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PotShot

Legalizing pot would hurt kids, and here's why
cindy rodriguez | Denver Post | 08/26/2006

People who smoke pot - including a few friends of mine - are not going to like this column.

But their desire to legally light up is less important to me than the effect that legalization would have on kids.

For that reason, I hope Amendment 44 - the state ballot initiative that would allow adults to legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana - fails.

If it passes in November it will allow adults to smoke without fear of getting arrested. But the upshot is many young people will take it as evidence that marijuana is not dangerous - something many already believe.

Young people often say that because marijuana comes from a plant, it is "natural" and "organic," therefore not harmful. But it is toxic. If it weren't there would be no high.

"Of course marijuana intoxication impairs intellectual functioning," says Dr. Harrison Pope, a Harvard professor of psychiatry who has spent a decade researching the effects of marijuana use. "You don't need brain scans to tell you that."

Heavy marijuana smokers are not only less academically accomplished, they tend to have lower incomes than nonsmokers, Pope said. But he said science cannot yet answer whether it's due to marijuana use or whether people who choose to smoke marijuana tend to have lower cognitive functioning and/or less drive to begin with.

Mason Tvert, campaign organizer of the ballot initiative, is correct when he says that in many ways marijuana is a safer alternative to alcohol. Studies have shown that drunks are prone to violence. But the campaign's moniker, Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation, and its acronym, SAFER, imply that marijuana is safe to use. It's not.

Although experts tell me there are no studies that show conclusively that marijuana causes long-term damage to the brain, that only proves how difficult it is to conduct these studies. Researchers can't ethically test a control group by giving them marijuana, and longitudinal studies of people who smoke marijuana on their own are difficult and cost-prohibitive.

But for teens especially, the short- term effects on memory and comprehension are enough to mean the difference between success and failure, and between staying in school and dropping out.

"It can cause developmental delays that create a downward spiraling effect," said Dr. Paula Riggs, a child psychiatrist who specializes in addiction. "If you aren't learning, how do you graduate from high school? If you don't graduate from high school, how are you going to get a job or go to college?"

Passage of the law would not only send a message to our youths that it is OK to smoke pot, it also could ultimately lead to more people in the state possessing marijuana.

As it stands, marijuana addiction is the No. 1 reason kids are referred for drug treatment, Riggs said. People who smoke every day but say they are not addicted are in denial.

Experts say the studies are clear: The more access kids have to marijuana, the greater the likelihood that they will use it.

Mark Kleiman, director of the Drug Policy Analysis Program at UCLA, said research shows that when marijuana began being sold legally in smoke shops in Amsterdam, teen use surged - even though it was illegal for minors to possess or smoke the drug.

Richard Rawson, a psychology professor at UCLA, said that's true of all drugs, including alcohol: Alcohol consumption was much higher before and after Prohibition, partly because of its legality and partly because of availability.

Tvert is right when he says that alcohol abuse is damaging. More people die of alcohol- and nicotine-related illnesses than any other diseases. It also can make people unruly and aggressive. But that's no argument for legalizing marijuana.

Not when the minds of kids are at stake.

Cindy Rodríguez's column appears Tues-

days and Sundays. Contact her at 303-

954-1211 or crodriguez@denverpost.com.

 

reggie_the_dog

What bullshit.

Instead of investigating and looking for statistics comparing cannabis use rates among the 12-18 crowd in the Netherlands, where you can buy cannabis in stores, and Colorado the author instead is content to spread bullshit. Oh no, kids may find out that cannabis is less harmful than tobacco and alcohol and then try it....Of course less will likely try it when it is legal for adults BECAUSE IT WILL NO LONGER BE A REBELLIOUS THING TO DO (remember being a teen, you know when you got a kick out of doing things your were not supposed to do) well now we have a war on drugs, and we are told cannabis is worse than heroin and it will kill you, kids see that it doesnt and are curious. So WHY NOT TELL THEM IT IS LESS BAD THAN OTHER DRUGS, then they will not be surprised that cannabis smokers are not jonesing for a fix, AND WILL LIKELY BE LESS CURIOUS TO TRY.

reggie_the_dog

"Passage of the law would not only send a message to our youths that it is OK to smoke pot, it also could ultimately lead to more people in the state possessing marijuana."

