Congress Members With Alzheimer’s Could Prevent Pot Legalization
The post Congress Members With Alzheimer’s Could Prevent Pot Legalization appeared first on High Times.
There’s a possibility that some Congress members with Alzheimer’s could prevent pot legalization. Lately, it seems that one of the reasons nationwide marijuana legalization is not making any progress in Congress is, you guessed it, age.
This isn’t a matter of ageism. It’s a matter of neurological health.
Age and Brain Health
Most of the senators running for re-election in 2018 are over 65-years-old. The average age of those currently handling matters in the House of Representatives is nearly 60.
This means that most of these supposed ambassadors of American policy were just becoming teenagers in the mid-1960s.
This was a time when racial segregation had just come to an end. And marijuana users, in general, were regarded as troublemakers and unpatriotic. Furthermore, they were simply not of the same moral fiber of those hardworking, God-fearing citizens who made the United States so great in the first place.
However, a recent report from Stat News suggests that, in addition to the majority of Congress being too old to properly draft policies that accurately reflect the American people, it is distinctly possible that some of these men and women also suffer from serious neurological conditions. Conditions that could affect their judgment and decision-making abilities.
The Report
The story focuses on pharmacist Mike Kim. He’s the owner of Washington, D.C.’s Grubb Pharmacy, which is the oldest retail apothecary in the nation’s capital.
The story indicates that some members of Congress are presently dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. This is a progressive deterioration of the brain that destroys a person’s mental abilities.
So it’s not outlandish to think that Alzheimer’s could prevent pot legalization.
Kim didn’t divulge any specific information about which members of the U.S. Senate and House might have the disease. However, he admitted that some rather influential people connected to the government are taking medication to try to tame the symptoms of this condition.
“At first it’s cool, and then you realize, I’m filling some drugs that are for some pretty serious health problems as well. And these are the people that are running the country,” Kim said. “It makes you kind of sit back and say, ‘Wow, they’re making the highest laws of the land, and they might not even remember what happened yesterday.’”
Final Hit: Possibility That Some Congress Members Have Alzheimer’s Could Prevent Pot Legalization
Medical experts say that people with Alzheimer’s should not be making any important decisions for themselves. And definitely not for the entire nation.
Shannabeth Stein, a registered nurse with over two decades of experience in the field of behavioral health, who specializes in providing daily care for Alzheimer’s patients, told High Times that the disease hinders a person’s ability to make rational choices.
“The disease is unpredictable,” Stein said. “A person with Alzheimer’s disease can have moments of clarity interspersed with irrational behavior and poor decision making.”
“Anyone in Congress that has been diagnosed with this disease and is seeking re-election next year owes it to the voters to disclose their diagnoses and use of medication so that the people can decide for themselves whether that person is still fit for the job,” she added.
Only a small percentage of Congress likely suffers from serious neurologic disorders, like Alzheimer’s. But it is interesting to consider how men and women influenced by their parents’ Reefer Madness still decide the policies of today. Ironic, when you consider that cannabis could help treat Alzheimer’s.
So it just might be time to fill Congress with some younger blood.
The post Congress Members With Alzheimer’s Could Prevent Pot Legalization appeared first on High Times.
