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Christopher Smith, Publisher
Apr 23, 2021

Cannabis Use Up 56% Since 2018? Horse Puckey!

I’m going to start by looping back to a question that was left open on 4/20, about license plates in Colorado. The state was auctioning off stoner vanity plates for charity. The deadline was 4/20 and the bidding wasn’t closed when we went live on Clubhouse for the State of Cannabis News Hour.

  • All 14 cannabis-themed license plates were SOLD OUT

  • South Park Fans will be happy to know that the highest number of bids went to TEGRIDY at 151 bids, followed by HAPPY (108 bids), GANJA (103 bids) and STASH (91 bids).

  • The highest dollar amount of a bid was $6,630 for “ISIT420”.

  • The total amount raised from this auction is $45,410!

… and as I said on 4/20, it’s just another example of how Colorado is proving that CANNABIS IS GOOD FOR AMERICA.


OK, here's a headline from 420 Intel that's bugging me:



THE STORY


“A dispensary called Sunnyside, in collaboration with data specialist YouGov, surveyed nearly 5,000 Americans about their cannabis habits. Roughly 25% of them have consumed marijuana over the preceding year which is 56% higher than a similar poll taken in 2018."


WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?


Can you smell the builshit in that headline?

I mean, Cannabis use has surely increased during COVID, but 56% in 3 years? Oh please!


First, the baseline 2018-number is certainly false.


Let’s harken back to the gut-wrenching year of 2018: Donald Trump is President and Jeff “Good people don’t smoke marijuana” Sessions is Attorney General.


Let's say you live in a state where it’s not legal to partake. The phone rings and some stranger says he’d like to ask you a few questions about your cannabis use.


What are the chances you’ll answer those questions honestly?


Guaranteed the 2018 numbers were low, NOT because people weren’t using, it’s BECAUSE THEY WOULDN’T ADMIT IT.


  • Eleven (11) states (Vermont, Oklahoma, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota, New Mexico, New York and Virginia) have legalized

  • North Dakota, Hawaii have decriminalized.

While it may be true that more people in these states are consuming cannabis now that's it's REC-legal, there's no way that 56% are first time users. No way. But surely it's the first time that many regular consumers can freely admit it without incriminating themselves.


HERE’S WHY THIS STORY REALLY MATTERS:


Prohibition of cannabis has been supported by one of the most successful propaganda campaigns of all time.

This propaganda is intentional and coordinated.


(As the kids say, Just wait for it… History serves as a guide that we are about to witness is the Prohibitionists staking the claims that

  1. 56% more people using cannabis and THEREFORE, "... more car accidents”

  2. 56% more people using cannabis and THEREFORE, "... more crime near dispensaries (not true)

  3. 56% more people using cannabis and THEREFORE "... more people are going to the hospital”

  4. ... and the HOLY GRAIL of Prohibitionists: 56% more people using cannabis and oh my god the children will get it"

Truth:

  1. "... meanwhile, other data, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, suggests that in the same decade legalization became mainstream, the roads became safer. In 2018, fatal crashes decreased, according to the NHTSA. In 2019, they decreased again, by two percent. That’s a small decrease, but a dip coming at the same time as the rapid expansion of commercial cannabis availability suggests cannabis isn’t causing havoc on the roads—in fact, you could technically argue that it’s making things safer." (Observer, and US Department of Transportation)

  2. "Our results suggest that cannabis laws more broadly, and the legalization of recreational marijuana more specifically, have had minimal effect on major crime in Colorado or Washington State. We observed virtually no statistically significant long-term effects of recreational marijuana legalization or retail sales on violent or property crime rates, except for a significant decline of burglary rates in Washington. There were some immediate increases in crime at the point of legalization, but these did not result in long-term effects... Still, the results related to serious crime are quite clear: the legalization of marijuana has not resulted in a significant upward trend in crime rates. ... None of our models revealed long term effects of marijuana legalization on serious crime rates." (The Cannabis Effect on Crime: Time-Series Analysis of Crime in Colorado and Washington State)

  3. "... All that can truly be concluded from this data is that physicians are noting marijuana use more frequently, not that marijuana is causing more health problems.... While marijuana emergency room admissions have increased, these increases correspond to a decrease in alcohol admissions. This suggests that marijuana could serve as a substitute for alcohol, which could be beneficial for overall public health since alcohol hospitalizations are typically higher risk." (Reason)

  4. "Despite their concerns, however, research conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health has not found an increase in the regular use of marijuana among youths in Oregon, Washington or Colorado, the states where marijuana legalization has been most extensively studied." South Dakota News Watch

THE LOOP BACK:

Anti-Cannabis Propaganda is intentional and coordinated. Beware of claims that massive numbers of new users are causing massive calamities.


There are many ways to fight against Anti-Cannabis Propoganda. Here are two:


1. We must call it out every time we see it.

2. And we must tell better stories.


Like Colorado.


$45,410 for Charity.


Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Sunnyside.


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