WaylandCares appears to be similar to the Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) group with whom I have been meeting for the past year, and WaylandCares authored the following position paper.  This is a good summary of the sort of information that MCAP provided to me and that really caught my attention.  It ultimately convinced me that medical marijuana will be bad for the brains and lives our Medfield youth.

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Ballot Question 3:  Medical Use of Marijuana

In November, voters will have the opportunity to vote on Ballot Question 3, Medical Use of Marijuana.

We are opposed to Question 3 because the language of this proposed law will cause problems for our young people.

As a community coalition working to prevent youth substance abuse, an essential priority is to reduce teen marijuana use through environmental strategies that decrease access to marijuana and increase perception of harm of the drug.  Current research shows:

• There is a direct correlation between “medical” marijuana initiatives and decreases in perception of harm and social disapproval. States that have “medical” marijuana programs have among the lowest perceptions of harm among youth in the nation.^[1]  The 2011 Monitoring the Future Survey reports that 22.7 percent of U.S. high school seniors thought that there was a great risk of harm from smoking marijuana occasionally, down from 26.6 percent in 2003.^[2]  Efforts to pass “medical” marijuana initiatives further normalize marijuana use among youth and thereby lessen the perceptions of its dangers and negative effects, which will result in increases in youth marijuana use.

• State that have legalized marijuana as medicine are experiencing widespread use and abuse of marijuana.  States with “medical” marijuana laws have higher marijuana abuse and dependence rates almost twice as high than states without such laws.^[3]

• Medical marijuana is being diverted to youth through increased supply and easy access.  The 2008-2009 State Estimates of Drug Abuse show that four of the top five states, and 14 of the 18 states with the highest percentage of past month marijuana users ages 12-17 are states with “medical marijuana” programs.^[4]  A 2012 study shows that among adoles­cents in substance abuse treatment in Denver, Colorado, 74% had used someone else’s medical marijuana a median of 50 times.[5]

• Marijuana is addictive. The National Institutes of Health found that the earlier marijuana use is initiated, the higher the risk for drug abuse and dependence. Those who begin using the drug in their teens have approximately a one-in-six chance of developing marijuana dependence.^[6] In fact, children and teens are six times likelier to be in treatment for marijuana than for all other illegal drugs combined.^[7] Addiction rates among 12-17 year olds are among the highest levels nationally in states that have “medical marijuana” programs.^[8]

• Marijuana use negatively impacts adolescent brain development. A study by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the National Institute on Mental Health, found that adolescents and young adults who are heavy users of marijuana are more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development. Researchers found abnormalities in areas of the brain that interconnect brain regions involved in memory, attention, decision-making, language and executive functioning skills.  A new, 2012 study indicates an average eight-point drop in IQ among teens who use marijuana.[9]

• Marijuana Use Negatively Impacts Academic Achievement.  Youth with an average grade of D or below were more than four times as likely to have used marijuana in the past year than youth with an average grade of A.[10] The more a student uses drugs such as marijuana, the lower their grade point average is likely to be and the more likely they are to drop out of school.[11]

• Marijuana use negatively impacts employability.  More than 6,000 companies nationwide and scores of industries and professions require a pre-employment drug test, according to The Definitive List of Companies that Drug Test (available at www.testclear.com). 6.6% of high school seniors already smoke marijuana on a daily basis would fail any required pre-employment drug test at the more than 6,000 companies that require it. “Medical” marijuana initiatives would exacerbate this problem.

• States that have approved “medical marijuana” use have experienced costly highway safety issues. 20% of crashes in the U.S. are caused by drugged driving.[12] Marijuana is the most prevalent illegal drug detected in impaired drivers, fatally injured drivers, and motor vehicle crash victims. The Colorado Department of Transportation found that after passing “medical marijuana” legislation in the state, drivers who tested positive for marijuana in fatal car crashes DOUBLED between 2006 and 2010.  In 2010, six cities in California conducted nighttime weekend voluntary roadside surveys and found that the percentage of drivers who tested positive for marijuana (8.4%) was greater than the percentage that were using alcohol (7.6%).[13]

Massachusetts’ youth already smoke marijuana at a rate 30% higher than the national average, where one in three high school students currently smoke marijuana.  Our local youth marijuana use rates reflect the state numbers.  Ballot Question 3 to legalize marijuana as medicine would increase both access to marijuana, and social acceptability of the drug – and the research clearly shows that these two variables have direct causal link to increased teen marijuana use.

WaylandCares cannot support legislation that has the strong, likely potential to increase youth marijuana use.

