Kerby Anderson
Last week, six states voted on pot initiatives, and more are certain to come in the next election. In previous commentaries, I have noted that the push for legalization of marijuana has come at a time when we know more about the dangers of cannabis than we knew a few decades ago. In a recent Breakpoint commentary, John Stonestreet concludes that “The Pot Experiment Has Been a Disaster.” It has been a disaster, for many reasons.
The first reason is potency. Ann Colter’s recent column reminds us that “It’s Not Your Father’s Pot Anymore.” When I was growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, the kids around me were using marijuana that had about 2-3 percent THC. Today the marijuana sold at cannabis dispensaries can have 15-25 percent THC. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that about 30 percent of cannabis users will become addicted, especially if they start before age 18.
Health and safety are another reason. Just look at the statistics from states that have participated in this rushed social experiment to legalize marijuana. Increases in car crashes along with property crimes and violent crimes followed legalization. In Colorado (the first state to legalize recreational marijuana), marijuana DUIs increased. And 40 percent of stoned drivers were under the age of 18.
A third reason is mental health. I received lots of pushback the first time I did a radio program with a guest documenting the link between marijuana use and schizophrenia. That shouldn’t even be controversial now, since there is a new study from Denmark that found that 30 percent of schizophrenia cases could be linked to marijuana use.
Each year more states are legalizing marijuana. But just because cannabis is becoming legal doesn’t mean it is a good policy for individuals or for society.

Kerby Anderson
While most Americans were focused on the election, the BRICS nations had a conference in Russia that we should not ignore. In case you are wondering, BRICS is an acronym for some of the world’s leading emerging market economies. BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
At the conference, there were 9 members and 13 new “partner nations” who were accepted. That means that the GDP of the BRICS nations is now greater than the GDP of the G7 nations. The population of the BRICS nations is more than 3 billion.
Some pundits have wondered if a BRICS currency would threaten the status of the dollar. Until recently, the assumption has been that would be unlikely since the diversity of the various foreign economies. They wouldn’t likely settle on one currency.
But Matthew Sigel (Head of Digital Assets Research, VanEck) reminds us that three of the new members are now mining bitcoin with government resources. He explained that there is an urgency in the BRICS nations to find some way to circumvent the irresponsible US fiscal policy. Russia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund is going to invest in a regional initiative to build bitcoin mining and to build AI infrastructure throughout the BRICS nations with the goal of being able to settle global trade in bitcoin.
Sigel predicts that when President Putin dies, some of these countries may reintegrate into the world’s financial system. He says these BRICS countries will be trading with bitcoin and then wonders what the US will be doing at that time.
The US dollar has been the world’s primary reserve currency for over 60 years. Now, these countries are pursuing a policy of de-dollarization that will reduce the use of dollars in world trade and financial transactions. Congress and the incoming president need to take note.