Pubdate: Sat, 28 Mar 2015
Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)
Copyright: 2015 The Columbus Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.dispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93
Author: Michele DeShazo

LEGAL POT WOULD BE A PROBLEM FOR EVERYBODY

Once again, a minority of people think that their rights should 
supersede the good of the whole. The working, taxpaying people will 
pick up the tab for those who care only about their own desires and 
aren't concerned with the plethora of problems that inevitably will 
come with the legalization of marijuana ("Board OKs next step for pot 
ballot issue," Dispatch article, last Saturday).

Here are a few of the most obvious potential problems:

Medical issues from smoking;

Medical and irreversible cognitive problems of children who use marijuana;

Exposure to marijuana from mother to fetus;

Mental-health issues triggered by unmonitored use of marijuana (which 
is double, if not triple, the potency it was in the 1980s and '90s) 
for people with tendencies toward mental illness;

Inability to monitor the level of "highness" of people under the 
influence of marijuana operating motor vehicles, at work or in school;

Inability to detect marijuana in food;

More publicly funded unemployment benefits going to people who lack 
motivation to hold jobs and can't interact productively in society;

An increase in crime associated with drug use and addiction;

More publicly funded special education to assist children with 
cognitive disabilities.

The government health-care system, social-service programs, schools 
and police forces - all taxpayer-funded - will have the 
responsibility of taking care of and controlling all the problems 
caused by the irrational choices of some individuals.

Can we please use our brains while they still aren't in a 
drug-induced fog? We should slow down and thoroughly examine the 
far-reaching impact of legalizing marijuana to make sure we are 
prepared for and are willing to afford what it will bring.

MICHELE DeSHAZO

Westerville
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom