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Washington Changes New Marijuana Laws

Washington Governor just signed a bill updating marijuana regulations.

A few exciting changes made by Washington with Senate Bill 5131 will go into effect July 2017. And some of those changes could surprise you. For instance, it is now legal to share a bowl. Medical marijuana card-holders are now allowed to buy seeds and clones directly from producers. And, the state is now required to investigate the possibility for recreational consumers to grow weed from home.
Washington cultivators are also moving toward organic standards. In addition, dispensaries will have limited advertising. This is an effort to minimize the appeal of weed to youths. Dispensary owners are also getting a present. owners can now open 5 locations, the old limit was 3.
Washington kept their strict no public advertising rules. The people don’t want businesses to market weed that would appeal to children. Meaning no putting pot advertisements on toys and movie cartoons, no advertising cannabis out of state, or work at a dispensary before turning 21. And business owners who don’t open shop after two years of gaining a license will forfeit their permit.

It is finally legal to share a bowl.

In 2012, weed was legalized but no one could share a bowl, not even a single leaf. Now, anyone 21 years or older can gift to another adult 21 years and older cannabis. Up to a ½ oz. of flower, 8 oz. of solid edible, 36 oz. of infused liquid, or 3 ½ gm of concentrate. If the exchange is happening in public, then the products must remain in their original store packaging.

Consumers can also buy seeds from producers.

Before, cultivators could only sell seeds and clones to dispensaries. Now, patients can buy their seeds and clones from cultivators. This new change in the bill gives leeway to medical marijuana patients who prefer to grow their own plants from seeds.

Recreational home growing is still not allowed, yet.

The state liquor and cannabis board must conduct a study for recreational plant production. They must report their findings by Dec. 1, 2017. Until then, home growing is considered taboo.

Organic-grade cultivation is a new must.

Currently, cultivators are not allowed to use the word ‘organic’ when it comes to describing their cannabis products. However, the new bill suggests that cultivators attempt to match to the extent practicable to the Federal Department of Agriculture’s Nation Organic Program.
There is an advisory board being assembled to help draft the rules and regulations needed to comply with the FDA labeling.Anyone who wishes to take part in the advisory board should contact the WSDA Organic Program at organic@agr.wa.gov for consideration.

Other important changes to the bill.

When it comes to advertising rights, it’s about the children. Washington wants to protect children from seeking out weed because it looks cool. They don’t want commercial mascots or cartoons with marijuana related images on them.
Its ok to have billboards with a business name, location and description of business on the sign. But no weed images are allowed on anything including billboards, toys, costumes, or spiny signs. It may be legal everywhere in Washington but that doesn’t mean they want it marketed everywhere. 

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War on Drugs: Medical Marijuana

The war on medical marijuana is causing uncertainty.

The war on medical marijuana has arisen due to President Trumps latest document, causing uncertainty in the community. Medical marijuana programs exist in 29 U.S. states and have large public support.
White House aides argue that the President’s objections do not cause immediate policy changes. “It just creates a lot of uncertainty, and that uncertainty is deeply concerning for patients and providers,” said Michael Collins, deputy director of the Drug Policy Alliance. The public is concerned because the government insists that although weed is federally illegal, it will not impose strict punishments.
And yet, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently directed federal prosecutors to pass harsher punishments for drug defendants.

Does the government know what it wants?

Recreational weed smokers have more to fear from federal intervention. The President says that he sees a big difference between medical marijuana prescribed to patients by doctors and recreational weed.
The provision in question prohibits the Justice Department from spending money that interferes with state medical marijuana programs. “I will treat this provision consistently with my constitutional responsibility to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” Trump wrote in the signing statement.
Trump has objected on constitutional grounds to a program that helps black colleges and universities get low-cost construction loans.
According to Tom Angell, founder of Marijuana Majority, Trump is essentially saying that he reserves the right to ignore the congressionally approved provision. James Cole, a Deputy Attorney General had prosecutors enforce all federal drug laws, even in places where marijuana is legal. On the other hand, Cole wrote that federal authorities should stay out of states that have regulatory systems in place. Medical marijuana is to be revised again by Congress in the next few months. It seems like the trend is to allow the government to pick and choose who to prosecute for marijuana offenses.

