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And yet marijuana is still illegal in my state. The impact of legislation like Citizens United and the outsized influence of large institutions on American pol

And yet marijuana is still illegal in my state. The impact of legislation like Citizens United and the outsized influence of large institutions on American politics is really unfortunate.

tiffanyh 4y ago
I think you’re conflating things. Fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance. So while yes, it’s “legal” - it’s an extremely controlled narcotic. Said differently, it’s illegal if you’re in position of it and it wasn’t prescribed by a medical doctor. Unlike marijuana that doesn’t need a prescription where it’s allowed.
- ffsoftboiled 4y ago
  Except marijuana does require a prescription in certain states.
  - tiffanyh 4y ago
    Ah, interesting. I wasn’t aware of that. Thanks for clarification.
  - lovich 4y ago
    That's separate from the Schedule system which is a Federal system, where it is illegal to have marijuana always. The Biden admin has instructed the DEA to look into rescheduling it and is turning a blind eye to marijuana now, but on the books fentanyl has a legal way to acquire it and marijuana does not from the Federal point of view.
- cies 4y ago
  It's not about the legitimate/medical/supervised usage, it the recreational use that kills. Marijuana (MJ) is used a lot recreationally; if people to use MJ instead of Fentanyl the OD cases would not pile up like they do today.
  - tiffanyh 4y ago
    It's just weird logic to say "X causes more deaths than Y, Y should be legal then". E.g. car accidents kill more people per year than marijuana. Does that mean driving a car should become illegal, and marijuana legalized? https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_n_56816417e4b06fa68880a217 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_n_56816...
    - TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
      That's not comparing like for like. For better or worse driving is considered to have huge social utility. Fent addiction has huge negative utility for everyone - except its manufacturers and their investors. MJ is probably more or less neutral. In terms of broad social effects, refined sugar is probably the deadliest of all drugs, but its direct effects - especially in sodas - are much smaller than its indirect contribution to obesity and diabetes. And unlike a dramatic overdose death, it's very slow-acting. So it's barely considered a problem.
    - mitchdoogle 4y ago
      > Does that mean driving a car should become illegal, and marijuana legalized? Honestly, yes. Or at least driving a car should require a much more strict licensing process. My daughter got a license during the pandemic and all that was required of her was driving around a parking lot once and then parking parallel. Skills which can be acquired in a couple of hours just prior to the test. Yes there is usually a written test as well, so there is some reason to believe people know what the basic road signs mean, but to let people loose on public roads traveling at 70 mph after a 5 minute driving test is just asking for widespread vehicle collisions.
  - vorpalhex 4y ago
    That is not supported by the research, marijuana use seems independent from opiod deaths (neither harming nor helping).
    - 4y ago
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
throwaway6734 4y ago
> the outsized influence of large institutions on American politics is really unfortunate. The current populist wave has shown that the opposite is true. The threats posed by citizens united were overblown as small dollar donors are generally significantly more radical than large institution.
- alldayeveryday 4y ago
  Disagree in the sense that politicians, even when receiving the majority of their donations from small donor citizens, still end up beholden to major non-citizen interests. In fact, I see this development as a kind of optimization the system took. Large institutional interests figured out they can save money and motivate private citizens to fund the puppet politician's campaigns.
x86_64Ubuntu 4y ago
What do institutions and Citizens United have to do with marijuana legalization? MJ has been illegal for decades in the U.S., before Citizens United. The fact of the matter is that this is a problem with the electorate, not CU or institutions.
MockObject 4y ago
How is Citizens United a factor here? If it were, it would be the cannabis companies using their earnings to successfully legalize it in other states, and on the federal level. Perhaps we need more lobbying money happening.

And yet marijuana is still illegal in my state. The impact of legislation like Citizens United and the outsized influence of large institutions on American politics is really unfortunate.

tiffanyh 4y ago

I think you’re conflating things. Fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance. So while yes, it’s “legal” - it’s an extremely controlled narcotic. Said differently, it’s illegal if you’re in position of it and it wasn’t prescribed by a medical doctor. Unlike marijuana that doesn’t need a prescription where it’s allowed.

ffsoftboiled 4y ago
Except marijuana does require a prescription in certain states.
- tiffanyh 4y ago
  Ah, interesting. I wasn’t aware of that. Thanks for clarification.
- lovich 4y ago
  That's separate from the Schedule system which is a Federal system, where it is illegal to have marijuana always. The Biden admin has instructed the DEA to look into rescheduling it and is turning a blind eye to marijuana now, but on the books fentanyl has a legal way to acquire it and marijuana does not from the Federal point of view.
cies 4y ago
It's not about the legitimate/medical/supervised usage, it the recreational use that kills. Marijuana (MJ) is used a lot recreationally; if people to use MJ instead of Fentanyl the OD cases would not pile up like they do today.
- tiffanyh 4y ago
  It's just weird logic to say "X causes more deaths than Y, Y should be legal then". E.g. car accidents kill more people per year than marijuana. Does that mean driving a car should become illegal, and marijuana legalized? https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_n_56816417e4b06fa68880a217 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_n_56816...
  - TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
    That's not comparing like for like. For better or worse driving is considered to have huge social utility. Fent addiction has huge negative utility for everyone - except its manufacturers and their investors. MJ is probably more or less neutral. In terms of broad social effects, refined sugar is probably the deadliest of all drugs, but its direct effects - especially in sodas - are much smaller than its indirect contribution to obesity and diabetes. And unlike a dramatic overdose death, it's very slow-acting. So it's barely considered a problem.
  - mitchdoogle 4y ago
    > Does that mean driving a car should become illegal, and marijuana legalized? Honestly, yes. Or at least driving a car should require a much more strict licensing process. My daughter got a license during the pandemic and all that was required of her was driving around a parking lot once and then parking parallel. Skills which can be acquired in a couple of hours just prior to the test. Yes there is usually a written test as well, so there is some reason to believe people know what the basic road signs mean, but to let people loose on public roads traveling at 70 mph after a 5 minute driving test is just asking for widespread vehicle collisions.
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  That is not supported by the research, marijuana use seems independent from opiod deaths (neither harming nor helping).
  - 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

throwaway6734 4y ago

> the outsized influence of large institutions on American politics is really unfortunate. The current populist wave has shown that the opposite is true. The threats posed by citizens united were overblown as small dollar donors are generally significantly more radical than large institution.

alldayeveryday 4y ago
Disagree in the sense that politicians, even when receiving the majority of their donations from small donor citizens, still end up beholden to major non-citizen interests. In fact, I see this development as a kind of optimization the system took. Large institutional interests figured out they can save money and motivate private citizens to fund the puppet politician's campaigns.

x86_64Ubuntu 4y ago

What do institutions and Citizens United have to do with marijuana legalization? MJ has been illegal for decades in the U.S., before Citizens United. The fact of the matter is that this is a problem with the electorate, not CU or institutions.

MockObject 4y ago

How is Citizens United a factor here? If it were, it would be the cannabis companies using their earnings to successfully legalize it in other states, and on the federal level. Perhaps we need more lobbying money happening.