OPINION:
In a recent opinion piece in The Washington Times, former Colorado state Sen. Chris Holbert argued that Republicans in Congress should pass marijuana reform, including the SAFER Banking Act. As a constituent in Mr. Holbert’s former district in Colorado and a leader of a national, nonpartisan marijuana policy organization, I was surprised to see him promote these irresponsible policies. I hope to correct the record and remind Republicans why the legalization of marijuana is at odds with conservative principles.
First, though Colorado narrowly passed legalization in 2012 — what he called “the will of a majority of voters” — many Colorado residents oppose this policy in practice. More than 70% of the state’s counties, including mine and Mr. Holbert’s, opted to ban pot shops. Residents know that having more drugs in their neighborhood reduces their quality of life and normalizes use for children.
This trend plays out nationally. A 2022 poll from Emerson College found that 62% of American voters favor policies other than the legalization of recreational marijuana when given options like decriminalizing possession or allowing medical use.
It is also important to recognize that constituents entrust their officials to act in their best interest, and public opinion should be only one consideration. The fact is, public perception has been largely influenced by a multimillion-dollar misinformation campaign put on by Big Tobacco and celebrity influencers hoping to cash in on addiction to today’s new, supercharged THC, the ingredient in marijuana that gets you high. Far from the Woodstock weed of yesteryear, this new marijuana increases the risk of schizophrenia and psychosis fivefold and has turned the roads in legal states into a nightmare.
Taking his cue from the industry’s misinformation, Mr. Holbert called this drug a “life-changing, symptom-curing medicine.” Life-changing? Ask Laura Stack, another former constituent of Mr. Holbert’s, how life-changing this drug was for her son Johnny, who died by suicide after a legally obtained “medical marijuana”-induced psychotic episode a few years ago.
What’s more, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana to treat any disease or condition, though it has approved cannabidiol, or CBD, and THC derivatives for certain conditions. While this drug may provide some benefits to some patients, this decision should be left to researchers and medical professionals, not Snoop Dogg and Sanjay Gupta.
Mr. Holbert urged Republicans to pass the SAFER Banking Act, which “would give cannabis companies access to commercial banks.” He did not mention it would also give Chinese fentanyl-dealing cartels bank accounts for the purpose of money laundering. This concern was also raised in a recent letter signed by former directors of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and administrators of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The SAFER Banking Act would also allow the tobacco and alcohol industries to invest billions in the marijuana industry, just as they did in Canada’s marijuana industry.
It was surprising to see Mr. Holbert write in support of the legalization of marijuana, given he has since left Colorado and moved to Florida, where marijuana is illegal. One can’t help but wonder whether he left for “less green” pastures.
I can’t imagine why: The Rocky Mountain High Density Drug Trafficking Area, which is a coalition of law enforcement agencies in Colorado, found that “since recreational marijuana was legalized in 2013, traffic deaths where drivers tested positive for marijuana increased 138% while all Colorado traffic deaths increased 29%.”
Because of the state’s home-grow policy, which allows residents to grow up to 99 of their own marijuana plants, the DEA concluded that this policy “has led to a proliferation of large-scale marijuana grow operations in hundreds of [suburban] homes throughout the state.”
What’s more, dispensaries with names like Cookies Denver regularly sell products that appeal to children. It shouldn’t be surprising that nine of the 10 states with the highest rates of youth marijuana use have legalized marijuana. In total, Colorado’s Centennial Institute calculated that every dollar in tax revenue is associated with $4.50 in costs, stemming from the increase in traffic deaths mentioned above to health care costs and lost productivity.
Given these outcomes, it is odd to hear Mr. Holbert argue that “Republicans should act quickly by applying Republican principles to cannabis regulation.” Instead, traditional Republican values such as fiscal conservatism, personal responsibility, and public safety would lead Republicans to oppose the legalization of marijuana. Republicans should not want to blow the doors open on Colorado’s drug free-for-all. Given the failures of this policy, family groups, medical associations, law enforcement groups, and many others oppose legalization.
Republicans and Democrats alike should rally around the shared goals of keeping communities safer and protecting families. This is best done by improving access to prevention and treatment and reducing the adverse effects of substance misuse in our communities — not letting fentanyl dealers launder money using the SAFER Banking Act and legal marijuana as cover.
• Luke Niforatos is executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana and a national drug policy expert. He lives in Denver and is a former constituent of Colorado state Sen. Chris Holbert.
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