Pubdate: Mon, 22 Oct 2012
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2012 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Jennifer C. Braceras

MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW'S UNHEALTHY

Move Will Just Legalize Sale, Use

Medical marijuana isn't just for old ladies with glaucoma anymore.

If Massachusetts voters approve Question 3 on the ballot this 
Election Day, pot will be legal and accessible to all.

Although the text of the initiative allows marijuana use only with 
doctor certification that the patient has a "debilitating medical 
condition" and "may benefit" from marijuana use, the proposal's terms 
are vague, subjective, and vulnerable to serious abuse.

The text of Question 3 lists several "debilitating" conditions, such 
as Parkinson's Disease and AIDS. But the list is not exhaustive and 
explicitly includes "other conditions" - a catchall phrase that can, 
and will, be manipulated to include physical and emotional ailments 
from menstrual cramps to severe shyness.

As for the term "benefit" - must the patient benefit physically from 
pot use? Or are emotional and social benefits enough to justify 
certification? Must there be clinical evidence of marijuana's 
benefit? Or is a possible benefit enough? The proposed law does not say.

Particularly troubling is the fact that Question 3 imposes no age 
limits on medical marijuana use. But wait, you say, "Don't kids need 
parental permission for something like that?" They don't. In fact, in 
Massachusetts, parents lack access to even the medical records of 
children over the age of 13 - meaning that, if Question 3 passes, 
marijuana use will become an issue between your teen and his or her 
doctor. Or some shady doctor you don't even know.

This is not an exaggeration. In 2009, The New York Times [NYT] 
reported that doctors in the San Francisco Bay Area routinely 
recommended pot for teenage patients. What's worse, the Times found 
doctors recommending pot to kids for painless neurological conditions 
such as ADHD.

Think your teen isn't crafty enough to legally score some pot for 
ADHD? Maybe not, but he no doubt knows someone who is. And that 
person will be more than happy to share.

That is exactly what is happening in Colorado, where studies show 
that 75 percent of teenagers receiving treatment for substance abuse 
have used "diverted medical marijuana" - pot that was doctor 
recommended for someone else.

If Question 3 passes, pot use is likely to increase even among kids 
who do not have access to diverted product. Says Arlington Chief of 
Police Fred Ryan, "When children perceive drug use to be medically 
acceptable and non-risky, usage and addiction skyrocket."

Question 3 supporters argue that, if approved, access to recreational 
marijuana will not be easy. But the experience of other jurisdictions 
proves otherwise.

Indeed, the Times reports that medical marijuana storefronts in the 
Los Angeles area actively solicit customers. "On the boardwalk of 
Venice Beach, pitchmen dressed all in marijuana green approach 
passers-by with offers of a $35, 10-minute evaluation for a medical 
marijuana recommendation for everything from cancer to appetite loss."

And a recent series in the Oregonian newspaper describes how Oregon 
has witnessed a proliferation of producers who take advantage of the 
law for illicit purposes - actively recruiting networks of "patients" 
and "caregivers," shipping product across the country for sale on the 
black market, and pocketing large profits.

In states that have authorized medical marijuana, the distribution of 
pot has become Big Business - and our teens are the target consumers. 
(I know liberals want to grow the economy by creating more "green 
jobs," but isn't this a bit much?)

Look, I understand that there are some good arguments in favor of 
decriminalizing marijuana. But Question 3 causes more problems than 
it solves and is a disingenuous attempt to legalize pot under the 
false cloak of humanitarianism.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom