While Stenuf concedes that cannabis policy in the US has a long way to go, she can’t help but be positive about how the movement is picking up steam. The latest developments in cannabis research are “making more affordable and safer access for patients, providing the statistics to prove that homelessness is going down, opioid addiction is going down… and with the shift in laws and policies, more jobs and entrepreneurship as well as careers and opportunities are becoming available. You can’t steer clear of the facts and the anecdotal evidence (which is evidence). And the facts are becoming more clear – the people themselves are seeing that ‘clearer’ image and it’s inevitable that change is here.”
What would Stenuf most like to see in cannabis’s immediate future?
Decriminalization needs to happen first and foremost. That takes the pressure off of the patients and caregivers, and puts [it] onto the cartel and drug dealers while forcing the government to integrate make changes from the ground, up. If we take away the criminalization on the federal, state, and local level, we can figure out how to implement education, business, laws and policies as well as healthcare changes and social justice reform without diving in, which would be setting ourselves up for failure. Jumping right into legalization and not decriminalizing first would only cause a blame game on a system that was set up for failure in the first place. Decriminalization before legalization may be a longer process, but let’s do it right for the next generations.
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To learn more about Sarah Stenuf’s advocacy and resources for veterans, follow HappyHealing420 LLC on Facebook.
For more about the Cannabis Cultural Association, visit cannacultural.org or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Cannabis' Uses in Holistic Medicine