Has marijuana changed or have we? (Commentary)
Updated Apr 06, 2021;
Posted Apr 01, 2021
FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2019, file photo, marijuana grows at an indoor cannabis farm in Gardena, Calif. More changes are coming to Utah s medical cannabis program bills in the state legislature, including easing patients struggle to find doctors willing to recommend the drug.Richard Vogel | AP Photo
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Dessa Bergen-Cico, PhD., is a professor of public health and addiction studies at Syracuse University.
The legalization of marijuana (cannabis) has been a long time coming in New York State. One of the main reasons for the delay has been the intentionality of the legislation to ensure that most everyone of legal age (21 and over) can have an equitable seat at the proverbial legal market table. In other words, lawmakers wanted to ensure that the legislative efforts address the disparities in the racial and socio-economic burden of the war on drugs.
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Oregon’s new law decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of all drugs for personal use went into effect earlier this month and has been hailed by advocates of drug policy reform as a “revolutionary” step in the right direction.
Rather than face a criminal violation with jail time, possession of illegal drugs is now a civil violation that comes with a fine and court-ordered therapy. Using a public health approach that offers treatment, rather than the decades-long war on drugs approach resulting in incarceration, is one Oregon now shares with countries such as Portugal, the Netherlands, Switzerland and others. Criminal punishment has been shown to have little to no effect on reducing crime, including the use and possession of illegal drugs.