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Speaker 1

00:00

-♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ Marijuana. Basically catnip for people. It has gained increasing acceptance in recent years. In fact, 1 small bright spot on election night was pro-marijuana referenda passing in 8 states.

Speaker 1

00:16

It's official! -♪ Whoo! ♪ -♪ Whoo!

Speaker 2

00:19

A big win for lovers of weed. -♪ Whoo! Whoo!

Speaker 1

00:21

♪ -♪

Speaker 3

00:22

Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

Speaker 3

00:22

Whoo!

Speaker 1

00:23

Well, we are

Speaker 2

00:23

really excited. I mean, this is a huge victory not just for Californians, but for really the country and the world.

Speaker 4

00:30

Everybody here should be so excited by this.

Speaker 1

00:32

It's a little weird that those celebrations happened the same night that Trump was elected. It's like celebrating your baseball team winning on the deck of the sinking Titanic. Bit of a mixed bag today, but still, Go Sox, Yankees suck.

Speaker 1

00:47

Now, as it stands, 44 states now have some form of medical marijuana law, and 8 have laws allowing recreational use. And that is good news. The war on drugs was futile, expensive, and it posed overly harsh penalties, especially on African-Americans, who police data suggest are over 4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. Although, interestingly, white people are a million times more likely to be shocked by that statistic.

Speaker 1

01:13

And this is clearly no longer a fringe issue.

Speaker 5

01:17

In 1969, a Gallup poll showed 12% favored legalization. Today, it's 60%.

Speaker 1

01:24

Exactly. Marijuana is something we've just all gradually decided is okay. Like Mark Wahlberg as a serious actor. -♪ ♪ -♪ You know what?

Speaker 1

01:33

Sure, I've decided I'm fine with that. But the legality of marijuana is actually much more fraught than you may think. In fact, if you have marijuana right now, even if you are acting completely legally according to your state, You may still be in serious jeopardy, and that's not your weed-induced paranoia talking. You could lose your home, job, or possessions, Greg.

Speaker 1

01:55

And yeah, I know, I'm freaking the shit out of any stoned viewer named Greg

Speaker 3

02:01

right now.

Speaker 1

02:01

But that is not a bad thing, because this story is genuinely worth worrying about. And let's begin with going back to why marijuana is so heavily regulated in the first place. It was legal at the start of the 20th century, but anti-drug hysteria, fueled partly by racist stereotypes about who was using it, led to it being gradually outlawed around the country.

Speaker 1

02:19

And naturally, it was Richard Nixon, the Mozart of racially motivated lawmaking, who targeted it in his war on drugs, for reasons that he was open about in conversations he inexplicably recorded.

Speaker 6

02:33

It's funny, every 1 of the bastards that are out to do us marijuana, the Jewish. But the question is a matter of the Jews, Bob. What is the matter with them?

Speaker 6

02:42

I suppose because most of them are psychiatrists, you know, there's so many, all the great psychiatrists are Jewish. I have a doubt that we are going to get the marijuana there. And I want to get it right up square and close.

Speaker 1

02:54

Yes. Yes. Quick historical footnote. You know who he's talking to there?

Speaker 1

02:59

Billy Bush. Yeah. Turns out people just open up to that guy. Always have.

Speaker 1

03:05

Now, Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, and it's still in effect today. Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, the highest classification alongside heroin. Schedule II, a step down, features drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine. And marijuana is not a Schedule I any more than a hedgehog is an apex predator.

Speaker 1

03:28

You're not scaring anyone, Roland. Get a tattoo. -♪ ♪ -♪ But that federal law is constantly clashing with new state laws, and it's causing big problems. For instance, legal marijuana businesses have struggled to get bank accounts because at the federal level, they are still seen as criminal enterprises.

Speaker 1

03:45

So if banks took their deposits, that could be considered money laundering. And this would mean that businesses had to operate all cash.

Speaker 4

03:53

100% of our revenue comes in cash. This is federal taxes that we pay in cash. Also our payroll, when we pay all 12 employees, they're getting envelopes of cash.

