Colorado was a pioneer legal marijuana state when it decriminalized the drug in 2014, amid great expectations it would usher in a new era of economic prosperity and social justice, and eliminate the black market. It may have succeeded on some levels, with cannabis sales soaring—especially during the pandemic—but for public health, it has been an abject failure, according to a comprehensive review by the Hudson Institute. The black market is flourishing, youth usage and college-age use have increased, as has the use of other drugs, suicides, traffic fatalities, and THC concentrations in marijuana products. “There’s a high cost to making an addictive substance a commercial product,” the report concludes.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that Colorado Governor Polis has just signed a bipartisan bill that reins in the powerful cannabis industry in the state, and places long-overdue restrictions on THC levels—reducing them to one-fifth of what they currently are— and youth access to medical marijuana. The law also mandates specific warning labels and real-time monitoring of sales, all in response to a report by Colorado physicians concerning the impact of pot on youth mental health, including an “alarming” rise in the number of psychotic episodes among young people using marijuana concentrates.
And finally, conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may be an unlikely hero of the marijuana legalization movement, after he attacked the federal ban on marijuana and questioned whether the government has the authority to intrude on state-legal cannabis markets. His views appeared in a statement, not a court ruling, but do indicate how he would likely decide if the push for lifting the federal ban ends up before the Court.