Today’s high school students are much more likely to smoke a joint as compared to swig a beer. TO UNDERMINE a black market and ensure a safer drug for a growing audience, perhaps the best measure is to make marijuana legal, after all.
Of the two evils, smoking marijuana is particularly disturbing because it is an unregulated substance in states, including Kansas, which prohibit its sale for either medicinal or recreational use. In Colorado, which has approved its sale for both recreational and medicinal purposes, a division of its Department of Environmental Health regulates the strength and content of marijuana.
Because most states do not allow marijuana to be sold for recreational purposes, and its sale remains in violation of federal law, the black market for weed remains strong.
The allure of it being illegal coupled by its easy availability is an unbeatable combination for teens. It’s much easier — and more cool — to score a lid of pot than a six-pack of beer or some Boone’s Farm strawberry wine.
The perception of marijuana as being a more “safe” drug is on the rise. Experts say the campaigns for legalizing marijuana have led teens to believe it is safe.
In fact, today’s marijuana is more potent than that of the late 1970s — when its use peaked. The amount of THC, the primary chemical that produces the “high” in marijuana, is four times today of what it was in the 1980s, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
And in states where it is unregulated, the chance of marijuana being laced with even more dangerous chemicals exists. Frequent additives include cocaine, PCP and even embalming fluid.
At the Nov. 4 elections, voters approved recreational use of marijuana in Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia; joining the ranks of Washington and Colorado.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia approve the medicinal use of marijuana. It most frequently is used to treat nausea that accompanies chemotherapy, chronic pain from diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and the pressure on the eyes caused by glaucoma.
In national polls, a slight majority approves the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes, a steady and dramatic increase over the past 45 years.
In Colorado, residents may buy one ounce at a time and may grow up to six plants per household.
The legal age to smoke pot is 21, the same as for imbibing alcohol. Of the two, alcohol causes the most problems for youth, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. In teens, alcohol causes more automobile accidents, problems with relationships and inhibits good decision-making. Teens who smoke marijuana, meanwhile, have more run-ins with authorities and exhibit less energy and enthusiasm for school and extra-curricular activities.
Both are detrimental to developing brains and should be avoided until of legal age.
For the 2016 elections, several more states are expected to put recreational marijuana on the ballot, ensuring the proverbial cat is out of the bag.
— Susan Lynn
Public opinion favors sale of marijuana; for safety’s sake, maybe so
