FAQ

Frequently Answered Questions

1. Won't legalizing marijuana eliminate the black market?
    
2. Since marijuana is an organic plant isn't it healthy and safe for "medical" use?
    
3. Won't  legalization and regulation keep marijuana out of the hands of children?
    
4. The US Department of Justice initially claimed that it was not going to enforce numerous federal laws to avoid using federal resources to "prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana." US Attorney General Eric Holder (October 2009)  
5. Didn't the DOJ promise to vigorously enforce federal laws relating to 8 priorities (including preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors and preventing the diversion of marijuana to other states) involving marijuana?

1. Won't legalizing marijuana eliminate the black market?

• Drug cartels and other criminal drug trafficking organizations are not intimidated by legalization, they are emboldened by it. The black market exists to avoid taxes, avoid regulations (rules and laws) and make money. Consequently, the black market can undercut the price of "legal" sources. "Lowest price guaranteed."
• Legalization produces massive quantities of high-grade marijuana.
• The "legal" market expands the customer base for marijuana sales (more customers).
• The "legal" market allows pot to be advertised, manufactured, processed, transported, distributed, and used in the open. This gives drug dealers the ability to blend in (hide in plain sight).
• Because drug detection dogs can't tell the difference between a "legal" ounce and 500 pounds in the trunk, they cannot be used to interdict the smuggling of large quantities of pot.
• High grade marijuana is worth more in Ohio, New York, (anywhere else) than in Colorado.
• Colorado, California, Washington, Oregon (and other legalized states) export massive quantities of high-grade marijuana (and marijuana concentrates, edibles, etc) to other states across the country.

2.   Since marijuana is an organic plant isn't it healthy and safe for "medical" use?

• The raw cannabis plant has no medicinal value. For the same reasons people no longer chew bark to cure headaches but instead buy aspirin, there is no medical reason to smoke pot. The pharmaceutical profession exists to isolate active medical ingredients from herbs and plants (or synthesize them) and to provide safe, standardized doses with minimal side effects. This is how every other drug works. There is no scientific or medical reason to make marijuana an exception.
• This may come as a surprise to some, but if you’ve been smoking pot anytime in the 21st century, you’re most likely smoking a GMO strain. Back in the 1970’s, weed used to be much weaker generally, as most of it was grown naturally without pesticides or chemical alteration, it didn’t look or smoke anything like what we have today. So if you’re looking for non-GMO marijuana, you’re gonna find something that most would just call “schwag” – nearly everyone is smoking GMO pot, because that’s the best that’s around – and they don’t even think twice about it.

3.  The pot lobby claims that legalization and regulation will keep marijuana out of the hands of children.

• The latest national survey shows that Colorado has the highest marijuana use in the nation -- in EVERY age category. Marijuana use in the 12-17 age category is 74% higher than the national average.
• The top 21 states in the country for marijuana use by 12-17 year-olds are states that have legalized pot for "medicine" or "recreation."
• Legalization increases the availability of marijuana in society and reduces the perception of harm ------> higher use.
  

4.  The US Department of Justice initially claimed that it was not going to enforce numerous federal laws to avoid using federal resources to "prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana." US Attorney General Eric Holder (October 2009)  

• Federal resources were NEVER used to prosecute pot smokers (and especially not sick marijuana smokers) unless they were also trafficking marijuana. Most federal marijuana cases involve trafficking more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of marijuana. Depending on the quality of the marijuana, and the location of its sale, 220 pounds of marijuana has a wholesale value between $250,000 and $1.3 million.
• Under the guise of leaving pot smokers alone, the federal government has facilitated the growth of a massive marijuana industry (and encouraged additional states to ignore federal laws). Non-enforcement of federal laws does not change the fact that medi-pot and recreational pot states sanction the daily commission of numerous federal felonies. 

5.  Didn't the DOJ promise to vigorously enforce federal laws relating to 8 priorities (including preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors and preventing the diversion of marijuana to other states) involving marijuana?

  Based upon the most recent statistics, DOJ is not even enforcing its priorities. 

• Here's the most recent evidence: 123 pounds of marijuana found in car with Colorado plates during Ohio traffic stop WEST JEFFERSON, Ohio January 21, 2016 Two men from western Colorado are facing felony charges because of what was found in their car during a traffic stop in Ohio. The Ohio State Highway Patrol says that at 9:26 a.m. on January 13, a 2014 Subaru station wagon with Colorado plates was pulled over on I-70 between Dayton and Columbus for following too closely. A drug-sniffing dog alerted to the vehicle and a warrant was obtained to search it.  Investigators say they found 123 pounds of marijuana worth around $615,000 in the station wagon. Kelly Harding, 47, and Craig Voigt, 46, were arrested. Both men are from Carbondale, which is south of Glenwood Springs. Harding and Voigt face charges for possessing and trafficking marijuana. They face up to 16 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine.