Why I Invest in Cannabis The DEA's Denial of Cannabis Use is a Human Rights Violation

Chuck Rosenberg from the Drug Enforcement Agency loves science.

He’s actually a big fan of geocentricity, which is the concept that states the earth is the center of the Universe and all other objects move around it.

He’s also a loyal disciple of the theory that suggests cannabis has no accepted medical use in treatment.

Although, I must admit, I’m not sure how he had time to come to this conclusion given that he probably spends a lot of his time slaying the sea monsters that gather under the waterfalls that flow off the flat edge of the earth.

It’s a Profit Thing

When I woke up this morning, I read that that DEA had denied a bid to reconsider how it treats cannabis under federal law, saying that the decision was purely based on science. What science they're talking about, I have no idea.

Currently, cannabis is considered a Schedule I drug, meaning that it offers no accepted medical use and has a high potential for abuse. Heroin and LSD are considered Schedule I drugs.

Now in all fairness, the DEA has chosen to rely on the FDA’s determination that cannabis has no accepted medical use in treatment. And who better than a bunch of bureaucrats funded by Big Pharma to decide whether or not cannabis is safe and effective? Especially Robert Califf, the head of the FDA who’s taken money from 23 different drug companies before worming his way into the Obama administration.

Califf even defended the drug Vioxx, which eventually killed about 50,000 Americans before being pulled.

You now how many people have died from medical marijuana? Zero!

And by the way, in response to the withdrawal of Vioxx, Califf told PBS reporter Susan Dentzer that Merck, the maker of Vioxx, “played by the rules.” He also said …

Many of us consult with the pharmaceutical industry, which I think is a very good thing. They need ideas and then the decision about what they do is really up to the person who is funding the study.

Ah, I get it.

But this doesn’t let the FDA off the hook.

This isn’t a Joke!

Last year, Chuck Rosenberg put his cards on the table when he made the following statement …

What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it's not. We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don't call it medicine — that is a joke.

Well, it’s not a joke to Charlotte Figi, the little girl that was diagnosed with an extreme form of epilepsy. By the time she was three, she was having about 300 seizures a week. And that was with FDA-approved treatment.

Frustrated, Charlotte's parents looked into getting hold of a special kind of medical marijuana that another child with this form of epilepsy was also using.

Charlotte began taking the medication, and almost immediately, her symptoms improved. Today, she has about four seizures per month.

Then there’s Harper Howard, a little girl that was born with a rare genetic disorder called CDKL5 epilepsy.

At two weeks old, Harper began having severe seizures. At her worst, she was having 40 seizures a day, and none of the FDA-approved therapies were working.

So, as any good parents would, they searched frantically for something that would ease their daughter’s seizures. And they found it in CBD oil.

Within two weeks of using the oil, Harper’s seizures were cut in half. And after honing in on the right dosage, eventually, the seizures ended completely.

And of course, there are the thousands of U.S. veterans that have been able to successfully treat their PTSD symptoms with cannabis.

The FDA claims there’s no medical benefit to cannabis, and Chuck Rosenberg says it’s a joke.

Well, it’s no joke to Sean Kiernan, the Army vet who, after attempting suicide in 2011, turned to cannabis to treat his PTSD. Not only has it helped him, but it’s helped countless other vets who struggle with this disorder on a daily basis.

Does Chuck Rosenberg even know that there are roughly 22 U.S. veterans that commit suicide every day? Does he care that a lot of these suicides were the result of struggles with PTSD?

But cannabis is a joke, right? It’s all a big fucking joke. Unless, of course, it saves your life.

Why I Invest in Cannabis

The truth is, the DEA and the FDA are acting irresponsibly. And Rosenberg and Califf, through their actions, are contributing to the pain and deaths of thousands, if not millions of Americans. This is not hyperbole, folks. This is as real as it gets.

So when people ask me why I invest in cannabis, my first response is not “because it’s profitable.” Although it clearly is. After all, we’re already sitting on four triple-digit gains in the cannabis space right now.

No, my first response is because it’s the responsible thing to do.

To deny a sick child a medication that allows her to live a healthy and full life, or to deny a sick veteran a medication that can help him deal with the struggles of PTSD is an act of cruelty. I would even argue that it’s a human rights violation. So I’m more than happy to invest in the companies that provide this medicine to so many who need it. And as an investor, and just a compassionate human being, I would encourage you to do the same.

Whether it’s by investing in an individual company or donating to some of the groups that are making it possible for sick folks to get their medical cannabis, we cannot allow tyranny and ignorance to dictate the destinies of sick Americans. To do so would be a slap in the face of the men who wrote these words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

Chuck Rosenberg and Robert Califf do not have the authority to override these rights. They should be held accountable for their actions, and we must act in defiance by furthering the movement for complete decriminalization and legalization of cannabis.