Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2014
Source: Kenyon Leader (MN)
Copyright: 2014 Kenyon Leader
Contact:  http://www.thekenyonleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5497
Author: Terri Lenz

MYTHS OF LEGALIZING MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

The Chemical Health Initiative of Goodhue County in collaboration with
other coalitions and state agencies across Minnesota worked together to
sponsor a professional forum on Feb. 13 at the Mall of America. Dr.
Kevin Sabet spoke about the consequences of legalizing medicinal marijuana.

In addition to CHI staff, school staff from Goodhue and Red Wing were in
attendance. Sabet brought a wealth of knowledge and experience from
working directly with Colorado after marijuana was legalized.

Sabet is the director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of
Florida and an assistant professor in the College of Medicine,
Department of Psychiatry. He is also the co-founder of Project SAM;
Smart Approaches to Marijuana. He is a policy consultant to numerous
domestic and international organizations through his company, the Policy
Solutions Lab.

Myth 1- Marijuana is harmless and non-addictive

One in six teens who try marijuana become addicted, and the adolescent
brain is especially susceptible. Under the influence of a substance,
alcohol quadruples your chance of a car accident and marijuana doubles 
the chance.

In Colorado, car crash fatalities involving drivers testing positive
for marijuana rose by 112 percent.

Sabet stated the general public is unaware that the marijuana of today
is more potent.

In the past 15 years, marijuana potency has tripled and since 1960 has
grown five times stronger.

Marijuana is known as a gateway drug. Seventy-five percent of patients
in rehab for cocaine or heroin are said to have begun with marijuana.

Sabet said that according to his research with Emergency Room doctors,
physicians have seen panic attacks, hearts racing, mental symptoms,
delusions, hallucinations and paranoia associated with marijuana use.

The harmful effects to the brain include memory, learning, attention
and reaction time. These effects can last up to 28 days after
abstinence from the drug. By using the drug the effects of mental
illness can be: schizophrenia, psychosis, depression and anxiety.

Myth 2- Smoked or eaten marijuana is medicinal

Sabet informed the professional group that there are three answers
to the question of whether or not marijuana is medicine.

If it is smoked or inhaled raw marijuana; then no, it is not medicine.

There are marijuana-based pills available and other medications coming
soon; so in that form, yes, it would be medicinal marijuana.

It is also important to note that research is ongoing on this subject
so the answer "maybe" is also valid.

All answers are not final yet as further testing needs to be completed.

Studies show that components within marijuana have medicinal value.

For instance, dronabinol (also known as Marinol) contains lab-made THC
and is widely available at pharmacies as capsules to treat
nausea/vomiting from cancer chemotherapy. Sativex is in the process of
being studied in the USA. It is administered via an oral mouth spray
and is approved in Canada and Europe. It does contain both THC and
CBD. Sativex, a cannabinoid medicine for the treatment of spasticity
due to multiple sclerosis, is also in development for cancer pain and
neuropathic pain of various origins.

Only a small portion of medicinal marijuana users report any serious
illness. In Colorado, 2 percent reported cancer, less than 1 percent
reported HIV/AIDS and 1 percent reported glaucoma as their reason for
using medicinal marijuana.

Sabet said the average medical marijuana patient profile is of a 32
year-old white male with a history of alcohol and substance abuse with
no life-threatening illnesses.

He noted that 87.9 percent of medicinal marijuana users had tried
marijuana before the age of 19. Residents of states with medical
marijuana laws have seen abuse/dependent rates almost twice as high as
states with no such laws.

Myth 3- Legalization of other drugs strengthen case for marijuana

Sabet says legal corporations will keep prices low and consumption
high but also tell the public to "Enjoy Responsibly". Taxes today for
alcohol are one-fifth of what they were during the 1950s. Sabet said
people ask him, in his speaking engagements across the country, if
legalization will diminish the power of cartels and the black market.

Marijuana accounts for 15-25 percent of revenues gained from drug
trafficking groups. More money is found in human trafficking,
kidnapping and other illicit drugs.

