One of the most consequential marijuana legalization votes is taking place next month in New Jersey, with polls showing a large majority ready to allow easier access to the drug. But less known is that nearly 70 communities across the state have moved preemptively to block marijuana sales even before the vote. The communities have enacted local ordinances to ban either all marijuana sales or recreational forms of cannabis, while also saying they favor decriminalization. The bans are in line with the results of the 2020 Rosenthal Cannabis Study, which found that a majority of those surveyed support curbs on the commercialization of marijuana and the right of communities to opt out of legalization.
Meanwhile, an opinion article in MedPageToday refutes the notion that opioid use and overdoses are falling in states with legal marijuana—an argument used by pro-pot groups to support legalization. In fact, Colorado has allowed medical marijuana since 2000, yet in 2019 the state had a record number of drug overdoses, and prescription opioid deaths increased 24 percent in one year alone (between 2018 and 2019). Clearly, marijuana is not helping the opioid problem, the article concludes, and there’s no scientific evidence supporting the use of marijuana as an opioid substitute.
And finally, an article in the Guardian points out that the COVID-19 pandemic is making the drug epidemic in the United States even worse, and many of its victims include those often regarded as society’s least vulnerable: white-collar professionals in law, finance, media, and tech who are facing job losses and other stressors that can trigger drug use. Addiction professionals say they expect a new wave of mental health and addiction problems as the pandemic persists, including healthcare workers such as doctors and nurses.