Investing in the Cannabis Industry 2017

Investing in the Cannabis Industry 2017

Marijuana stock investing in 2016 has seen a meteoric rise.

Investing in cannabis is making some major money with one especially impressive company posting gains of well over 2,000%.  This despite how fraught with risk this industry is. Since marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I substance with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” according to the federal government, there are still some hurdles to overcome.
The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse issued a series of reports concluding that marijuana was “less a serious threat to public health than a sensitive social issue and recommended changes to federal law that would permit citizens to possess a small amount of it at a time, while still maintaining that the drug should not be legalized.” Yet investing remains risky because the people in power refuse to be moved to action.

Is $50 billion motivation enough?

Investing 101Ackrell Capital projects that the cannabinoid-based pharmaceutical market could clear $50 billion annually. Investors took special not of the prediction due to the explosive growth the industry has seen so far. They make sure to include plenty of caveats in their report that basically boil down to legalization=money.
AbbVie (ABBV) is ahead of the game in medicinal marijuana field because its drug (Marinol) is already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and in the market. Marinol is mainly used to relieve nausea and vomiting for chemotherapy patients. It has also been prescribed for AIDS patients to help stimulate appetite.
If you want to talk about AbbVie, let me just say that it has had 44 years of consecutive dividend increases. Over the past three years alone, the dividend has grown by 12.5%. the 4.13% dividend yield is considered attractive for income investors.
Just because they were first to the market doesn’t make them invincible though. Company revenues, gross profit and net income have been stagnant during the last four quarters. If Marinol can raise profits, AbbVie and others like it could be treated as an income play rather than a growth stocks for 2017.

There are currently 28 states willing to sell.

Support for use of medical marijuana is rapidly expanding along with investing opportunities. After the November U.S. elections, 28 states plus the District of Columbia now have legalized use of medical marijuana. A handful of states have also chosen to allow recreational use.
Legalization should diminish some of the institutional barriers for companies investing in the marijuana industry. Although we can see how slow the movement is by looking at recent court decisions about drug testing. The advancement of legalization on a state level presents a special opportunity for investors but at great risk.
Weed’s mis-classification as a schedule-I compound creates restrictions for patients in non-weed-friendly states. Not to mention how much of a damper it puts on investors’ plans. The chief regulator of Wall Street (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or FINRA) blocked a S-1 filing from weed companies attempting to go public and trade stock. The ban will remain in place until the drug is re-scheduled.

There are only 3 approved options on the market.

While opportunities exist, current realities paint a stark picture. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a whopping total of three cannabinoid drugs. It took seemingly forever for another cannabinoid to join Marinol and Cesamet in the medicine cabinet.
In July of 2016, the FDA gave the go ahead for Insys Therapeutics’ (NASDAQ:INSY) Syndros to join the party. Like Marinol, the active ingredient of Syndros is the synthetic cannabinoid dronabinol. And don’t think that only drug companies are trying to get in on the action.
Investors sent shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. up 48 percent last year when they saw the lawn-care company as a relatively safe way to capitalize on the cannabis trend. It sells fertilizers, lighting and other supplies for hydroponics that are used by most indoor cultivators.

One person can tip the scales.

A very important fact for investors considering investing in marijuana to remember is who the next attorney general is. And the person who got the nomination to fill that role was Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions. A man who is an adamant opponent of legalized marijuana.
In a Senate hearing last April, Sessions cited a 20% increase in the traffic deaths in some states where marijuana has been legalized to show the drug is a problem. His continued vigorous attempts to demonize cannabis users signals major disappointment for those hoping for banking reform.
Marijuana companies have continued to struggle with limited access to basic banking services since most banks fear federal prosecution for dealing with pot businesses. Being forced to operate on a cash-only basis is a security concern and an expansion inhibitor for any business. With Sessions taking the helm, there is little hope for meaningful pressure to improve access to banking services. Additionally, marijuana businesses must pay tax on their gross profits instead of net profits. This is because they’re disallowed normal corporate income tax deductions.

How should you approach the industry?

