This is one of those months when it’s tough to focus on the legal cannabis industry as I sit down to write this column — so forgive me if I’m a little scattered and straying from the beaten path.
I know a lot of people are sick and tired of being inundated with the gun control debate — and they don’t read Marijuana Venture to hear my opinion about the Second Amendment. In the era of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, the noise can become unbearable in the wake of a national tragedy such as the school shooting at a Florida high school. I’m trying my best not to add to the cacophony.
But it’s a conversation we can’t avoid, no matter how numb we’ve become to the shootings and gun violence, no matter how heart-broken we are for far too many victims and their families. We can’t expect this trend to change if we’re not willing to put all options on the table and if we’re not willing to argue like adults rather than petulant, self-centered children.
I feel like we live in a country that has forgotten how to disagree with each other. It’s too easy to separate ourselves into groups of “us” and “them,” to stay within one’s bubble, to stand resolute to one’s beliefs. It’s far too easy to ignore anything that doesn’t fit within one’s preconceptions, whether the subject is guns or other politicized topics like abortion, immigration or cannabis.
The Constitution is the law of the land. And while it can be easy to fixate on some of the 27 amendments, all too often, we forget the broader concepts laid out in the document’s opening line: forming a more perfect Union; establishing Justice; promoting the general Welfare.
I feel like we live in a country that has forgotten these core principles. The definition of justice should be constantly evolving, shaped by the progress of public opinion. It cannot be set in stone and left for eternity.
Let’s not misconstrue “justice” with “vengeance,” as is so often the case as the angry mob mentality always looks for somebody to blame. Instead, let’s allow truth to guide the hand of justice in all avenues of society.
Because cannabis consumes so much of my thinking these days, I can’t help but think about the progress made — and the steps that still need to be taken — regarding marijuana reform as it pertains to justice.
I’m enlivened by the words of a federal judge in the lawsuit that aims to deschedule cannabis: “How could anyone say your clients’ lives have not been saved by marijuana?” Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked in reference to the plaintiffs represented by attorney Michael Hiller. “You can’t.” But I’m disheartened by the ongoing efforts to vilify cannabis as the cause of the national opioid crisis. I’m relieved that Bernard Noble has finally been paroled after being sentenced to 13 years in prison (of which he served seven) for possession of two joints. But again, disheartened by the hundreds or thousands of people still imprisoned for similar “crimes” who have not received the publicity that Mr. Noble has.
I’m hopeful that the newest wave of marijuana reform can bring justice to the countless victims of the War on Drugs.
And I’m hopeful that justice — what little condolence it might provide — can still be delivered to the survivors impacted by the shooting at the high school in Parkland, Florida. And outside Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. And the nightclub in Orlando, Florida. And the government office in San Bernardino, California. And the church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. And the church in Charleston, South Carolina. And the community college in Oregon. And the theater in Aurora, Colorado. And the elementary school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
Garrett Rudolph
Editor