Wendy Chapkis: Medical Marijuana in a Recreational Age

Medical marijuana legalization is critically assessed through the lens of history, policy, and social justice. The medical use of cannabis faces unique hurdles compared to conventional medicine, often tied to entrenched cultural ideologies that define certain substances and practitioners as illegitimate. Current legalization models, which prioritize market-based approaches and commercial dispensaries, often prioritize profitability and neglect the needs of lower-income patients, exacerbating existing health inequities. The history of the marijuana reform movement provides valuable lessons for other psychoactive substances. A narrow focus on profit-driven legalization risks creating new systems of exclusion and failing to address root issues like poverty and illness. Efforts to achieve broader societal change must remain inclusive and wary of the influence exerted by large pharmaceutical corporations, which seek to maintain control over the medicine through synthetic alternatives and political influence.