Do the sick die just to legalize marijuana for the healthy?

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Fresh Toast.

The drive to legalize marijuana seems unstoppable. Arrests are falling (but still over 400,000 annually) and the various cannabis industries (plural) are booming. Hurray for our side!

If current trends continue, in a couple of years people will have forgotten that marijuana was ever illegal. The memory hole really works.

Photo by krisanapong detraphiphat / Getty Images

So how did 100 years of maximum propaganda by the government and the medical and media industries fail? Or did it?

We owe all of this to medical marijuana. Cannabis was not only useful medically. It worked when nothing else did, and so the medical establishment, the American Medical Association, etc., the Quackocracy just lied about it, and they outrageously continue to do so.

SEE: The individual courage and collective cowardice of the medical profession

Then “people with AIDS” got snooty. In San Francisco, my late great friend Dennis Peron, a gay rights activist and a remarkably brave person, took a stand.

“1991 Peron organized for the adoption of San Francisco’s Proposition P, a resolution calling on the state government to approve medical cannabis, which received 79% of the vote.

Photo by Matthew Lloyd / Getty Images

Five years later, Peron supported Proposition 215 that won 55.6% of the voteand demonstrated that the people could bypass the politicians and the medical establishment … in states that allow the people to vote on issues.

SEE: Pride Month: Celebrating the Links Between California’s Cannabis and LGBTQ Movements

Then the internet appeared to bypass the gatekeepers. Journalism in the “free world” has failed completely by its own standards. Even now, arrest numbers are rarely reported, and the federal government continues to block cannabinoid research, and millions of sick and dying Americans still do not have medical access to a plant and it is not reported.

In the UK and the EU the problem is actually much worse.

SEE: Why Do British Insist on Confusing Cannabis for Tobacco?

Dave Berry quipped, “It’s better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick.”

While overregulation and high taxes are problems for the recreational market, they are much worse for the patients.

Ironically, our medical marijuana system is economically similar to the rest of the American medical system. It’s the best in the world if you can afford it.

Photo by CasarsaGuru / Getty Images

Even more ironic is the sad fact that this is especially true in California, where patients complain of the high cost of over-regulated and over-regulated medicine. As a result, the black market marijuana business is booming in California.

SEE: This state is home to the largest black market for marijuana

AND: Why the law of unintended consequences is the only law that always works

In some ways, these regulations are beneficial for patients who may be at greater risk from contaminants such as mold. However, there were few problems in the AIDS community when only black market grass was available. Similarly, Dutch cannabis coffeeshops sell weed from open containers and there have never been any major problems.

Of course, medical marijuana should be covered by both private and state health insurance, which would make it much more affordable. There may be political problems with this, but far more dangerous and addicting drugs are covered by insurance.

SEE: How Psychedelic Medicine Followed Medical Marijuana, But Not Mentioning The Drug War

Patients should also be encouraged to grow their own plants, either in cooperatives or in collaboration with artisanal growers.

SEE: Let artisanal marijuana growers replace the black market with home grown ones

Of course, patients need more than cheap weed. You may need more guidance on which strains are best for people with their specific problems. Many elderly patients may even need instructions on how to smoke or vape.

Photo by Esther Kelleter / EyeEm / Getty Images

The first time I visited Peron’s Cannabis Buyers Club in San Francisco It was obvious that it was more than just a business. Patients could sit down and smoke their medication with other patients and be treated like humans. Many of them were in dire need of medication, but there might not be any other place to smoke.

The leisure market is finally getting “consumer lounges”, synonymous with Dutch “coffee shops”.

SEE: Marijuana Social Clubs are the final big step towards legalization

Again, hooray for our part, but medical patients need and deserve more. The booming marijuana industry and “cannabis community” really owe their freedom and business to the surviving patients and memories of people like Dennis Peron who fought the good fight to get us where we are today.

SEE: Why the US has messed up with partial marijuana legalization (so far)

Richard Cowan is a former NORML National Director and the author of What You Need To Know About CBD and Drug Testing.