Pubdate: Mon, 04 Aug 2014
Source: Time Magazine (US)
Webpage: https://time.com/3079707/marijuana-legalization-teens-health/
Copyright: 2014 Time Inc
Contact:  http://www.time.com/time/magazine
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/451
Author: David Sheff

MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGAL, BUT ...

We must treat drug use for what it is: a health, not a criminal,
issue

Yes, it's harmful, and yes, it should be legalized.

How Many People Watched Orange Is the New Black? No One Knows The
editorial board listed sound arguments, including the social costs of
prohibition. However, the board was remiss when it effectively brushed
aside what it acknowledged are the "legitimate concerns" about
marijuana's impact on the development of adolescent brains.

Even supporters of legalization, of which I'm one, must not
underestimate those concerns.

The ONDCP was right when it said, in its response to the Times,
"policymakers shouldn't ignore the basic scientific fact that
marijuana is addictive and marijuana use has harmful
consequences."

Some proponents of legalization maintain that marijuana is harmless,
but it isn't - especially when it comes to kids. Indeed, I've spoken
to many supporters of legalization. They don't want their children
using marijuana any more than those opposed to legalization do.

A body of research shows that marijuana causes structural and
functional changes in the developing brains of adolescents. By
stunting communication between brain regions, it impairs high-level
thinking. There's evidence that it impacts memory, too, and, for a
small minority of kids, can trigger latent mental illnesses like
schizophrenia. Also, marijuana users are more likely to suffer from
clinical depression than others, though, as Ty S. Schepis, assistant
professor of psychology at Texas State University, notes, "It's
unknown if pot causes depression; it may be that depressed people
smoke pot." What is known is that the often stated contention that no
one gets addicted to pot is contradicted by the fact that an estimated
9% do. I once visited an adolescent treatment center where most
patients between 14 and 20 were there because of an addiction
exclusively to pot - anyone who says that marijuana isn't addictive
should talk to these kids. Indeed, in spite of a basketball net
outside and other recreational facilities, it wasn't summer camp;
those kids had all suffered devastating consequences from their pot
smoking, and most had tried to stop but couldn't.

There are more reasons to worry that regular pot smoking could
significantly impact a child's life. The drug may cause something
called amotivational syndrome, and adolescents who regularly smoke are
less likely to have learned to deal with their emotions, to weather
disappointments and to work through difficult times in relationships.
In a number of studies, long-term marijuana users reported poorer
outcomes on a variety of life satisfaction and achievement measures,
including educational attainment, than nonusers.

If marijuana impedes kids' biological and emotional development, why
should it be made legal, especially when there's evidence that
legalization may increase the number of kids who try pot in the first
place? First, the assumption of an uptick in use doesn't take into
account countermeasures that can and should be put into place.
(Following the model of alcohol, the Times advocates a prohibition of
sales to people under 21, but that ignores the research that shows
that the period of adolescent brain development doesn't end until the
mid-20s.) Science-based regulations must be put in place and enforced.
Next, education and other prevention strategies must accompany
legalization, and they should be paid for by the savings and revenue
that would come with legalization. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron
calculated that if marijuana were legalized, the government would save
$7.7 billion annually in law-enforcement costs, and it could bring in
an additional $6.2 billion a year if pot were taxed at rates similar
to alcohol and tobacco.

That's $13.9 billion per year that could, and should, be earmarked to
prevention campaigns, as well as treatment for those who become addicted.

The fact is, the illegal status of marijuana hasn't stopped millions
of kids from smoking it every day, and it may stop many from seeking
help. No one should be arrested for smoking pot. Children should be
educated and, if problems develop, immediately treated so they don't
escalate. People who are arrested for drug use are likely to descend
into more use. Think about it. Take a child who does what so many kids
do these days: she's with friends, someone hands her a joint, and she
tries it. Now she's broken the law. If her use escalates and she winds
up in the criminal-justice system, she's entered one of the
highest-risk groups for addiction.

Kids punished for using are under great stress, which increases their
risk. If they're expelled from school or lose a job, their prospects
are fewer.

This recipe creates not only more drug use, but more dangerous
use.

Until we become more effective in our prevention efforts, many kids
are going to try pot. Some will smoke a lot, and some will become
addicted. We must have a new conversation with them, treating drug use
for what it is: a health, not a criminal, issue.

We must legalize marijuana and take the decision to use or not out of
the realm of morality and judgment.

We communicate the message that bad kids use drugs, good kids don't.
But as a pediatrician I know put it: these aren't bad kids; they're
our kids. We mustn't stigmatize. Instead, we must educate and nurture
them, and build their resilience so they grow up safety and healthily.

David Sheff's latest book is Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending
America's Greatest Tragedy, the follow-up to his New York Times No. 1
best seller, Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's
Addiction.
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MAP posted-by: Matt