How does our government view Cannabis?

Despite such variety in medical benefits, in the United States, Cannabis is still widely considered taboo. Federal prohibitions outlawing Cannabis for recreational, industrial, and therapeutic use were first imposed by Congress under the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Later, this was reaffirmed by federal lawmakers’ decision to classify Cannabis, as well as all of the plant’s organic compounds — known as cannabinoids — as a SCHEDULE I substance under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This classification, which asserts by statute that Cannabis is as equally dangerous to the public as heroin, defines Cannabis and its dozens of distinct cannabinoids as possessing “a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use, and a lack of accepted safety for the use of the drug under medical supervision.” By contrast, cocaine and methamphetamine, which remain illicit for recreational use but may be consumed under a doctor’s supervision, are classified as SCHEDULE II drugs; examples of SCHEDULE III and IV substances include anabolic steroids and Valium, while codeine-containing analgesics (opiates) are defined by a law as SCHEDULE V drugs, the federal government’s most lenient classification.

In July 2011 the Obama administration reassessed Cannabis’ Schedule I status to see if it should be recategorized. However, this was denied by Federal lawmakers who continue to cite the drug’s ridiculous categorization as the “primary rationale for the government's ongoing criminalization of the plant and those who use it.”  After it was announced in the summer of 2011 that the crackdown on medical marijuana establishments in the Golden State was a collective decision by the four US attorneys in California and not the result of any directive from Washington, spokeswoman Lauren Horwood emphasized that the administration never even green-lighted the ramped-up enforcement actions. The only D.C.-based official with whom California US attorneys coordinated, Horwood said, was Deputy Attorney General James Cole, who was chosen by Attorney General Eric Holder, an Obama appointee.

Medical Cannabis is now legal in several states throughout the country. Unfortunately, patients can still be prosecuted by the feds and possibly even their own state police agencies. Washington State and Colorado are the only two states that have completely legalized marijuana. There are different county laws per state as well. For example, In Illinois’ Cook County it is decriminalized, so if you are caught with up to one ounce it is only a ticket. However, across the street in Lake county, you will go to jail.