The Politics of Medical Marijuana
Alex at the Drug Law Blog adds his thoughts to my earlier post expressing frustration at the legitimacy problems with California's medical marijuana dispensaries. Alex really gets at the heart of the problem - that we generally don't accept the concept that there are substances that can have both medical and recreational use. Even the guy from the LAist interview who had a medical marijuana card questioned whether anyone was "legitimately sick." To those who actually know medical marijuana patients, that's appalling. But people who enjoy marijuana can fall into that trap; by assuming that since they like the drug so much recreationally, that others who claim medical use are just scammers. They're wrong, of course, and they contribute to the "stoner-stupid" stereotype that holds back so much support for drug law reform.
From the other direction, the DEA's war on pain management physicians tends to rely on a similar belief, that if people can become addicted to certain pain medications, the medical use is either invalid or simply not worth it for society as a whole. Pain relief medications are arguably the one exception to the clear separation of medical and recreational use for the average American. But while they understand the recreational use, most tend to believe that using pain medications recreationally is something that only leads to crippling addictions and must be outlawed. Substances like cocaine, LSD, amphetamines, and psilocybin, all drugs with known medical benefits, are only seen in our society as bad recreational drugs. People are skeptical when the subject of using them in a medical situation is raised, even when it's been done for years.
The greater recognition that marijuana has some very clear medical benefits, along with being a relatively safe recreational drug, is beginning to raise questions about how we view drug use in general. While most of us have been led to believe there's a thick line between good drugs and bad drugs, the real divide exists between good habits and bad habits. Many people have drug dependencies to treat a variety of ailments, but how drug use and drug dependency are viewed relates more to the drug in question rather than the dangers of the dependency. A person who has to take a drug like Xanax every day or they can't function is not viewed as being dependent, while someone who needs illegal pain medication to function is seen as dependent.
The reality of marijuana brings this contradiction into the open. Trying to classify marijuana as a "good drug" or a "bad drug" is what leads to the belief that it should only be a medicine or a recreational drug, but not both. Instead, it's better to determine whether there are good habits or bad habits. Many recreational users who don't need the drug (marijuana is not chemically addictive) still see it as being beneficial or otherwise enjoyable to them. As a result, it can be habit-forming without being either a dependency or a detriment. For others, it can be detrimental, especially for those with mental illnesses. But some of its effects are very useful for certain medical conditions as well. Marijuana is a complicated drug, and one that is exposing the problems with our collective belief that we can keep ourselves safe from addiction by simply categorizing drugs as good ones or bad ones.
From the other direction, the DEA's war on pain management physicians tends to rely on a similar belief, that if people can become addicted to certain pain medications, the medical use is either invalid or simply not worth it for society as a whole. Pain relief medications are arguably the one exception to the clear separation of medical and recreational use for the average American. But while they understand the recreational use, most tend to believe that using pain medications recreationally is something that only leads to crippling addictions and must be outlawed. Substances like cocaine, LSD, amphetamines, and psilocybin, all drugs with known medical benefits, are only seen in our society as bad recreational drugs. People are skeptical when the subject of using them in a medical situation is raised, even when it's been done for years.
The greater recognition that marijuana has some very clear medical benefits, along with being a relatively safe recreational drug, is beginning to raise questions about how we view drug use in general. While most of us have been led to believe there's a thick line between good drugs and bad drugs, the real divide exists between good habits and bad habits. Many people have drug dependencies to treat a variety of ailments, but how drug use and drug dependency are viewed relates more to the drug in question rather than the dangers of the dependency. A person who has to take a drug like Xanax every day or they can't function is not viewed as being dependent, while someone who needs illegal pain medication to function is seen as dependent.
The reality of marijuana brings this contradiction into the open. Trying to classify marijuana as a "good drug" or a "bad drug" is what leads to the belief that it should only be a medicine or a recreational drug, but not both. Instead, it's better to determine whether there are good habits or bad habits. Many recreational users who don't need the drug (marijuana is not chemically addictive) still see it as being beneficial or otherwise enjoyable to them. As a result, it can be habit-forming without being either a dependency or a detriment. For others, it can be detrimental, especially for those with mental illnesses. But some of its effects are very useful for certain medical conditions as well. Marijuana is a complicated drug, and one that is exposing the problems with our collective belief that we can keep ourselves safe from addiction by simply categorizing drugs as good ones or bad ones.
posted by thehim at 7:33 AM
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