Speaker Bob Doyle came to discuss the controversial side of the marijuana industry’s commercialization in the Union Theater Monday night.
Doyle is the director of the Colorado Prevention and Education Alliance and was hosted by Recreation and Wellness and the Division of Student Affairs along with the Wood County Prevention Coalition and Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
The presentation started off with a video about the history of the big tobacco companies and how cigarettes were banned for moral reasons, not health reasons. The video states that originally, cigarettes were marketed to be good for your health. The video also references the marijuana industry as the “next big tobacco industry.”
“I’ve seen this movie before,” Doyle said. “(And) there’s a lot of misinformation.”
Doyle claimed the same tactics used to advertise tobacco could and can be seen in the medical marijuana movement. He said the strains for medical marijuana also aren’t documented with the necessary dosage and duration, and also stated that medical marijuana is marketed like alcohol and it’s medical commercialization exploits soldiers and veterans by claiming marijuana helps treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
While some researchers and scientists have proven that marijuana can help with mental illnesses such as PTSD and anxiety, the opportunities to successfully research medical marijuana are few and far between.
Some reasons for this are marijuana is still illegal at the federal level on both the state and federal levels and it is also a Schedule I drug. Using human test subjects on Schedule I drugs requires permission from the federal government.
Doyle went on to say that allowing big industries like the marijuana industry has bigger societal costs, saying one dollar gained is 10 dollars lost.
Professor and adviser for Students for Sensible Drug Policy Andy Garcia asked Doyle if there were any alternatives he preferred.
“Better drug treatment,” Doyle said. “There’s no benefit to commercialization.”
Doyle also thought there should be focus on helping drug academics, not on booming industries.
