Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Will California allow the government to regulate marijuana?

George Lundberg, MD
Meds
November 2, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share

How are we going to solve the drug problem? The answer is we aren’t.

Psychoactive drug abuse is as old as recorded history. As long as drugs are available and humans are frail, there will be drug abuse and drug abusers.

The main point for medicine is to follow Hippocrates. First, do no harm.

So many of our drug laws, intended to do good, actually do more harm than good. Witness marijuana.

Will California pass Proposition 19, also known as the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, which is on the Nov. 2 ballot as a statewide initiative?

Proposition 19, if approved by voters, will legalize various marijuana-related activities, allow local governments to regulate those activities, permit local governments (but not the state government) to impose and collect marijuana-related fees and taxes, and authorize various criminal and civil penalties.

Medical marijuana is already legal in California, due to the enactment of Proposition 215 in 1996.

California voters rejected a previous ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in 1972, when that Proposition 19 was defeated by a margin of 66% to 33%.

As a pathologist and toxicologist active in the prevention and treatment of drug-induced diseases for over 50 years, I have often spoken out against the truly insane and harmful laws and regulations that the U.S. has applied to marijuana.

As a country, we now are finally applying both science and common sense to medical marijuana. In addition, we will at least “decriminalize” the possession and personal use of cannabis one of these years. Whether Prop 19 becomes law is up to a very strange voting electorate scene this November.

The poll results are mixed at writing time, but passage seems likely.

Regardless of the fate of Prop 19, it is becoming time for the U.S.A. to elevate a serious conversation about the abject failure, indeed the great harm, of our various wars against other drugs.

Surely there must be better ways than ours to manage drugs such as heroin, cocaine/crack, and methamphetamine possession and use. What we are now doing is a failure.

ADVERTISEMENT

George Lundberg is a MedPage Today Editor-at-Large and former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Originally published in MedPage Today. Visit MedPageToday.com for more alternative medicine news.

Prev

Covering the uninsured and the costs to society

November 2, 2010 Kevin 13
…
Next

Do patients want to be empowered or managed?

November 2, 2010 Kevin 15
…

Tagged as: Medications

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Covering the uninsured and the costs to society
Next Post >
Do patients want to be empowered or managed?

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by George Lundberg, MD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Pathologists face a stark career choice

    George Lundberg, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    A culture of cover-up has slowed the patient safety movement

    George Lundberg, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Do drugs aid and abet genius or does genius lead to drugs?

    George Lundberg, MD

More in Meds

  • Why retail pharmacies are the future of diverse clinical trials

    Shelli Pavone
  • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

    Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO
  • A world without antidepressants: What could possibly go wrong?

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • The truth about GLP-1 medications for weight loss: What every patient should know

    Nisha Kuruvadi, DO
  • The hidden bias in how we treat chronic pain

    Richard A. Lawhern, PhD
  • Biologics are not small molecules: the case for pre-allergy testing in an era of immune-based therapies

    Robert Trent
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • It’s time for pain protocols to catch up with the opioid crisis

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • How locum tenens work helps physicians and APPs reclaim control

      Brian Sutter | Policy
    • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Why what doctors say matters more than you think [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 7 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why shared decision-making in medicine often fails

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • It’s time for pain protocols to catch up with the opioid crisis

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • How locum tenens work helps physicians and APPs reclaim control

      Brian Sutter | Policy
    • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Why what doctors say matters more than you think [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Will California allow the government to regulate marijuana?
7 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...