Marijuana Industry to Mimic Big Tobacco?
Marijuana legalization is slowly seeping its way into our culture. It is a trend that will not be reversed, but rather one that will grow. Therefore it is only a matter of time until the use of marijuana for recreational purposes in all 50 states.
Of course proponents view marijuana legalization as something benign, paying particular attention to the way it is currently regulated. However, the marijuana industry will certainly increase, as most other industries do, to a point where it is so harmful to the public that not even today's most stringent marijuana legalization proponents would consider beneficial to any faction of our society, except, of course, the people who make money from it.
Dr. Samuel Wilkinson, with the Yale School of Medicine, recently opined in The Washington Post, that it is likely the marijuana industry leaders will follow the direction of the leaders of another legalized drug: tobacco.
Just like the fledgling days of the tobacco industry, the marijuana industry today is rather weak. Back in the 1800s, tobacco use was rare indeed, but by the mid-1900s about half of American adults smoked, causing enormous physical damage, including heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
Although marijuana proponents would have you think otherwise, there is considerable evidence that the drug causes psychosis, impaired cognitive abilities, and addiction.
The tobacco industry carefully formulated their plan for success and it's a plan that the marijuana industry can and likely will, imitate.
It involves:
1. Identifing a product with addictive potential.
2. Aggressively marketing it to as large an audience as possible.
3. Developing technical innovations to allow for and promote increased consumption.
4. Denying or minimizing potential costs to human health.
NEW METHODS OF CONSUMING
Tobacco use skyrocketed when consumers were no longer saddled with the burden of rolling their own cigarettes, which drastically hampered production. However, the invention of machine-manufactured cigarettes, already rolled and ready-to-smoke cigarettes, not to mention uniform in size and shape, delighted consumers and catapulted sales to whole to stratosphere.
Similarly, new methods of consuming marijuana, such as vaporization, make it easier and arguably more enjoyable to consume more marijuana in one sitting.
INTENSIFYING THE PRODUCT
Tobacco changed over the years after industry leaders figured out the advantage to them by changing the chemical composition and curing process of cigarettes made them more flavorful as well as more addictive.
Likewise, in marijuana the percentage of THC, the nickname for the key ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, is much higher today than it was in the 1980s. THC is what gives marijuana users that euphoric feeling, but is also associated with many adverse health effects.
STRESS SAFETY
Cigarette advertisements often featured doctors in an effort to diminish public fear over health dangers associated with smoking cigarettes.
Similarly, people in favor of marijuana legalization often feature healthcare workers touting the safety of marijuana, especially as a treatment for medical conditions such as glaucoma, making it appear safe, even good for you, when in reality, there is very little scientific supporting the health benefits of using it.
TARGET YOUNG PEOPLE
The tobacco industry is notorious for aiming its marketing at young people, even children because that's the most profitable strategy. Once these consumers are hooked, they'll likely be customers for life.
We haven't seen marijuana advertisements yet. However it is foolish to think they are not on the horizon. It's safe to predict that they, too, will be aimed at young people.
POWERFUL LOBBYISTS
The tobacco lobby is one of the most powerful in Washington, D.C. They spend inordinate amounts of money making sure no laws or regulations are enacted that will curb their sales and profits.
So far, there are restrictions on marijuana sales and advertising. But the marijuana industry is still in its infancy. We can already see the burgeoning marijuana lobbyists.
For example, while Colorado has placed restrictions on marijuana advertising, the marijuana industry quickly mounted a powerful legal challenge in court.
In conclusion, while the inevitability of legalized marijuana throughout America is dishearteneing, we must look at it as we do cigarettes by educating the public about the dangers of the drug and encouraging them to avoid it, regardless of how easy it is to purchase.