Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2012
Source: Metrowest Daily News (MA)
Copyright: 2012 MetroWest Daily News
Contact:  http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/619
Author: Heidi Heilman

SAY NO TO MEDICAL CANNABIS

Back in January, a Wayland Police officer stopped a carful of
teenagers for speeding. In the car he found something called "Cheeba
Chews;" marijuana-based candies sold in California and Colorado under
the guise of medicine. Wrapped in "Tootsie Roll" style wrappers, these
powerful chewables consist of the most active ingredient in marijuana
- - THC - and their taffystyle packaging is conspicuously attractive to
kids. This incident is not unique to Wayland - in the past six months,
Cheeba Chews in the possession of teenagers have surfaced in several
other Massachusetts communities, often times shipped or transported by
students from the Commonwealth attending college in a state where
marijuana has been legalized as medicine.

The truth is, marijuana has become more attractive and accessible than
ever to our young people. The arrival of Cheeba Chews in Massachusetts
presents the very reason why parents and prevention experts from
around the Bay State are troubled about efforts from deep pocket
outsiders to target Massachusetts to become the next "medical"
marijuana haven. Within the year, it is highly plausible that
Massachusetts will vote on a ballot question to legalize marijuana as
a medicine. Those who know how harmful marijuana is to youth, and that
accessibility and acceptability of marijuana promote teen use,
understand that medical marijuana dispensaries on street corners
throughout the commonwealth will take these two functions of youth pot
use to a new level. The bottom line is that it will make it much
harder to keep children from using the drug.

Although there is great empathy with those who are ill and/or dying
who claim marijuana brings relief, we know Massachusetts would be
making a grave mistake and suffer serious unforeseen and unintended
consequences if such policy were to pass here. One only has to review
the research from Colorado, California, Arizona and other states to
learn the pitfalls associated with legalizing marijuana as medicine,
and begin to understand the enormous yield of misuse and abuse.

In two independent, peer-reviewed studies released in late 2011, teen
marijuana use was significantly higher in medical marijuana states
versus non-medical marijuana states. In Colorado where marijuana is
legal as a medicine and is distributed through the same type of pot
dispensary system now being considered for Massachusetts, 83 percent
of teenagers in treatment for daily marijuana use report that
marijuana patients are their primary source of the drug. This may not
be all that surprising when you consider there are over 125,000
current medicinal marijuana cardholders in Colorado. The Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment indicates the number of
persons between 12 and 25 who used marijuana in the past year in
Colorado surpasses the national average by 10 percent. Here in
Massachusetts, our youth marijuana rates are already 30 percent above
the national average. Do we want that percentage to climb higher?

As marijuana has become abundantly more available and acceptable,
youth use rates have increased dramatically among 8th, 10th and 12th
graders. In Massachusetts, almost twice as many teens are smoking
marijuana compared to cigarettes, and marijuana dependency is the
number one reason why kids in Massachusetts go to treatment.

All too often, adult ambivalence regarding marijuana stems from
memories of past personal use experiences. Many folks dismiss teen use
as a right to passage and/or harmless, casual dawdling. But the
research clearly shows that teen marijuana use significantly increases
risk of memory loss, learning dysfunction and permanent changes in the
brain structure and functioning. Parents need to know that the average
THC potency for tested marijuana now surpasses 10 percent compared to
1983 when it was at less than 4 percent. For this reason, marijuana
use is sending kids to treatment at rates higher than for all other
drugs combined.

According to the National Institute of Health, today's marijuana
causes addiction in one out of every six users who start in
adolescence. The younger teens start to use it and the longer they use
it, the higher their risk of dependency and psychiatric conditions
later on in life. Medical marijuana will further exacerbate this.

Marijuana now accounts for the majority of those who are impaired
while driving. This is troubling since researchers including Dr.
Bertha Madras of the Harvard Medical School, have confirmed that
marijuana impairs motor coordination and sensory perception. In fact,
the most exhaustive meta-analysis of marijuana and driving to be
released later this year in Epidemiological Reviews concludes,
"Marijuana use by drivers is associated with a significantly increased
risk of being involved in motor vehicle crashes." And just last month,
the British Medical Journal reported that pot doubles car crash risk.

This is particularly scary when considering the study SADD and Liberty
Mutual recently released that indicates nearly one in five teens
report having driving while under the influence of marijuana.

Legalizing marijuana as a medicine through the legislative process is
being positioned as compassionate care, but in essence, it is bad
public health policy. Bypassing the Food and Drug Administration's
rigorous standards of safety, efficacy, consistent dosing and side
effect profiling is dangerous precedent that can seriously compromise
the integrity and assurances of a medicine and puts the public at
risk. It is important that research continue to examine the properties
of cannabis that make it an effective pain reliever so that it can be
appropriately prescribed. It is also critical that all potential
medicines including marijuana-based medicines be subject to America's
FDA approval system to protect the public from fraudulent, dangerous
and/or ineffective drugs.

As parents we not only care about our children, we care deeply about
the sick and dying.

But "medical" marijuana bears little resemblance to showing compassion
for the truly ill. The Massachusetts proposals being discussed
designate anywhere from 19 to 35 licensed marijuana dispensaries,
which would openly sell the drug to virtually anyone with a self-
diagnosed need. These proposals are similar to the ones in other west
coast states. And independent studies tell us that most users of
state-based medical marijuana programs do not suffer from chronic,
lifethreatening diseases. The average user is a 32-year-old white male
with a history of substance abuse and no history of life-threatening
illness. For those with a true compassionate need for marijuana, the
FDA has made available two marijuana-based pills; other research which
would turn marijuana's helpful ingredients into non-smoked medicines
must also be encouraged.

California and Colorado have a lot more to teach us than just what
"Cheeba Chews" are.

Their current marijuana climate and experiences serve as a warning for
our own state.

Massachusetts' lawmakers and voters need to carefully examine the
lessons learned from other states so that we don't put our children at
risk and seriously compromise Massachusetts' future generations of
citizens.

Heidi Heilman of Weston is chair of the Massachusetts Prevention
Alliance (www.mapreventionalliance.org) and director of WaylandCares (
www.waylandcares.org ).
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MAP posted-by: Matt