Guest Commentary
I visited a pot shop last week, something I thought I would never do. A senior citizen friend of mine has been experiencing rather severe knee pain and is trying to postpone an inevitable replacement.
In the meantime, she has done almost everything: the magic shot series, physical therapy, horse liniment and continues to ask advice of friends and neighbors who have had similar problems.
One friend experienced relief with cannabis oil and her primary care doctor advised her to, “Try it, you have nothing to lose.” She asked me to pick up some for her the next time I went to Spokane, so I found myself in a retail marijuana outlet.
It was well lit with floor to ceiling glass cases of product on display. They were doing a brisk business with a serpentine waiting line similar to that at an airline check in desk.
When my turn came, one of the clerks waved me to the counter with a suspicious, “How can I help you?” I asked if they carried medical marijuana, and he immediately said that they were not licensed as a medical retailer. I noticed several jars on the shelf behind him that looked as if they could be cannabis oil. I asked if one of those would relieve joint pain.
First he had to check my ID. He said he needed to record the ID check and moved a bit to the side so the camera could capture the process. I even had to take my ID out of my wallet so he could check my birthday on the back. I realize the marijuana controversy is still ongoing, and he must follow the exact procedure, but I have grandchildren over 21. After I made my choice of the available options, he finally decided I wasn’t a federal agent and gave me a senior citizen discount.
I remember the arguments used for and against the initiative to legalize marijuana in Washington state. Those against claimed young people would have easier access and pot use would dramatically increase. Those for claimed that our young people are going to use recreational marijuana anyway, so let them obtain it legally and regulate the production and sales. The argument that made the most sense to me was, “What we are doing now isn’t working.” The initiative seems to be working about as advertised. I haven’t heard widespread reports of legal marijuana doing any great harm to society.
The new threat, however, is other illegal drugs. The national news had a brief story last week claiming that Americans are more likely to die from opioid overdose than from automobile accidents. I am skeptical of claims by the national media, so I Googled it and, to my mild surprise, found that there were 37,000 Americans killed in car crashes last year and the same number died via drug overdoses. That is a shocking number. What we are doing isn’t working.
A very smart friend of mine suggested the same arguments used in favor of legalizing marijuana could be used to legalize all drugs. Our society sees drug abusers as victims and is, therefore, unwilling to prosecute them for their part in the epidemic. We have had no success in stemming the illicit supply. The only viable option left is to legalize and regulate drug manufacture and sales.
Why would the impact of legal opioids be any more detrimental then for marijuana? Users would no longer need to turn to the criminal underworld for their supplies. During prohibition in the 1920s, illegal liquor provided an income for the mob. When it was repealed in 1933, the mobs either disappeared or turned to other illegal activities.
The same thing would apply to drug lords. If narcotics were legally obtainable, there would be no profit for the cartels. They would either go away or turn to other activities.
There may be a potential win-win here. I would really like to see some unbiased studies to determine if my intuition is accurate. We may be better off if our government would fund the appropriate studies instead of fighting a losing battle against supply.
Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 19 years.
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