The Importance of Cannabis…and Happy 4/20

We now all know that cannabis was framed by the government as a horrific drug that anyone who used it should be thrown in jail. What we now know is that the whole narrative was a ruse to keep Black and brown people in jail. People in government, particularly those of a certain age and conservative nature, are still aghast that people partake in the plant, the reality of what is starting to come to the surface is just the beginning.

In 1964, researchers at Hebrew University (Israel has never stopped researching cannabis) isolated THC, which began the understanding of how cannabis interacts with the body. By 1992, researchers discovered that anandamide is a naturally occurring cannabinoid in the human body. This started to explain why cannabis has such a wide range of medicinal qualities, from sleep to pain. Essentially our bodies are wired for cannabis.

What is incredible is that doctors, except for a few brave ones, ignored all of this for decades because cannabis is not federally legal. The questions we should all be asking are how cannabis helps me? Is it a medicine for cures or wellness?

Whereas alcohol can be an impairment, cannabis positively interacts with our bodies. Is there a particular gummy that could help with a nasty cold or headache? Is there a certain flower that relaxes the body and alleviates pain or stress? More research will tell us, and the future will tell us the reality of this plant.

The government still believes the narrative put forth that cannabis is bad, or it wouldn’t have created the overwhelming regulation and laws from the onset of the state-by-state legalization of cannabis. States have realized the economic and tax benefits, so we will see another seven states legally sell the plant this year. That will put the number of states selling the plant at almost 50, and it is still not federally legal.

The industry doesn’t have the money to spend on lawyers and lobbyists to push these reforms through. Who is going to be the leader in reform?

And of course, a Happy 4/20 to all.