Investing in cannabis weed
It has been said that getting rich during a gold rush is to easiest when you sell shovels. With that in mind, the best figure for investors trying to turn a profit from the “marijuana rush” are the companies that have zero marijuana-related products. The smartest play might be in companies that have the potential to benefit by serving people and companies that do sell cannabis.
But before you invest in any company, get as much information about that company as you possibly can. Find out if they are a legitimate company with a good management team. Look into who’s running the company and at the company’s finances. Don’t be afraid to go over the balance sheet, the cash flow, the income statement, and the shareholder’s equity.
Look at all of the info you can before making a decision. Call the nearby Chambers of Commerce, find out if they know the people or company. Don’t forget to look at the other officers and management to make sure the engine is firing on all cylinders if you catch my drift. Do all the research you can but don’t forget to talk to your financial advisor as well before pulling the trigger.
The early bird doesn’t always get the worm.

Companies are making serious efforts to develop effective medicines using on cannabis. These companies deserve all due diligence before investing in any of them. Understand that investing in potential is risky and any of the drugs discussed in this article could fail or disappoint. Some medicinal marijuana stocks will undoubtedly succeed in 2017, so research and be vigilant when navigating this exploding industry. But don’t forget all the good that cannabis can do.
Cannabinoids have been found to have potential in treating over 40 medical issues including cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, and glaucoma. Companies developing marijuana-related compounds rarely focus on cannabis alone. Be aware that some “mainstream” stocks may actually profit from loosened restrictions on marijuana even if they don’t grow or sell it themselves. Thanks for reading.
 
 

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Advocates Confused Over what “Greater Enforcement” of Marijuana Means

It was a heavy news week at the White House, but little on the Green Rush front until Press Secretary Sean Spicer threw cannabis advocates for a loop over his suggestion that the Justice Department could target adult-use marijuana programs.
Reactions over social media and news outlets poured in from entrepreneurs, CEOs of cannabis organizations, advocates, and lawmakers primed themselves for a fight.
The seriousness of Spicers’ words—namely, the meaning of “greater enforcement”—and the reality of the threat is still unclear, leaving much doubt about whether adult use legalization in the eight states in which it exists is a bell that can be unrung. White House spokesman Sean Spicer did not elaborate clearly on his words Thursday.
On the medical front, Spicer said that the president understood that patients suffering from certain diseases experienced relief from medical marijuana. “There’s a big difference between (medical marijuana) and recreational marijuana, and I think when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people,” Spicer said. Was this a glimpse of the administration’s new (or possibly changing) views on the growing legal cannabis industry? Trump was never steady on the marijuana legalization issue but has said in the past that he favors states’ rights and would not interfere even with legal recreational use states such as Colorado. “There is still a federal law that we need to abide by regarding recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature,” Spicer continues in his comments, still without issuing directives on where the White House will take this.
Upon his inauguration, President Donald Trump nominated Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, a vocal opponent of marijuana legalization, as the nation’s attorney general. His now-famous quote, that “Good people don’t smoke marijuana,” raised questions about the direction the Department of Justice would take regarding the 2013 Cole Memo, which are the established guidelines for federal prosecution over U.S. marijuana laws.

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United Nations drug enforcement body gives global legalization a public finger wagging

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), a United Nations drug enforcement body, is warning the U.S., Canada, and other countries that legalizing marijuana goes against their obligations under international treaties.
The panel is responsible for enforcing anti-drug treaties and wants to remind countries that, as per three drug conventions enacted in 1961, 1971 and 1988, legalizing cannabis is prohibited unless it is for medical and scientific purposes.
That would put the eight states, and the District of Columbia, in direct opposition of the conventions because they have voted to legalize the use of marijuana for adult recreational use. So too has the country of Uruguay, and Canada is close behind with Prime Minister Trudeau pledging that recreational pot will be available to of-age adults as early as spring 2017.
The INCB is unhappy with the developments, but there seems to be little they can do to apply the brakes. In a report released last Thursday, they say, “In its discussions with the Government of the United States, the Board has continued to reiterate that the legislative and administrative measures taken by several states in the country to legalize and regulate the sale of cannabis for non-medical purposes cannot be reconciled with the legal obligation.”
“The limitation of the use of drugs to medical and scientific purposes is a fundamental principle that lies at the heart of the international drug control framework, to which no exception is possible and which gives no room for flexibility. The Board urges the Government to pursue its stated objectives — namely the promotion of health, the protection of young people and the decriminalization of minor, non-violent offenses — within the existing drug control system of the Conventions.”
The board reminds governments considering measures for opening up a recreational cannabis market that they must abide by the reporting and licensing obligations under international drug control treaties, like making sure that marijuana for medical purposes programs is carried out with competence, knowledge, and supervision. But for now, they are left merely wagging a public finger and it’s unclear whether the US and other countries feel any pressure to change their legalization plans.

