{"id":5983,"date":"2017-12-23T01:16:36","date_gmt":"2017-12-23T06:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lcpllutzlivetotell.org\/?p=5983"},"modified":"2019-08-08T12:51:54","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:51:54","slug":"meet-dan-canon-house-candidate-wants-cure-opioid-crisis-legalising-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/?p=5983","title":{"rendered":"Meet Dan Canon, the House candidate who wants to cure the opioid crisis by legalising marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 class=\" \" style=\"text-align: left;\">Meet Dan Canon, the House candidate who wants to cure the opioid crisis by legalising marijuana<\/h3>\n<div class=\"intro\">\n<p>Mr Canon isn&#8217;t shying away from the controversial topic in his outsider House\u00a0bid<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"caption meta inline-pipes-list\">\n<li class=\"author\"><a title=\"Emily Shugerman\" href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/author\/emily-shugerman\">Emily Shugerman<\/a>\u00a0New York<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eshugerman\">@eshugerman<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/s3fs-public\/styles\/article_small\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/2017\/12\/15\/23\/dan-canon-1.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<figure class=\"featured-media medium-width\"><figcaption class=\"caption\">Dan Canon is running to be a US Senator from Indiana, and he&#8217;s making marijuana legalisation part of his campaign\u00a0<span class=\"copyright\">Dan Canon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"article-wrapper clearfix\">\n<div class=\"main-content-column\">\n<div id=\"gigya-share-btns-2_gig_containerParent\" class=\"text-wrapper\">\n<p>Dan Canon, a candidate for the US House of Representatives\u00a0in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Indiana\">Indiana<\/a>, has a simple solution for curing America\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/opioid-crisis\">opioid crisis<\/a>: Legalise pot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the criminalisation of marijuana is an anachronism,\u201d Mr Canon told\u00a0<em>The Independent\u00a0<\/em>in a recent interview. \u201cThere\u2019s just no place for it in 21st century America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr Canon,\u00a0a music teacher turned civil rights lawyer who lives with his wife and two kids in Southern Indiana,\u00a0claimed\u00a0he\u2019s not personally invested in legalising\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/marijuana\">marijuana<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cI never personally enjoyed using it,\u201d he said \u2013 but took interest in the issue when some of his legal clients asked him about it.<\/p>\n<p>Slowly, Mr Canon became convinced that legalising marijuana was the solution to America\u2019s opioid crisis \u2013 and more.<\/p>\n<p>More than two million Americans are currently dependent\u00a0on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/opioids\">opioids<\/a>. The broad class of drugs includes both illegal street drugs, like\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/heroin\">heroin<\/a>, and legal painkillers, like morphine, oxycodone\u00a0or hydrocodone. The two variants share a\u00a0sinister interplay: The majority of heroin addicts, studies show, start off by misusing their legal pain medication.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mb_video_placement\">\u00a0The consequences of this pattern are staggering: More than 90 people in the US die from an opioid overdose every day. Between 2002 and 2016, the number of fatal heroin overdoses alone jumped more than 500 per cent. As the crisis continues to worsen, experts forecast that almost 500,000 people could die from opioid use in the next 10 years.<\/div>\n<div class=\"dnd-widget-wrapper context-sdl_editor_representation type-image\">\n<div class=\"dnd-atom-rendered\">\n<div class=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"dan-canon-2.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/s3fs-public\/styles\/story_medium\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/2017\/12\/15\/23\/dan-canon-2.jpg\" alt=\"dan-canon-2.jpg\" width=\"564\" height=\"423\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dnd-caption-wrapper\">Mr Canon gives a speech on the campaign trail in Indiana (Dan Canon)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Mr Canon puts the blame for this crisis squarely at the feet of pharmaceutical companies. He claimed\u00a0these companies\u00a0push\u00a0doctors to prescribe \u201cfistfuls\u201d of opioids to pain patients\u00a0even when\u00a0a natural, safer option already exists.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn states where there is no medical marijuana available, like Indiana, you\u2019ve got doctors that are left with no option but to prescribe these addictive pharmaceuticals instead of something that is safe, and legal, and natural, and has never caused an overdose death \u2013 ever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Many of Mr Canon\u2019s fellow lawyers have taken a similar position. Just this year, attorneys in Ohio, Illinois, Mississippi, New York\u00a0and California all filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, claiming they had overstated the benefits of opioids while downplaying the risks of addiction. In two of those cases, the drug manufacturer has already agreed to settle.<\/p>\n<p>But Mr Canon is tackling the issue through a different kind of lawsuit. The 40-year-old currently represents three Kentuckians suing the state over its criminal ban on marijuana. Two of the three plaintiffs say marijuana helped them cure symptoms that would otherwise be treated by opioids.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been out here using cannabis on a daily basis to deal with all the spinal problems I have,\u201d Dan Seum, one of the complainants, told\u00a0<em>The Independent<\/em>. He added: \u201cIt\u2019s a hell of a lot easier to live with that than it is with the opioids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr Seum was prescribed opioids by his doctor after a botched back surgery. But the drugs, he said, made it impossible for him to function. They did\u00a0little for his pain,\u00a0disrupted his sleeping patterns, and made his thinking foggy. His day job \u2013 working as a high school football coach \u2013 felt nearly impossible. Cannabis was the only thing that cured the pain.