Pubdate: Sun, 14 Jul 2013
Source: Gainesville Sun, The (FL)
Copyright: 2013 The Gainesville Sun
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/yMmn4Ifw
Website: http://www.gainesville.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/163
Author: Beatrice Dupuy

SUBSTANCE ABUSE SPECIALISTS JOIN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MARIJUANA

As a discussion gains steam among Alachua County officials about how 
the legal system should treat people found with small amounts of 
marijuana, Gainesville substance abuse specialists are joining the 
conversation.

Gwen Love, prevention service coordinator at CDS family and 
behavioral health services, said people should be evaluated for drug 
treatment instead of being arrested for marijuana possession.

"If they're caught, there should be some substance abuse assessment 
done, and then they should be referred to whatever treatment is 
required," she said.

In Florida, when someone is caught with 20 grams or less of 
marijuana, he or she can face a misdemeanor charge, incarceration for 
as long as a year and a fine of as much as $1,000.

Watson Louidor, substance abuse counselor at Creative Counseling 
Services of Gainesville, said charging a person with marijuana 
possession changes the entire outlook of their future.

"I am personally for decriminalization of marijuana because of the 
harm criminalization does to families," he said. "I believe a person 
should be referred to a diversionary program instead."

Alachua County Commissioner Robert "Hutch" Hutchinson has suggested 
withholding money from the Sheriff's Office for each person jailed on 
a misdemeanor marijuana charge. Reducing the budget would steer the 
Sheriff's Office toward using its resources on more pressing concerns, he said.

Sheriff Sadie Darnell maintains that until the laws change, her 
mandate is to enforce them.

Scott Teitelbaum, professor and chief of the division of addiction 
medicine in the University of Florida's department of psychiatry, has 
dealt with patients with marijuana dependency.

"I don't think anybody should get arrested for marijuana possession 
and go to prison," Teitelbaum said. "There is a way for the law 
system and the drug treatment system to work together."

A few states already have decriminalized marijuana.

Teitelbaum said as more states legalize the drug, more people will use it.

"People have to accept the fact that as it becomes legal, there are 
going to be more people with significant marijuana-use disorders, 
especially in the younger folks."

Teitelbaum said he has found that, for some of his patients, their 
first introduction to marijuana was around age 13. He said when pot 
is used at a young age, these people are more likely to become 
addicted. "A developing brain is much more vulnerable to addiction 
and cognitive harm in terms of developing and maturation of cognitive 
processes," he said.

Because of the effects of marijuana on a developing brain, Teitelbaum 
said, states that have legalized marijuana should begin investing in 
adolescent treatment.

"Everything has consequences," he said.

Medical marijuana has become a leading topic in the legalization 
movement. Teitelbaum said the use of medical marijuana needs to be 
controlled and studied.

"The idea that someone would smoke the drug with an unregulated dose 
is nutty," he said.

Among those pushing for the legalization of marijuana are the baby 
boomers. The baby boomers have lived through Woodstock and "Reefer 
Madness" - and, Teitelbaum said, many still smoke pot.

"Baby boomers have always perceived it as an acceptable drug," he said.

But the marijuana being sold now is not the same as boomers might 
remember. "It's more potent than it was back in the '60s and '70s," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom