Cannabis, The Talk of the World
Op-Ed
Georgia is a classic country of radical attitudes. This is just part of our national psyche, but that’s OK, we’re fine with it. The current apple of public discord here is marijuana: should we grow it or not in the remains of our beautiful land? The problem is that the government wants it and the nation doesn’t. In essence, cannabis is a very lucrative business and will be for decades, in line with current hemp appreciation.
In America, more and more states are legalizing marijuana even though it is still illegal federally. Marijuana is no longer a gateway drug and can be taken as a scheduled medication. The American political establishment is slowly considering removing the classification which means that pharmaceutical companies will eat this up and allow marijuana to be sold over the shelf in different forms - pill, liquid, or otherwise. The main reason marihuana is still federally illegal in the States is the psychoactive component of the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) in it. But there are certain supplement companies currently operating in the market that extract the THC, leaving in the product only CBD (cannabidiol), an oil which is free from the psychoactive component and has all of the health benefits. THC, mixed with CBD, produces all those medical benefits but most people do not want to deal with the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, choosing only the pure CBD as a medicinal remedy. Concerning smoking marihuana, people in general do not enjoy it, but they do like to use a vaporizer. They say it’s clean, and it doesn’t smell. In America, this is the most popular form of smoking marijuana today. It comes as pocket-sized electronic cigarettes. The users press a button, inhale, and start feeling it within minutes. What the vaporizer smokers most like about it is that it is undetectable unless one takes a blood test. Employers in the United States are no longer even testing for marijuana because many people have registered medical marijuana cards and use them for their own health benefits. Examples of pre-existing conditions include stress, glaucoma, cancer. All of these medical conditions grant you access to being a registered marijuana user in the dispensary database in any particular state where it is legalized.
In terms of the good and bad, it is completely relative. Supporters of marihuana legalization jovially comment that the only bad thing about it is that it has a bad reputation. There have been many misconceptions about marijuana being a gateway drug. Drugs like cocaine and others have nothing in common with marijuana. Marijuana and other psychoactive plants that are in the same plant family, have been used for millennia for both medicinal and recreation purposes, though this is certainly not enough reason for its outright legalization.
Coca-Cola made a statement the other day that it is closely watching the growth of CBD, the non-psychoactive component in marijuana, as an ingredient in what it called “functional wellness” beverages. Coke is expected to develop the product first for sale in Canada, preparing it for the United States once it is fully legal. The giant is positioning itself for the long-term, having estimated that cannabis-infused drinks could become a $50 billion annual market in the United States. Aurora Cannabis, the Canadian Medical Marijuana Producer, has also expressed interest in cannabis drinks.
In a word, a lot is going on in this area right now and it is thought that it has incredible potential. Constellation Brands, the maker of Corona beer and Tequila, announced last month that it is investing an additional $4 billion in the Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth. One of the Heineken affiliates called Lagunitas already has a drink infused with THC and it can be purchased at marijuana dispensaries in California.
In Georgia, the picture is totally different: even if it is presumed that medically-oriented hemp might be profitable for the country, our people’s reaction to it is extremely negative. The government is inclined to make big money on medicinal cannabis but the public opposes the idea, and they both have strong arguments. So, the consideration of the issue might be postponed for the very remote future. It’s almost impossible in Georgia to say 100% what is good and what is bad. That’s how life is here!
By Nugzar B. Ruhadze