Ok folks, show of hands here... alcohol is legal, how many of us think that it is OK to be an alcoholic????????

do I see any hands here??????


and more people possessing marijuana would likely lead to less possessing alcohol, a drug which has worse effects than cannabis, so why would that be bad??? oh yeah, TAXES and the ALCOHOL LOBBY.

Todd2869

I sent an email to this reporter this morning.

Here is the body of my email and her reply.


MY EMAIL:

What a shame it is that you cant seem to read the current information on

marijuana use. The number one reason that a household MIGHT have a lower income due to marijuana is because of the invasion of privacy that a good job requires.



KIDS can now buy marijuana whenever they want since a drug dealer does not care how old you are. They only care that you have the money to pay.

I have been smoking since I was 15 years old and graduated high school and technical training school. I make almost $60,000 per year doing the work I do which is making people safe in public environments. A job that takes more thought and skill than being a biased reporter. Do you know how to program a microprocessor? Can you design and build an electronic circuit? I would bet you
dont even know what a microprocessor is!


Why cant people get it through their heads that prohibition does not work and empowers gangs and corrupts people in power? What about the HUNDREDS of people who have died due to the DEA and law enforcement busting their doors down and either shooting them or in the case of Alberta Spruill who died from a heart attack caused by a drug raid on her apartment when she did not even have any drugs or used any drugs.

The gestapo tactics of our government is getting us no where.


Check out the following link to read about just a small portion of the VICTIMS of
the Governments "war on drugs". They were flat out murdered by our leaders who
say they have the moral high ground.


Marijuana Policy Project - Victims


770,000 people arrested for marijuana in 2004. Billions spent every year and LIES
told to further the Governments cause. When will the truth come out?



HER REPLY:

"no, you are wrong. sorry we disagree, but you are wrong."



Everyone should write to this woman and show her people are sick of the lies and propoganda used to further the prohibitionist cause.

TehUberGeeK

Won't somebody think of the children!


But the upshot is many young people will take it as evidence that marijuana is not dangerous
How many young people think that cigarettes are safe because their legal?

Passage of the law would not only send a message to our youths that it is OK to smoke pot, it also could ultimately lead to more people in the state possessing marijuana.
You know, That never occurred to me.

Experts say the studies are clear: The more access kids have to marijuana, the greater the likelihood that they will use it.
Don't know about you, but in highschool it was much easier to get pot then it was to get alcohol or cigarettes. It wasn't unusual to see people buying herb in the halls or in classes.

 

Todd2869

No one I know thinks its OK to be an alcoholic. Even my alcoholic brother who abuses his wife when he is drunk.

Buzzby

The power of THC to change consciousness has no relationship to toxicity. The LD50 (the dosage at which 50% of users would die) of marijuana is so high as to be impossible to reach.

The Drug Enforcement Administration Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, concluded:

"At present it is estimated that marijuana's LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response." (<http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/MEDICAL/YOUNG/young4.html>)

So much for toxicity.

You shouldn't try to do Higher Math when you're high. What an amazing conclusion! The reason people use recreational drugs (including alcohol) is for a brief vacation from the restraints of rational thinking. When the effects wear off you're right back to normal.

Tell that to Professor Carl Sagan of Cornell University (and "Cosmos" fame) and Peter Lewis, the controlling share holder in Progressive Insurance. I'm sure you'll find dissolute heavy marijuana users because heavy users of any drug tend to be avoiding responsibilities, but what has that got to do with ordinary recreational users?

Actually, it implies that it's safer to use, which it is. Marijuana use, even very heavy marijuana use, does not cause the physical and mental destruction that alcohol does, nor does it contribute to violence, and it has much less effect on the ability to drive. Therefore, it is a safer alternative for enjoyable recreation.

