Medical marijuana as a therapeutic application has been demonstrably effective. Medical marijuana as public policy has been demonstrably problematic.

It is doomed to be tethered to controversy and crime as long as cannabis, itself, is.

The solution is to regulate marijuana for all adults, and allow them to use it responsibly — for therapeutic, social, or spiritual reasons of their personal choosing.

Three important clarifications:

• The solution is not to repeal medical marijuana; that would simply turn control of the industry completely into criminals’ hands.
• Marijuana is safe, effective medicine for a wide array of conditions.
• Medical marijuana has been good practice. It has successfully demonstrated that legal marijuana farms and stores can operate responsibly in a community with no ill effects.

It’s the medical aspect of the policy that is doomed. Show me a medical marijuana law that is working perfectly — or even, to the general satisfaction of the public. Each state’s law seems to be either widely ridiculed for the ease with which “patients” get their “green cards” so they can buy their “BubbleBerry SkunkBud” from “Dr. Feelgood”, or loudly criticized by impassioned advocates for denying compassionate access to the sick and dying.

Medical marijuana laws help people, yes,  but the policy is unavoidably haunted by the spectre of the black market. “Diversion”, as law enforcement officials call it, of “medical marijuana” to people not authorized to possess it (non-patients) is a constant concern.

Medical marijuana creates a false divide between people who are too healthy (and honest) for medical marijuana, and people sick (or unscrupulous) enough to have legal access.

Because there is no objective definition of “medical use”, medical marijuana laws are unavoidably controversial. Some say that “if a doctor recommends it, it’s medical”, yet it’s clear to all observers that there have been some opportunistic doctors that have rushed in to sign recommendations for nearly anyone, making a mockery of both law and medicine.

The flood of new “patients”, many or most of whom are judged in the court of public opinion as “abusing” the law are making, admittedly, a rational choice. Marijuana has a place in their lives, and they’d like not to be arrested for that choice. In that sense, they’re not abusing the law, they’re eager to comply with the law. They’d like to “be legal”.

The solution to all these difficulties is to eliminate the “medical”.

Allow all adults to buy marijuana from licensed, regulated store fronts,  supplied by licensed, regulated producers.

Eliminating medical cannabis laws in favor of integrating cannabis into a legal marketplace for all adults doesn’t eliminate medical use. In fact, it creates a safer product and more functional marketplace, for medical users and others, because the design of the industry can be driven by standards and overseen by knowledgeable regulators rather than driven by the needs of law enforcement and overseen by people with guns.

There is simply nothing wrong with responsible adult use of marijuana, and it should be of no concern to the government whether one uses marijuana medically, spiritually, or socially.

Medical marijuana can be a wonderful medicine and is a blessing to many chronically ill people, and NORML will always be in full support of safe access for patients.

However, if you really want to do what’s best for patients, you must support full legalization.

I am not talking about decrim. I am talking about a regulated (and yes, taxed) market in which businesses and nonprofits sell marijuana to citizens. Or, those citizens grow their own and share it with friends. Sort of like beer and wine today.

In this future world I am envisioning, big businesses will sell tolerable pot for cheap to people who don’t care much for quality. Smaller players will enjoy a connoisseurs’ market of high end crystal-caked gorgeous buds. And local “grassroots” clubs of growers will share the fruits of their gardens amongst their membership.

And the patients most in need, those people for whom marijuana is not social, is not cool, and has little aesthetic aspect, those people for whom marijuana provides important, sometimes near-miraculous therapeutic benefits, will be better off in such a world.

Walk with me, into this world:

First, the price will fall. The price of cannabis is inflated by prohibition currently. Why would a grower sell an ounce for $100 that can be sold for $200-300 by their patient five minutes later? Altruism? Sure, it can happen. But the market bears what the market can bear, and many Montana cardholders, I suspect, would quickly take advantage of such reasonable pricing.

In a world in which everyone can buy it for $100, that temptation, that opportunity, mostly evaporates.

Are there people buying cases of wine and selling $8 glasses? Sure — they’re called restaurants. They’re regulated, it’s legal, it’s okay.

Second, while free market economics is arguably a savage system, one thing it certainly does is offer the consumer lots of options. May the best product win. Imagine if retailers were competing not just on price, but on variety and quality as well. Imagine huge menu boards (like these) of dozens of strains, dozens of edibles, tinctures, cocktails, salves, oils, and who knows what else we’ll come up with.

And, you can go to any retailer you like.  Want a high-CBD banana muffin to ease your pain? Stop by my shop on 3rd street. Does your ailment benefit from Romulan-derived tincture to help with your chemo-induced nausea? The collective in Darby produces the best, and it’s available at retailers statewide. Looking for  a soaring cerebral experience from pre-rolled hemp-paper 2-gram joints  of Super Lemon Haze to inspire art, poetry, and conversation? Got you covered, at the boutique place on the 8th floor of the Millennium Building downtown.

Third, medical marijuana treats patients like second class citizens. In Montana, despite the media hype, a person must jump through various expensive bureaucratic hoops to get and stay legal. If your current doctor (if you are fortunate enough to have one) is too uninformed or afraid to sign the papers, then choosing a potentially-less-than-savory “clinic” is the next unpleasant step.  Then the government papers (hopefully) get sent off to a state agency for review. In weeks, or sometimes months, you get your card. I hope you chose a trustworthy caregiver. I hope their crop succeeds. I hope they don’t get busted. And, in a few months, you need to start thinking about the renewal process.

Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutic herbs known to humankind, less toxic than aspirin and less addictive than caffeine. Why not make it more accessible to people with dire medical conditions?

Further, does anyone believe that marijuana is too dangerous for healthy people? Come on.

Adults shouldn’t need permission from any doctor, any cop, any bureaucrat, to use this plant responsibly, whether it’s for medical, spiritual, artistic, social, or other personal reasons.

Legalization is the best thing for patients. Spread the word.