massachusetts) have already legalized cannabis and adding New Jersey to that list would be significant, especially since other states in the area are expected to legalize cannabis via legislative action sooner rather than later. New Jersey would be a huge cannabis reform domino if it were to fall.
Congressman Testifies In Support Of Cannabis As An Alternative To Opioids
It is estimated that Americans consume roughly 80% of the world’s opioids, despite America making up only 5% of the world’s population. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that over 30,000 Americans die from an opioid overdose every year. The problem is even worse among professional athletes. Retired NFL players consume opioids at four times the rate of other Americans. It’s a serious problem that needs to be properly addressed both inside and outside of the professional sports world, and Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer thinks that cannabis can help.
United States Representative Earl Blumenauer is Cliff Robinson’s Representative. Congressman Blumenauer has been a champion of cannabis reform in the political world for a very long time, having led the effort in Oregon’s Legislature in 1973 to push for cannabis decriminalization. The successful effort made Oregon the first state in the nation to decriminalize cannabis.
Congressman Blumenauer has either sponsored, co-sponsored, or strongly supported every pro-cannabis reform measure that has been introduced in Congress since he became a United States Representative in 1996. Congressman Blumenauer recently testified in support of medical cannabis as a safer alternative to opioids in front of the Energy and Commerce Committee, video footage of which can be found below:
Congressman Bluemenauer’s passionate testimony is important for reform efforts aimed at changing cannabis policies in professional sports. Federal prohibition is often cited as a reason to keep cannabis prohibition in place in professional sports, so any movement in Congress is going to help build momentum for cannabis reform in the sports world. The Uncle Cliffy team fully supports Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s efforts to reform federal cannabis laws, especially efforts geared towards promoting cannabis as a safer alternative to harmful opioids. A number of studies have shown that cannabis can help reduce opioid use. Below are a number of them, as found on our sports cannabis studies page:
“The treatment of chronic pain with medicinal cannabis in this open-label, prospective cohort resulted in improved pain and functional outcomes, and a significant reduction in opioid use.” – Haroutounian S, Ratz Y, Ginosar Y, Furmanov K, Saifi F, Meidan R, Davidson E. (2016)
“Among respondents that regularly used opioids, over three-quarters (76.7%) indicated that they reduced their use since they started medical cannabis.” – Piper BJ1,2,3, DeKeuster RM4,5, Beals ML6, Cobb CM4,7, Burchman CA8,9, Perkinson L10, Lynn ST10, Nichols SD11, Abess AT12 (2017)
“Among study participants, medical cannabis use was associated with a 64% decrease in opioid use (n = 118), decreased number and side effects of medications, and an improved quality of life (45%). This study suggests that many CP patients are essentially substituting medical cannabis for opioids and other medications for CP treatment, and finding the benefit and side effect profile of cannabis to be greater than these other classes of medications.” – Boehnke KF, Litinas E, Clauw DJ. (2016)
“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.” – Stith, S. S., et al (2017)
“The growing body of research supporting the medical use of cannabis as an adjunct or substitute for opioids creates an evidence-based rationale for governments, health care providers, and academic researchers to consider the implementation and assessment of cannabis-based interventions in the opioid crisis.” – Philippe Lucas (2017)
“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.” – Heng, Marilyn MD, MPH, FRCSC; McTague, Michael F. MPH; Lucas, Robert C. BA; Harris, Mitchel B. MD; Vrahas, Mark S. MD; Weaver, Michael J. MD (2017)
UConn Is Facing Drastic Budget Cuts And Cannabis Legalization Can Help
Cliff Robinson played basketball at the University of Connecticut (UConn) from 1985-1989, and led the UConn Huskies to a NIT Championship in 1988. Cliff was named to the NIT All-Tournament team that year and was later selected to UConn’s ‘All-Century Men’s Basketball team.’ Robinson’s college number (’00’) was retired at Gampel Pavilion in 2007. Cliff Robinson is proud to be a Husky, and will always have a special place in his heart for the University of Connecticut.
The University of Connecticut is facing drastic proposed budget cuts over the next two years – $150 million dollars a year to be exact. A budget hit like that would have a harmful impact on UConn and its students, and therefore it should be avoided if at all possible. Creating tax revenue out of thin air is not an easy task, but it is not impossible, at least not for the state of Connecticut.
Connecticut is one of a number of states looking into updating its harmful cannabis laws. To date eight states have legalized cannabis for adult use. Washington D.C. has also implemented a cannabis legalization law. Cannabis prohibition is a failed public policy wherever it exists, and Connecticut’s current prohibition law is no exception. Cannabis legalization is beneficial in many ways, which is being proven every day in states that have ended cannabis prohibition for adult use. Cannabis legalization creates jobs, it saves money by not requiring law enforcement to enforce prohibition, it helps reduce the impact of institutional racism that goes along with cannabis prohibition, and it generates much needed tax revenues. Legalization in Connecticut has so much tax revenue potential that it could help UConn fix its budget woes.
The push for legalization in Connecticut is being led by Regulate Connecticut, which is an organization that Cliff Robinson is a proud member of. Regulate Connecticut has been working with lawmakers in Connecticut to include cannabis legalization in the state’s next budget. In May, both House and Senate Democrats released a budget proposal in Connecticut that included the regulating and taxing of cannabis. Unfortunately, subsequent House Democratic budgets omitted legalization.
Those subsequent budget proposals failed. As it stands right now, Connecticut does not have a budget, and negotiations are at a standstill. That means that there’s still a chance that cannabis legalization could be included in Connecticut’s next budget. According to Regulate Connecticut, legalization would generate an estimated $180 million dollars a year. Cannabis tax revenues in some legal states have exceeded initial tax revenue projections, so the estimate cited by Regulate Connecticut could actually prove to be lower than what may occur if/when Connecticut legalizes.
$180 million dollars in annual cannabis tax revenue is obviously more than enough to cover UConn’s current budget shortfall. Cannabis legalization in Connecticut could also generate more than 19,000 jobs, many of which could be filled by UConn graduates. With 63% of Connecticut voters supporting such a policy change, lawmakers need to step up and get Connecticut on the right side of history.
If you live in Connecticut, contact your legislators and let them know that you support cannabis legalization and that it should be included in Connecticut’s next budget. Also, consider getting involved with Regulate Connecticut and/or supporting their effort with a financial contribution. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out Regulate Connecticut on Facebook and Twitter, and tell others to do the same. Do your part and help free the plant!
More Than 653,000 People Were Arrested for Cannabis In 2016
No one should ever be arrested for cannabis. After all, cannabis has been found to be 114 time safer than alcohol. A cannabis arrest has the potential to ruin someone’s life. Long after the monetary and/or incarceration penalties have been completed by someone arrested for cannabis, the stigma remains. Those arrested for cannabis have to carry around the ‘cannabis scarlet letter’ which makes it hard to find a job, a place to live, and in some cases even prevents parents from being able to coach their kids’ sports teams.
Unfortunately cannabis arrests are far too common in America. With adult-use legalization and medical cannabis reform victories spreading across the country, one would think that the number of cannabis arrests would be significantly dropping in America. Sadly, that is not the case according to recently released arrest statistics. Below is more information about cannabis arrests numbers, via the Marijuana Policy Project. These numbers should serve as motivation for all of us to work harder to free the plant:
An estimated 653,249 arrests were made nationwide for marijuana in 2016, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Crime In the United States (CIUS) report. This means one person was arrested for marijuana approximately every 48 seconds on average in the United States.
The full report is available here: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-t
“Arresting and citing over half a million people a year for a substance that is objectively safer than alcohol is a travesty,” said Morgan Fox, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Despite a steady shift in public opinion away from marijuana prohibition, and the growing number of states that are regulating marijuana like alcohol, marijuana consumers continue to be treated like criminals throughout the country. This is a shameful waste of resources and can create lifelong consequences for the people arrested.”
There are currently eight states that regulate marijuana similarly to alcohol for adults, four of which voted to do so in November 2016. Marijuana possession is also legal for adults in the District of Columbia. Twenty-three states and D.C. considered legislation in 2017 to regulate marijuana, including in Vermont where the legislature approved such a measure before the governor vetoed it.
“Regulating marijuana for adults creates jobs, generates tax revenue, protects consumers, and takes money away from criminals,” Fox continued. “It is time for the federal government and the rest of the states to stop ruining peoples’ lives and enact sensible marijuana policies.”
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.