Why should the church care about cannabis? I’ll give you three reasons: economics, justice and medicine. Let’s start with what is cannabis? Cannabis is a plant and there are two major types being talked about in this country: cannabis and hemp. Both are from the same family, the same species. They’re cousins. Cannabis can intoxicate you, make you high. The other, hemp, cannot. Cannabis has a lot of biologically active molecules called cannabinoids, for example THC and CBD. Hemp has fewer cannabinoids and is very low in THC. Hemp can also be used as food, textiles, paper, rope, computer chips, fuel and car parts. It is said that hemp can be made into at least 25,000 different products. Both cannabis and hemp have medicinal properties. Both have been used for thousands of years by cultures all over the world as food, medicine, fiber and ritual.
Photo of original prescription for cannabis, dated November 27, 1916, taken at The Hash, Marijuana and Hemp Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, courtesy of author.
Cannabis first came to America as medicine in 1839 after an Irish physician observed doctors in India treating people for conditions that American physicians had no cure for, like migraines and seizures. Physicians, like myself, used to prescribe cannabis and medications containing cannabis from the mid-1800’s to approximately 1937. What changed? The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed. This was written and promoted primarily by this country ‘s first drug czar, Harry Anslinger, who also happened to be a racist. This tax effectively shut down cannabis as medicine and ultimately made it illegal to possess it. There was an influx of Mexicans entering America in 1910 due to a civil war in their country. They brought cannabis with them and smoked it. Americans were not familiar with smoking it. They were using it in as topicals and oral medicine.
Cannabis medicine available in America during the early 1900’s. Photo taken at The Hash, Marijuana and Hemp Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, courtesy of author.
Anslinger and his millionaire enablers used the media to create a whole propaganda around the corruption of Americans and their children by this “reefer madness.” He tricked Americans into thinking it was this new evil herb called marijuana. Americans did not know cannabis by this name, therefore, didn’t realize it was the medicine they had been using for almost a hundred years. What does this have to do with the church?
The church has always been a safe haven for Black people. It was one place during slavery times where Black people could be themselves and escape the glare of the overseer and master. The church was a safe place for runaway slaves navigating the Underground Railroad. Many of the “conductors” of the Underground Railroad were white churchgoing allies who knew in their hearts that slavery was wrong, despite it being the law of the land. During the Civil Rights Movement, churches and synagogues produced most of our leaders and warriors. They lead the way in fighting for freedom and justice. Coretta Scott King said that Dr. King was not killed for his, “I Have A Dream” speech. He was killed because of his “The Other America” speech where he demanded economic inclusion for Black people.
The church should care about cannabis because of the economic prosperity it promises. The cannabis and hemp industry made $3.4 billion dollars in 2014 and $15 billion in 2019. By 2024, it is estimated that $40 billion will be generated. Eighty-one percent of cannabis businesses are owned by white people. Only 4% of businesses are owned by Blacks, although, we make up 13% of the population. Why is that? A big part of it is the fact that systemic racism still exists. Even today as new states come on board for medical and adult use cannabis, the laws are written in favor of the wealthy, who tend to be white. You must have proof of capital, typically in the millions of dollars. Nonrefundable application fees range from a few hundred dollars to more typically, tens of thousands of dollars. Annual licensing fees are very high. Most laws are written barring felons for 10 years. I will circle back to this point in a moment. Wealthy whites tend to inherit their fortune 60% of the time. Much of that wealth was built on free slave labor.
Blacks rarely inherit wealth due to almost 400 years of slavery. Slavery then merely morphed into Jim Crow, Black Codes, lynching, segregation, red lining and mass incarceration. An example of how systemic racism kept Blacks from amassing wealth to pass down to their children is the topic of land ownership. In 1910, Blacks owned 14% of farmland or 16,000,000 acres. Today less than 1% of farms are Black-owned as a result of these farmers being tricked, scared or forced off their land. The largest civil rights settlement in US history occurred in 1999, Pickford versus Glickman. The United States Department of Agriculture settled a class action suit for $1.2 billion for years of denying Black farmers loans and emergency assistance that they readily gave to white farmers. We may not own much land now, however, we can still get in on the ground floor of the biggest thing to come along since the Internet. You are witnessing a new industry in cannabis and hemp like this country has never seen before and we deserve some of the wealth being generated by it.
The second reason why the church should care about cannabis is justice. America is only 5% of the global population, yet we imprison 25% of our citizens. Forty per cent of the prison population is Black, though we are only 13% of the population. Blacks and whites use cannabis at similar rates. Nonetheless, our husbands, brothers, sons and grandsons are profiled, locked up and incarcerated for possession of cannabis four times more than white people. That’s not justice. A felon is prohibited from participating in the cannabis or hemp market in many states for 10 years despite having served their time. Felons not only lose out in the cannabis industry, they often can’t vote, apply for public housing or student loans. It really hurts them economically and that is by design. Laws are not being applied equitably. That’s not justice.
As mentioned earlier, cannabis became outlawed by the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937. In 1969, the Supreme Court overturned this law because it was found to be unconstitutional. Richard Nixon decided that Black people were getting a little too assertive after the Civil Rights movement as were white youths, protesting the Vietnam war. He couldn’t make being Black or a Vietnam protestor a crime, so he decided to make cannabis illegal again with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. That way he could control these two populations more easily.