Speaker 4

04:04

These are state taxes.

Speaker 1

04:06

That is a shitty way to be forced to do business. On the suspicious scale, cash-stuffed envelopes rank somewhere between unfurled hundreds dusted in white powder and a wad of damp wands containing a single pubic hair. And if you are wondering why he was talking about paying his federal taxes, yeah, amazingly, under federal tax law, you must declare income even if the source of it is illegal.

Speaker 1

04:31

The tax code even has provisions like, if you receive a bribe, include it in your income. And if you steal property, you must report its fair market value. Which seems such an obvious trap to catch criminals. It should really be listed on the form as, this is a trap, are you really this stupid?

Speaker 1

04:49

Oh, my God, you're filling out a federal form admitting guilt, aren't you? You dumb, dumb idiot. -♪ ♪ -So, marijuana businesses have all the tax liabilities of other businesses, but what they don't get is 1 major advantage.

Speaker 2

05:01

The agency bars them from making most normal business deductions.

Speaker 3

05:05

You know, you could end up with a tax bill far more than, you know, any potential profit you could ever make.

Speaker 1

05:13

That's right. You can't deduct certain expenses. And that can mean that you pay double the amount of tax that you would if you were selling any other product.

Speaker 1

05:21

And just think about that. That means the shop where you bought your weed may pay double the amount of taxes paid by the shop where you ordered that shitty pizza, Greg. Yeah, I'm talking to you again, Greg. I told you this was important.

Speaker 1

05:34

Pay attention! And it is not just businesses facing difficulties, it's customers, too. Just look at Brandon Coates, who was paralyzed from a car accident as a teenager. Now, he had a prescription for medical marijuana, but he was fired from his job at the Dish Network after he failed a drug test.

Speaker 7

05:51

What was it like for you when they said, we don't want you to work here anymore?

Speaker 8

05:55

Well, it was devastating. I mean... It's hard enough for somebody like me to get a job.

Speaker 8

06:00

People look at me like they probably don't think that I can... Do what I can, you know? Did you think

Speaker 7

06:06

because you had a medical marijuana car that you had license to go ahead and use it?

Speaker 8

06:12

Well, it was, I was under the impression that we had passed a law and that we had made it legal.

Speaker 1

06:18

Yeah. It's frankly understandable that he thought he was doing nothing wrong. The state had given him a license to use medical marijuana legally, and yet he got fired anyway. And also, he couldn't turn to the Americans with Disabilities Act for help, because that is a federal law, and it doesn't protect marijuana use.

Speaker 1

06:34

All of which is pretty frustrating. That's like driving exactly the speed limit and getting pulled over by a cop who tells you, sorry, the federal speed limit is 3, and the legal age to drive is 62, and also, you have to be drunk. Surprise! You're fucking under arrest now.

Speaker 1

06:51

And even if you are only dealing with your government at the state level, decades of enforcing anti-drug laws can result in local officials making big mistakes, as 2 Michigan parents, 1 of whom treated his epileptic seizures with marijuana, discovered in 2013.

Speaker 3

07:06

Stephen Maria Green of Lansing helplessly watched as their infant daughter, Bree, was taken from their care. The reason given, the state-sanctioned medical marijuana user's home was too dangerous for their six-month-old because of the plants inside.

Speaker 9

07:18

It would place our residents at a higher rate of armed robbery, and therefore, was an imminent danger for my child to be removed.

Speaker 1

07:28

That is just completely absurd. If you have valuable items in your home, we might take your children. Although I will say, that is gonna add some real excitement to the Price is Right from now on.

Speaker 1

07:38

Oh, I really want that entertainment center, but I love my kids. Fuck it, sorry, Tommy. Daddy's going for the plasma screen! It's a dream, son!

Speaker 1

07:46

A dream of mine! And look, I know that some people will say, well, hold on, the medical efficacy of marijuana needs a lot more study, and that is true. The problem is, it's very difficult to do that, because again, federal laws are standing in the way. To study marijuana, you need approval from 3 different federal agencies, which can take years.

