As Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) finishes off his final term in Congress, the longtime champion of marijuana reform says his work on the issue was simultaneously one of the “greatest areas of satisfaction” and “greatest disappointments” as cannabis remains federally prohibited.
He also said that while Congress seems “trapped in time,” stubbornly unwilling to follow the lead of the dozens of states that have enacted legalization in some form, if it does move forward and at least allow medical cannabis access, that could transform the healthcare space and save the country “hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Despite the ongoing delay, however, Blumenauer says lawmakers are “right on the edge” of reform.
In an exit interview with C-SPAN that was released earlier this month, the Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair was asked to reflect on his marijuana policy legacy, which involved efforts to federally legalize cannabis, provide military veterans with access to medical marijuana, free up industry banking services and promote research into the plant.
“My work on cannabis legalization and working to end the failed war on drugs is one of my greatest areas of satisfaction and one of my greatest disappointments,” Blumenauer said, noting that he’s been advocating for reform as early as 1973 during his time as an Oregon state legislator.
“This is the wave of the future and is very important, but the failed war on drugs—particularly, we’ve seen now what we’ve suspected all along—Richard Nixon started this war on drugs for political reasons against young people and Blacks,” he said. “It’s been so hard for the federal government to get out of that mindset after having spent hundreds of billions of dollars on this failed war on drugs.”
“It’s been terrible for the minority community, for young people, and the lost opportunities,” the congressman said. “If we get to the point where we use medical cannabis for Medicare, Medicaid [and] the VA, we’ll have better healthcare. We will save hundreds of billions of dollars. But we’re sort of trapped in time, and that’s one of my biggest disappointments.”
Asked whether he felt concerns about the potential impact of legalization on traffic safety, Blumenauer said that’s precisely why the policy change is necessary: It enables governments to better educate the public on both the risks and benefits of cannabis, with regulations in place to mitigate those risks.”It is an issue of not having people understand the dynamic. If instead we had given people good information and training—cannabis is actually a safer drug than alcohol,” he said.
“Part of the problem we’ve had is that people didn’t understand appropriately how to use it. I don’t want any kid to use cannabis. That’s one of the reasons I worked on legalization because, right now, no corner drug dealer has a license to lose. They don’t check for IDs. And if we get to the point where we’ve got federal policies where we treat cannabis like alcohol, we’ll do a better job protecting our kids and the public. And we’re going to make a boatload of money by taxing a legal product than having most of it done illegally.”
The congressman also weighed in on the prospects of reform under the incoming Trump administration. He said part of the reason he remains optimistic is because he’s “recruited people to be in the leadership position” of the Cannabis Caucus after he departs.
“This is part of what we’re doing with the next Congress,” he said, “because we’re right on the edge. It’s very, very close.”
He added that if the federal government ultimately enacts the Biden administration-initiated rescheduling of marijuana that would “open up some research opportunities,” but “it’s not good enough.”
“We ought to fully legalize it, regulate it like alcohol, educate and finally end the failed war on drugs,” Blumenauer said.
Although President-elect Donald Trump has voiced support for moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as the Justice Department has proposed, the prospects of broader reform under a fully GOP-controlled Congress is uncertain.
But while legalization wasn’t accomplished under Blumenauer’s tenure, advocates and stakeholders widely recognize that his contributions to the movement have built a meaningful infrastructure for future reform.
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Photo courtesy of the House of Representatives.
As Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) finishes off his final term in Congress, the longtime champion of marijuana reform says his work on the issue was simultaneously one of the “greatest areas of satisfaction” and “greatest disappointments” as cannabis remains federally prohibited. He also said that while Congress seems “trapped in time,” stubbornly unwilling to follow Read More
