Over $4.2 million in lobbying money was spent on behalf of the marijuana and cannabis industry in 2021.
Recently, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 was passed by the House of Representatives. This MORE Act would remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances and create a tax on cannabis products.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is due to file a separate legislation, the Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act, this month to federally legalize cannabis. Schumer, among the top recipients of the marijuana lobby, received $20,300 in donations last year by the industry.
Schumer 
Nadler
Another leading Democrat, Jerry Nadler from New York, says his legislation would “provide resources for programs that minimize barriers to marijuana licensing and employment for individuals adversely affected by the war on drugs.”
The marijuana industry gave Nadler $2,500 in 2021, two years after he introduced the first version of the MORE Act in July 2019.
As of April, 2022, 37 states, four territories and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana while at least 15 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuna.
The bill is unlikely to become law since it is expected to die in the Senate just as previous attempts did. If the MORE Act is signed into law, states would not be required to adopt legalization legislation and would maintain a degree of regulatory oversight.
The only Republican co-sponsor of the MORE Act bill is Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.). He accepted more money from the marijuana industry than any other member of Congress with $52,100 in contributions since his election in 2017.
Gaetz 
Bluemenauer
Co-sponsor, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), is Congress’ second-highest recipient of marijuana money, receiving $50,970 from the industry since he took office in 1996.
Democrat Barbara Lee of California became a co-sponsor of the bill after receiving $9,154 from the marijuana industry in 2020, and over $37,000 during her tenure.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), a member of the House Rules Committee who joined his colleagues in advancing the MORE Act to the House floor, has $9,750 from the industry.
Other co-sponsors of the MORE Act who have taken over $5,000 from the marijuana industry during their time in Congress include Democrats Dina Titus (Nev.), Diana DeGette (Colo.), Eric Swalwell (Calif.), Steve Cohen (Tenn.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.)
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The marijuana being peddled nowadays is not the same as the weed peddled in the 1970s. It’s stronger, purer, and more potent. When I was working in mental health, we frequently got in patients who were paranoid and psychotic from using marijuana regularly. Of course, they never believed that was the cause so they kept on using. It’s been scientifically proven that marijuana stunts brain development in young people 25 years old and younger. In anxious people, it can increase anxiety with regular use. In insomniacs, it can increase insomnia with regular use. Marijuana can exacerbate mental health issues, both diagnosed and undiagnosed. But all the government can think about is making money, no matter who it hurts. Is it any wonder that “follow the science” has become a big joke?
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From “Jim”:
Dawn, you already addressed what I intended to discuss. I am an essentially a Lifetime Patient. Seizures (controlled), Benign Arrhythmia, now Afib, Amaurosis Fugax (I lose vision completely in one eye briefly, periodically – but not often), and even more. I take a lot of medication, and anyone with conditions, or anyone on medications, must be carefully screened to use any drug, including Pot. There are Contraindications in surprising ways. I’m on Coumadin, I can’t even take Ibuprofen, Aspirin, I must eat Vitamin K consistently, and more.
When I was young, I smoked Pot for a short time. I have never smoked cigarettes, haven’t smoked Pot since I was a teen and I’m retired now, haven’t had alcohol in an intoxicating way since I was in my 30s, haven’t even been drinking in any way for the last 15 years. But I used to like the smell of Pot. I haven’t smelled that Pot in years. They refer to the new stuff as Stinkweed, and the name fits. I had no idea it smelled that way until a young couple was smoking behind my house, that’s more than 40′ Away, and my goodness, it smelled. I asked them if that smell was coming from them, they said yes, apologized, and moved on. I really wasn’t offended, I was curious. So I asked others about it and was told it’s much more powerful now, and the smell is not uncommon. I have not even smelled for at least 20 years or so the stuff I used to smoke.
When I was smoking “the milder stuff”, one day, I experienced Numbness of my Legs, I could not tell when my foot hit the ground, and I was walking up hill, so I kept tripping. Actually, it may have been “Treated Weed”, since the overall effect was more intense than I had ever experienced, and from that day forth, I have not used any of it. But years ago, a Pittsburgh Cop on local TV said Pot can’t be benign, and he mentioned the numb extremities. Yes, Indeed, I knew that one.
People today take a considerably greater range and amount of medications than they did 45 years ago. I went to Pharmacy Technician School, and though I didn’t work in the field, learned much by the experience and later research.
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From “Jim” continued:
1. The Stronger Form of Pot is a concern to all.
2. Methods of detecting Pot Intoxicated Drivers would need to be
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established and put into practice.