However, the use of marijuana is important for the tobacco industry in
terms of an alternative product line. Sabet said we have the land to
grow it, the machines to roll it and package it and the distribution
to market it. In fact, some firms have registered trademarks which are
taken directly from marijuana street jargon.

Estimates indicate that the market in legalized marijuana might be as
high as $10 billion annually. When the company goals behind 'Big
Marijuana' are to keep consumption high and prices low; one would
wonder whom their target audience is. When referring back to tobacco
industry, Sabet said their words from the beginning were to keep
tobacco out of the hands of adolescents and to have the public "use
responsibly". Sabet said upon digging further, one can find actual
documents that show the tobacco industry looking at new concepts for
sweet-flavored youth cigarettes. If the tobacco industry targeted
youth as their mass consumption, why would legalized marijuana be any
different?

A large number of medical marijuana products and edibles can be found
in dispensaries. Some of the sweets include: brownies, carrot cake,
cookies, peanut-butter, granola bars and ice cream.

Many more sweet treats such as Ring Pots and Pot Tarts are marketed
with cartoons and characters appealing to children.

ER admissions for children under the age of 5 for marijuana-related
visits rose 200 percent upon legalization of medicinal marijuana in
Colorado; 60 percent for kids ages 6-12, 92 percent for kids ages 13-14.

Seventy-four percent of Denver-area teens in treatment said they used
somebody else's medical marijuana on average of 50 times.

Twenty-nine percent of Denver high school students used marijuana in
the last month. If Denver were an American state, it would have the
HIGHEST public high school current use rates in the country.

Myth 4 -Legalization would make it easier to control

Sabet said that the city of Denver office of the Auditor concluded
that the city does not have a basic control framework in place for 
effective governance of the medical marijuana program.

Sabet also noted that the Office of the Auditor said medical marijuana
records are incomplete, inaccurate and inaccessible and that many
shops are operating without licenses. Finally, it should be noted,
Sabet said, that in the first week after legalizing medicinal
marijuana, a two year girl was sent to the ER for accidental poisoning
due to ingestion of a pot cookie.

A Colorado marijuana store declares that the high school senior is his
ideal target customer. The State of Colorado is supposed to be
IDing/tagging marijuana plants but they were not ready on day one and
sales continued. Colorado marijuana is already going to neighbor
states as documented by users on www.reddit.com.

CHI opposes

The Chemical Health Initiative of Goodhue County strongly opposes
any efforts to pass medical marijuana initiatives or marijuana
legalization. As a community coalition working to prevent youth
substance abuse, an essential priority is to reduce teen marijuana use
through environmental strategies that decrease access to marijuana and
increase perception of harm of the drug.

Marijuana is a schedule 1 controlled substance and remains a federally
illegal drug; it has not been approved as medicine by the United
States Food and Drug Administration. Medicines are determined through
rigorous study, research and clinical trial, not through popular vote.
Also, medicines are dispensed through the highly regulated
pharmaceutical system. Circumventing the existing processes and
infrastructure to determine and distribute medicine risks public
exposure to fraudulent and/or unsafe medicine.

According to CHI's most recent 2010 data, 20 percent of Minnesota
seniors reported smoking marijuana in the past 30 days compared to
21.1 percent of youth nationwide based on the 2010 Monitoring the
Future Study. In the most current 2010 Minnesota Student Survey study
on the MN Dept. of Health and Human Services website, 11 percent of
Goodhue Co. high school seniors reported using marijuana 3 or more
times during the past 30 days. One percent of freshmen said the same.
But the rates were higher for less frequent use; 17 percent of seniors
and 2 percent of freshmen said they had used marijuana once during the
30 day period.

The collection of confiscated drug paraphernalia on display at the
Kenyon Police Department shows that drugs are here.

Kenyon Police Chief Lee Sjolander noted that legal medical use would
likely lead to more stealing of marijuana from people with a
prescription.

Will medical use, or any use, of marijuana be legal in Minnesota's future?

The legislature, through the people they represent, will make the 
ultimate decisions that will affect the future of this
controversial topic.

Tara Chapa and Julie Hatch work for the Chemical Health Initiative
of Goodhue County. Terri Lenz contributed data from the Minnesota 
Student Survey.
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MAP posted-by: Matt