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THOUGHTS ON MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION: IS RESTRICTION A NECESSARY PUBLIC PROTECTIVE MEASURE?

This summer, the city of Chicago voted to decriminalize possession of marijuana under 15 grams, meaning that those caught with less than this amount of the substance will only have to pay a fine of $250 to $500.  The possession will no longer appear on their criminal record, and offenders will no longer be punishable by arrest.  It was the latest in a string of states or major municipalities that have decided to decriminalize the substance in amounts ranging from a few grams up to a few ounces.  Thirteen states so far have enacted laws to this effect, and many others might soon follow suit.  New York's governor, for example, has recently asked his state's Legislature to look at the issue.

This movement reflects a particular uncertainty about the inherent dangers of the substance.  Currently marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency -- putting it in the same category as heroin and cocaine.  This is somewhat startling, as some evidence has suggested that marijuana is not only less addictive than legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco, but poses fewer health risks to both user and the public, as John Culver has pointed out.

The Drug Enforcement Agency has five levels of drug classification, with five being the least dangerous and least restricted, and one being considered the most dangerous and, thus, most restricted.  Marijuana's classification as a Schedule I drug puts it in the same category as heroin and cocaine.  It means, according to the Federal Drug Classification Schedule, that it has "a high potential for abuse," that there is "no currently accepted medical treatment in the United States," and that "there is a lack of accepted use for the drug" even under the supervision of medical professionals.

The trouble with this classification is that it makes studies on marijuana extremely difficult, if not impossible, to carry out by medical professionals in order to see if it could have any medical use.  Which means that any conclusive evidence on its effects is difficult, if not impossible, to produce.  So there could very well be a case made for marijuana being moved to a less restrictive class of drug, to Schedule II, perhaps, where a limited medical use might be made of it with direct prescription of a doctor, and any other use of the drug would still be subject to penalties.

At the very least, this would enable the drug to undergo clinical trials to more fully ascertain its effects, whether beneficial or adverse.  This is, in fact, the stance the American Medical Association has taken as recently as 2009.

That being said, the negative effects of marijuana upon the brain and lungs cannot be denied.  What limited studies on marijuana that have been done have linked it to loss of internal control, slower reaction time, distorted thinking and impairment of attention and memory.  Marijuana also has been linked to various long-term respiratory ills including injury to and inflammation of airways, chronic coughing that dislodges thick pulmonary liquid and damage to respiratory cells.

While the personal health risks of marijuana are, perhaps, not a cause for national alarm, the fact that marijuana users could inflict collateral damage to others in their impaired state is a serious issue that deserves continued legislative action.  Legalizing marijuana for recreational use could very well put the American public at an even higher risk of tragic accidents, at work or on the road.  It is a tragedy that can and should be avoided.

The drug classification system is not perfect.  But legalizing marijuana, even decriminalizing it to the extent that some states have, poses a health risk that we cannot take until we know more about the drug.  Currently 17 states have laws allowing possession of marijuana for medical purposes -- with a doctor's prescription -- for amounts ranging from one to 24 ounces.  Let's start with that instead of jumping to allow more widespread use.  Let's move marijuana to a Schedule II drug and do the studies that might more fully tell us how it can safely and beneficially be used, if indeed it can be.  Until then, let's not risk jeopardizing public safety by allowing recreational access to another mind-altering drug.