Could this ruling spell the end for cannabis stigma?

Every so often a story comes along that grabs your attention, it might just seem at first glance that its just another boring story about the law, but then you realise that the implications of this ruling will have far greater implications, than just in the context of the story as is written.

So why should I care about a story in an Irish news paper about a judges ruling in a case in the United states? I mean after all, I live in England, so Irish law and US law have little to do with my life, well take five dear reader and let me tell you a tale of a republican president, a federal judge, the state of Oklahoma, guns and drugs.

On Friday 3^rd of February, US District Judge Patrick Wyrick, an appointee of former Republican president Donald Trump, dismissed an indictment against a man charged in August with violating a ban on owning firearms because he used Cannabis, Judge Wyrick overturned the ban stating that it “infringed his right to bear arms under the US constitution's Second Amendment”.

On first glance this just looks like another story of a right leaning judge doing all he can to protect gun rights, and that may be the case, but the implications of this case reach far beyond the world of the NRA, the important part of this story isn't that a man got his guns back, it's the reason he got his guns back, this is a quote from the Piece in the Irish Times.

“Judge Wyrick said that while the government can protect the public from dangerous people possessing guns, it could not argue that Jared Harrison's “mere status as a user of Marijuana justifies striping him of his fundamental right to possess a firearm”.

He said using marijuana was “not in itself a violent, forceful, or threatening act”, and noted that Oklahoma is one of a number of states where the drug , still illegal under federal law, can be legally bought for medical users.”

What we are seeing here is a federal judge saying that someone who uses cannabis is no more likely to be a danger to the public within the context of the Second Amendment, as some one who drinks beer, wine or whiskey.

So does that mean I'm turning into a NRA member 2A supporting gun nut? No, what this means is there is a precedent that states that just because someone uses cannabis, it doesn't mean that they are irresponsible, if it's safe for someone who uses cannabis to own an AR15 then surely it could be argued that anyone who uses cannabis can be trusted to parent their own children, adopt children, not be refused employment based on their cannabis use alone, this ruling, if used correctly could change the way we look at cannabis users, and go some way to end the stigma of cannabis use, maybe even go some way to seeing cannabis as an alternative to alcohol only less harmful.

I don't think for one minute that the judge had cannabis advocacy in mind when he made this ruling, but when you think about it, cannabis legislation, affects the right and the left, we tend to think of the left as being the voice of cannabis legalisation, but there are so many things that the right in America hold dear that are affected by the war on drugs, Second Amendment supporters are adamant that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” but they are infringed, there are so many people who are not allowed to own firearms because of past arrests for possession, it makes you wonder why those same people are fearful of cannabis legalisation.

Americans love to tell you how free they are, the land of the free the home of the brave, how many times have you seen an American, when told they cant do something have responded with “I'm an American” It's because Americans are bought up with a sense of being a citizen of the ultimate country of freedom, but do they really have ultimate freedom? Americans make up just 5% of the worlds population, 3% of Americans have been to jail at some point, if that is freedom, I need a new dictionary.

The point I am trying to make here is that the world is changing, and I know that change can be scary to some people, but as change happens, you have to change with it, cannabis is not going away, it is a part of life now, be it recreational or medical, we live in a society that uses cannabis like we use alcohol, the only difference is that we have allowed a stigma around cannabis to form after years of anti drug legislation that has done more harm than good, and I'll say it again, not because I like sounding like a broken record, but because it is such an important point to consider if we are to have a rational and productive discussion about the future of drug policy, Alcohol prohibition was the origin story behind Al Capone, just as the war on drugs is the origin story behind Pablo Escobar, and as time goes on, we will see more kingpins, that will become ever more dangerous, ever more ruthless, and evermore violent, as long as the demand for drugs remains the same, and the money made by criminals is greater than the budgets of police forces tasked with fighting an unwinnable war on drugs, the real weapons against the criminal organisations, is to keep the money out of their hands, it's not going to be easy, there are mistakes that will be made, but we can learn from those mistakes already being made, and we can take the control of the illicit drugs market out of the hands of dangerous criminals fro whom life has little value.

We all want the world to be a better place, we don't want our children to not be able to go to the park because we fear they might be approached by drug dealers, or fall on dirty needles, but we have tried the legislation circus for decades, and the problems surrounding drugs are still there, its not because of the drugs themselves, this point has been proven time and time again, the problem lies with the way we treat the issue, not as a public health issue like obesity, or alcoholism, we treat it as a criminal issue, and punish people who need our help, and reward the criminal gangs with riches beyond our wildest dreams.

But maybe now, with this case that was meant to protect the rights of the American public to keep and bear arms, we can start to have that conversation in a grown up way, and start to let go of the stigma that not only hurts people, but prevents them from getting help when they find themselves in a hole they cant dig themselves out of.

So it might be a victory for the NRA and their members, but its also another small victory for common sense in the battle against the war on drugs.

You can read the full article on the Irish times website at the link below, or click here

https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2023/02/04/us-ban-on-marijuana-users-owning-guns-is-unconstitutional-finds-judge/

Photo by Kindel Media: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-cannabis-bud-7667737/