Adult Use Cannabis Industry is on Tenterhooks After Spicer's Comments

With products that rival that of fine wine, high-end health, and wellness brands and gourmet foods that are fit for a gift basket, this controversial plant is already a big business in the US as more states make it mainstream. However, the new Trump administration is leaving those in the recreational marijuana industry to feel extremely nervous.
Last Thursday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer put the industry on tenterhooks by telling reporters that under President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the U.S. Department of Justice will administer “greater enforcement” of the recreational market, also referred to as “adult use” cannabis.
Spicer states, “I think there’s a big difference between medical marijuana, which states have allowed in accordance with the appropriations rider, have set forth a process to administer and regulate that usage, versus recreational marijuana and that’s a very, very different subject.”
The cannabis industry is in flux—federally, it’s legal but each state is in charge of its respective law—but that hasn’t stopped marijuana producers, processors, and dispensary owners from creating successful brands and products for the occasional user. In 2016, the legal market for medical and recreational cannabis combined reached almost $7 billion in the United States, which may have lulled some advocates into a sense of security that the marijuana legalization bell cannot be unrung. Arcview Market Research, which describes cannabis as the “fastest growing industry in the world,” expects revenue to increase to more than $21 billion by the end of Trump’s first term in office. How is Congress is responding to the growing popularity of marijuana? Four members have already formed a bipartisan “Cannabis Caucus” to banish conflicting laws between state and federal governments so that the entire country can capitalize on the growing industry.
Those already invested in the recreational side of the marijuana business, or hoping to enter it, must now wait for news on what will happen next.

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New Conditions Could be Added to New Jersey's Medical Marijuana Program

Medical marijuana may become an option for those in New Jersey who suffer from chronic pain, thanks to some emotional testimony that took place before a Health Department advisory panel at the War Memorial last Wednesday. The measure would expand the standing list of about a dozen ailments that already qualify for treatment using therapeutic cannabis, which includes terminal cancer, MS, and epilepsy.
During the three-hour hearing, more than 20 patients testified after submitting petitions, references to health studies, and even their own doctor’s recommendations. The Health Department says it received 68 requests last year for about 20 new conditions to be considered, including lupus, autism, osteoarthritis, and opioid addiction disorder.
Chairing the panel is a professor of anesthesiology, Alex Bekker, who states, “I feel there is sufficient evidence to add chronic pain and migraines and fibromyalgia, all under the one umbrella of chronic pain.” Bekker feels optimistic about his panel being for the measure and that adding chronic pain to the list will have more benefit than risk. He conceded the drug’s palliative effects, confirming that there is “sufficient evidence. . . .that marijuana can be very helpful” for any chronic pain.
The panel now has 60 days to submit their report that Bekker, followed by a five-month public review session. Once that is through, a final determination from DOH Commissioner Cathleen Bennett will come sometime in October. The New Jersey Medicinal Marijuana Program is now seven years old, but this is the first time that the panel held a public forum to discuss adding new conditions.
On the eight month waiting period, Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), chairman of the Health Committee, says “That’s far too long when evidence from other states is clear on the efficacy of treating (chronic pain from) certain disorders and diseases.”

