Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are trying to convince American voters that their vision for the future of the nation should be the chosen path forward. Whether it’s the ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida, South Dakota, and North Dakota; ballot measures related to medical marijuana in Nebraska and Arkansas; or the Biden administration’s attempt to reschedule marijuana, we can be sure that politicians will be talking about marijuana this election season.
When it comes to our nation’s drug policies candidates from all parties should prioritize public health and public safety, not industry interests.
Here are a few of the most common myths and facts about marijuana that every candidate––and voter––needs to know.
Supporters often point to polls that purportedly show the American public supports legalization. However, these results are a consequence of the question typically being asked as a binary choice between the two extremes of full criminalization and full legalization. When moderate policy options are included––such as decriminalizing possession and legalizing only medical marijuana––full recreational legalization does not have majority support.
A 2022 poll conducted by Emerson College found that:
When asked their preferred marijuana policy, 38% of voters support legalizing and commercializing marijuana for production, recreational use, and sales, like in stores. Thirty percent (30%) said they prefer legalization of marijuana for medical purposes only. Decriminalization of marijuana possession and use was the preferred policy for 19%, and 14% said they would prefer to keep marijuana illegal federally.
Rather than helping to regulate today’s highly potent THC and marijuana, federal legalization would supercharge it by emboldening the addiction industry to take in billions from private equity, Big Tobacco, and Big Alcohol. Given a new Gallup Poll showing that, compared with two years ago, almost 20 percent more people view marijuana as not having a positive effect, Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump would be wise to distance themselves from such efforts.
Next, politicians like to tout the tax revenue that can come from the sale of marijuana, claiming it’ll fund everything from addiction treatment to schools. However, this claim overlooks the associated costs of the reform. A 2018 study in Colorado found that every $1 in tax revenue was associated with $4.50 in costs, including from lost productivity, traffic fatalities, and hospital visits.
SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 30: In this photo illustration, dried cannabis flowers are displayed on April 30, 2024 in San Anselmo, California. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced plans to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug and designate it a Schedule III controlled substance instead of a Schedule I drug where it is currently listed.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Beyond that, marijuana falls short of being the windfall that is promised to voters. In the second quarter of 2024, the latest available period, the Census Bureau reported that marijuana tax revenue accounted for only 0.19 percent of California’s total revenue. It was 0.09 percent in New York, 0.36 percent in Massachusetts, and 0.37 percent in Illinois.
Candidates will claim that our prisons are filled with people who were arrested for marijuana. That’s simply not true. As of January 2022, nobody was in the Federal Bureau of Prisons system solely for the possession of marijuana. Instead, candidates should focus on building on the efforts of President Joe Biden and state leaders to expunge criminal records related to low-level possession of marijuana for personal use.
This point is also overlooked when candidates voice support for rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III, as the Biden administration has proposed. Regardless of marijuana’s schedule, it remains federally illegal—and raw, crude marijuana has never passed safety and efficacy protocols. Rescheduling marijuana also will not make it easier to research its potential medical benefits. President Biden previously signed groundbreaking, bipartisan legislation that streamlined the application process for marijuana research without altering marijuana’s Schedule I status or legalizing the drug, and there are other bills before Congress that could further enhance research opportunities.
Marijuana policy has become deeply tainted by politics and profits.
Just look at who is funding the campaigns to legalize marijuana. In Florida, Trulieve, a leading “medical” marijuana company, has bankrolled the full-scale commercialization campaign to the tune of more than $70 million. Commercialization would allow such companies to flood the market with high-potency THC drug products that would generate millions in profits. The marijuana industry has also pumped millions of dollars into lobbying politicians, who then voice support for legalization.
If candidates truly care about public health and safety, they shouldn’t be on the side of those trying to legalize marijuana. Voters should look to see who supports approaches based on prevention, treatment, and recovery—not injecting more drugs into communities.
As we head into November, voters should be reminded that pandering politicians are seeking to dupe them into supporting harmful drug policies and an industry predicated on the addiction and degradation of our society. When voters look beneath the falsehoods and half-truths it’s clear that marijuana and drug legalization is bad for public health and safety, and our nation’s future. Politicians need to hear that message loud and clear.
Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D., is president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former three-time White House drug policy advisor.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
