If you have followed the fight to end cannabis prohibition, than you have no doubt heard of the organizations Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America (CADCA) and the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids (formerly the Partnership for a Drug-Free America). These two groups are at the forefront of the fight to maintain cannabis prohibition in America. They claim that they fight cannabis reform because they want to keep America drug free.
The Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America holds an annual event near Washington D.C.. This year’s event included numerous guest speakers who talked about the harms of dangerous drugs, drug abuse, and the need to fight cannabis reform at all costs. The sad irony is that the event was sponsored by Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, which is a highly addictive drug that kills numerous people every year. To say that there is hypocrisy involved is an understatement.
The fact of the matter is that the people leading the fight against cannabis reform have a direct financial incentive to keep cannabis prohibition in place. Pharmaceutical companies have long funded cannabis opponents in an attempt to keep Americans from replacing harmful pharmaceuticals with helpful cannabis. Per The Nation:
The Nation obtained a confidential financial disclosure from the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids showing that the group’s largest donors include Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, and Abbott Laboratories, maker of the opioid Vicodin. CADCA also counts Purdue Pharma as a major supporter, as well as Alkermes, the maker of a powerful and extremely controversial new painkiller called Zohydrol. The drug, which was released to the public in March, has sparked a nationwide protest, since Zohydrol is reportedly ten times stronger than OxyContin. Janssen Pharmaceutical, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary that produces the painkiller Nucynta, and Pfizer, which manufactures several opioid products, are also CADCA sponsors. For corporate donors, CADCA offers a raft of partnership opportunities, including authorized use of the “CADCA logo for your company’s marketing, website, and advertising materials, etc.”
When cannabis prohibitionists say that they are fighting cannabis reform because it’s the right thing to do, don’t believe them. When they say that they believe in keeping Americans from using harmful drugs, ask yourself why then are they accepting money from pharmaceutical companies that are responsible for killing thousands of Americans every year? Cannabis has never killed someone from an overdose. Not one time. When it comes to anti-cannabis prohibition and the people that are spewing it, don’t believe the hype, and follow the money trail.
