Most conversations regarding cannabis remain superficial: legality, crime, or medical assertions. However, the fundamental question is: What suffering does society tolerate? After viewing a recent documentary featuring law enforcement, attorneys, medical professionals, and families, I concluded that cannabis serves as the backdrop. The real issue lies within the system supporting it. When ethics are stretched, contradictions become glaringly apparent.
1. Legal ethics: When the law penalizes pain rather than harm
Some people depicted in the film faced charges, not due to addiction or posing a threat to others, but because their CBD products resulted in a positive drug test. No harm. No victims. Merely the wrong molecule categorized incorrectly by law. This isn’t justice. It’s fear-based administration. When legislation detaches from science, proportionality vanishes, leading to the crushing of the most vulnerable.
2. Medical ethics: When alleviating suffering carries legal jeopardy
Parents recounted how cannabis derivatives ceased seizures or alleviated tremors when other treatments failed. Yet, medical practitioners were hesitant. Not due to the treatment’s safety, but due to legal ramifications. A system that criminalizes alleviating symptoms places clinicians in an untenable position between legality and ethics.
3. Corporate and financial ethics: The reason harmful substances remain legal
Substances like alcohol and tobacco, which are statistically far more detrimental, remain entirely legal and taxed. Cannabis, which has lower addiction and toxicity ratings, stays prohibited. This reveals a harsh reality: we legalize what benefits the economy and criminalize what threatens established business interests. Public health isn’t always the primary motivator. Often, it is revenue.
4. Media ethics: Fear disseminates more rapidly than truth
For years, headlines utilized terms like “gateway drug,” “crime,” and “family devastation” as prepackaged narratives. Not evidence, but storytelling. The media focused not on explaining cannabis, but on outlining what people should fear regarding it. The consequence is a stigma that endures beyond the scientific facts.
5. Humanistic ethics: the issue we consistently sidestep
One parent in the documentary remarked, “My child finally rested. Why is this illegal?” That singular statement unveils the entire framework. The ultimate discussion isn’t about legalization. It’s about whether we allow individuals to alleviate suffering when traditional systems let them down. When ethics are pushed to the limit, the vital question becomes: Whose pain is significant enough for legal change?
The cannabis discourse uncovers a broader truth.
Cannabis is merely a reflection. It reveals the moral values embedded within our policies. A society that genuinely prioritizes health would regulate according to harm, scientific evidence, and compassion, rather than stigma, profits, or institutional convenience. Until this occurs, patients will suffer not due to substances, but because of the systems crafted for their protection.
Gerald Kuo, a doctoral candidate at the Graduate Institute of Business Administration at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan, focuses on health care management, long-term care systems, AI governance in clinical and social care environments, and policies surrounding elder care. He is associated with the Home Health Care Charity Association and maintains a professional [presence on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kuogary1), where he posts updates on his research and community involvement. Kuo assists in running a daycare center for seniors, collaborating closely with families, nurses, and community physicians. His research and practical initiatives aim to decrease administrative burdens on clinicians, enhance continuity and quality in elder care, and create sustainable service models through the use of data, technology, and interdisciplinary cooperation. He holds a particular interest in how new AI technologies can aid clinical workforces for the aging population, improve care delivery, and foster greater trust between health systems and the public.