Pubdate: Tue, 11 Aug 2015
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2015 The Arizona Republic
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Seth Leibsohn
Note: Seth Leibsohn, a radio talk show host, is chairman of Arizonans 
for Responsible Drug Policy.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION EFFORT'S ASSURANCES RELY ON GUESSWORK

Radical public policy reform should not be based on a guess. But 
lately, the marijuana lobby has been telling Arizonans they should 
legalize marijuana "just like alcohol," trying to persuade Arizonans 
to radically reverse decades of policy in everything from health care 
to criminal justice to education policy.

And it's all based on guesswork.

Their pitch: legalization will save money and improve education. But 
Arizonans should not pass a law to find out what's in it.

Supposedly, the initiative allows for limited amounts of marijuana 
for personal use. But what the initiative actually permits is 
possession of one ounce of marijuana and an additional 12 marijuana 
plants per household.

One ounce translates to about 60 marijuana joints. One plant can 
produce a rough average of five ounces of marijuana, or 300 joints. 
One home could easily produce 3,600 joints under the proposed law.

As we know from other legal and dangerous drugs, most children 
acquire them from their own homes or those of friends. These amounts 
of marijuana (especially given its new powerful potency) are a youth 
health policy nightmare and a drug dealer's dream.

Supposedly, Arizona stands to gain revenue by taxing the sale of 
marijuana. How much? The legalization lobby will not say, but 
estimates from others range in the neighborhood of $35 million to $48 
million. Even at the highest estimate, this is half of 1 percent of 
Arizona's state budget.

Supposedly, the revenue, after costs of enforcement and 
administration, will be spent on education. How much? We are never 
told, but in the best case scenarios maybe $20 million. This is the 
equivalent of $20 a year for every public school student in Arizona.

Arizona just increased K-12 spending by about $102 million. That was 
decried as a "pittance" by education professionals. What's one-fifth 
of a pittance? No teacher or parent would take these deals knowing 
the price would be more marijuana in their schools.

What money will be going out for the impact on education, criminal 
justice and public health? We are never told. But we are told to use 
alcohol as the model. The costs associated with alcohol abuse are 
nearly impossible to quantify, although estimates range from hundreds 
of millions to over a billion dollars in Arizona.

As for education, we know the costs associated with drop-outs, 
suspensions, and expulsions are exceedingly high, more than $400,000 
per high school student in Arizona, and that marijuana use increases 
the risk of dropping out and lowers educational outcomes for youth.

This doesn't even begin to count the costs to families, friendships 
and work environments destroyed by addiction. It doesn't account for 
accidents, or the increasing research that shows today's high-potency 
marijuana links to altered brain development, cognition impairment 
and psychosis, especially in teens and adolescents.

We are told legalization is for adults, not children; but just ask 
how that has worked out with tobacco and alcohol - the legalizers' odd model.

Upending decades of substance abuse prevention work in our health 
care, criminal justice and education systems should, at a very 
minimum, have serious estimates of income as well as expenses; we 
should have impact and feasibility studies estimating costs of 
treatment, rehabilitation, counseling, accidents, enforcement, 
criminal violations and true education deficits. But there are none.

When both the social and economic costs look to far outrun any 
potential gains, guesswork should not dictate severe public policy 
change. Responsible public policy demands more than a guess. So, too, 
do Arizonans.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom