Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to Politico last year…
“When a state like South Dakota votes by referendum to legalize [marijuana], you know something is out there. The American people started speaking sort of with a clear message. More than two-to-one, that they want the law changed.”
Schumer was likely referring to a 2021 Gallup poll that found 68% of Americans support legalizing marijuana.
Also from Gallup:
Substantive differences are seen, however, by political party and religion. While most Democrats (83%) and political independents (71%) support legalization, Republicans are nearly evenly split on the question (50% in favor; 49% opposed). Weekly and semi-regular attendees of religious services are split on the issue as well, while those who attend infrequently or never are broadly supportive of legalizing marijuana.
So, it’s not exactly a slam dunk issue. But Dems are pushing for federal decriminalization, anyway —even with studies like this from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
[F]ive states that allow the recreational use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older revealed a 5.8% increase in the rate of traffic crash injuries and a 4.1% increase in fatal crash rates after legalization and the onset of retail sales. The researchers found no increase at the same time in a comparison group of states that did not legalize the drug.
“The legalization of marijuana doesn’t come without cost,” says lead researcher Charles M. Farmer, Ph.D., of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Ruckersville, Va.
Colorado, one of the first states to legalize, saw a 17.8 percent jump in crash injuries.
Another recent study from The City University of New York and Columbia University found that, not surprisingly, cannabis use grows faster after legalization. Professor Renee Goodwin, the study’s lead author, said cannabis use was “markedly more prevalent,” Daily Mail reports.
She also warned about the rapid passing of legislation and the potential health risks.
Across the pond, University College London and King’s College London found that adolescents were more than three times as likely as adults to get addicted to cannabis.
And these are just a few of the recent studies that suggest Democrats should proceed with caution (if at all) on legalizing marijuana.
Here are a few more to consider…
A Canadian study shows that pot smokers are 22% more likely to land in the emergency room; a report from the UN shows weed spikes depression and suicide; Rutgers says pot smokers can “misperceive” how their romantic relationships are going —even Researchers at Oregon Health and Science University say the accepted “benefits” of smoking may not be “scientifically valid.”
Schumer’s Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act was introduced last week —and it doesn’t just legalize weed, it “expunges federal cannabis-related records and creates funding for law enforcement departments to fight illegal cannabis cultivation.”
But the bill is unlikely to clear the 60 vote threshold needed in the Senate —anyone who thinks otherwise is high.
