1. INCREASED USE AMONG ADULTS AND YOUTH
The number of teenage and adult users will double or triple if marijuana is legalized. This will mean an additional 17 to 34 million adult and young users in the United States. [FN1]
Marijuana businesses will promote their products and package them in attractive ways to increase their market share (see attached pictures of marijuana “candy”).
ASK YOURSELF: Do you think increased marijuana use among teenagers and adults is good for our country and its future?
2. NEGATIVE IMPACT ON YOUTH
Marijuana can cause disinterest in activities, lower grades and isolation from the family. It can permanently impair brain development. Problem solving, concentration, motivation and memory are negatively affected. Teens who use marijuana are more likely to engage in delinquent and dangerous behavior and experience increased risk of schizophrenia and depression including being three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts. [FN2]
Marijuana-using teens are more likely to have multiple sexual partners and engage in unsafe sex. [FN3]
Our drug treatment facilities are full of young people dealing with marijuana related problems. One study of children in treatment showed that, 48% were admitted for abuse or addiction to marijuana, while only 19.3 % for alcohol and 2.9 % for cocaine, 2.4 % for methamphetamine and 2.3 % for heroin. [FN4]
Marijuana use accounts for tens of thousands of marijuana related complaints at emergency rooms throughout the United States each year. Over 99,000 are young people. [FN5]
Despite arguments by the drug culture to the contrary, marijuana is addictive. [FN6] The levels of THC (marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient) have never been higher. Higher potency marijuana is a major factor why marijuana is the number one drug causing young people to enter treatment and why there has been a substantial increase in the number of Americans in treatment for marijuana dependence. [FN7]
ASK YOURSELF: Would you want your son or daughter to become involved in using marijuana?
3. IMPAIRED AND DANGEROUS DRIVING
Marijuana significantly impairs the ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Driving problems include: decreased handling performance, inability to maintain headway, impaired time and distance estimation, increased reaction times, sleepiness, impaired sustained vigilance and lack of motor coordination. [FN8]
Marijuana is the most prevalent drug found in fatally injured drivers testing positive for drugs. [FN9]
More than 12 % of high school seniors admitted to driving under the influence of marijuana in the two weeks prior being surveyed. [FN10]
13 % of high school seniors said they drove after using marijuana while only 10 % drove after having five or more drinks. Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 20. [FN11]
A study of high school students showed that about 28,000 seniors each year admitted that they were in at least one accident after using marijuana. [FN12]
ASK YOURSELF: Do you want more impaired drivers on our interstates and roadways?
4. INCREASED-RISK EMPLOYEES
Employees who tested positive for marijuana had 55% more industrial accidents and 85% more injuries compared to those that tested negative on a pre-employment exam and they had absenteeism rates 75% higher than those that tested negative. [FN13]
Marijuana use can cause impairment of short-term memory, attention, motor skills, reaction time, and the organization and integration of complex information. Marijuana use can cause decreased motivation and can cause mental health problems. Employees who use marijuana off-duty are still effected by it at work for the next few days. Impaired cognition can remain for a long period. Memory defects can last as long as six weeks. [FN14]
Employers may be liable for the actions of employees who use marijuana especially those employees in safety sensitive positions.
ASK YOURSELF: If you were an employer, would you want to hire an employee who uses marijuana?
5. MARIJUANA USE AND TRAUMA
A study of all patients admitted to a shock-trauma unit showed 34.7% had used marijuana very recently. [FN15]
In a study of seriously injured drivers admitted to a shock-trauma center, 26.9 % of the drivers tested positive for marijuana. [FN16]
ASK YOURSELF: Is using marijuana a safe thing to do?