This experiment is failing in other states.

We know from other states that have passed “medical” marijua­na laws, that this is a failed public health and safety experiment. Marijuana is illegal under federal law. Let’s not join the states that are now spending enormous resources to address the legal conflicts, addiction and exploitation that Question 3 would promote. Real compassion means real medicine determined through scientific process. Drugs should not circumvent the rigorous study, clinical trials and research that determines what true medicine is, and they should be dispensed properly through our pharmaceutical system. Anything less puts our public at risk and results in unforeseen, unintended consequences that are harmful to people and the communities in which they live.

Excellent presentations at last night’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen by our school superintendent, Bob Maguire, our police chief, Bob Meaney, and resident Carol Read, who coordinates Needham’s substance abuse program.  They laid out with facts and data the clear case of the dangers from the medical marijuana ballot initiative and for the town to take action against the medical marijuana ballot initiative.  The facts and data are

• Marijuana use has been proven to be bad for the brains of young people, as it can significantly decrease their IQ, while increasing their likelihood for substance abuse and mental health issues, and
  

  Medical marijuana usa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• In states where medical marijuana is adopted, use rates by youth increases.

After the convincing presentations, I made a motion to have the Town of Medfield take an official position, based on the facts and data presented, in favor of the safety of our youth, to oppose the medical marijuana ballot initiative.

Motion = The Town of Medfield opposes passage of the initiative ballot question #3 authorizing medical marijuana, because medical marijuana would be too dangerous to Medfield’s young people.

There were only two selectmen present, as Mark was away.  My colleague, Ann Thompson, refused to second my motion, thereby vetoing it, stating that she had not made up her mind.

I feel badly that a selectman dismissed our town’s two department heads, where they were so clearly

• concerned, educated, and passionate about the issue,
• had taken their time to share their expertise with the Board of Selectmen, and
• made such a clear recommendation in favor of what the town should do.

I think that as selectman we should by default first look to support the people who run the town, especially when they display such a clear picture, with such obvious concern and passion.

For more see the Patch article.

From http://mavotenoonquestion3.com/smoking-marijuana-harms-youth/

“What we do know for sure is that smoking marijuana profoundly harms youth.”

Posted by No on Question 3 Team on Sep 23, 2012 in Education

Christian Thurstone, M.D. says, “I’m interested in this subject because 95 percent of the teenagers treated for substance abuse and addiction in my adolescent substance-abuse treatment clinic at Denver Health are there because of their marijuana use, and because nationwide, 67 percent of teens are referred to substance treatment because of their marijuana use.”

Diverted “medical” marijuana increases access while myths fuel perceptions about harmfulness.

“There are active compounds in cannabis that have some therapeutic use for adults, and either have been developed into medications that have received approval from the federal Food & Drug Administration or are currently being studied by the FDA. What we do know for sure is that smoking marijuana profoundly harms youth.

“Marijuana is the No. 1 reason why adolescents seek substance-abuse treatment in the United States.”

The diversion of “medical” marijuana is among the major contributors to teen access to the drug.

The results of the research, with citations, of Dr. Christian Thurstone and the University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center and Denver Health & Hospital Authority are available in this slide show entitled, “Understand the Big Deal:  How Marijuana Harms Youth”

As the research shows, risks of adolescent marijuana use include:

• Psychosis: Adolescents who use marijuana before the age of 18 are 2-4 times more likely to develop symptoms of psychosis in early adulthood than those who do not. This finding has been replicated at least eight times and persists after controlling for many possible confounding variables, such as family history, other substance use and socioeconomic status. These studies have involved thousands and thousands of people over generations and in several populations and countries. Dr. Thurstone explains more about marijuana and psychosis here.
• Structural changes to the brain: Animal studies and fMRI studies show changes in brain structure (especially the hippocampus) in people exposed to marijuana during adolescence.
• School dropout: Marijuana use in adolescence predicts less school achievement.
• Risky sex: Marijuana use predicts risky sexual behaviors, such as not using a condom.
• Addiction: There is no longer scientific debate that marijuana is both psychologically and physically addictive.
• Aggression: Marijuana withdrawal frequently includes restlessness, nervousness, agitation and insomnia. These, in turn, can lead to aggression.
• Accidents are the leading cause of death for adolescents, and marijuana use predicts an increased risk of automobile accidents. One study in France found that of drivers younger than 30 who were killed in a traffic accident, 30 percent were acutely intoxicated by marijuana at the time of their deaths.
• Cognition: Marijuana has acute, sub-acute and long-term effects on cognition.