In addition to Nixon’s efforts and to further add insult to injury, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) was created in 1973. This is a nonprofit entity composed of conservative legislators and corporate representatives. They come together and create model legislation to be shared with individual states in America. Their greatest hits include decreasing environmental regulations, increasing voter ID laws, decreasing labor unions, decreasing gun control and increasing the prison industrial complex. They came up with the three-strikes law and the Prison Industries Act. For example, if you get caught for example with a small amount of cannabis and it’s your third offense, you could get life in prison. Once you’re in prison, you can work for corporations for pennies on the dollar. They tell you it’s to make prisoners more ready to return to civilian life, give them something to do and cut down on state costs of incarceration. It’s actually the Thirteenth Amendment in action.
Oftentimes, 40 to 50% of their meager wages are skimmed off the top and now that money is being diverted to build more prisons. In 2011, there was public outcry that corporations were having an undue influence on our laws. Thus, some legislators and corporations dropped out of ALEC but it is still functioning today. Some of the companies that remain include Koch Industries, Pfizer, Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, Shell, UPS, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, American Airlines, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and up until 2015 even Whole Foods. Thanks to the model legislation that this collaboration feeds to state legislatures, the profit of the prison industry jumped from almost $400 million in 1980 to $1.3 billion in 1994. This is not justice.
The third reason why the church should care about cannabis is that it is medicine. You don’t have to get high to access the medicinal properties of cannabis or hemp. CBD is just one cannabinoid out of over 150 that are present in the cannabis plant. Cannabis also contains other substances like terpenes, flavonoids and vitamins that also have health promoting properties in their own right. Cannabis decreases pain, inflammation, seizures, muscle spasms, anxiety, and depression. It decreases beta amyloid deposition, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Cannabis is anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal. That’s why this plant can treat so many different ailments.
CBD alone is giving veterans and sexual abuse survivors with PTSD their lives back. They can be more present with their families because the anxiety, depression and nightmares have resolved. Babies who were having hundreds of seizures a day, now have none or just a few a day. Autistic kids who were violent and not talking are now calm and socializing with their families. Kids and adults with brain tumors given a few months to live are living months to years well past their doctors’ predictions.
American research on cannabis dropped precipitously with Nixon’s renewal of the War on Drugs in 1970. Our government has, however, been funding Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli chemist, to research cannabis since 1964. In America, it is extremely difficult to do research on cannabis. For a very long time the only way you could get permission to research cannabis, after jumping through all the hoops, was if you were trying to prove that it was harmful. If your research revealed that cannabis was helpful, your funding was cut off. If your findings were favorable you might even have trouble getting your research published. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry has been creating synthetic versions of cannabis since 1985. The US government discovered in 1999 that CBD was actually an antioxidant and neuroprotectant. They were awarded a patent in 2003 for this work.
Recently, prohibition organizations like Smart Approaches to Marijuana have linked up with a chapter of the NAACP to promote decriminalization instead of legalization. They state that “this new addiction industry is already targeting communities of color like its predecessors Big Tobacco and the liquor industry have always done.” What they don’t state is that the pharmaceutical industry, police unions, private prisons and alcohol companies help fund many cannabis prohibition groups. Unlike tobacco and liquor, cannabis has never killed anyone. Not only do the former two have no medicinal value, they are more addictive. In addition, the White House anti-drug office revealed that in states that have legalized cannabis for adults, the rate of use by youth has actually declined.
Decriminalization of cannabis is not enough. That allows law enforcement to continue interacting with people of color and increases the risk of more police killings. Cannabis legalization is just one piece in the dismantling of systemic racism. However, it is an important one. The cannabis industry has a long way to go, like this country, before it lives up to its promise.
Our health is so important. Illness robs you of your energy, time, wealth and hope. Good health allows you to be all that you were meant to be. You’re able to be at your best for your mate, children, grandchildren, career, community and the world. A few decades ago, I read the New Testament from start to finish. As a physician, I was struck by the amount of time Jesus spent healing people. I believe that wellness is our birthright. Our bodies are very intelligent and know how to heal. If we would only get out of the way and give them what they need.
Cannabis, like many other plants, was placed on earth to assist us in healing. It is being kept from us because of greed and systemic racism. Jesus wasn’t just a healer; he was a revolutionary. He spoke truth to power. He was willing to die for what he believed. Jesus spoke to those who had come—high priests, Temple police, religion leaders: “What is this, jumping me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal?” (Luke 22:52)
We must educate ourselves about the medicinal properties of this plant. We must create more meaningful social equity cannabis programs on the front end with sufficient structure to make sure they get implemented as planned. We must work together to invest in quality startups. We should consider investing in well-researched cannabis and hemp stocks on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchange. We must register and vote like we have never voted before. Run for political office in your community. Our leadership should reflect the diversity of this country. We need leaders that will help us reimagine policing, dismantle systemic racism and the prison industrial complex. Federal prohibition of cannabis must end. Physicians and scientists must be free to do cannabis research. The church should care about cannabis for its promise of prosperity, justice and healing. The church should care about cannabis because it may help us fulfill Dr. King’s dream of economic inclusion. The church should care about cannabis because it can bring us closer to enjoying “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Dr. Dawson is a medical cannabis advocate, educator, speaker and consultant. She has dual board certification in obstetrics and gynecology, as well as integrative (holistic) medicine. She offers online educational consultations regarding medical cannabis, CBD and holistic gynecology.