If you answered ‘no’ to any one of the above questions, then you should also say ‘no’ to legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: www.dfaf.org
References
[FN1] Based on experience in the US and Europe when marijuana laws have been relaxed, the number of users will double or triple. See, Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization, U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Washington, DC U.S.A. 2010, www.DEA.gov, pages 46 and 57; Currently, there are 16.7 million regular marijuana users in the US (12 years old or older.) SAMHSA, 2009 Annual Survey on Drug Use and Health, September 2010; The benchmark surveys of drug use show that that perception of harm with respect to marijuana has dropped off since the drive to legalize marijuana began. The benchmark surveys are the Monitoring the Future Survey, which has tracked drug use among American high school students annually since 1975 and the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, which has tracked drug use among Americans ages 12 and older since 1972. Monitoring the Future, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, available on the Internet at www.monitoringthefuture.org; Overview of Findings from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (Office of Applied Studies, NHSDA Series H-21, DHHS Publication No. SMA 03- 3774). Rockville, MD; Conducted for SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services) by North Carolina’s Research Triangle Institute.
[FN2] DEA Position on Marijuana, U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Washington, DC U.S.A. July 2010, www.DEA.gov, pages 23-26 and 33-34; Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization, DEA, pages 51-53
[FN3] Bovassco, G., American Journal of Psychiatry, 2001
[FN4] “Non-medical Marijuana: Rite of Passage or Russian Roulette?” July 1999 obtained at website www.casacolumbia.org; Kaplan, H.B., Martin, S.S., Johnson, R.J., and Robbins, C.A., Escalation of marijuana use: Application of a general theory of deviant behavior. Journal of Health and Social Behavior.1986:27:44-61; Clayton, R.R., and Leukefeld, C.G., The prevention of drug use among youth; implications of “legalization” Journal of Primary Prevention. 1992:12:289-302
[FN5] Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2004: National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration http://DAWNinfo.samhsa.gov/
9[FN6] The Occurrence of Cannabis Use Disorders and Other Cannabis Related Problems Among First Year College Students, Addictive Behaviors 33(3):397-411, March 2008; Compton, Dewey & Martin, Cannabis dependence and tolerance production, Advances in Alcohol and Substance Abuse 1990:9:129-147; Miller & Gold, The diagnosis of marijuana cannabis dependence, Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 1989:6:183-192; Clayton & Leukefeld, The prevention of drug use among youth: implications’ of legalization, Journal of Prevention 1992:12:289-302; Kaplan, Martin, Johnson & Robbins, Escalation of marijuana use: Application of a general theory of deviant behavior, Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1986:27:44-61; “Regular or Heavy Use of Cannabis Was Associated with Increased Risk of Using Other Illicit Drugs” Addiction, 2006; 101:556-569; “As Marijuana Use Rises, More People Are Seeking Treatment for Addiction” -Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2006; “Twenty-Five Year Longitudinal Study Affirms Link Between Marijuana Use and Other Illicit Drug Use” – Congress of the United States,14 March 2006; “New Study Reveals Marijuana is Addictive and Users Who Quit Experience Withdrawal”- All Headline News, 6 February 2007; “Escalation of Drug Use in Early Onset Cannabis Users Vs. Co-twin Controls” – Journal of the American Medical Association, 2003; 289:4
[FN7] New Report Finds Highest-Ever Levels of THC in US Marijuana, June 12, 2008, http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press08/061208.html
[FN8] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Use of Controlled Substances and Highway Safety; A Report to Congress (U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Washington, D.C., 1988); “White House Drug Czar Launches Campaign to Stop Drugged Driving.” Office of National Drug Control Policy Press Release. 19 November 2002
[FN9] “One-third of Fatally Injured Drivers with Known Test Results Tested Positive for at Least one Drug in 2009.CESARFAX. Vol. 19, Issue 49. December 20, 2010. www.cesar.umd.edu.
[FN10] Ibid.
[FN11] Drug-Impaired Driving by Youth Remains Serious Problem. NIDA News Release, October 29, 2007. http://www.drugabuse.gov/newsroom/07/NR10-29.html.