3. More People are on More Medications than ever, and this presents serious issues in terms of reactions and effects.
4. Quality Control. Medications, and Alcohol, are strictly controlled for Content and Consistency. We cannot have Pot growers marketing a product that has not been quantified, the exact amount of substances present per unit weight would need to be known. The active agents and inactive agents would need to be known. Although this isn’t done on Cigarettes per se, they really aren’t an Intoxicating Substance like Pot is. As hard as it is for me to say this, the only way to sell Pot is to have Pharmaceutical Companies control the entire thing, so that the Ingredients can be assured and contaminants eliminated or quantified as much as physically possible, and lots (groups) of the Pot would need to have a Predictable Effect, we do this for ALL MEDICATIONS.
For Instance, just on Ingredients Alone –
Metoprolol Succinate ER Tablets Description
Metoprolol succinate is a beta 1-selective (cardioselective) adrenoceptor blocking agent, for oral administration, available as extended-release tablets. Metoprolol succinate extended-release tablets, USP has been formulated to provide a controlled and predictable release of metoprolol for once-daily administration. The tablets comprise a multiple unit system containing metoprolol succinate in a multitude of controlled release pellets. Each pellet acts as a separate drug delivery unit and is designed to deliver metoprolol continuously over the dosage interval. The tablets contain 47.5, 95 and 190 mg of metoprolol succinate equivalent to 50, 100 and 200 mg of metoprolol tartrate, USP, respectively. Its chemical name is (±) 1(isopropylamino)-3-[p-(2-methoxyethyl) phenoxy]-2-propanol succinate (2:1) (salt). Its structural formula is: (The Graph is Omitted in my Comment)
Metoprolol succinate, USP is a white crystalline powder with a molecular weight of 652.8. It is freely soluble in water and soluble in methanol. Inactive ingredients: acetyl tributyl citrate, colloidal silicon dioxide, crosspovidone, ethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hypromellose, isopropyl alcohol, methylene chloride, microcrystalline cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose sphere, polyethylene glycol, sodium stearyl fumarate and talc. The tablets are film-coated with coating material Opadry white 04F58804 containing hypromellose, polyethylene glycol and titanium dioxide.
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From Jim, Part 3:
The Professional Drug Profile can be seen for Metoprolol here:
Metoprolol Succinate ER Tablets
https://www.drugs.com/pro/metoprolol-succinate-er-tablets.html
My Drug Interactions with Pot added, the above site had an excellent Interection Checker, in Patient Terms and Professional:
Most of the following include: Also avoid driving, operating machinery, or engaging in potentially hazardous activities requiring mental alertness and motor coordination until you know how the medications affect you.
Using levocetirizine together with cannabis (Schedule I substance) **
Using clonazePAM together with cannabis (Schedule I substance) **
Using phenytoin together with cannabis (Schedule I substance) **
**may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Some people, especially the elderly, may also experience impairment in thinking, judgment, and motor coordination. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications.
Triamterene and cannabis (Schedule I substance) * Let your doctor know if you develop these symptoms and they do not go away after a few days or they become troublesome.
HydroCHLOROthiazide and cannabis (Schedule I substance) * Let your doctor know if you develop these symptoms and they do not go away after a few days or they become troublesome.
* may have additive effects in lowering your blood pressure. You may experience headache, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, and/or changes in pulse or heart rate. These side effects are most likely to be seen at the beginning of treatment, following a dose increase, or when treatment is restarted after an interruption.
Smoking marijuana may increase the blood levels and effects of warfarin. You may need closer monitoring of your INR if you have been taking warfarin and have recently started using marijuana. Similarly, stopping marijuana usage or changing the amounts you use may also affect warfarin levels and your INR. It is not known whether using marijuana or any of its components or extracts by other routes may have similar effects.
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I’m so sorry for the length of the response, I am verbose. I think the issues are very relevant, but we’re talking a govt that pushed Masks to protect the wearer, when, technically, that was impossible (though there is limited application for Masks and a broader application for Respirators). My verbosity has kept me from writing to Rand Paul, as the only form of communication with him is his Govt Website, and it’s Limited to X amount of Characters, I could barely say Hello in the number of Characters permitted on his website.
If you know the limit of Characters permitted in a response here, I’ll be sure to compose in LibreOffice and closely watch that, but I suspect I’ll be much more brief except where detail is necessary.
Thanks much for publishing the entire reply.
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Are you Jim?
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