chart of where the marijuana money goes in colorado

Rescheduling Cannabis

Ed Sanders MMJ, Political 1 Comment

Reschedule MMJ from a “Schedule 1 Drug”

Even though 26 of our 51 States in America have legalized Medical Marijuana to treat our citizens who suffer from a myriad of disease–from Crohn’s Disease to epilepsy to cancer to PTSD and beyond–our Federal Government is being held hostage by the special interests of people raking-in millions and billions of dollars from Big Pharma, an industry that continually releases dangerous concoctions that kill our people every day. On March 31, 2014, John Vibes quoted startling information:

new study has shown that pharmaceutical drugs cause more overdoses and more deaths than all of the illegal drugs on the market combined. According to the government’s own statistics, listed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, deaths relating to pharmaceutical drugs rose to roughly 23,000 last year, which accounts for over half of the total overdose deaths in the country for that time period.

Additionally, a recent study conducted by researchers with the University of Virginia, University of Arkansas, the Partnership for Drug Free Kids, and the American Institutes for Research reconfirmed the known dangers of pharmaceutical drug abuse.

Source: TheAntiMedia.org (2014). Government Says Big Pharma Kills More People Than All Illegal Drugs Combined Retrieved from http://theantimedia.org/big-pharma-kills-more-people-than-all-illegal-drugs/

 

Big Pharma has deep pockets such that most Class Action law suits never see the inside of a courtroom, let alone reach the ears of the plaintiffs’ peers. “The persistence of Big Pharma’s fraud despite ubiquitous legal action suggests that our present efforts to hold the industry accountable are ineffective. Phoenix personal injury lawyer explained, by avoiding the publicity of trials, Big Pharma buries facts that could harm their reputation and cut profits. As long as earnings far outweigh the sum of settlement fines, pharmaceutical companies will continue to regard such payments as merely “the cost of doing business“ (Beaton, C. 10-13-2015. Holding Big Pharma Accountable: Why Suing The Pharmaceutical Industry Isn’t Working. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-beaton/holding-big-pharma-accoun_b_8280952.html). These facts and practices are outrageous!

The people of our United States of America have voted, in democratic fashion, for the legalization of Medical Marijuana. This equates to a responsibility of our Federal Government to revise Cannabis from a Schedule 1 Drug to a legal tier. Because our USA Federal Government continues to classify Cannabis as a Scedule 1 Drug, research funding of Cannabis is illegal–the scientists cannot possess the plant so they cannot study its medicinal values. This Catch-22, again, protects the Big Pharma special money interests and the people who are lining their pockets; the FDA and DEA are complicit in this Big Brother money-making machine. Not only is there only one entity in America authorized to produce marijuana for legitimate medical application study, The University of Mississippi–operating under a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (go research who sits on that board!)–, witness Rosenberg trying to obfuscate accountability:

“DEA has denied two petitions to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In response to the petitions, DEA requested a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which was conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in consultation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Based on the legal standards in the CSA, marijuana remains a schedule I controlled substance because it does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision, and it has a high potential for abuse.

In his letter to the petitioners, DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg offered a detailed response outlining the factual and legal basis for the denial of the petitions. (August 11, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.dea.gov/divisions/hq/2016/hq081116.shtml).

Now, let’s look at his letter to the petitioners and the Governorse Raimondo and Inslee. Remember that the DEA has created a brick wall precluding legal research and states clearly that the University of Mississippi is the sole currently Federally sanctioned research facility. Here is Rosenberg’s testimony regarding the DEA’s Marijuana Research, from his aforementioned letter:

