Like so many political debates in our society, the argument over Proposition 19, the initiative to legalize marijuana in California, is portrayed as good vs. evil, black vs. white, us vs. them – while nobody is looking objectively at the medical science of marijuana. If research does enter the debate, each side touts the scientific bits that bolster its arguments and then ignores the rest.
The California Society of Addiction Medicine is in a unique position: We take no position on Prop. 19, but we wish Californians would look at the research before they make up their minds on how to vote.
We are the doctors who specialize in the treatment of drug abuse; we work every day with people addicted to drugs, including alcohol. We are a diverse group of doctors committed to combining science and compassion to treat our patients, support their families and educate public policy makers.
Less than one-third of the Society of Addiction Medicine’s 400 physician members believe prison deters substance abuse. Most believe addiction can be remedied more effectively by the universal availability of treatment. When, according to the FBI, nearly half – 750,000 – of all drug arrests in 2008 in the United States were for marijuana possession, not sales or trafficking, we risk inflicting more harm on society than benefit. Prop. 19 does offer a way out of these ineffective drug policies.
However, two-thirds of our members believe legalizing marijuana would increase addiction and increase marijuana’s availability to adolescents and children. A recent Rand Corp. study estimates that Prop. 19 would produce a 58 percent increase in annual marijuana consumption in California, raising the number of individuals meeting clinical criteria for marijuana abuse or dependence by 305,000, to a total of 830,000.
The question of legalizing marijuana creates a conflict between protecting civil liberties and promoting public health, between desire and prudence, between current de facto legalization in cannabis clubs and revenue-generating retail marijuana sales.
Each individual, family, politician and community must struggle with these competing agendas in making a decision about whether marijuana should be legal. The society wants to make sure voters understand three basic facts about how marijuana affects the brain:
- — The brain has a natural cannabinoid system that regulates human physiology. The flood of cannabinoids in marijuana smoke alters the brain’s delicate balance by mimicking its chemistry, producing a characteristic “high” along with a host of potential side effects.
- — Marijuana is addicting to 9 percent of people who begin smoking at 18 years or older. Withdrawal symptoms – irritability, anxiety, sleep disturbances – often contribute to relapse.
- — Because adolescent brains are still developing, marijuana use before 18 results in higher rates of addiction – up to 17 percent within two years – and disruption to an individual’s life. The younger the use, the greater the risk.
Marijuana is a mood-altering drug that causes dependency when used frequently in high doses, especially in children and adolescents. It’s important that prevention measures focus on discouraging young people from using marijuana.
Prop. 19 erroneously states that marijuana “is not physically addictive.” This myth has been scientifically proven to be untrue. Prop. 19 asks Californians to officially accept this myth. Public health policy already permits some addictive substances to be legal – for instance, alcohol, nicotine and caffeine. But good policy can never be made on a foundation of ignorance. Multiple lines of scientific evidence all prove that chronic marijuana use causes addiction in a significant minority of people. No one should deny this scientific evidence.
Physicians see many people who seek help in quitting marijuana. If Californians decide to legalize marijuana, who will pay for the additional treatments that will be needed? This question becomes profoundly more relevant if your own child has become devoted to smoking pot. If marijuana is legalized, a truly fair, socially just public policy would use tax revenue from marijuana sales to pay for increased treatments.
The Society of Addiction Medicine strongly recommends that, if marijuana is legalized, restrictions must minimize access for anyone under 21, and a tax on revenues must be directed to treatment.
http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
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where is the EVIDENCE of this so called 9%, Oh thats right ya aint got any evidence of any such claim. Makes me sick to the stomach how you can all sit there coming out with all this 9% crap and statistics when you haven’t even got any evidence to support it, whereas scientific and medical evidence has proven that marijuana has healing properties for all kinds of illness and is the best pain killer anyone can have. So ok you sit there taking your legal drug (CAFFEINE) which you’ve poisoned us all with for years; you are hypocryts trying to tell us about marijuana when you know full well the affect caffeine has on peoples bodies ie; it is known to
cause heart attacks, anxiety, depression, buggers up your digestive system, causes birth defects and attributes to abortions, insomnia, osteoarthritis, digestive disturbances, irritable bowel etc etc etc so yeah all you people out there saying marijuana is bad are all caffeine addicts ans slowly killing yourselves, just do us all a favour and drink up hey!