Reports says Marijuana Will Create More Jobs Than Manufacturing By 2020

If it’s jobs that President Trump wants to conjure up during his time in office, then he should look no further than the cannabis cash crop to create more jobs than manufacturing by 2020.
That number comes from New Frontier Data, an authority in business intelligence for the cannabis industry, projects that the legal marijuana market will create 283,422 jobs over the next 13 years. That’s more than the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects will come from industries like manufacturing, utilities, and even government. In fact, the BLS says that the manufacturing sector will shrink by about 814,000 jobs over the next 17 years, utilities by 47,000, and government by 383,000 positions.
“These numbers confirm that cannabis is a major economic driver and job creation engine for the U.S. economy,” said Giadha Aguirre De Carcer, Founder and CEO of New Frontier Data. “While we see a potential drop in total number of U.S. jobs created in 2017, as reported by Kiplinger, as well as an overall expected drop in GDP growth, the cannabis industry continues to be a positive contributing factor to growth at a time of potential decline. We expect the cannabis industry’s growth to be slowed down to some degree in the next 3 to 5 years, however with a projected total market sales to exceed $24 billion by 2025, and the possibility of almost 300,000 jobs by 2020, it remains a positive economic force in the U.S.”
In 2016, the legal cannabis market was worth an estimated $7.2 billion in 2016, and that number is only growing at a compound rate of 17%, according to projections. Sales will go from $4.7 billion in 2016 to $13.3 billion in 2020, in medical cannabis alone. On the adult-use recreational end, those sales are expected to reach $11.2 billion by 2020.
New Frontier’s projections are based on the markets that are already part of legal initiatives, meaning the 28 states with some form of medical or adult-use marijuana for sale. The numbers do not include any additional states that may pass legalization measures between now and 2020, though the number of revenue and jobs would significantly increase if more states expand their legalized cannabis programs.

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Will the White House Crackdown on Cannabis?


White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer just issued an ominous warning to pot smokers in the U.S.
“There is still a federal law that we need to abide by when it comes to recreational marijuana,” he told reporters during a press briefing Thursday. When asked whether the government would take action against recreational marijuana, even in states where it’s legal, he replied, “I think that’s a question for the Department of Justice. I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement of it.”
In case you don’t know, the DOJ is headed up by the U.S. Attorney General, a man by the name of Jeff Sessions. In an earlier article, Marijuana Policy Under President Trump, I’ve already gone over all the reasons why Sessions is a terrible pick for this job. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you.) But in a nutshell: he’s a racist, who vehemently opposes cannabis use. And now it’s up to him to determine the Fed’s policy on marijuana.
Great.
Spicer also told reporters that, “When you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people.”
This just shows Spicer’s complete ignorance of cannabis, opioids, and addiction. It hearkens back to the old “gateway drug” idea, that isn’t backed by any evidence, whatsoever. In fact, what little evidence we do have suggests the opposite.
One study found that opioid overdose deaths fell by an average of 25 percent in states that legalized medical marijuana. According to the DPA (Drug Policy Alliance), two years after recreational pot was legalized, Colorado saw the rate of ALL drug charges — not just pot — decline by 23 percent. Which would seem to indicate that, when marijuana is legally available, people are less likely to turn to dangerous and illegal alternatives.
The truth is that cannabis does not have the same addictive properties as heroin and other opioids. Not to mention that no one has ever died of a marijuana overdose, EVER. And there has never been a single study that shows marijuana use leads to use of other drugs. Not one.
Simply repeating it over and over again doesn’t make it true.
On the bright side, Spicer repeatedly emphasized that medical marijuana use would not be challenged. So the millions of people who depend on cannabis for their health and comfort can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Department of Justice has yet to make any comment regarding Thursday’s press briefing, despite many requests from the press. So all we can do is wonder: with 60 percent of the population in favor of legalization, and several states already legalizing recreational use, does the Trump administration really want to pick this fight?
And if so, is it a battle they can win?
Will state and local law enforcement agents continue to serve their communities, and enforce the will of the people? Or will they fall in line with the Fed, and do the bidding of the authoritarian regime occupying the White House?
Only time will tell.
 

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DEA: Marijuana is Not a Gateway Drug

Marijuana has been called a gateway drug for over 80 years.

The battle lines were drawn long before anyone currently driving the gateway debate had assumed power. Political figures have demonized cannabis and those who consume it for almost a century and worked to create a massive industrial prison complex designed to harvest people. Low income and minority people have borne the brunt of the assault.
Americans have been tricked into accepting the most ridiculous claims about cannabis and a whole generation of people have grown up behind bars because of it. Politicians have used slippery speech to sway public opinion and outright changed the law in order to suite their desires for decades. When Reagan and Clinton enacted laws that put more people in jail than the Romans had slaves.
Larry Anslinger didn’t care about how many would suffer without the healing properties of cannabis, he was motivated by an zealous hatred for the plant to create the movie Reefer Madness. President Nixon was motivated by a religious desire to punish people regardless of what his own investigators proved. Reagan had no mercy for people caught in the crossfire when he enacted draconian mandatory punishments for minor drug infractions.gateway

We stand at the dawn of a new era of American drug policy.