Marijuana Research: Research is the bedrock of science, and we will – as we have for many years – support and promote legitimate research regarding marijuana and its constituent parts. For instance, DEA has never denied an application from a researcher to use lawfully produced marijuana in a study determined by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to be scientifically meritorious. In fact, during the last two plus years, the total number of individuals and institutions registered with DEA to research marijuana, marijuana extracts, derivatives, and tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) has more than doubled, from 161 in April 2014 to 354 at present. Some of the ongoing research includes studies of the effects of smoked marijuana on human subjects. Folks might be surprised to learn that we support this type of research. But, we do. DEA and NIDA have also increased the amount of marijuana available for research. Indeed, we consistently meet legitimate demand by researchers for marijuana. Currently, NIDA is filling requests for research marijuana in an average of25 days. We will continue to work with NIDA to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of marijuana and its derivatives (in terms of quantity and the variety of chemical constituents) to support legitimate research needs. This includes approving additional growers of marijuana to supply researchers. Details of this proposal to support legitimate research will be published in the Federal Register. Further, in December 2015, we waived certain regulatory requirements for researchers conducting FDA-authorized clinical trials on cannabidiol (CBD), a constituent part of marijuana. These waivers, when granted, enable researchers to modify or expand the scope of their studies more easily. Currently, there are 90 researchers registered with the DEA to conduct CBD research on human subjects. We have approved every waiver application that has been submitted by these researchers – to date, a total of 47. (Rosenberg, C. August 11, 2016. U.S Department of Justice /Drug Enforcement Agency. Retrieved from https://www.dea.gov/divisions/hq/2016/Letter081116.pdf

Chuck Rosenberg, the Acting Administratorof the DEA, is an outright liar (or maybe he should use Cannabis to treat his compulsive habit of contradicting himself). Either way, Rosenberg’s documents collide, both as a matter of fact and in his assertions that there exists no scientific proof that Cannabis has medicinal value. In blind studies across our world and including over 50-plus years of research, the majority of our world leaders who are not in-bed with Big Pharma have proven Cannabis to be exceptionally useful in medical applications.

The tiny nation of Israel “is a surprising world leader when it comes to pioneering medical cannabis research and development. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lists marijuana in the most restrictive of five classes that the agency uses to regulate dangerous drugs. Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, which is the ranking reserved for drugs with the greatest potential for abuse and with no medicinal value. Heroin, ecstasy and LSD are listed in that category, too, while cocaine and methamphetamine rank one level lower than marijuana, as Schedule II” (Nordrum, A., 2-19-2015. Why Is Marijuana A Schedule I Drug? International Business Times. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/why-marijuana-schedule-i-drug-1821426). Maybe our alliance with Israel has been jeopardized by the Obama Administration in part due to Israel’s galvanized research and medical use of Cannabis, including support from their Government Officials; obviously, their leaders are not getting rich from the sale of pharmaceuticals that poison and kill their own people.

The International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) “was formally incorporated as a scientific research society in 1992. Prior to that, Symposia were organized by various researchers in the field since 1970. Membership in the Society has risen from 50 original members in its first year to more than 500 members from all over the world (ICRS History. 2017. Retrieved from http://icrs.co/AboutUs.html#History).

The ICRS is a non-political, non-religious organization dedicated to scientific research in all fields of the cannabinoids, ranging from biochemical, chemical and physiological studies of the endogenous cannabinoid system to studies of the abuse potential of recreational Cannabis.

In addition to acting as a source for impartial information on Cannabis and the cannabinoids, the main role of the ICRS is to provide an open forum for researchers to meet and discuss their research. (About the ICRS, 2017. Retrieved from http://icrs.co/index.html)

Now, get this: “The ICRS is a US non-profit organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code (EIN: 32-0373206).” In all of its annual symposia, the ICRS has only held two annual meetings in the USA: 1991 in West Palm Beach, Florida and 1992 in Keystone Colorado. Over these past 27 years, an American-based, non-profit organization chooses to hold annual conferences outside of its native country. This fact is appalling and should be shouted-out to all the American people who support the use of Medical Marijuana, Physicians and patients alike. Our Federal Government has bullied the American professionals into submission by threatening to revoke their licenses to practice medicine. The state governments who have legalized Cannabis and have amassed millions of tax revenue are either stealing the money by duping the voters into agreeing to legislative taxation such as Colorado’s TABOR measure to fund public schools or employing a new kind of accounting for use of the millions of dollars in Cannabis tax revenues.  In Colorado, our Cannabis industry insiders watch our government very closely, especially concerning the industry’s tax revenues.

