Ben Cort, an addiction treatment specialist from Colorado, speaks in opposition to Proposition 64 during a panel about the legalization of marijuana at the Anaheim Convention Center.<\/p>\n
An addiction expert from Colorado, where marijuana is legal, Cort is drowning in a sea of concern over Proposition 64, California\u2019s ballot initiative that would allow recreational weed.<\/p>\n
Once an addict himself, Cort can\u2019t believe the Golden State appears on the verge of legalizing something that terrifies him. Though he\u2019s no fan of pot, it\u2019s not so much the plant that scares Cort. What worries him is that science allows THC \u2013 the active ingredient in marijuana that gets you high \u2013 to become nuclear-charged.<\/p>\n
A little THC wax or oil, he cautions, can go a very long way, especially when it\u2019s ingested.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the canary in the coal mine,\u201d says Cort, a manager with the University of Colorado Hospital\u2019s rehab program. \u201cWe\u2019re treating more addicts for cannabis than we are for opiates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cort says he\u2019s seen THC levels in so-called gummy bears 20 times higher than levels that are legal in Oregon, another state where recreational marijuana is law but where THC percentages are controlled.<\/p>\n
Prop. 64, Cort says, will legalize dangerously high THC. That\u2019s not Snoop Dogg cool. That\u2019s emergency room serious.<\/p>\n
The federal National Institute on Drug Abuse reports, \u201cThese extracts can deliver extremely large amounts of THC to users, and their use has sent some people to the emergency room.\u201d Such high THC levels, institute officials warn, also can turn what many consider a relatively benign drug into something addictive.<\/p>\n
UNICORN PROMISES<\/p>\n
While writing about marijuana, I\u2019ve interviewed doctors, lawyers, pot growers, medical marijuana dispensary owners, officials with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and patients in pain.<\/p>\n
Until I attended a two-hour informational panel discussion Tuesday sponsored by the Anaheim Police Department, I figured I knew all about pot. Speakers included Cort; Police Chief John Jackson of the Greenwood Village, Colo., Police Department; Chief Justin Nordhorn of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board; Attorney Robert Bovett of Oregon Counties Legal Counsel; Lauren Michaels, legislative affairs manager<\/p>\n
for the California Police Chiefs\u2019 Association; and Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association.<\/p>\n
When a speaker asked who had read Prop. 64, only one hand went up and it wasn\u2019t mine. So to prepare for this column I also read \u2013 OK, I skimmed some chunks \u2013 all 62 pages. A lot of Prop. 64 is wonky and details who can do what and where. But some reads more like dreams of fairies and unicorns than reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncapacitate the black market,\u201d the proposal promises \u201cand move marijuana purchases into a legal structure with strict safeguards against children accessing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Untrue, said Jackson, who stressed that illegal sales continue in Colorado.<\/p>\n
\u201cRevenues will,\u201d Prop. 64 predicts, \u201cprovide funds to invest in public health programs that educate youth to prevent and treat serious substance abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wrong, Jackson said. More teens in Colorado are being sent to emergency rooms because of THC-laced edibles.<\/p>\n
Revenues will pay to \u201ctrain local law enforcement to enforce the new law with a focus on DUI enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Incorrect again. Jackson said his department is busier than ever dealing with more drivers high on weed and handling more THC-related traffic fatalities.<\/p>\n
Other parts of Prop. 64 are just dumb and dumberer.\u00a0\u00a0 Like allowing radio and television advertising.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake no mistake,\u201d Jackson said of Prop. 64. \u201cThis whole thing is about money.<\/p>\n
\u201cA drug dealer in a suit is still a drug dealer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018NECESSARY REFORM\u2019<\/p>\n
Once marijuana became legal in Washington in 2012, Nordhorn said, children and teens considered it less harmful, and that had ripple effects.<\/p>\n
With the advent of vaping, for example, young people inhale THC without anyone knowing if they are taking in an innocent type of e-juice or marijuana.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegal marijuana,\u201d Nordhorn said, \u201cis not a silver bullet to get rid of marijuana problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bovett echoed other panelists, saying that Oregon also has seen an increase in impaired driving, although he added that has been going up since the state approved medical marijuana.<\/p>\n
The Oregon Poison Center also reports increases in marijuana-related calls.<\/p>\n
Even Bradley, the lone pro-Prop. 64 voice on the panel, admitted he\u2019s concerned about edibles.<\/p>\n
Instead of THC levels, Bradley focused on dollars. He said the initiative will take $100 million out of the hands of criminals and the measure will generate $300 million for law enforcement to focus on such things as protecting children.<\/p>\n
Bradley has plenty of backers. Among the most visible are Gavin Newsom, lieutenant governor, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa. Our local representative has said, \u201cCurrent marijuana laws have undermined many of the things conservatives hold dear \u2013 individual freedom, limited government and the right to privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rohrabacher went on to say, \u201cThis measure is a necessary reform which will end the failed system of marijuana prohibition in our state, provide California law enforcement the resources it needs to redouble its focus on serious crimes while providing a policy blueprint for other states to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018SEED TO SALE\u2019<\/p>\n
The most sobering speaker was Michaels of the chiefs\u2019 association. She simply defended California\u2019s newly revamped medical marijuana policies.<\/p>\n
Called \u201cseed to sale,\u201d three new laws inked last year shoot down the need for Prop. 64, Michaels said. She stated California now has an enhanced working system to distribute medicinal marijuana legally.<\/p>\n
California, Michaels said, already allows local control, protects current producers and includes checkpoints at distribution.<\/p>\n
In contrast, she said, Prop. 64 is vertically integrated, favors big business and independent distribution, appoints the state as sole actor for operating licenses and ensures regulatory confusion. Research, learn, vote. Contact the writer: dwhiting@scng.com<\/p>\n
Source:\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/articles\/marijuana-731244-thc-prop.html\u00a0\u00a0 5th October 2016<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ben Cort, an addiction treatment specialist from Colorado, speaks in opposition to Proposition 64 during a panel about the legalization of marijuana at the Anaheim Convention Center. An addiction expert from Colorado, where marijuana is legal, Cort is drowning in a sea of concern over Proposition 64, California\u2019s ballot initiative that would allow recreational weed. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,68,82,90,60,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cannabis-marijuana","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-economic","category-global-drug-legalisation-efforts","category-marijuana-and-medicine","category-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}