01 Jun A World Gone to Pot, part “Duh”
Marijuana is often described as a harmless recreational substance. Many have pushed for legalization, claiming that is would replace the use of alcohol, making our roads and children safer. Others have promoted pot use a means of becoming more thoughtful and creative.
Not so, according to data coming out of Colorado, the first state to open itself to wide recreational use, and former heavy-smoking rock stars Lindsey Buckingham and Paul McCartney.
This summer Rocky Mountain HIDTA will publish its third volume of The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact. Like its predecessors this report is intended to document the actual impact of legalizing pot, in hopes of allowing citizens and lawmakers to come to informed conclusions about policy changes.
Colorado law enforcement reports show a significant increase in citations for “Driving Under the Influence of Drugs” (DUID), Idaho’s equivalent of “Driving Under the Influence” (DUI), which can include drugs in combination with alcohol. These charges result not from random screenings but from erratic driving and traffic fatalities.
77 percent of total DUIDs involved marijuana; 41 percent of total DUIDs involved marijuana only. More importantly, however, the number of DUIDs reported by Denver police literally doubled since legalization in 2013.
Adults seeking treatment for drug addiction as a result of DUI has increased significantly in Colorado since legalization. Arapahoe House is one of the preeminent treatment centers, with thriteen treatment facilities in Colorado. They report a 66% increase in DUI admissions in which the patient reports marijuana as the drug of choice.
At the same time Colorado’s sale and consumption of alcohol increased by four percent. Apparently getting stoned doesn’t prevent people from getting smashed. And the roads are only becoming more dangerous.
Research clearly demonstrates that teens and young adults are most adversely affected by smoking marijuana. Brain development can be slowed, stopped, or even slightly reversed by smoking marijuana. It turns out that teen use of pot has greatly increased as a result of legalization, even when that legalization was initially for “medical” reasons.
In 2006 Colorado was ranked 14th in the nation for adolescent use of marijuana. Then the state legalized it for use when supported by a physician. Teen use then popped up to third in the nation, with 10.17 percent smoking in a given month. That represented a 24% increase in teen use when legalized for medical use. It then hopped up to 11.16 percent as soon as it was legalized for recreational use.
Keep in mind that Colorado has never allowed teens to smoke marijuana, but it stands to reason that teens would be much more likely to access and use a substance that society had deemed fine for grownups.
According to the Colorado Department of Education (hardly a bastion of conservative values) reports that average drug-related suspensions/expulsions increased 34% when it became approved for medical and recreational use.
But certainly medical marijuana could not hurt teens, right?
“Seventy-four percent of adolescents in a Denver substance abuse program had used someone else’s medical marijuana approximately 50 times or more.” That, according to last year’s report from RMHIDTA.org.
In fact, most of the increases in abuse of marijuana in Colorado occurred between legalization for medical use and legalization for adult recreational use. We have yet to see the long-term effects for the state but the trends don’t look good. Traffic fatalities involving operators test positive for pot increased 100 percent from 1007 to 2012, the period in which it was legalized for medical use.
But certainly, the risks must be minimal for the careful user, and outweighed by the peace and creativity one can achieve. Just ten days ago Paul McCartney reported that he has entirely stopped using pot for the sake of his family. While he long claimed it helped him to be thoughtful and creative he appears to have given it another thought.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror he said, “I don’t do it anymore. Why? The truth is I really don’t want to set an example to my kids and grand kids. It’s now a parent thing.” it would appear that, at age 72, Sir Paul doesn’t want the effects of pot for those he loves.
Lindsey Buckingham or Fleetwood Mac fame made similar to statement to Mike Wallace on The Big Interview. He explained that he delayed parenthood—the greatest source of joy in his life—until age 48. He said that his use of drugs impaired his ability to live fully and responsibly, and contributed to his turmoil and split with Stevie Nicks. When asked about his creativity without pot he explained that the music he creates without is “just as good, even better”.
It seems that the justifications for legalization and use of marijuana—when examined carefully—go up in smoke.