Ben Cort: What commercialization is doing to cannabis
Ben Cort: Lo que la comercialización le está haciendo al cannabis
Ben Cort focuses on marijuana education and consulting in the substance use disorder treatment field. Full bio
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are anything like me,
to turn around recently
más difícil no prestarle atención
of the way that we eat in recent years,
concientizado más sobre la alimentación
their way into our daily lexicon.
parte de nuestro vocabulario.
interacted with our bodies
interactúan con nuestro cuerpo
tuvo que escucharnos.
from states like Washington and Oregon
de Washington y Oregón
are not just being used in our diets.
y "cultivado localmente"
referirse a nuestra dieta.
using this language now.
que usa este lenguaje.
worth of product in 2016.
de dólares en venta.
about this legalized marijuana thing
sobre la legalización de la marihuana
is a pretty quick way to get uninvited
la legalización de la marihuana
be perfectly clear about one thing:
adult use of marijuana --
de marihuana por parte de los adultos...
is this new industry
es esta nueva industria
that we are consuming something natural
estamos consumiendo algo natural
a little bit of Weed 101.
que crece naturalmente
and has been used within textiles
y en la medicina china tradicional
for thousands of years.
plants and herbs to use."
semilla y hierbas para que usen".
a TV preacher sort of thing.
a predicador de televisión.
of different chemicals,
de compuestos químicos,
are by far the most interesting.
los más interesantes.
of the medicinal properties lie.
de las propiedades medicinales.
part of the plant
fascinante de la planta
de ayudar a la gente.
while vaping pure CBD
un baño de CBD, aspirarlo
a part of the plant as CBD is,
que es el CBD en la planta,
of the commercial market.
muy pequeña dentro del mercado.
in that other chemical --
el otro compuesto químico:
that gets you high.
de la planta que te droga.
of a percent of THC.
as we became better gardeners, that --
nos convertimos en mejores cultivadores...
to slowly but steadily rise,
a aumentar lenta pero constantemente
started to get involved.
los químicos comenzaron a involucrarse.
los ciclos de crecimiento...
exclusively indoors,
a puertas cerradas
extremely and unnaturally short.
extremadamente cortos y antinaturales.
pesticides and fertilizers
pesticidas y fertilizantes
should be concerned with.
at a commercial grow operation
en un sitio de cultivo comercial
with the chemicals
a los que tenía que exponerse.
were actually encouraged
para materiales peligrosos
the chemical cocktails on the plants.
químicos en las plantas.
can contain above 30 percent THC.
en día contienen más de 30 % de THC.
above 95 percent THC --
one of the thousands of dispensaries
de los miles de dispensarios
really selling in them is THC.
lists exactly how much THC it contains,
la cantidad exacta de THC que contiene,
much more popular products
cafés, helados,
goma de mascar, golosinas,
introducing into the human body.
que se introduce en el cuerpo humano.
that's being sold today --
que se comercializa hoy en día...
and unnatural concentration.
que no son las naturales.
is subtly misleading.
la marihuana es engañoso.
has so rapidly exploded
comercial creció tan rápidamente
of a lot of money to be made
dinero de por medio
y aumentar nuestro deseo de drogarnos.
our desire to get high.
being made by the mom-and-pop shops.
los pequeños negocios familiares.
a lot of the small-time growers.
muchos de los pequeños agricultores.
to continue to profit off of us
forma de obtener ganancias
industry's 80/20 rule.
del alcohol, la del 80/20.
of the product is consumed
del producto lo consume
los consumidores problemáticos.
the problemed users.
la marihuana, ricos, blancos...
all rich, white men --
son ricos y blancos...
more of what they're selling
más del producto que venden
twice as likely to consume THC regularly
de consumir THC regularmente
a los UDS 20 mil anuales
over 50,000 dollars a year.
más de USD 50 mil al año.
your money on their products.
tu dinero en sus productos.
and race are highly correlated.
están estrechamente correlacionados.
for the legalization of marijuana
para legalizar la marihuana
the disproportionate incarceration rates
desproporcionada de encarcelamiento
should be extremely concerned with.
para los que estamos aquí.
have to look any further
no hay que ir muy lejos
here in Colorado
juveniles aquí en Colorado
Department of Public Safety,
Seguridad Pública de Colorado,
para comercializarla en el 2014,
minority neighborhoods --
pobres y de minorías,
in the arrest of white kids
blancos se redujo en un 8 %
con la marihuana.
in the arrest of Hispanic kids
por las mismas actividades
of black kids for weed-related crimes.
relacionados aumentó un 58 %.
more people of color in Colorado
gente de color en Colorado
is in school suspension rates.
la tasa de suspensión escolar.