[FN12] O’Malley, Patrick and Johnston, Lloyd. “Unsafe Driving by High School Seniors: National Trends from 1976 to 2001 in Tickets and Accidents After Use of Alcohol, Marijuana and Other Illegal Drugs.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol. May 2003; The DEA Position On Marijuana, DEA.gov
[FN13] Abbie Crites-Leoni, Medicinal Use of Marijuana: Is the Debate a Smoke Screen for Movement Toward Legalization? 19 J. Legal Med. 273, 280 (1998) (citing Schwartz, et al., Short- Term Memory Impairment in Cannabis-Dependent Adolescents, 143 Am. J. Dis. Child. 1214 (1989))
[FN14] ONDCP, “Marijuana: Know the Facts”, October 2010
[FN15] Soderstrum, C., Trifillis, A., Shankar, B., Clark, W., and Cowley, R. Marijuana and Alcohol Use among 1023 Patients. Archives of Surgery, 123 (June 1988): 733–37; Skolnick, Illicit Drugs take still another toll; death or injury from vehicle-associated trauma, JAMA 1990:263:3122-3125; Soderstrom, Drug involvement among drivers admitted to a regional trauma center, Presented at the Transportation Research Board 70th Annual Meeting (Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 1991).
[FN16] DuPont, Robert. “National Survey Confirms that Drugged Driving is Significantly More Widespread than Drunk Driving.” Commentary, Institute for Behavior and Health, July 17, 2009. page 1. http://www..ibhinc.org.
Some of this information was borrowed with permission from: Healthy and Free Colorado, affiliated with the Colorado Drug Investigators Association, POB 372394, Denver, CO 80237
WHO’S REALLY IN PRISON FOR MARIJUANA?
Drug legalization advocates claim that prisons are overflowing with people convicted for only simple possession of marijuana. This claim is aggressively pushed by groups seeking to relax or abolish marijuana laws. A more accurate view is that the vast majority of inmates in prison for marijuana have been found guilty of more than simple possession. They were convicted for drug trafficking, or for marijuana possession along with other offences. Many of those in prison for marijuana entered a guilty plea to a marijuana charge to avoid a more serious charge. In the US, just 1.6 percent of the state inmate population were held for offences involving only marijuana, and less than one percent of all state prisoners (0.7 percent) were incarcerated with marijuana possession as the only charge. An even smaller fraction of state prisoners were first time offenders (0.3 percent). The numbers on the US federal prisons are similar. In 2001, the overwhelming majority of offenders sentenced for marijuana crimes were convicted for trafficking and only 63 served time for simple possession. [FN1]
Plea Bargains Distort the Picture
The standard practice in drug cases is for the offender to be given the opportunity to plead guilty in exchange for lighter punishment thus sparing the taxpayers the expense and risk of a trial. If the offender is only charged with one crime, the prosecutor will typically offer a shorter sentence to a lesser charge. If the offender has multiple charges, the common practice is to dismiss one charge in exchange for a guilty plea to another lesser charge, especially if the government feels the offender can provide valuable assistance to law enforcement by providing information on drug trafficking.
Drug legalization advocates claim that nearly one-third of all federal drug defendants are charged with marijuana offences. [FN2] However, only a tiny percentage of that number are actually convicted for marijuana possession. [FN3]
There are a number of circumstances under which a simple-possession marijuana offender might receive a sentence to prison. For example, this may happen if:
1. the marijuana offence was committed while the offender was on probation or parole;
2. an offender charged with a more serious crime pleads guilty to the lesser offence of marijuana possession but as part of a plea bargain is required to serve a prison sentence;
3. the offender has a criminal history, particularly one involving drugs or violent crime;
4. the violation took place in a designated drug-free zone (such as on school property); or
5. the marijuana sentence runs concurrent with the sentence for one or more other offences;
How Much Marijuana Did the Average Offender Possess to Get a Prison Sentence?
According to US Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates based on a survey of federal prisoners, the median amount of marijuana involved in the conviction of marijuana-only possession offenders was 115 pounds. [FN4] This is far more than is needed for personal use.
References
[FN1] Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy,
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov; Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, 1997,” BJS Special Report, January 1999, NCJ 172871; Unpublished BJS estimates based on the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, National Archive of Criminal Justice Data; Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2002, Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, April 2003, NCJ 198877; Prisoners in 2002, Bureau of Justice Statistics, July 2003, NCJ 200248; Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
[FN2] Pot Violators Comprise Largest Percentage of Federal Drug Offenders, Department of Justice Study Shows, NORML News, August 30, 2001; Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
[FN3] US Sentencing Commission’s 2001 Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics; Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
[FN4] Who’s Really in Prison for Marijuana?, Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
WE CANNOT LEGALIZE MARIJUANA BECAUSE ITS USE HAS DESTRUCTIVE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES.
