Purple Haze: The Dangerous Illogic of Politicians Pursuing Pot Profits

 

A Washington Times editorial, "Pot is growing like a weed" rightly calls out politicians "racing to earn their trendy credentials" by "commoditizing and taxing vice" and legalizing marijuana commerce. As usual, in the pursuit of pot profits, the politico-economic calculus ignores the costs of increased government social services and human risk and loss.

As to human risk and loss, the data is clear and compelling. The National Institute on Drug Abuse cites studies finding that "9% of people who use marijuana will become dependent on it, rising to about 17% in those who start using in their teens" and that "30% of those who use marijuana may have some degree of marijuana use disorder."

The CDC reports that marijuana users are three times more likely to become addicted to heroin. A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that marijuana users were more than twice as likely to abuse prescription opioids.

Besides the human toll, these addictions and disorders also increase government costs for health and social services.

Marijuana use can be deadly. Studies of Colorado found that "marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 48% in the three-year average since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana."

Pot profits are both bad government business and bad social policy. The reasoning of politicians and activists suggesting otherwise in the face of the overwhelming evidence is best described by the late Jimi Hendrix:

"Yeah, Purple Haze all in my eyes
"Don't know if it's day or night
"You've got me blowing, blowing my mind
"Is it tomorrow or just the end of time?"

Study: Marijuana use causes brain dysfunction. Hey, man...whoa. Dys-what?

To the dismay of pot smokers who are still able to read to the study, The Journal of Neuroscience tamps out the fast-spreading notion that casual marijuana use does no harm. From the news report in the Washington Post:

A study in The Journal of Neuroscience says even casual marijuana smokers showed significant abnormalities in two vital brain regions important in motivation and emotion.

“Some of these people only used marijuana to get high once or twice a week,” said co-author Hans Breiter, quoted in Northwestern University’s Science Newsline. Breiter hailed the study as the first to analyze the effects of light marijuana use. “People think a little recreational use shouldn’t cause a problem, if someone is doing OK with work or school,” he said. “Our data directly says this is not the case. 

“This study raises a strong challenge to the idea that casual marijuana use isn’t associated with bad consequences,” he added.

Washington and Colorado have legalized the drug for recreational use, and 21 states and the District of Columbia permit medical marijuana use. Turns out the Rocky Mountain high may lower cognitive function. But if the study is correct, it may be too late now for Coloradans and Washingtonians to figure that out.