Speaker 1

08:06

In fact, 1 scientist was forced to wait 6 years just to begin studying its effects on PTSD, which is a long time. I frankly wouldn't blame her if she just said, fuck it, I'm studying dust, chocolate, during sex, help red wine make you lose weight. At least that way, I'll get to go on the Today Show. And if you are conducting a federally approved study on marijuana, you can only get it from 1 place.

Speaker 2

08:30

Dr. Mahmoud El-Souly oversees the University of Mississippi's marijuana project. Its mission? To aid law enforcement and produce pot for federal study, mostly related to addiction.

Speaker 2

08:41

For all intents and purposes, you're the government's sole producer of marijuana. Correct.

Speaker 1

08:47

It's true. The sole source of government-sanctioned marijuana is that guy at the University of Mississippi. So please update your stereotypes about the University of Mississippi, which I believe is the official slogan of the University of Mississippi.

Speaker 1

09:03

And while researchers wait for marijuana to study whether it helps with PTSD, plenty of veterans will tell you it absolutely does. Take Danny Belcher. He's a Vietnam vet who'd been prescribed a great deal of medication for pain and depression. But, as he told the Kentucky legislature in 2014, he found that when he tried marijuana, it started really helping him.

Speaker 5

09:23

I do have my bowl of pot in my house. And if I wake up at night in that nightmare, when I'm ringing wet with sweat... And I see Kramer, his dead body, Rodriguez, his dead body.

Speaker 5

09:41

If that nightmare gets bad, I can't wake up. I realize it's just a nightmare. I will light that pipe up, I'll be a criminal, I'll go back to sleep, but next morning, I will get up at 06:00 like I always do. My 4 days a week, I go to the gym, I run, I help other veterans.

Speaker 5

10:01

I couldn't do that if I was on them damn drugs the VA had me on.

Speaker 1

10:05

Exactly. So for all the talk you hear of marijuana being a gateway drug, in his case, that gateway led to peaceful sleep, rigorous exercise, and community service. Pretty Nice fucking gate, it turns out. Nice 1 to walk through if you get the chance.

Speaker 1

10:20

Now, you may have noticed that he said he's acting like a criminal there, which is a little odd, because Kentucky actually has a medical marijuana law on the books, but the shortcomings of that law touch on many of the reasons why legal marijuana can actually be a bit of a gray area. For a start, Kentucky's law has many restrictions. It only applies to 1 marijuana product, and it requires a written order or a prescription. And that is a real problem, because under federal law, it is technically illegal for any doctor to write you a prescription for marijuana.

Speaker 1

10:51

Now, so most states, they get around that by just calling for a recommendation or a certification, which doctors can give you. But even if Kentucky's law did that, If Danny went to his doctors at the VA, they couldn't give him anything because they're a federal hospital. And federal policy prohibits VA doctors from even recommending marijuana, regardless of the state law, and regardless of their medical opinion. Which again, is a bit weird.

Speaker 1

11:15

A doctor shouldn't be ignored because he recommends marijuana. A doctor should only be ignored because he is televised. We all agree on that. We're all on the same page on that 1, I think.

Speaker 1

11:27

But here's the thing, it gets worse. Even if Danny had a private doctor and Kentucky rewrote its law, where would he get marijuana from? Because Kentucky's law also neglected to set up any system for legal marijuana distribution. So, he'd have to obtain it from somewhere else.

Speaker 1

11:43

But where would he do that? And How? Now, he could have it shipped, right? Except, no, that would be a federal crime.

Speaker 1

11:50

But what if he flew to a state where marijuana is completely legal and just brought it back to Kentucky? Here's the thing, no, again, that is also a federal crime. Could he drive to a neighboring state to get what he needs? Unfortunately, no, because 2 of those states have total prohibitions on marijuana, and the rest don't currently recognize out-of-state patients.

Speaker 1

12:08

Now, if you are thinking, well, hold on, could he train a carrier pigeon to carry the pot from Colorado? Yes, that's a good idea, and cool bird stamp. But... But, as a practical matter there, no.