Despite an abundance of empirical evidence about the medical benefit of cannabis from reputable medical professionals from the Shafer Commission to Sanjay Gupta, it remains a schedule 1 controlled substance. This classifies weed as having “no medical benefits” and creates massive hurdles for scientists and doctors looking to research cannabis. It also puts it in the same medical category as heroin.
With the rise of Trump and the appointment of Jeff Sessions to Attorney General, the entire industry is bracing for another impact. Part of the collective wince comes from the evasive actions of top officials on the matter through election season. Instead of giving clear messages about how they plan to pursue policy, government officials are as vague as possible about how they plan to pursue policy.
This evasive attitude has made many wary of the how the Trump Administration plans to deal with cannabis. Statements in the past by Jeff Sessions like “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.” and his past issues of discriminatory prosecution during the Civil Rights movement has helped to stir up old debates.

The debate surrounding legalizing marijuana has resurrected the Gateway Theory.

This theory presumes that experimenting with marijuana inevitably results in the use of harder drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Until recently, the DEA website contained dozens of lies and inaccuracies and it begrudgingly changed them only after being threatened with legal action.
Many people don’t know that it is illegal for federal agencies to spread incorrect information. Yet when it comes to cannabis, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been doing it for years. In less than a month, a petition from Change.org calling on the DEA by a to stop lying about medical cannabis received 85,000+ signatures.
The petition was started by Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a nonprofit organization working to increase access to medical cannabis. “The DEA has actually admitted that the theories that cannabis use leads to harder drugs (gateway theory), long-term brain damage, psychosis, and other alleged harms, are not based in scientific fact, and yet they keep distributing this false information”, says ASA. “[W]e have found 25 instances of these false claims on their website.”

The petition for updated information was direct and their arguments were air-tight.

The group argued that the document previously known as “The Dangers and Consequences of Marijuana Abuse,” had a few inaccurate claims about cannabis.  They showed how the page was in violation of the Information Quality Act which requires that administrative agencies provide accurate information to the public. The DEA also had to respond to requests for correction of information within 60 days.
A separate petition was filed by the Department of Justice demanding that the DEA immediately update misinformation about cannabis. While neither the DEA nor the DOJ responded to ASA’s request, the document which contained the majority of the inaccurate statements was removed from their website.
But the governement is made up of more people than ever before. There is a lot of room for competing ideologies and goals to play out. A key observation of the Shafer Commission is that many of the risks of drug use are the result of drug policy/enforcement rather than from the drugs themselves.

The “gateway drug” stigma refuses to die.

A prime example of how this stigma presents itself is New York governor Andrew Cuomo. He wants to keep cannabis illegal in New York State because it “leads to other drugs and there’s a lot of truth to proof that that’s true.” He holds this view despite the results of a major study on medical marijuana conducted by the venerable Institute of Medicine, which included an examination of marijuana’s potential to lead to abusing other drugs.
The study found that “There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.” Even the DEA has gone on record to say “Little evidence supports the hypothesis that initiation of marijuana use leads to an abuse disorder with other illicit substances,” while refusing to reschedule cannabis in August of 2016.
The continuing stigma prevents meaningful reform of marijuana laws by perpetuating harmful misinformation.  A Rasmussen poll found that a large percentage of Americans believe the gateway argument. Nearly half of voters (46%) believed marijuana use leads to harder drugs. Thirty-seven percent (37%) did not see marijuana as a “gateway” drug.

Patterns in progression of drug use are strikingly regular.

Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people come across. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs used marijuana before the harder stuff. In fact, most adult users begin with alcohol and nicotine long before moving on to cannabis and other illicit drugs.
In 2006, the University of Pittsburgh released a thorough study which researchers spent 12 years putting together. They tracked a group of subjects from adolescence into adulthood and documented the initiation and progression of their drug use. The researchers reported that the gateway theory was not only wrong, but also detrimental to properly understanding and addressing drug abuse.
The myth of the Gateway effect needs to be put to rest once and for all. The more research that is conducted the clearer it becomes that cannabis use does not lead to abuse of other drugs. Some promising research has also shown that cannabis can actually help people kick the other stuff like heroine. As more and more states legalize medical and recreational marijuana, it is more important than ever to put the gateway myth to rest. Thanks for reading.