Not mincing words on this week`s marijuana news

In covering marijuana policy developments for many years now, I consistently ask myself whether addiction treatment professionals worry about marijuana’s status legally. After all, clinicians treat addictions to legal and illegal products with equal fervor, so from their perspective is it relevant as to how their client obtained his/her drug?

Ben Cort’s comments to me this week, following the Obama administration’s announcement that it would not block marijuana legalization measures such as the one in effect in Cort’s home state of Colorado, are those of a leader who cares deeply about this issue.

Cort, whose background includes work at the fitness and recovery organization Phoenix Multisport and who now is working in business development in the treatment field, led the ultimately unsuccessful advocacy effort against Colorado’s legalization ballot initiative in 2012. Here were more of his strong comments in the hours following the announcement that the administration will not try to preempt the Colorado and Washington laws but will monitor any abuses that might arise:

“I think it is a step back in the fight for the mentally ill and a huge victory for well-funded special interests who have once again shown that all it takes is enough money and you can make your own law.”

“I guess some state had to be the test case to remind the world that drug use and success don’t go hand in hand. I just wish it wasn’t the state where I am raising my family.”

“The extreme disregard for the laws in place (I see people smoking weed every single day in public. They are behind the wheel, in parks with kids all around, hitting vaporizers in restaurants, etc.) tells me that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg now.”

Cort will address the ongoing marijuana policy debate and its implications for the treatment community in a Sept. 24 panel discussion that I will moderate at the National Conference on Addiction Disorders (NCAD) in Anaheim, Calif. Both sides of the debate will be represented in what should be an extremely informative session.

What about you? How did you react to this week’s announcement from the Justice Department, and how important do you believe the discussion of marijuana laws is to your work in treating patients? Please share your thoughts.