America’s cannabis revolution has been… confusing. For thousands of years, cannabis was a mainstream medicine. In the early 20th century, cannabis was approved by the AMA. Every medical textbook had sections on the use of cannabis and every medical college taught doctors the medical uses of cannabis. But in the early 20th century, America decided to tighten up what we were consuming. In 1906 the Food and Drug Administration was forced. Many dangerous and questionable drugs were regulated or banned. In the 1920s the sale of alcohol was banned. In the 1930s, cannabis became illegal. While alcohol regained its legal status in just 14 years it would take nearly a century for cannabis to once again be legal. Well, sort of legal. Which is the topic of today’s blog.

In just a few years we’ve gone from cannabis as an addictive drug to a natural and safe cure for just about everything. Glaucoma, depression, insomnia, epilepsy, PTSD, eating disorders, and relief from the side effects of cancer treatments. It’s all possible with cannabis. In fact, the biggest source of drug deaths in America comes from the big pharmaceutical companies.

The rapid transformation of cannabis from demon to deliverer is seen by the government as an opportunity to fix multiple problems. Legal, but regulated, cannabis would drive away street drug dealers. Cities could collect increased taxes from legitimate cannabis sales. And tax revenues would provide funds for low-income housing and services for the poor. New cannabis-related taxes in New York City alone are expected to generate $500 million a year. It would be a win-win for everyone!

Except… and there is always an “except”… the cannabis market has evolved faster than government legislation. New York City has only licensed about 50 fully legal cannabis stores (dispensaries). Yet, the city has counted over 1,500 “convenience stores” that do not pay the taxes a dispensary would. The state recently announced a crackdown on illegal stores and an expansion of legal dispensaries to fill the gap. If NY could thread the needle between padlocking some stores while opening other stores, New York did not understand the resources needed to regulate hundreds (thousands?) of these stores.

Cannabis plants contain over 100 cannabinoids, chemical compounds with medical and other uses. THC and CBD are by far the most common cannabinoids. But they are not the only cannabinoids. THC and CBD are better thought of as families of chemicals. “THC” (now called Delta 9) has “cousins”, Delta 8 and Delta 10. They are VERY similar to Delta 9 but are produced in such minuscule quantities that regulators ignore them. However, today’s cannabis industry has techniques to convert Delta 9 into these and other compounds. Delta 8 and Dela 10 lie in a legal gray area, and dispensary taxes are rarely collected.

Even if Delta 8 and 10 were fully legal, the FDA does not test cannabis. Many “THC Free” products do contain a significant amount of THC. Likewise, completely legal “pure CBD” oil may not contain any CBD. Intentional deception or just very badly made products? Whatever the case, will NY need to inspect every product… or is this just another reason to wipe out all of the “convenience” stores? Whatever they choose, New York City and New York State tell us they are about to start their crackdown.

What do you think? Is a cannabis crackdown too radical? Do we need more regulation or more drugs? Let’s hear your opinion!