Cannabinomics: The Marijuana Policy Tipping Point

Author Christopher Fichtner, MD

Review by Samuel Wells

One of the greatest tragedies of the recent cannabis movement in North America was the infighting and division that occurred during the debate over Proposition 19 in California.

Also known as the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act, the proposal was problematically written and doomed as the result of infighting among growers, dispensary owners, and patients, with a vast majority of the voters in the area known as the Emerald Triangle ultimately rejecting the measure.

The cannabis community is wide-ranging and lacks unity: How can we bring enterprising entrepre-neurs together with desperate medical patients? How can these two groups connect with the wide-eyed, take-no-prisoners legalizers ready to confront the so-called drug warriors in public with signs and protests?

Psychologist Christopher Fichtner’s Cannabinomics is the author’s attempt to synthesize the three primary approach-es to ending the War on Natural Medicine in order to pro-vide a clear and unified platform for activists to create real change. Through a detailed discussion of recent political history, effective use of selected and powerful case studies, and pages of research, Fichtner draws a convincing map of the current cultural landscape and how contemporary social evolution has created a unique opportunity for activists and voters to push for the elimination of anti-cannabis laws on the federal level. Cannabinomics is designed to provide a platform that honors each voice and opinion within the marijuana movement and allows each of those perspectives to lend its most powerful tools to the greater fight.

Fichtner labels each of the three main schools of thought with a geographic location: the medical marijuana move-ment and harm reduction approach is grouped as San Francisco in honor of Denis Peron and other pioneers; Amsterdam serves as the urban logotype for those who focus on policy reform and ending the Drug War; Oxford, UK, the home of GW Pharmaceuticals’ Sativex (aka Oxford Gold), is put forth as the icon for economic integration into the current system of medical science and sales. Each of these approaches is given its own section of the book, complete with research, case studies, and analysis.

While there is little information presented in Cannabinomics that will not already be familiar to most activists, Fichtner’s analysis that all three aspects of the movement must work together for effective policy change is worthy of attention. His categorization of the main approaches — medical science, policy change, and eco-nomic entrepreneurship — is logical and provides activists with a clearly drawn map of the road toward legalization. It is a refreshing request for solidarity in a movement splin-tered by controversy and conflict. What remains to be seen is if anyone will heed the call.

Cannabinomics: The Marijuana Policy Tipping Point
by Christopher Fichtner, MD Well Mind Books ISBN: 978-0-9842588-0-2