Cannabis History
Cannabis History
� Continued from page 29
Propaganda and Prohibition : America ’ s War on Marijuana
potential for abuse . Up until a shocking recent update , that ’ s how marijuana has been categorized for the last 54 years . funding to do research on cannabis is a bit of a labyrinth . Numbers and impairment in cannabis do not go hand in hand .”
But times they are a-changin ’. In a historic moment in August 2024 , the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice recommended rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug , defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence . Along with this rescheduling are dozens of activist groups making major headway in working against cannabis prohibition , including providing eye-opening educational workshops for the watchdogs responsible for enforcing prohibition in the first place –– The Police .
A volunteer who recently consumed has sobriety field test by a police officer at a 2021 Extracted-ED Green Lab Workshops . Officers learn to distinguish between routine cannabis consumption and alcohol consumption . ( Photo by Clayton Stallings )
Although our federal government still has a lot to figure out regarding rescheduling and how each state ’ s separate cannabis constitutions will have to adjust to those decisions , the future is looking lush and green , my friends !
Ryan Hutton of Extracted-ED Green Lab Workshops hosts a police training class educating officers about proper sobriety field testing for cannabis consumption , and the differences between alcohol impaired testing . The classes started in 2021 and continue in 2024 .
D ’ Arcy Smith , a longtime forensic pharmacologist who has worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police ( equivalent to our FBI ) on its Drugs and Driving Committee , recently joined a team in Joplin , MO , hosting a Green Lab Workshop . According to Smith , Green Lab Workshops ( photo above ) are helping to establish a national framework to assist police agencies in understanding that there is a huge difference between the consumption of marijuana and alcohol regarding impaired driving . In addition to educational seminars , Ryan Hutton ’ s Extracted-ED Green Lab Workshops ( held from 2021 through 2024 ) create a platform for police to perform sobriety field tests on volunteers who ’ ve recently consumed to prove that routine cannabis consumption does not negatively impact driving . The results of which are impactful .
As a toxicologist with 38 years of experience , Smith advocates that there shouldn ’ t be any THC limits to regulate driving impaired . “ The literature doesn ’ t ’ support having a THC limit as far as impairment goes [ the way we do for alcohol at . 08 %],” Smith says . “ Understanding cannabis impairment is not straightforward like it is with alcohol . We don ’ t have over 100 years of research , and getting federal
Keep calm and smoke on for the times they are a “ changin !” “ Come senators , congressmen Please heed the call Don ’ t stand in the doorway Don ’ t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled The battle outside ragin ’ Will soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin ’” ~ Bob Dylan
All historic newsclip images via Public Domain .
Karla Deel lives and works as a Freelance writer , photographer , poet , and designer in Kansas City , MO . Her first book , “ Storied & Scandalous Kansas City , a History of Corruption , Mischief , and a Whole Lot of Booze ” ( Globe Pequot Press , 2019 ), continues to bring disparate groups of people together in celebration of a shared history . She is a self-proclaimed maximalist , a lover of rural and urban exploration , global travel , people , world music , being barefoot , and surrounding herself with all things turquoise and gold .
30 June 2024