Actually, studies of long-term heavy marijuana users show almost no difference in cognitive function from a control group. (<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/06/030630112652.htm>)

In the Netherlands, where marijuana is easily obtained at coffee houses, the rate of teen use is half what it is in the United States. Legalizing marijuana for adults has no more to do with teen use than legal alcohol for adults has to do with teen drinking.

Considering the large percentage of high school and college students who use marijuana, one would think that we would have millions of pot-fueled incompetents wandering the streets. We don't. Drug addicts and abusers may well have problems learning, but recreational marijuana use does not equate to abuse or addiction.

It would send a message that it is OK for adults to smoke pot, just as our alcohol laws send a message that it's OK for adults to drink. What's wrong with that?

The number one reason kids are referred for drug treatment is that they get caught with marijuana. The courts give them a choice between a criminal record or drug treatment. Being intelligent human beings, they choose drug treatment. Addiction has nothing to do with it.

That sounds obvious, doesn't it? The fact is that close to 90% of high school students surveyed say that it is easier to get pot than alcohol. There is no reason to believe that making marijuana legal for adults would increase its availability to kids. If it were to be sold under the same restrictions placed on alcohol and tobacco, rather than by black market dealers who don't "card", it would be less available to kids. As seen in the Netherlands, greater availability for adults does not translate into higher use amongst teenagers.

"The de facto legalization of marijuana in the Netherlands occurred in 1976. According to Arjan Sas of the Centre for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam, 'There was no immediate increase in cannabis use after 1976 and trends in use have generally been the same as in other countries.'" Actually, statistics provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Dutch National Institute of Health and Addiction reveal that the current percentage of marijuana users in the Dutch teenage populace is approximately half of what it is among American teenagers." (<http://weeklywire.com/ww/10-25-99/alibi_thin.html>)

Really?

"One important way to evaluate the public health consequences of alcohol policies, then, is in terms of how they affect consumption. In 1932 Warburton pointed out that 'except for the first three years, the per capita consumption of alcohol has been greater under prohibition than during the war period [1917-1919], with high taxation and restricted production and sale' (Warburton, C. 1932. The Economic Results of Prohibition. New York : Columbia University Press. p. 260)." Additionally, it was not until the end of the 1960s, 35 years after repeal, that per capita alcohol consumption rose to the levels of 1915 (Levine and Reinarman, 1993, 1998).

But it is! History and anthropology tell us that the use of mind-altering substances is universal in human societies. It is criminal to deny citizens a safer outlet for this natural urge.

__________________

reggie_the_dog

"Heavy marijuana smokers are not only less academically accomplished, they tend to have lower incomes than nonsmokers, Pope said."


What utter bullshit.

I smoke 6 or 10 times a day, 6 (not 7) days a week.

I have a BA, an MA and I am BMF besides

but no I am not Bob Bitchin

I am just an average high school teacher in the USA and an english language assitant at a university here in France. Je peux parler français maintenant aussi. J'en ai marre de tous ces histoires a la con !!!

I have plenty of friends that smoke, have only a high school degree and do not make a lot of money, I also have plenty of buddies with BAs or MAs that smoke and who make a tiny bit more money.

Evidence that us smokers are crafty sons of bitches is found every time we trick those lame ass drug tests you folks have in the USA.

biggdoc12

If she thinks they should take away our freedom to smoke weed than they should take away her freedom to report. i'm sitting here after a long days work, smoking a joint, minding my own business waiting for my wife and kids to get home. (notice, no kids here!) not reporting on something have have absolutly no clue about. and people that smoke weed have a lower income. i'm a high school graduate, from a tech school. not to mention a self employed accomplished musician!! she can ad a couple of extra zeros to the end of her salary and she'll have mine$$$$

Bl4ck3n3D

I think Buzzby should write an email to her and prove she's wrong.