Pubdate: Sat, 20 Jun 2015
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Dan Morain

THE NUMBERS CRUNCH: COLORADO STARTS SURVEYING THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

The Mile High City definitely is.

A survey by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 
shows 18.5 percent of adults 18 and older in Denver have smoked, 
vaped or eaten marijuana in the past month.

By comparison, 13.6 percent of Colorado adults statewide and 7.4 
percent nationally have used the weed in the past 30 days.

Kevin A. Sabet, head of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an 
organization opposed to legalization, said the first major survey of 
marijuana use in one of the first two states to legalize the weed 
suggests consumption is rising, while it's leveling off in the rest 
of the country.

Because survey methods have changes, comparisons are tough to make 
between use now and before 2012 when Colorado voters approved a state 
constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana.

But those earlier surveys showed 10.4 percent of adults used 
marijuana in 2012, and 12.9 in 2013. If those numbers are correct, 
Sabet said, use has increased significantly since legalization.

"These are pretty big jumps whereas in a lot of the country you've 
seen a leveling off," Sabet said.

However, Dr. Larry Wolk, Colorado's chief medical officer, noted that 
Colorado traditionally has been a heavy use state, and said the 
survey "doesn't indicate or support the notion that there is a surge 
as a result of legalization."

"As a public health guy, I was a bit reassured," Wolk said. "We're 
not seeing a significant increase in use."

In Colorado, a third of users in 2014 reported using marijuana daily.

Of the current users, 18.8 percent report driving after getting high, 
a percentage that should worry the highway patrol, Mothers Against 
Drunk Driving and car insurance companies, but might hearten 
plaintiffs' lawyers.

Latinos are the least heavy users among various ethnic groups. Gay, 
lesbian and bisexual adults are much more likely to currently use 
marijuana than straight people. Younger adults and people who have 
lower household income are heavier users than are older or wealthier 
people. Far more men than women use marijuana.

Probably the most alarming number is that 6.9 percent of parents of 
children between 1 and 14 stash their marijuana in or around the 
home. Like other experts, Wolk noted that marijuana use is 
detrimental for teenagers whose brains are developing.

Wolk worries edible marijuana in the form of candy, brownies and 
other sweets entice kids, just like the Joe Camel logo was aimed at 
luring kids into smoking tobacco.

Even if use is flat in Colorado, there is plenty in this latest 
survey that is relevant to California, where Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is 
the leading proponent of an initiative probably headed to the 2016 
ballot to fully legalize marijuana here.

Newsom has said he intends to learn from the experiences of other 
states. Maybe he could start by writing into the proposed initiative 
a ban on the use of sweets spiked with marijuana's brain altering chemical.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom