Since its origins in America, cannabis has been used as a political pawn.
As the New York Times recently reported, former President Richard Nixon admitted that cannabis was “not particularly dangerous.” This was two years after Nixon had launched America’s now-infamous “War on Drugs,” which included categorizing marijuana with other addictive drugs. That terrible decision, despite Nixon’s knowledge that cannabis was not dangerous, led to the arrests of millions of Black and brown people and created false narratives about cannabis repeated by political leaders to this day.
We’re seeing these falsehoods repeated in Sacramento.
Opinion
A few weeks ago, the city introduced the idea of issuing permits for 20 additional dispensaries. On top of that, council members have continued conversations about allowing cannabis lounges in the city. If lounges are approved, it would mean sanctioned facilities serving people who consume cannabis products on-site…