How Cannabis Exposes the Disconnect between the People and Politicians

cannabis and politicians

Since the early 1900s, cannabis has been a point of contention within the United States and the world. The plant has been demonized and used as political fodder to support a particular narrative that benefitted a small bundle of organizations and industry.

I’m not going to rehash the 50-year state-sponsored propaganda against the plant nor the origins and character of the architects of the policies. As the decades rolled by – the proponents of legalization fought long and hard to convince the world that “cannabis is not what the government claims it to be”.

In 2020 – the acceptance for cannabis is at all-time high. Some 94% in the US are in favor of medical cannabis and nearly as much for complete legalization.

There’s even some political clout these days around the idea of legalization. Even though in the US federal legalization is still not on the books – enough states have legalized in one shape or manner to indicate that cannabis will eventually be legalized federally as well.

Which brings us to the two options for President in November. On one hand we’ve got Trump who has certainly not been one of the more popular presidents in the history of the US. He has been on record saying that he doesn’t care if cannabis is legalized, that is should be a state issue, but also as not done anything to advance the issue of legalization. In fact – there is absolutely no talks of legalizing cannabis from the Trump side.

On the other hand we have Biden – an old “drug warrior” who made his name in politics as being the toughest “blue politician” out there. He was once quoted saying that “Bush wasn’t tough enough” when it came to drug laws. Biden’s VP Kamala Harris is in favor of legalization – now – but wasn’t always in the past.

Harris however, does seem to be leaning more to the legalization route – despite the fact that Biden’s official policy is decriminalization.

Some politicians aren’t too happy…

In particular, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) was vocal about Biden’s approach to cannabis saying,

“It is demanded by the American public. It’s no longer controversial,” Blumenauer, who is co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said of legalization. “For the campaign to talk about decriminalization is essentially meaningless. Your grandmother is for decriminalization.” - Source

And he’s right. As mentioned – Americans are overwhelming in favor of legalization. People have awoken to the idea that regulation works better than incarceration and that tax dollars could be better spent in prevention and education than ramping up the drug war.

“Over two-thirds of the American public supports full legalization. A majority of Republicans support full legalization. An overwhelming majority of young people,” he went on to say. “I think that’s where we’re going. I’m optimistic that, before the election, we’ll get a better statement. But ultimately, what’s going to matter is what we do in Congress and we are poised, maybe even this Congress, to fully legalize, but certainly in the next Congress.”

The Last Presidents of the Old Regime

I sincerely hope that this November elections sees the last dinosaur politician sit in a place of power. It’s become painfully obvious that the people who are trying to run the country do not share the same values as the rest of the country – at least when it comes to cannabis.

Biden and Trump are remnants of an old regime. A place where “big wigs” made “Big decisions” and “grabbing them by the puss” was A-okay. Biden used to sniff little girls without people making too much of a fuss about it – but today, none of that is okay.

Perhaps – there needs to be an age limit on presidents. If we’re trying to get the “best of us” to lead us – then perhaps we should exclude those who are starting to become senile. If you take a step back and look at both of the candidates – they both look like they are on a heavy regimen of drugs just to get by.

Cannabis is the divider…

While what Blumenauer said was true – “even your grandma is for decriminalization” – it continues to show us who are at odds with the will of the American people. Biden and Trump are playing politics when there are people being arrested for cannabis. Instead of simply saying, “enough is enough” they still have to appease their base – and this is why both are such terrible options. The base of both of these candidates are fringe versions of the American people.

In fact – both left and right sound eerily the same, arguing over their candidates with blind faith and sacrificing their own values to suit that of their party leader.

Most Americans – and the world – just wants to make a livable wage, be relatively safe in the streets, have a home and have access to food and medicine. Cannabis being both food and medicine.

Let’s hope – that this year’s election marks the end of the old and the beginning of the new – no matter which way it swings.