The Rosenthal Report, published each month by the Rosenthal Center for Addiction Studies, brings its readers insights and commentary on current issues of drug use.
THE UNPRECEDENTED RUSH TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA JEOPARDIZES PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
New York State has legalized marijuana, and New Mexico and Virginia are not far behind in the race to join the 15 states that have already sanctioned legal weed. Why the mad dash to commercialize cannabis? Politicians say legalization of adult-use marijuana is urgently needed to promote social equality and criminal justice reform—while shoring up pandemic-battered state economies. Yet legalization won’t contribute significantly to achieving any of these worthy goals. In fact, it will lead to more use, more addiction and actually hurt those communities already disproportionately harmed by the failed war on drugs—rather than help them, as supporters claim.
Equally troubling is how political leaders routinely ignore just how risky marijuana can be—especially for vulnerable populations, including young people. As states clamor to legalize the drug, a new study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse reveals that many adolescents and teenagers who use marijuana go on to develop substance use disorder, indicating that early experimentation had spiraled into addiction. In fact, a year after trying cannabis, almost 10.7 percent of adolescents age 12 to 17 met the criteria for addiction—similar to the 11.2 percent rate for prescription opioids. This adds to previous research clearly showing that regularly consuming marijuana can affect cognition in adolescents and impair learning and reasoning.
Nevertheless, the legalization bandwagon rolls on. A closer look at some of the details in New York’s legalization bill highlight how flawed the bill is. For example, while the bill includes an opt-out clause allowing municipalities to ban retail marijuana dispensaries—a provision supported by a majority of New York City residents, according to a recent poll—it also sanctions home-delivery services. This essentially means localities won’t be able to keep pot out of their neighborhoods, despite the residents’ wishes.
We can also see the influence of the increasingly powerful cannabis industry, which wants as few regulations and restrictions as possible, in what promises to be a highly profitable market for marijuana companies to thrive in.
Driving under the influence of marijuana also gets a pass, although traffic fatalities due to drug-impaired drivers have increased in most legalized states. Still, the legislation reduces this to a simple violation rather than a misdemeanor—hardly a deterrent to lighting up a joint and getting behind the wheel. In an unusual admission, the bill even acknowledges there’s no effective way for law enforcement to detect driving under the influence of drugs, so it calls on state health officials to “study” the problem and come up with a solution.
And finally, the bill changes the rules for medical marijuana, substantially expanding the list of qualifying conditions to include Alzheimer’s disease, although there’s little evidence the drug provides effective treatment.
Most importantly, the legislation ignores the experiences of other states that are now considering amending their legalization laws due to the negative impact of pot. Colorado, for example, may soon place limits on the amount of intoxicating, high potency THC in marijuana products, after physicians in the state reported an alarming spike in psychotic episodes among young users. By all means, decriminalize low-level possession of marijuana—but please don’t put our lives in danger.
