This is a picture of a gummy bear (in front, as you can see, one of the best hangouts on the ‘net).

But this is no ordinary gummy bear. It’s a “black-market” gummy bear.

This is going to sound strange and stupid (because it is, in fact, both of these things) but the Gummy Bear above is federally illegal in the United States. But it’s perfectly legal in the state I’m currently in.

And here’s the strangest part…

When I eat it, it’s not going to kill me. (Quite the contrary, actually.)

And I know what you’re thinking. No, it’s not going to get me high, either.

This Gummy bear is, in fact, what hundreds of thousands of Americans call medicine. Because it has a compound in it called cannabidiol (CBD).

“CBD,” says Wikipedia, “is one of at least 113 active cannabinoids identified in cannabis. It is a major phytocannabinoid, accounting for up to 40% of the plant’s extract. CBD is considered to have a wide scope of potential medical applications — due to clinical reports showing the lack of side effects, particularly a lack of psychoactivity (as is typically associated with ∆9-THC), and non-interference with several psychomotor learning and psychological functions.”

Yes, many Americans are opting out of Big Pharma’s side-effect ridden pills and instead turning to CBD (in pill, liquid and, yes, gummy form) for a whole host of ailments: pain, seizures, nausea, psychosis, inflammatory disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, tumors, depression and more.

But don’t take my word for it…

According to a 2013 review published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, studies have found CBD to possess the following medical properties:

Unfortunately, due to laws against studying the plant on humans, most of this evidence comes from animals.

A scientific review out of Brazil, though, should tell us everything we need to know. Researcher Antonio Zuardi writes:

“Studies have suggested a wide range of possible therapeutic effects of cannabidiol on several conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral ischemia, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, other inflammatory diseases, nausea and cancer.”

CBD has been studied all over the world for, at least, the past 45 years. It has been revealed to be non-toxic, non-psychoactive, and to contain a host of therapeutic properties.

Yet, alas, it remains illegal to possess, use and nearly impossible to study in the United States.

This isn’t just childish. It’s evil.

It needlessly causes suffering and has destroyed countless innocent lives.

For example, I’m in the process of interviewing a man whose life was nearly destroyed — and his family completely traumatized — by this idiotic law against CBD.

More on that to come soon.

What angers us most, though, is not the disaster we can see before us. It’s Bastiat’s unseen effects which have our blood on boil. As Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, points out:

“What possible advancements in medical treatment may have been achieved over the past decades had US government officials chosen to advance — rather than inhibit — clinical research into CBD (which, under federal law, remains a Schedule I drug defined as having ‘no currently accepted medical use’)?”

Fortunately, people are no longer OK staying on their knees. The market is, in large part, ignoring these laws and delivering this medicine to whoever needs it. CBD products are easily found online.

Which is simply a sign of the times. The “weed wave,” no matter what the politicos say or do at this point, will not be stopped.

Jeff Sessions, be damned.

[Soapbox sidenote: Speaking of Sessions, it’s curious that a Christian man has such a vendetta against marijuana, a seed-bearing plant.

I mean, obviously Sessions has read the first few pages of the Bible. In Genesis 1:29, it clearly states: “

And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.’”

There are no caveats. No footnotes. No “buts.” No “Unless the DEA or Sessions doth disagree.” Nada. Every seed-bearing plant is yours to use as you wish.]

Fortunately, the market, the people (and God) have spoken. Marijuana’s about to burst onto Main Street.

But make no mistake. We’re still very early in the game.

The current distributors of CBD and THC products are just the little seedlings of what’s to come. They are the moles brave enough to stick their heads out of their holes despite the possibility of getting whacked.

Once the threat of getting whacked is eradicated completely, though, the real money will be made.

And it’s coming.

Until then, I’ll continue to place my bets by investing in this burgeoning industry.

Those who can see the upward trend as clear as we do would be silly not to do the same (gummies optional).

The best part? As you’ll see in this latest “investing in pot stocks” presentation, it only takes $50 to get started.

Click here for the full report on the only pot stocks you’ll need for 2017.

Upwards and onwards,

Chris Campbell
Managing editor, Laissez Faire Today

The post Confession: I Eat “Black-Market” Gummy Bears For Breakfast appeared first on Laissez Faire.