predominantly white --
predominantemente blancas,
of 25 percent or fewer --
constituye solo el 25 % o menos,
following commercialization,
de datos luego de la comercialización,
of 190 drug-related suspensions,
190 suspensiones a causa de drogas,
of 75 to 100 percent
eran del 75 al 100 % de la población,
gets left out of the conversation
suele quedar fuera de la conversación:
than twice as likely to consume THC
de probabilidad de consumir THC
as heterosexual or cisgender.
como heterosexuales o cisgénero.
higher rates of mental illness
más propensos a las enfermedades mentales
called "Going to Pot,"
en el 2014, "Going to Pot",
of THC found in today's products
presentes en los productos actuales
to matter very little
parece importarles muy poco
selling these products,
is too much of a sacred cow to question.
es demasiado sagrada para cuestionarla.
is not natural,
hoy en día no es natural,
social justice as a smoke screen
usan la justicia social como una excusa
that led me to begin questioning
la adicción fue lo que me hizo cuestionar
that we're taught to do.
for the Washington, DC, area
y me mudé a Washington D.C.
where the kind of shoes you wore
el tipo de zapato que usabas
just about anything else.
to help me play that game.
para ayudarme a entrar en ese juego.
crisis of identity.
una verdadera crisis de identidad.
blacktop than treetops,
más cemento que árboles,
una manera de acallar mis dudas.
drugs and alcohol,
y a consumir otras drogas,
inside of my brain.
within a couple of months.
comencé a consumir a diario.
many of the stories
de las que Uds. seguramente han escuchado.
fue el 5 de junio de 1996.
on June 15 of 1996.
trying to both put my life back in order
tratando de organizar mi vida
some peace in this world.
de paz en este mundo.
para drogadictos y alcohólicos
drug and alcohol treatment
Transgender, Bisexual Treatment Providers
para el Tratamiento de la Adicción
gays, bisexuales y transgénero.
on the front lines
when I started to see
cuando comencé a ver
was doing to cannabis,
le hacía al cannabis,
for something pure and natural
por conseguir algo puro y natural
what's really going on,
are getting richer
that we are allowing industry
que estamos permitiendo que la industria
challenged among us
and food in years past.
y los alimentos en años anteriores.
a la industria alimentaria
our choices were having,
de nuestras elecciones
for ourselves and our families,
para nosotros y nuestras familias,
demand the same thing from this
demandar lo mismo a esta industria
to get a piece of our paychecks?
de quedarse con parte de nuestro salario?
some hard questions?
a contestar algunas preguntas difíciles?
than we are right now?
más altos que los que tenemos ahora?
of commercialization.
al otro lado de la comercialización.
this is a sensitive topic
and helping us explore it.
y ayudarnos a explorarlo.
are experiencing health benefits
ha experimentado los beneficios médicos
to that part of the community?
de la comunidad?
you brought that up.
que lo hayas mencionado.
that we can do right now
importantes que podemos hacer ahora
that are being made
some whole-plant medicines,
e incluso toda la planta,
the part about getting high,
"Esta es la parte que te droga,
is less about being anti-cannabis
no es ir en contra del cannabis
about aspects of commercialization.
los aspectos de su comercialización.
contra la marihuana.
listen, I'm a drug addict.
Oigan, fui drogadicto.
and I don't want to do that.
and what's so hard for me
lo que realmente me molesta
that we are just embracing
to the fire on some stuff.
contra la marihuana,
if you're smoking when you do it,
si deciden hacerlo,
adultos. Usen la cabeza.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ben Cort - Author, addiction treatment specialistBen Cort focuses on marijuana education and consulting in the substance use disorder treatment field.
Why you should listen
Ben Cort's passion for recovery, prevention and harm reduction comes from his own struggle with substance abuse. Sober since June 15, 1996, Cort has been a part of the recovery community in almost every way imaginable -- from a recipient to a provider to a spokesperson. Cort has a deep understanding of the issues and a personal motivation to see the harmful effects of drug and alcohol abuse minimized.
In 2007 Cort left his position as HR director of a Denver based S&P 500 firm to help start the Colorado-based nonprofit Phoenix Multisport (PM). As an original board member and then their first full-time employee, Cort was instrumental in building the organization, which has received frequent national recognition for their innovative approach to building sober communities around sport and healthy activities.
Following the passage of Coloradro Amendment 64, which outlined a new statewide drug policy for cannabis, Cort was appointed to the Board of Directors of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) as well as NALGAP (the National Association of Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender Treatment Providers and their Allies). Cort's passion about the intersection of recovery and public policy makes him frequent guest in the media.
Cort's first book, Weed, Inc.: The Truth About the Pot Lobby, THC, and the Commercial Marijuana Industry, was released in September 2017. He resigned from his position with the University of Colorado Hospital in their chemical dependency treatment service line in January 2017 to focus on marijuana education and consulting in the substance use disorder treatment field.
Ben Cort | Speaker | TED.com