Most of the arguments in favor of drug legalization focus on marijuana. However, marijuana is far more powerful today than it was years ago and it serves as an entry point for the use of other illegal drugs. This is known as the “gateway effect.” Despite arguments from the drug culture to the contrary, marijuana is addictive. This addiction has been well described in the scientific literature and it consists of both a physical dependence (tolerance and subsequent withdrawal) and a psychological habituation. [FN1]
According to a US report released in June of 2008, the levels of THC – the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana – have reached the highest ever amounts since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s. The average amount of THC has now reached average levels of 9.6 percent (the highest level in one of the samples was 37.2 percent). This compares to the average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983. Additionally, higher potency marijuana may be contributing to a substantial increase in the number of American teenagers in treatment for marijuana dependence. According to the U.S. 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), among Americans age 12 and older there are 14.8 million current (past-month; 6.0 percent) users of marijuana and 4.2 million Americans (1.7 percent) classified with dependency or abuse of marijuana. Additionally, the latest information from the U.S. Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS, 2006), reports that 16.1% of drug treatment admissions were for marijuana as the primary drug of abuse. This compares to 6% in 1992. A similar trend is taking place in the Netherlands, where new data indicate that the number of people seeking assistance for cannabis there has risen, from 1,951 in 1994 to 6,544 in 2006 – a 235 percent increase. [FN2] In 2006, the average THC concentration in Dutch marihuana was 16% which is even higher than that in the US. [FN3]
Marijuana is an addictive drug. It poses significant health consequences to its users, including those who may be using it for “medical” purposes. In the U.S., marijuana is the number one drug that young people are in treatment for. [FN4]
The use of marijuana in early adolescence is particularly dangerous. Adults who used marijuana early were five times more likely to become dependent on any drug and eight times more likely to use cocaine and fifteen times more likely to use heroin later in life.” [FN5]
The damage to health caused by marijuana
Drug legalization advocates claim that marijuana is less dangerous than drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Some European countries have lowered the classification of marijuana based on the false perception that it is less harmful. However, studies over the last few years give us a lot of new information about marijuana. They show that marijuana is not harmless but that it is toxic and addictive. Recent studies show the following destructive effects of marijuana use: [FN6]
birth defects
the worsening of pain
respiratory system damage
links to cancer
AIDS – marijuana opens the door to Kaposi’s sarcoma
brain damage
strokes
immune system damage
mental illness
violence
infertility
hepatitis
References
[FN1] http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/why-should-we-care-about-cannabis.html; The Occurrence of Cannabis Use Disorders and Other Cannabis Related Problems Among First Year College Students, Addictive Behaviors 33(3):397-411, March 2008;Compton, Dewey & Martin, Cannabis dependence and tolerance production, Advances in Alcohol and Substance Abuse 1990:9:129-147; Miller & Gold, The diagnosis of marijuana cannabis dependence, Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 1989:6:183-192; Clayton & Leukefeld, The prevention of drug use among youth: implications’ of legalization, Journal of Prevention 1992:12:289-302; Kaplan, Martin, Johnson & Robbins, Escalation of marijuana use: Application of a general theory of deviant behavior, Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1986:27:44-61; Bailey, Flewelling & Rachal, Predicting continued use of marijuana among adolescents: the relative influence of drug-specific and social context factors, Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1992:33:51-66; “Regular or Heavy Use of Cannabis Was Associated with Increased Risk of Using Other Illicit Drugs” Addiction, 2006; 101:556-569; “As Marijuana Use Rises, More People Are Seeking Treatment for Addiction” -Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2006; “Twenty-Five Year Longitudinal Study Affirms Link Between Marijuana Use and Other Illicit Drug Use” – Congress of the United States,14 March 2006; “New Study Reveals Marijuana is Addictive and Users Who Quit Experience Withdrawal”- All Headline News, 6 February 2007; “Cannabis Withdrawal Among Non-Treatment-Seeking Adult Cannabis Users” -The American Journal on Addiction, 2006; 15:8-14; “Escalation of Drug Use in Early Onset Cannabis Users Vs. Co-twin Controls” – Journal of the American Medical Association, 2003; 289:4
[FN2] New Report Finds Highest-Ever Levels of THC in US Marijuana, June 12, 2008, http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press08/061208.html
[FN3] The Netherlands Drug Situation 2007 – National Drug Monitor, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 2008, pgs. 107 and 108
[FN4] Non-medical Marijuana: Rite of Passage or Russian Roulette?” July 1999 obtained at website www.casacolumbia.org; The Occurrence of Cannabis Use Disorders and Other Cannabis Related Problems Among First Year College Students, Addictive Behaviors 33(3):397-411, March 2008.
