According to the Associated Press, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding the Obama-era policy that had paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country.
In the wonderfully faux democracy of the United States, where we are told that a majority perspective is meant to be represented, one needs little else to confirm its truly disingenuous nature than to watch the current Attorney General and his vitriolic marijuana rhetoric -- an almost cartoon-like character straight from the days of Reefer Madness. Despite the obvious majority in favor of legalizing cannabis in some form, Jeff Sessions routinely regurgitates roundly disproven and openly acknowledged lies in regard to cannabis, such as the archaic "gateway theory" that has been debunked even by the government's own studies; or the fact that marijuana is highly addictive. After reciting such known absurdities, one would expect him to launch into the classic diatribe of how cannabis will foster homicidal thoughts and make interracial relations more frequent, as were the actual government claims in the early days of the anti-marijuana campaigns.
It should be obvious to most, that this conversation is truly that ridiculous. Yet, the most disheartening part of all, is that the government knows this; Jeff Sessions knows this. It is more than likely that his financial connections to the private prison industry (which quite literally runs on marijuana convictions) has a predominate part to play in this gross misrepresentation of the people's will, but there are many factors at play here that have played a major role since the beginning of this deception. And it is important to understand that the demonization of marijuana was a deception from the very start.
Related Reading: War on Drugs or War on Freedom: One Nation's Perception/Deception of Cannabis
The glaring hypocrisy of the current state of the US government can be seen in almost every regard today, but when specifically discussing marijuana, it is almost hard to digest just how sinister and outright maliciously profiteering the US government stance on marijuana actually is. Many today are already aware of the fact that marijuana is still listed as a schedule one substance (meaning a zero medical value and highly addictive) alongside drugs such as heroin and ecstasy, in spite of the US government itself currently holding a medical patent for the medicinal uses of marijuana. That is quite literally the definition of hypocrisy. And the most pompous part of all, is that they know we know, and just don't care.
The disgusting and horrifying nature of this problem truly comes into focus when one realizes that arrests and prosecution for simple marijuana possession in this country consume the attention of both the average police officer and the justice department.
In 2017 more Americans were arrested for marijuana than murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery combined.
This is due entirely to the intentional misrepresentation of marijuana, despite the public opinion, and despite the overwhelming evidence and studies that now show just how wrong the government has always been. Yet, again, they have known that.
Yet here we are. We find ourselves once again falling back into the wholly illogical and outright fraudulent governmental efforts to maintain the illegality of a plant that is not only harmless when compared to the most commonly used drugs in the US -- cigarettes and alcohol, not to mention prescription painkillers that are taking more lives everyday than one can truly wrap their mind around -- but has untold medical value that was once recognized by leaders and average people alike.
Related Reading: Denying Cannabis and its True Nature
From the pharmaceutical industry to the prison industrial complex, as well as many other industries completely dependent on maintaining the illegality and current arrest rate for marijuana, there are many reasons the government would openly lie to the American people regarding cannabis, but few are more clear in today's corporatized world than simple profit. That is what this nation has been reduced to; being at the beck and call of the most powerful corporate entities, both due to lobbying, which is essentially legalized bribery, and due to the revolving door nature of the US governmental structure. Just take a look at how many former government employees, who were in a position to manipulate the outcome of legislation, find themselves working for the very pharmaceutical companies currently maintaining massive (almost entire) control in the direction of this country's policy.
Jeff Sessions is a perfect example of such behind-the-scenes profiteering, and his overzealous push to literally contradict the overwhelming majority in the US is exactly what such an arrangement produces, and that is a far cry from any semblance of democracy, or whatever one feels this country is pretending to be. According to the Associated Press (AP), Sessions will now be allowing federal prosecutors of respective states to individually decide how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana law -- again, despite the will of the actual people living in those states.
This is expected to be announced today (4th of January 2018), and those who revealed this to AP, did so on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it before the announcement. Which, we should always point out, could mean that it might not come to pass, for any number of reasons, as the "anonymous source" today should not be taken at its word, as CNN has made obvious to the world in their innumerable mistakes and outright lies. However, The Last American Vagabond has documented from the start the openly stated direction Session has in mind for the laws around cannabis in the US, and his outspoken desire to revert back to days of "20 year prison sentences for minor possession." So this type of announcement has been hinted at since his appointment as Attorney General, if not entirely expected.
According to the Boston Globe:
Sessions, who has assailed marijuana as comparable to heroin and has blamed it for spikes in violence, had been expected to ramp up enforcement. Sessions’ policy will let U.S. attorneys across the country decide what kinds of federal resources to devote to marijuana enforcement based on what they see as priorities in their districts, the people familiar with the decision said. Sessions and some law enforcement officials in states such as Colorado blame legalization for a number of problems, including drug traffickers that have taken advantage of lax marijuana laws to hide in plain sight, illegally growing and shipping the drug across state lines, where it can sell for much more. The decision was a win for pot opponents who had been urging Sessions to take action.
The change also reflects yet another way in which Sessions, who served as a federal prosecutor at the height of the drug war in Mobile, Alabama, has reversed Obama-era criminal justice policies that aimed to ease overcrowding in federal prisons and contributed to a rethinking of how drug criminals were prosecuted and sentenced. While his Democratic predecessor Eric Holder told federal prosecutors to avoid seeking long mandatory minimum sentences when charging certain lower level drug offenders, for example, Sessions issued an order demanding the opposite, telling them to pursue the most serious charges possible against most suspects.
It is truly sad to see such blatant disregard for the will of the American people, yet hopefully this will shatter some of the current illusions still held about the democratic nature of this country. While opiates are given a free pass to be doled out like candy, despite the pretend crack down, and anti-psychotics, anti-depressants and ADHD medication are given in massively unsettling amounts to children and adults alike, natural remedies to issues such as addiction are singled out and illegalized.
The corporate lobby's influence over drug laws in the US should be sickeningly clear to any with the desire to truly look at the facts, and the current repercussions of their repressive and unconstitutional policies that have torn the fabric of this country apart at the seams. This cannot be allowed; this will not be allowed. How long will the people stand by and let a few concentrated voices in positions of power dictate the health and well-being -- or lack there of -- for the entirety of this country, or rather, just those of us without the financial and political clout to simply side-step the laws that we do not prefer, and buy that which the rest of us can no longer afford? That is entirely up to You.
This nation witnessed the true power of the people -- the power they have when they truly stand together -- during the rise of the marijuana movement. Yet, today, many are deeply caught up within an internal battle designed to divide us; one designed to keep up from realizing just how powerful we can be when we see past the petty political differences that are stoked for this exact purpose.
So I plead with you all, to see the game being played, and not allow those behind the scenes to play you against one another. Rediscover the power of the people when united, find our commonality in the enemy we all share, and retake what was is your; what was always ours to begin with, as the American people.
Written by Ryan Cristian
Founder, Editor - The Last American Vagabond
WKUP "The Shift" Radio
https://www.patreon.com/TheLastAmericanVagabond
Sources: https://theconversation.com/the-revolving-door-why-politicians-become-lobbyists-and-lobbyists-become-politicians-64237, http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2018/01/04/sessions-will-rescind-policy-that-allowed-legal-marijuana-flourish-without-federal-intervention/P0ZtSj2hFAjktCFME4iJmJ/story.html?event=event25, http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/08/22/marijuana-patents-6630507-research-dea-nih-fda-kannalife/61255/