<\/p>\n<p>With marijuana in his system, however, Mr Seum said\u00a0many doctors refused to treat him. That\u2019s when he and the other plaintiffs decided to file suit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just got desperate, and that\u2019s when we found Dan,\u201d Mr Seum said. \u201cThank God he stepped in.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"dnd-widget-wrapper context-sdl_editor_representation type-image\">\n<div class=\"dnd-atom-rendered\">\n<div class=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"dan-canon-3.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/s3fs-public\/styles\/story_medium\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/2017\/12\/15\/23\/dan-canon-3.jpg\" alt=\"dan-canon-3.jpg\" width=\"564\" height=\"752\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dnd-caption-wrapper\">Mr Canon spends time with his daughter at home in Indiana (Dan Canon)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Kentucky suit is still making its way through the courts. A circuit court judge threw the case out in September, but Mr Canon\u2019s law firm filed an appeal shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, there\u2019s some evidence to suggest that the plaintiffs are on the right track.<\/p>\n<p>A 2015 review of more than 40 clinical trials published in the\u00a0<em>Journal of the American Medical Association<\/em>\u00a0found high-quality evidence that cannabis could be used to treat chronic pain, neuropathic pain\u00a0and some symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Another study published in the same journal found states that legalised medical cannabis saw significantly lower rates of opioid overdoses.<\/p>\n<p>The research on medical marijuana is still developing, however, and is riddled with red flags. The same study that found cannabis could\u00a0treat pain\u00a0also noted that it could produce serious side effects, ranging from chronic bronchitis to psychotic illness. Marijuana is also potentially addictive: One study found it creates significant problems in work, school\u00a0or relationships for 9 per cent of adult users.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also far from clear whether marijuana is\u00a0the opioid crisis cure-all that Mr Canon wants it to be. Gary Franklin, a professor in the department of health services at the University of Washington, is just one of the medical marijuana sceptics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s got a big assumption in there,\u201d Mr Franklin told\u00a0<em>The Independent<\/em>\u00a0of Mr Canon\u2019s plan. \u201cNumber one, that marijuana helps pain, and number two, that if you use marijuana for pain, it would reduce your use of opioids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr Franklin says he\u2019s seen no evidence that marijuana usage \u2013 even if it helps with pain \u2013\u00a0can reduce usage of opioids. On top of that, the drug is essentially useless in the setting where\u00a0most people encounter opioids: the immediate aftermath of a serious injury or surgery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf someone comes in with an acute injury or needs surgery, they\u2019re not going to give you marijuana,\u201d Mr Franklin, who is also the medical director of the Washington State Department of Labour, said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to give you opioids.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"dnd-widget-wrapper context-sdl_editor_representation type-image\">\n<div class=\"dnd-atom-rendered\">\n<div class=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"dan-canon-4.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/s3fs-public\/styles\/story_medium\/public\/thumbnails\/image\/2017\/12\/15\/23\/dan-canon-4.jpg\" alt=\"dan-canon-4.jpg\" width=\"564\" height=\"423\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dnd-caption-wrapper\">Mr Canon meets with a supporter on the campaign trail (Dan Canon)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Luckily for Mr Canon, there is\u00a0a long list of other reasons the candidate thinks\u00a0legalising marijuana is a \u201cno brainer\u201d: It will create more jobs,\u00a0reinvigorate family farms,\u00a0and generate more tax revenue for states. Mr Canon\u00a0points to Colorado, which made $506m\u00a0(\u00a3379m) in tax revenue from legal marijuana in slightly over two years. Much of that revenue, he suggested, could go towards rehabilitation for opioid crisis victims.<\/p>\n<p>If legalising one drug to stop the spread of another sounds counterintuitive, Mr Canon maintains that it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are legalising something that is safe\u00a0and natural, and has never killed anyone ever to combat the spread of something that is killing a hundred people a day due to overdose,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s too difficult to do the utilitarian calculus on that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u00a0seems support for Mr Canon\u2019s opinion is growing. A CBS News poll from April of this year found that 88 per cent of Americans favour legalising medical marijuana. Sixty-four per cent support legalising the drug for recreational use too, according to a Gallup poll from October \u2013 up four percentage points from the same time last year. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia now allow for medical marijuana use.<\/p>\n<p>And as medical marijuana laws keep loosening, Mr Canon claimed, support for legalisation\u00a0will only grow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore and more people are touched by this, and more and more people are in need,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why there is such overwhelming popular support for the legalisation of medical marijuana: Because it\u2019s touched the lives in some way shape or form of just about everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cPeople can recognise good policy when they see it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Retrieved from: http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/cannabis-legalisation-opioid-crisis-dan-canon-us-senate-campaign-interview-a8113701.html<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meet Dan Canon, the House candidate who wants to cure the opioid crisis by legalising marijuana Mr Canon isn&#8217;t shying away from the controversial topic in his outsider House\u00a0bid Emily Shugerman\u00a0New York @eshugerman Dan Canon is running to be a US Senator from Indiana, and he&#8217;s making marijuana legalisation part &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cannabis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}