Pubdate: Sun, 29 Dec 2013
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Linda Chavez
Note: Linda Chavez is the author of "An Unlikely Conservative: The 
Transformation of an Ex-Liberal." Creators Syndicate

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH ENDANGERS YOUNG PEOPLE

With days to go before recreational pot use becomes legal in Colorado,
those of us who live in Boulder are wondering what will change.
Marijuana use is already ubiquitous. Open up the free newspapers on
campus at the University of Colorado, and ads for "medical" marijuana
fill the pages. But, come Jan. 1, pot entrepreneurs will be able to
push Purple Haze, Blue Rhino and Sour Diesel without the fig leaf.

The state has issued 136 licenses for recreational pot retailers,
mostly in Denver. Although voters passed Amendment 64, making private
recreational use of marijuana legal in the state, pot dealers still
face some obstacles to plying their trade. Federal law makes the sale
of marijuana a crime, despite Attorney General Eric Holder's assurance
in August that he's not much interested in prosecuting marijuana cases.

In November, federal drug enforcement authorities raided several
Denver dispensaries and growing facilities with suspected ties to
foreign drug cartels. It turns out that the establishments that were
raided weren't just growing and selling marijuana; they also were
stockpiling weapons and trading harder drugs. And banks, which are
regulated by the feds, won't set up accounts for businesses that are
still considered criminal enterprises by federal statute.

These impediments aren't likely to make much of a dent in the access
to legal weed, however. Getting high will become all that much easier
starting January 1. As one friend asked me recently, does that mean
she'll be expected to serve marijuana brownies at her next party?

Even before marijuana becomes legal, the effects of the drug are
apparent in everyday life in the city I now call home. The work ethic
in Boulder already leaves something to be desired. Try finding someone
to put in a full eight-hour day doing home repair, painting or yard
work in this college town. If they show up by 10, you're lucky - and
don't be surprised if their eyes are a little bloodshot after lunch. I
imagine it only will get worse once pot is legal.

My dad painted houses for a living. He was always on the job by 8 a.m.
and stayed until it was too dark to work. The only people with similar
work habits now seem to be immigrants - who, according to the National
Survey on Drug Use and Health, use marijuana at less than half the
rate of American-born adults.

But the real damage will be to Colorado's youth. Young brains are
especially vulnerable to marijuana use, with studies showing that
becoming drug-dependent is far more likely among people who start
using marijuana in their teens. Drug-related school suspensions are a
major problem in Colorado, with more than 5,000 occurring in the last
year for which there are records.

One in four Boulder teens uses pot, according to the National Survey
on Drug Use and Health, and more than one-third have used it in the
previous 30 days. Of those Colorado youth who are users, 11 percent
use the drug daily. And kids are experimenting at younger ages, with
almost one in 10 middle school students in Adams County north of
Denver admitting they used marijuana in the previous 30 days.

Colorado is already the butt of many a Rocky Mountain high joke, but
the issue is a serious one. Marijuana legalization is likely to make
Colorado a less desirable place to live, work, study and raise a
family. But by the time Colorado voters figure that out, the damage
already will have been done.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D