Daily marijuana use: Dr Jessica Gray busts safety myths
As daily marijuana use climbs across the United States, family physician Dr. Jessica Gray is pushing back on several popular assumptions about cannabis safety. She cautions that a product’s plant origin does not automatically make it harmless, and points to a review in JAMA Internal Medicine that found limited evidence supporting cannabis as an effective treatment for anxiety or insomnia. Gray also warned that, in many places, marijuana has become easier to obtain than professional mental health counseling.
Authorities in Georgia said Tuesday they stopped a major suspected black-market marijuana shipment weighing about 1,800 pounds, with the load allegedly headed toward Atlanta and Orlando.
According to the Butts County Sheriff’s Office, the marijuana came from Sacramento, California, a state where recreational cannabis is legal. Sheriff Gary Long said investigators believed roughly half of the shipment was intended for Atlanta, while the remainder was on its way to Orlando.
Officials did not provide details about the exact location or method of the interception, and the sheriff’s office did not say whether any arrests were made or if criminal charges had been filed.
Authorities said the marijuana shipment began in Sacramento, California, before it was intercepted in Butts County, Georgia. (Facebook/Butts County Sheriff’s Office)
Long pointed to the seizure as evidence, he said, that legal cannabis markets do not necessarily wipe out illegal marijuana trafficking.
“But here is the reality: the black market isn’t going away,” Long said in a press release announcing the seizure.
The case also highlights the patchwork of marijuana laws across the states tied to the shipment. California permits recreational marijuana use, while Georgia and Florida allow cannabis only under specific medical circumstances.
“The illegal marijuana trade does not stop at the state line,” Long said.
Authorities seized about 1,800 pounds of suspected black-market marijuana. (Facebook/Butts County Sheriff’s Office)
Long said Mexican drug-trafficking organizations and other criminal groups continue to move large amounts of marijuana across state lines. The sheriff’s office did not say the shipment seized Tuesday was connected to a cartel or any other criminal organization.
The sheriff also argued that illegal sellers can undercut licensed marijuana businesses because they don’t pay taxes or licensing fees or have to follow testing and other regulatory requirements.
“As long as there is demand and money to be made, illegal dealers will continue to operate,” Long said.
Long urged Georgia lawmakers to look closely at what has happened in states that have legalized marijuana before making changes to Georgia’s laws.
Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said about half of the marijuana was bound for Atlanta, while the rest was headed to Orlando. (Facebook/Butts County Sheriff’s Office)
He pointed to California, which has changed its cannabis tax and regulatory system while continuing to fight illegal marijuana sales. He also cited past ballot initiatives filed in Colorado seeking to repeal constitutional provisions that legalized recreational marijuana, though those efforts did not reverse legalization.
“That should be a warning to Georgia,” Long said. “We should learn from the experiences of states that have already gone down this road instead of repeating the same mistakes and then spending years trying to fix them.”
Long said his statement was not meant to settle the question of whether marijuana should be legal. Instead, he argued that lawmakers need to consider how illegal sales and trafficking would fit into any changes to Georgia law.
“Georgia, let’s get it right the first time,” Long said.