Speaker 1

12:24

Partly because it's illegal and partly because you know the birds will eat it on the way, stop flying, and spend the whole night giggling about how owls seem like they have glasses, but like... Don't have glasses. And that's crazy, right? They don't know, but it's there, right?

Speaker 1

12:43

-♪ ♪ -♪ The point is, if you live in Kentucky, despite there being a law that ostensibly gives access to medical marijuana, there's virtually no legal way for you to get it. Now, things fractionally improved toward the end of the Obama administration, because his general attitude was essentially this.

Speaker 10

13:02

We still have federal laws that classify marijuana as a illegal substance, but... We're not gonna spend a lot of resources trying to turn back decisions that have been made at the state level on this issue.

Speaker 1

13:19

Right. His attitude to pot was basically, I'm not gonna hassle you over this unless you make me. Essentially the same policy as a security guard at a Dave Matthews concert. --LAUGHTER --And his administration issued guidelines in that spirit.

Speaker 1

13:32

By the end of his term, it was actually a little easier to study marijuana and for dispensaries to get bank accounts. But, those guidelines weren't permanent, and that could be a real problem. Because our new Attorney General is Jeff Sessions. The concept of golf expressed in man form.

Speaker 1

13:49

And he, he has been pretty clear where he stands on marijuana.

Speaker 11

13:53

This is not a non-dangerous drug. This drug is dangerous, you cannot play with it, it's not funny, It's not something to laugh about. And...

Speaker 11

14:03

And trying to send that message with clarity that good people don't smoke marijuana. Well, Lady Gaga said she's addicted to it and is not harmless.

Speaker 1

14:13

Yeah. Okay, Jeff. But Lady Gaga also said, I believe that men and women deserve to love each other equally, as well as, touch me in the dark, put your hands all over my body parts. So please, Jeff, if you're going to live your life according to Gaga quotes, accept the entire canon.

Speaker 1

14:29

-♪ Oh, yeah,

Speaker 3

14:29

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

Speaker 1

14:30

yeah ♪ And listen, I'm not saying there shouldn't be laws that place sensible restrictions on marijuana as there are with other substances, but our federal laws desperately need to be brought up to date. And perhaps there is no clearer sense of just how establishment that view is becoming than this.

Speaker 12

14:45

The Cannabis Caucus is a bipartisan effort to protect state marijuana laws and blow out outdated federal prohibitions on weed. Believe it or not, these are the guys pushing for legalized pot in Congress. Yes.

Speaker 1

14:58

-♪ ♪ -♪ There is now a cannabis caucus in D.C. And it's co-chaired by these 4 narcs. And if even an 83-year-old Republican from Alaska has come around on this issue, then it's probably time for our laws to catch up.

Speaker 1

15:12

And there are a bunch of ideas out there. 1 bill proposed just this week would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and officially rename the ATF the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, Firearms and Explosives. Which does really make sense. Just get all the awesome stuff together in 1 place.

Speaker 1

15:29

In fact, Why not keep going and make it the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, Firearms, Explosives, Monster Trucks, Motorcycle Jumps, and Sick-Ass Leather Jackets with Tigers on them. And by the way, that jacket is even sicker in person. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is my jacket. This was me this morning.

Speaker 1

15:48

This is an actual $6,000 Gucci jacket. And for anyone stupid enough to buy 1 of these, it's worthless now. I just made your jacket uncool and worthless by wearing it. But that bill is just 1 proposal.

Speaker 1

16:06

Fixing all of this is a huge undertaking. Marijuana laws affect everything from environmental regulations to international treaties. And ideally, we should also go back and expunge records of people convicted of low-level marijuana offenses in the past. And all of this, I know, is a lot of work, which is why we should really start right now.

Speaker 1

16:25

Because I would argue that it is absolutely worth it for people like Brandon Coates, and for people like Danny Belcher, and perhaps most of all, for Greg, who has been freaking the fuck out this whole time. I can see you, Greg, and I can hear your thoughts. -♪ ♪ -♪