LEGALIZE CANNABIS

“The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity, and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world.” — Carl Sagan

The prohibition of cannabis has done far more harm than cannabis itself ever could. For most of human history, cannabis was not controversial. It was grown by ancient civilizations from China to Mesopotamia, woven into textiles, pressed into oils, and used medicinally by healers from India to the Americas. The U.S. Founding Fathers cultivated hemp. Queen Victoria used cannabis tinctures for menstrual pain. Until the early 20th century, cannabis was as unremarkable as any other useful plant. Then, almost overnight, it became an outlawed substance, rebranded as a dangerous drug in a campaign built on racism and lies.

The first wave of cannabis prohibition was driven by fear, not science. In the early 1900s, anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. associated cannabis use with Mexican laborers, feeding moral panic. In the 1930s, Harry Anslinger,the  first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, spearheaded the criminalization of cannabis with outright fabrications, claiming that it made users violent and insane. He targeted Black and Latino communities, spreading propaganda that cannabis use led to “jazz music and interracial relationships”—which, to the racist establishment of the time, was apparently reason enough to ban it.

At the same time, corporate interests saw cannabis as a threat. The plant was an industrial powerhouse—hemp could be used to make paper, fabric, and even biofuel. But newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who had a financial stake in timber and paper mills, lobbied to demonize cannabis and hemp to protect his business. The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act effectively killed the legal cannabis industry, and by 1970, Nixon’s Controlled Substances Act classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug—on par with heroin, deemed to have “no medical value” despite centuries of documented medicinal use. Nixon’s own aides later admitted that the War on Drugs was designed to criminalize Black communities and anti-war activists, using cannabis as a pretext for mass arrests.

The criminalization of cannabis fueled the mass incarceration of millions, disproportionately targeting people of color. Even today, despite legalization in many states, Black Americans are still four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white Americans, despite similar usage rates. The War on Drugs has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, diverted law enforcement resources away from real crime, and empowered violent drug cartels, who thrive in the vacuum left by prohibition.

Meanwhile, the medical benefits of cannabis have been repeatedly proven. Studies have shown that cannabis is effective in treating chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, and even opioid withdrawal symptoms. The National Academy of Sciences reviewed over 10,000 studies and concluded that cannabis has legitimate therapeutic uses. Countries like Canada, Israel, and Germany have embraced cannabis-based treatments, while in the U.S., the federal government still classifies it as a drug with “no medical benefit.”

The economic impact of cannabis prohibition extends beyond arrests and incarceration—it has systematically excluded marginalized communities from participating in the emerging legal market. As states move toward legalization, wealthy investors and corporate interests have rushed to dominate the industry, leaving behind the very communities most harmed by the War on Drugs. In states like Illinois and California, equity programs meant to prioritize minority-owned cannabis businesses have been underfunded, bureaucratic, and riddled with delays. Without intentional policies to level the playing field, legalization risks becoming yet another avenue for economic inequality rather than a path toward restorative justice.

Moreover, federal prohibition continues to stifle innovation and research. Because cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under U.S. law, scientists face extraordinary hurdles in studying its full potential. Researchers must navigate a maze of federal approvals to access cannabis for clinical trials, while pharmaceutical companies can fast-track synthetic opioids with relative ease. This absurd double standard not only hampers medical advancement but also denies patients access to potentially life-saving treatments. Legalization is not just about personal freedom or economic opportunity—it is about unleashing the full potential of a plant that has been unjustly vilified for nearly a century.

The tide is turning. Over 40 U.S. states have legalized medical or recreational cannabis, and countries like Canada and Uruguay have fully legalized it. Legalization has created hundreds of thousands of jobs, generated billions in tax revenue, and drastically reduced arrests for minor drug offenses. Colorado and Washington, the first states to legalize recreational cannabis, have seen no increase in youth usage rates, debunking the old fear-mongering that legalization would turn teenagers into stoners. In fact, studies suggest that legalization reduces opioid overdose deaths, as more people use cannabis for pain relief instead of dangerously addictive pharmaceuticals.

Yet, despite all the evidence, federal prohibition remains. Banks refuse to work with cannabis businesses due to outdated laws. People still sit in prison for selling cannabis in the same states where corporations now profit from legal dispensaries. This contradiction is untenable.

A sane society does not criminalize a plant while allowing pharmaceutical companies to flood the market with addictive opioids. It does not ruin lives over a harmless herb while billionaires on Wall Street speculate on cannabis stocks. It does not allow racism and outdated propaganda to dictate drug policy while science and common sense are ignored.

Therefore, under Folklaw:

Cannabis shall be fully legalized, regulated, and taxed like alcohol. All individuals currently incarcerated for nonviolent cannabis offenses shall be immediately released and have their records expunged.

The cannabis industry shall be prioritized for small businesses and historically marginalized communities, not monopolized by corporations.

The revenue generated from cannabis taxation shall be reinvested into public health, education, and substance abuse treatment programs.

No government that criminalizes cannabis while allowing more harmful substances to be legal shall be considered legitimate.