We are not a democracy, as we were often inaccurately taught in grade school civics classes, but a democratic republic. One consequence of that is that legislators can and do ignore the will of the voters and (as one blogger put it) “don’t even have to act like they care.”

That’s the case with medical marijuana laws. In Florida and Michigan, among other states, voters approved medical marijuana by close to two-to-one margins. The state legislators and the governors don’t seem happy about that, and have tried to thwart the will of the people without technically violating the law.

In Florida, because the voter referendum didn’t specify how the marijuana could be delivered, they spent months wrangling over what form of marijuana could be prescribed. Rep. Ray Rodrigues tried to argue that since it was for medicinal use, a pill was the only form needed or intended. Eventually other forms were permitted, but still not smoking. (Try not to laugh – or, if you need medical cannabis for chronic pain, nausea, post-traumatic stress disorder or other conditions for which it sometimes helps – cry at that decision.)

Now in Michigan, because the ballot proposal didn’t say anything about dispensaries, the courts and legislators have ruled all dispensaries that have opened are illegal. While they finally get around to issuing licenses, all existing dispensaries must close, apply for a license, and only then reopen.

There are real concerns about marijuana’s effects on young brains, marijuana dependence and impaired driving that legalization could exacerbate, but they recede in significance compared to the contempt a bunch of legislators in safe, gerrymandered districts have for the legitimate needs and desires of their constituents. Cannabis and its non-euphoric component cannabidiol (CBD) show a lot of promise for treating chronic pain and other problems, maybe even drug detox and fighting opioid addiction (we are in the middle of an epidemic, right?).

The only bright side to these legislative shenanigans in Michigan is that they’ve given a boost to efforts to make recreational marijuana legal. Another ballot proposal is gathering signatures. After seeing how the legislature respected their wishes the last time, the voters might decide to take it out of their hands.

Marijuana likely isn’t addictive, but that doesn’t mean chronic recreational use is an unequivocal good or that substance use disorder treatment is never needed. It’s a shame the authorities have overstated its negative effects (Reefer Madness anyone?), falsely claimed it was a gateway drug, and prevented legitimate scientific study by making and keeping it a Schedule I controlled substance. Recreational legalization is coming, probably soon, and the authorities only have themselves to blame.