Marijuana messaging is getting caught up in election year politics as Democrats and Republicans fight over cannabis and criminal justice reform and pandemic relief. Republicans falsely claim the Democrats are prioritizing a bill to remove federal penalties for marijuana and expunge arrest records over a corona virus aid package, and that in turn has led to other allegations that moderate Democrats back efforts to “defund the police,” which they don’t.
Lost in the back and forth is any serious discussion about the risks of marijuana legalization, and how to strike a balance between decriminalization, wider access to the drug, and criminal justice reform. The Biden/Harris ticket favors decriminalization and letting states decide on legalizing recreational cannabis, while the Trump team has not yet announced any clear policies.
Meanwhile, the New York Times is touting the purported benefits of marijuana and CBD, the non-psychoactive component of pot, in products backed by the design diva Martha Stewart. In the article, Stewart praises both marijuana and her CBD drops as a “societal good”—without providing any scientific evidence or warnings to consumers about the potential dangers of these largely unregulated products.
And finally, Playboy is launching its own line of CBD products “to enhance intimacy and boost sexual wellness”—without any evidence they do any such thing. As the market for marijuana and CBD expands—along with increasingly outlandish claims about efficacy—it’s time for the FDA and other authorities to more actively oversee and regulate these products to protect public health.