amen to that
Just another misguided negative article focused on a ridiculous stat that 9% of the minority can become psychologically addicted, well we can become physically addicted to caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Cigarettes and chewing tobacco kills thousands every year, I dont see any treatment centers for nicotine addiction. On to alcohol that also kills thousands and has been a main culprit in millions of crimes across the world, not to mention the serious alcoholics can die just from alcohol withdrawls, I mean come on its not even comparable to these products, probably closes to caffeine since it doesnt kill people either. The other major difference is those three substances have absolutely 0 medical value, so why we do even compare them is misguided and its clear that those against marijuana are sad to say just ignorant to actual facts and cling to the few “possible” negative effects, like the availbilty it would give to minors. This is not to say we want our minors using anything they are not legally supposed to, but I know if my child went out with their friends Id much rather they smoke a joint and drink some vodka, regardless there is access to drugs, whether its soft drugs like marijuana, tobacco or harder drugs like alcohol or rx meds, its not even a debate for those with common sense. I saw a study a while back showing what would happen if a person used $10 worth of marijuana a day or $10 spent at McDonalds on food, Im sure you can figure out what happened in the end. The fact remains its the parents responsibility to educate their children on what is safe, but from what limited facts are out that arent from any sort of biased research on one side or the other, its perfectly clear that only signifigant issue is in some cases of serious long term use of some decreased lung function, besides that all the “oh it damages the developing brain” I havent seen a kid’s IQ go down cause he used some pot, even if it did, what do you think alcohol does to developing minds, and its in every grocery store you go to. In my mind anyone who drinks even a few times a year can in no way say anything negative regarding marijuana cause you use a far more dangerous drug yourself and shoudl concentrate on prohibition of alcohol if you really want to save some lives, or go boycott the tobacco companies for killing millions and lying about it. I’ll listen to those who are opposed to marijuana and obstain from caffeine,tobacco or alcohol cause these drugs dont even have any sort of medicinal value, there purely for recreational purposes, caffeine is pychologically addictive, while tobacco and alcohol are both pycho and physically addictive, and to boot alcohol withdrawls can kill people, I mean you want to quit and you can die, but hey its legal everywhere, just ridiculous. By the way, I dont drink cause Ive seen what it did to my mom who is a recovering alcoholic, I use marijuana on a nightly basis, I do drink coffee and chew Copenhagen. I can not smoke marijuana anytime I want with absolutely no adverse reactions whatsoever, but its tough to go without my coffee, and seems impossible to stop chewing, its severely addictive and is trying to ruin my mouth, thank goodness I have a great dentist who helps me cause tobacco is like russian roulette, ya never know if your gonna be one of the unfortunate ones who develop a cancer. Just try to realize that people have just as much right, if not a more justifiable right to use marijuana than these other drugs. We should all be more worried about the rx medication epidemic that has been going on, not just pain pills, but there is a pill for every little possible thing one could have wrong, we advertise drugs to the masses about how this newly developed miracle drug can cure your problems, just dont read that small print that says you might committ suicide if your not careful. Peace!
All prescription drugs have worse side effects then marijuana The FDA continues to pull prescription and nonprescription drugs off market due to side effects being way worse then so called scientific studys proved and its fact in the USA that most studys show results that make the people paying for them very wealthy and most man made chemicals put in our food are very toxic for us creating more health problems then marijuana has in the last 1000+years Marijuana has been a medicine longer then 90% of medicines used today
See I think the problem is that you focus on all that is wrong with marijuana, and don’t focus enough on the good. Exactly like you’re accusing others of doing!
Why don’t you acknowledge it’s inherent medicinal properties, and then compare you’re list to a list of side effects of Tylenol? 56,000 people go to the E.R. every year with Tylenol overdose, and 100 die!
Why is it that you and your colleagues believe that access equals usage rates? If you did some research you would realize that usage rates in the Netherlands, a place that you can walk into a store and purchase cannabis, are less per capita than the U.S.A.. A place where possession can mean jail time and fines! While looking at the exact same data you might realize that there is no correlation between full legalization and increased usage amongst the youth.
My problem with you touting addiction as a major problem with cannabis isn’t the claim itself, I also believe there is mild addictive potential, it’s the fact that you imply there is negative repercussions that somehow out way the enormous potential this plant has to heal, entertain, clothe, employ, provide, and sustain!
It is obvious, while rational enough to see the failures of the war on drugs, you still have learned biases against cannabis that exist solely to perpetuate the status quo and their ability to control the individual. I believe a time may come when all you “non-smokers” might come to realize the damage your misguided system of beliefs has wrought on your fellow man, and your mother earth! FREE MARC EMERY!