Law Enforcement Lies

Throughout our efforts to pass S.F. 345, the Minnesota medical marijuana bill, over the course of the 2007/2008 session, a small but vocal group within the Minnesota law enforcement community repeatedly made either entirely false or intentionally misleading claims about the bill and about medical marijuana more generally. These consistent inaccuracies, exaggerations, and outright lies had a single objective: to marginalize and dismiss the sick and dying patients of Minnesota by duping legislators and the governor – who said multiple times that he stands with law enforcement – into opposing a compassionate law that would protect patients from arrest for using their doctor-recommended medicine.

In response, we produced and distributed a video compilation of law enforcement’s “greatest hits.”

11. Marijuana Potency

10. Support from the medical community

9. The gateway myth

8. Marijuana "overdose"

7. Federal studies on medical marijuana

6. Medical marijuana does not increase illegal use

5. The Institute of Medicine and Medical Marijuana

4. FDA Approved Alternatives to Marijuana

3. Marijuana vs. Marinol

2. Marijuana's Medical Value

1. Law enforcement support

You can find a detailed list of false and misleading statements made by Minnesota law enforcement officials, along with sourced refutations of each claim here.

Although certain members of the House were apparently swayed by law enforcement's litany of mistruth, the work of setting the record straight on these issues remains vital. So that we can keep up this fight, please donate whatever you can today to the Marijuana Policy Project, the flagship member of MCC.