Sen. Stivers has his facts wrong about weed
When questioned about the legalization of cannabis in Kentucky, Sen. Robert Stivers stated emphatically that he would not support legalization because cannabis is a “gateway” drug.
It is a widely debunked theory that once someone does a certain drug he or she inevitably progresses to harder drugs. An opinion writer for The Hill wrote in February that the federal government no longer considers cannabis a gateway drug.
Stivers’ position is hard to reconcile with what we now know about the effects of cannabis legalization. Ending cannabis prohibition engenders a significant drop in opioid overdose deaths. Legalization also results in significant revenue and job creation.
Recently, in a Frankfort courtroom, the judge ruled that prohibiting cannabis was in the state’s interest, as it was a hallucinogen and narcotic. Cannabis is neither. In 1988, it was ruled by a judge “the safest therapeutic substance known to man.”
Current polling in Kentucky mirrors the national polls with favorability for medical marijuana above 80 percent and for full legalization around 60 percent. Legislators need to explain exactly what science supports continuing the failed policy of cannabis prohibition in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
One wonders exactly what excuse Stivers and other prohibitionists will come up with next.
Thomas Vance
Alexandria
This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Sen. Stivers has his facts wrong about weed."