[FN5] What Americans Need to Know about Marijuana.” Office of National Drug Control Policy. October 2003. Page 9.; The DEA Position On Marijuana, DEA.gov
[FN6] Birth Defects – Risk of Selected Birth Defects with Prenatal Illicit Drug Use, Hawaii, 1986-2002, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 70: 7-18, 2007
Pain – “Too Much Cannabis Worsens Pain” – BBC News, 24 October 2007; “Study Finds that Marijuana Won’t Stop Multiple Sclerosis Pain”- Neurology, 2002; 58:1404-1407
Respiratory System Damage – “Marijuana Associated with Same Respiratory Symptoms as Tobacco,” YALE News Release. 13 January 2005. www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/05-01-13-01.all.htm (14 January 2005); Marijuana Smoke Contains Higher Levels of Certain Toxins Than Tobacco Smoke, Science Daily, December 18, 2007; Marijuana Smokers Face Rapid Lung Destruction – As Much as 20 Years Ahead of Tobacco Smokers, Science Daily, January 27, 2008; “Respiratory and Immunologic Consequences of Marijuana Smoking”- Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2002; 42:71S-81S
Cancer – “Association Between Marijuana Use and Transitional Cell Carcinoma”- Adult Urology, 2006; 100-104
AIDS/HIV – “Marijuana Component Opens The Door For Virus That Causes Kaposi’s Sarcoma” -Science Daily, 2 August 2007
Brain Damage – “Neurotoxicology; Neurocognitive Effects of Chronic Marijuana Use Characterized.” Health & Medicine Week. 16 May 2005; “Marijuana May Affect Blood Flow in Brain” – Reuters, 7 February 2005;
Strokes – “More Evidence Ties Marijuana to Stroke Risk” – Reuters Health, 22 February 2005
Immune System Damage – “Immunological Changes Associated with Prolonged Marijuana Smoking” -American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 17 November 2004
Mental Illness, Schizophrenia, Depression – Kearney, Simon. “Cannabis is Worst Drug for Psychosis.” The Australian. 21 November 2005; Curtis, John. “Study Suggests Marijuana Induces Temporary Schizophrenia-Like Effects.” Yale Medicine. Fall/Winter 2004; “Cannabis-Related Schizophrenia Set to Rise, Say Researchers” – Science Daily, 26 March 2007; “Report: Using Pot May Heighten Risk of Becoming Psychotic” – Associated Press, 26 July 2007; “Marijuana Linked to Schizophrenia, Depression” – British Medical Journal, 21 November 2007; “Anterior Cingulate Grey-Matter Deficits and Cannabis Use in First-Episode Schizophrenia” The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2007; 190: 230-236; Marijuana Increases the Risk of Both Psychosis In Non-Psychotic People As Well As Poor Prognosis For Those With Risk of Vulnerability to Pyschoses” American Journal of Epidemiology, 2002; 156:319-327; Psychophysiological Evidence of Altered Neural Synchronization in Cannabis Use: Relationship to Schizotypy” Am J Psychiatry, 2006; 163:1798-1805
Violence – “Cannabis ‘Linked to Aggression'” – Scotsman.com News, Press Association 2006; “Marijuana Had a Greater Effect on Increasing the Degree of Violent Behavior in Non-Delinquent Individuals Than in Delinquent Individuals” – J Addict. Dis. 2003; 22:63-78
Infertility – “Marijuana Firmly Linked to Infertility” – Scientific American, 22 December 2000
Hepatitis – Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2008, Vol. 6, No.1, pages 69-75, captioned “Influence of Cannabis use on Severity of Hepatitis C Disease”