Canada Legalizing, Coca-Cola Entering: Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana) Goes Legit
Some East Coast legal cannabis! For “research” purposes, of course.
Ah, finally: more proof we are living in the distant future we all dreamed about in high school and college. We are living, after all, 2 years after the date in which 1982 Ridley Scott sci-fi hit Blade Runner was supposed to take place. No androids or replicants, no floating cars for the most part, but boy did we get the Western marijuana legalization wave that thinkers like Terence Mckenna hoped for several decades ago.
Some of the West’s major governments have taken a serious re-look at cannabis sativa, everyone’s favorite psychoactive plant that grew natively in North America and parts of Europe for more than 10,000 years - and was used by humanity extensively during that time - before the hysterical Drug War included it as a target over the last 50 years or so.
Old cannabis medicine bottle from an American pharmacy
A century ago, leading pharmacies in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, San Francisco and other American cities provided potent cannabis sativa tinctures; high dose THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) suspended in alcohol, which is a method of consuming cannabis still popular to this day among medical users.
Today, more US states and territories than ever before have some form of legal cannabis on the books for either medical or recreational use. Furthermore, amazingly, the Trump Administration has quietly been publishing what appears to be pro-cannabis research for scientists and policymakers to review on cancer.gov. One such government report shows just how much of the country has already gone green:
Can’t stop progress. Plus, Canada decided to legalize, a decision that goes into effect for Canadians nationwide next month. Their military members will even be allowed to toke!
In no uncertain terms, Uncle Sam is now saying that cannabis might be very useful in the fight against cancer: “A laboratory study of delta-9-THC in hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cells showed that it damaged or killed the cancer cells. The same study of delta-9-THC in mouse models of liver cancer showed that it had antitumor effects. Delta-9-THC has been shown to cause these effects by acting on molecules that may also be found in non-small cell lung cancer cells and breast cancer cells.”
Big Business is looking to the mystery leaf also for inspiration, with media reporting Coca-Cola and Aurora Cannabis are in talks to produce a marijuana infused beverage line. Furthermore, Anheuser-Busch heir Adolphus Busch V is reportedly launching his own marijuana business, and feels marijuana (not beer!) will be his business future.
Cannabis interest from young professionals and retirees, as well as Big Business, is driving rapid changes in state marijuana laws.
Were we lied to about cannabis by the federal bureaucracy for a generation? That’s pretty much my takeaway after several years of legal recreational use, and some medical use before that. And now the world is waking up to the truth, millions of anecdotal reports of beneficial experiences simply outweigh the media fearmongering, and outweigh decades’ old scientific studies against this plant that may very well have been biased, or not legitimate at all.
Legal marijuana economies in Colorado, California, and elsewhere could soon get a boost, in our view, if the STATES Act - which President Trump reportedly supports - is signed into law. Senators in both parties seem to support de-scheduling cannabis, and the nation’s capitol has surprisingly progressive views on pot in general. Personal use of cannabis has been legal in DC for three years, and it’s hard to go more than a few blocks without smelling the evidence of that excellent policy.
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