“Colorado collected more than $135 million in marijuana taxes and fees in 2015 (Baca, R., February 9, 2016. Colorado marijuana sales skyrocket to more than $996 million in 2015. The Cannabist. Retrieved from http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/02/09/colorado-marijuana-sales-2015-reach-996-million/47886/).

Now look what the Colorado State Government reports:

In the fiscal year of 2015/2016, Colorado tax revenue from the sale of Cannabis totaled $7,829,269.00. (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2017. Disposition of Marijuana Tax Revenue. Retrieved from https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/revenue/disposition-marijuana-tax-revenue and https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-GHuI9KBfjVQ0h4U2dOMGxZYWc/view).

Where is the other $127 million-plus dollars? Why are the people in Governments so corrupt? Where is the money going? And, why is our school system still complaining about lack of funding? Cannabis tax revenues generate huge money!

“Colorado reached just over $106 million in marijuana sales for November 2016, putting yearly sales totals near $1.2 billion with December stats still to come. (The Cannabist. January 12, 2017. Search Results for: Tax Revenue. Retrieved from http://www.thecannabist.co/?s=Tax+revenue)

Try to make sense of this bureaucratic puzzle that is intentionally designed to confuse the voters and make it impossible to follow the money trails:

 

chart of where the marijuana money goes in colorado

Chart of where the marijuana money goes in colorado

 

 

Like the majority of American government entities, the humans within are corrupt, greedy, and in cahoots. Our elected Federal officials are out of their minds if they believe that the American people will continue to sit idly while their institutional bedfellows poison and kill us, including our children–especially when Cannabis has been proven viable in numerous medical applications.

The American Federal overseers that sprung from the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 collaborate and trade shame with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the Department of Health and Human Services HHS. They collectively argue the ridiculous  that Medical Cannabis has no medical benefits, and further, that its use equals cocaine and methamphetamine addiction is patently absurd! In an interview With Neuroscientist Carl Hart on January 6, 2014, Amy Goodman Hart’s feet to the fire:

AMY GOODMAN: Last year, one of the nation’s most prominent doctors announced he had shifted his stance in support of medical marijuana. That’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the chief medical correspondent for CNN, openly apologizing for his past reporting dismissing the medical uses of the drug.

  1. SANJAY GUPTA:I have apologized for some of the earlier reporting, because I think, you know, we’ve been terribly and systematically misled in this country for some time. And I—I was—I did part of that misleading. I didn’t look far enough. I didn’t look deep enough. I didn’t look at labs in other countries that are doing some incredible research. I didn’t listen to the chorus of patients who said, “Not only does marijuana work for me, it’s the only thing that works for me.” I took the DEA at their word when they said it is a Schedule I substance and has no medical applications. There was no scientific basis for them to say that.

AMY GOODMAN: Your response to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Carl Hart?

  1. CARL HART:On the one hand, I applaud Sanjay. But on the other hand, I might be embarrassed if I was a physician and I’m this late in the game. The evidence has been overwhelming for quite some time. And if you read the literature and have been reading the literature, this position or this change should have come earlier. But still, it takes some courage to say you were wrong. But I think that it’s been overstated how much praise he deserves.

 

Today, and every day after, until Cannabis is rescheduled as a Schedule 2 (drug), we will suffer the ills of pharmaceuticals and opioids – and people will not benefit but suffer overdoses from what is currently legalized drugs.

 

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About Ed Sanders

Ed Sanders

I have been a WebMaster since 1998, when I learned to code HTML pages for our local church congregation. I have been WebMastering ever since those days. Now I have moved on to installing CMS (Content Management Systems) websites like WordPress, Joomlah, E107, etc. I maintain a number of websites currently, see my Portfolio page. I believe in doing the best job possible when I work on my sites.

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