Pubdate: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 Source: Register-Guard, The (OR) Copyright: 2014 The Register-Guard Contact: http://www.registerguard.com/web/opinion/#contribute-a-letter Website: http://www.registerguard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362 Author: Barbara Stoeffler Note: Barbara Stoeffler serves on board of directors of the Lane DUII Victim Impact Panel and served for 13 years on a governor's advisory panel on DUII. Her son was killed by an impaired driver. The opinions expressed here are her own. LEGALIZING MARIJUANA SENDS WRONG MESSAGE Measure 91 is a bad idea for Oregon. It is a bad idea for our communities, and it's a very bad idea for our children and youth. On Nov. 4, voters in Oregon will make a crucial decision: whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Since we already have approved the legal use of marijuana for medical purposes, the message we'd be sending to our young people by approving Measure 91 may not seem like a big deal. It is a big deal. As parents and grandparents of preteens and teenagers, it seems as though our kids never, ever listen to us. But research into teenagers' behavior is very clear - the examples and norms we as adults set for our families and our communities have a huge influence on our youth. They are listening to us and paying attention to the decisions we adults are making at the ballot box. Passing the medical marijuana law has already changed our young people's ideas about pot, lowering their perception of risk. Why would we want to add recreational legalization by passing Measure 91? The message to them is "if it's OK for grownups, it's OK for us." However, there is a big risk for youth: Research has shown that repeated use of marijuana during adolescence may result in long-lasting changes in brain function that can jeopardize educational, professional and social achievements. Measure 91 allows recreational use of marijuana by people 21 and older, the same as alcohol laws. The age restriction will be useless. Statistics on alcohol use by the under-21 group show use beginning in middle school. The increased availability of pot stemming from Measure 91 will show the same result. If you believe that pot will not become more widely available, think again. Measure 91's limit on the amount of pot people may legally possess in their dwellings is eight times the amount allowed by Washington's and Colorado's marijuana legalization laws: half a pound of usable dried marijuana, 1 ounce of concentrated THC, I pound of edibles, a six-pack of tinctures and four plants of any size and maturity. Out-of-state marijuana industry investors, CEOs and board members, who have funded most of Oregon's $2.6 million legalization campaign, are anxious to set up a market in Oregon with products already produced, packaged and ready to deliver to Oregon if we pass Measure 91. These "edibles" and drinks have slick marketing that appear to target children. There will also be retail shops that spring up around communities selling baked goods and candies laced with THC, just as they have in Colorado and Washington. Children who live with growers or users will be subjected to pot at home and retail shops. Researchers have proven that using marijuana at an early age affects brain development permanently. Colorado voters bought the legalization rhetoric and voted in favor. They bought a host of problems - the pot use rate among 12- to 17-year-olds is 39 percent higher than the national average, and the rate among 18- to 25-year-olds is 42 percent higher. Hospital emergency rooms are treating young children for consumption of edible marijuana products, and intoxicated teen drivers for injuries in motor vehicle accidents. A hospital executive suggested that Colorado should consider repealing legalization. Of the $15.3 million in tax revenue collected in Colorado from recreational sales from January through May, the governor spent $17 million on an educational campaign targeting 12- to 15-year-olds to make sure they know the dangers of marijuana use. And that's just the beginning. Research shows that for every dollar the government receives from taxing harmful substances like alcohol and tobacco, it spends $10 in social costs. In Washington state, authorities are discovering that legalization has not gotten rid of the black market. Because pot sales in legal venues are taxed, the cost of legal marijuana is higher than the price of black market marijuana. Now is not the time for Oregon to legalize recreational marijuana. Now is the time to wait and watch Colorado and Washington. In five years we will be able to assess the true costs - financial, legal and social. Measure 91 creates a new public policy that is detrimental to our future and the future of our children. Vote "no" on Measure 91. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom