The legal history of cannabis is a long and messy one, and has led to a lot of complications with regulation. Cannabis has been illegal in the U.S. since the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which was the first national regulation of cannabis. 33 years later, the passage of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 listed cannabis as a Schedule 1 narcotic, which is defined as a drug with no medical benefits and a severe likelihood of addiction. Although cannabis is federally illegal in the United States, states are allowed to function individually, which creates many issues regarding both commerce and capital.
At the center of this ongoing debate of cannabis legalization is money. Let’s think about it this way, the cannabidiol industry is expected to hit $22 billion by the end of 2022, and the opioids market is supposed to hit $29 billion by 2026. Looking at these statistics, we can see that big pharma stands to lose a substantial amount of money if all 50 states were to legalize medical and recreational cannabis. Since cannabis has been proven effective for conditions that are generally treated with pharmaceutical medication, legalization could result in a severe disruption of big pharma’s business, and they are terrified of that reality.
Big pharma doesn’t care about the dangerous aspects of the drugs they prescribe, having no regard to how they affect others. The industry ultimately prioritizes profits over patients, thriving off of patients that become addicted to these prescription drugs. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), 19% of people taking prescription drugs become addicted to them and roughly 45 percent of people who use heroin start with an addiction to prescription opioids. Big pharma knows that addiction leads to more and more prescription refills, making them more and more money.
Cannabis has helped thousands of people manage their symptoms of their chronic illness and has even served as the sole medication for some patients. It has had a huge impact on the world of symptom relief, specifically regarding chronic pain. Cannabis has been proven to aid dozens of chronic health conditions, including but not limited to crohn’s disease, endometriosis, anxiety disorders, and even insomnia.
If cannabis can prevent patients from being on excessive amounts of prescription drugs and can ultimately stop patients from forming crippling addictions, why doesn’t big pharma push for it to be on the market? Because it’s bad for business. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, big pharma is not looking out for our best interests. They are ultimately trying to make as much
money as possible to succeed within this capitalist society, and that means putting their own interests first. These companies have always lobbied against anything remotely “natural,” which is where cannabis falls. Big pharma fears that allowing cannabis into the world of medicine will lead to less people needing prescription medications, ultimately putting these companies out of business. The system is extremely twisted and flawed, but big pharma should not be able to dictate whether or not cannabis should be involved in the medical world.
