Governor Cuomo 30-day Budget Amendment to Ban “Synthetic Marijuana” Is Wrongheaded Approach
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
The Drug Policy Alliance strongly opposes Governor Cuomos call to further criminalize the sale of synthetic cannabinoids, also referred to as synthetic marijuana or K2. Such laws do little to curb use, do nothing to increase public health and safety in New York State, and undermine the ability of the state to effectively prevent minors from obtaining the substances.
History illustrates that prohibition is an ineffective way to control the sale or distribution of psychoactive substances. Decades of marijuana prohibition show that criminalizing a drug and the people who use it does not eradicate demand and supply. The same holds true for novel psychoactive substances, commonly known as synthetic drugs.
Most synthetic cannabinoids are produced in clandestine labs abroad with unused research patents. When authoritiescrack downand outlaw one particular type of synthetic cannabinoid, these labs simply tweak the formula so it doesnt match the outlawed version. They then release new, untested and sometimes riskier products into the market.
Tough talk from Governor Cuomo about crackdowns and penalties surrounding K2 and other synthetic cannabinoids belies evidence that marijuana prohibition is one of the main factors driving the use of these substances, saidMelissa Moore, New York Deputy State Director for the Drug Policy Alliance. In fact, punitive drug laws like this can undermine public health. Weve seen that people who must take drug testsincluding those required by probation, parole, shelters, or drug treatment programs, and other vulnerable populations such as people who are homeless, have a mental illness, or bothare opting for these unpredictable synthetic cannabinoids that do not show up on drug tests because they could face harsher consequences for using marijuana, the safer option.
Marijuana has minor and well-documented side effects and is not at all similar to synthetic cannabinoids. If marijuana were legal, the demand for a drug like K2 would likely plummet, saidAlyssa Aguilera, Co-Executive Director of VOCAL-NY. Why does the Governor continue to champion wrongheaded approaches to drug policy that criminalize and do nothing to promote public health? He should instead focus on implementing a sensible framework for legal access to marijuana in New York.
The push for ever-tougher enforcement will not solve the underlying root causes that are driving people to use risky substances with unpredictable side effects. Our communities and the people at the epicenter of this crisis would be much better served if our leaders took apublic health approachbased in harm reduction principlesstarting with removing drug testing from the requirements to receive vital social services, as Maryland ...
