Pubdate: Sun, 26 Jan 2014
Source: Berkshire Eagle, The (Pittsfield, MA)
Copyright: 2014 New England Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.berkshireeagle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/897
Author: Clarence Fanto, Berkshire Eagle Columnist
Referenced: Marijuana's Impact On Youth 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n013/a10.html

FOR TEENS, IT'S ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE

LENOX -- The swirling debate on whether to legalize marijuana in
Massachusetts, and nationwide, is bound to be decided at the ballot
box or in the court of public opinion. There are powerful advocates
who favor opening the floodgates for pot use. The fulcrum of the
argument seems to be whether recreational use of marijuana is any more
troublesome than moderate consumption of alcohol, also known as social
drinking. I submit that excessive use of marijuana is a scourge
similar to alcohol abuse that contributes to family breakdown and
remains a leading cause of major traffic accidents, along with texting
and other forms of distracted driving.

It's only a small step, one too often taken, from occasional or
moderate use to abuse and addiction. Polls show public opinion
swinging behind legalization now that Colorado has gone that route,
soon to be followed by the state of Washington. In his compelling
interview with New Yorker magazine editor David Remnick, President
Obama opined that he doesn't consider pot more dangerous than
alcohol, even though his administration's official policy remains
opposed to legalization. "I view it as a bad habit and a vice," he
stated, "not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a
young person up through a big chunk of my adult life." With all due
respect, Mr. Obama seems to be downplaying, if not ignoring, the
severe health impact of tobacco use. A new, 980-page report issued by
acting Surgeon General Boris Lushniak this past week revealed a long
list of diseases, in addition to lung cancer, attributed to nicotine
addiction that still afflicts about 18 percent of Americans -- at
least 40 million people "I don't know if we have any definitive
answers about cannabis use and its long-term health impact," Dr.
Yasmin Hurd, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Mount Sinai
in New York City, told The Boston Globe recently. "It hasn't been
studied as much as cigarettes and alcohol." Ironically, that's
because the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration classifies marijuana
as a "Schedule 1 dangerous drug." Scientists have to apply for special
approval to study its effects on people. But the National Institute on
Drug Abuse has found that one out of six teens who smoke pot regularly
become addicted. Dr. Jennifer Michaels, a medical director of the
Brien Center in Pittsfield -- which provides mental health and
substance abuse services countywide -- has cited research showing
adverse medical impacts on teens since it's a key time of brain
development. In public forums, she noted that the chemicals in
marijuana are much stronger now than in the past. She also considers
pot a "gateway drug" to even more dangerous substances. A recent Duke
University study showed pot smoking negatively affects IQ scores and
memory while impairing the ability to assess dangerous risks. Law
enforcement officials are understandably worried about decriminalizing
marijuana, the first step on the road to legalization. In an
enlightening Eagle op-ed commentary on Jan. 5, Lieut. Jeffrey Bradford
of the Pittsfield police department pointed to research by the
Pittsfield Prevention Partnership (PPP), which surveys all eighth-,
10th- and 12th-graders in the county's public school districts every
two years. The 2013 report showed that 55 percent of Berkshire County
12th-graders report attitudes favorable to drug use as compared to 43
percent nationally. The survey found that 26 percent of area 15- and
16-year olds had smoked pot in a one-month period, far above national
averages. A statewide survey described Massachusetts as having the
third highest 30-day marijuana use rates for 12- to 17-year-olds in
the country. Bradford advocated "sensible, criminal marijuana
restrictions" for young people under 21 statewide. The decision to
lift criminal sanctions designed to control the use of the drug by our
youth is "an oversight that must be revisited," he wrote, adding that
the threat of suspending driver's licenses for teens is an
especially effective deterrent. In a recent interview, Lenox Police
Chief Stephen O'Brien emphasized the downside of marijuana use:
Impairment behind the wheel or at work while operating industrial
equipment -- "if you're compromised by any type of drug, it puts you
in a spot where you're more susceptible to injury, as are the people
around you." Field sobriety tests such as Breathalyzers are widely
available to police in potential cases of drunken driving, O'Brien
noted. "We have yet to develop those for the use of narcotics or other
drugs," he said, "and that makes it very difficult for us to enforce."
Only a few drug-recognition experts with specialized training are
available to police in the Berkshires to help determine if a driver
was under the influence of drugs. O'Brien hastened to point out that
it remains illegal in Mass- achusetts to possess even less than an
ounce of marijuana, with a $100 fine as potential punishment. But
it's a civil charge, rather than criminal, and speeding violations
often carry a more severe fine. (Using marijuana in public risks a
$300 fine in Lenox, according to a town bylaw.) Although marijuana
remains an illegal drug under federal law, the Justice Department
adopts a hands-off approach in the two states where the drug has been
legalized. Now that Massachusetts has authorized up to 35 nonprofit
dispensaries to cultivate and distribute marijuana legally for
legitimate medical purposes -- several are planned for Berkshire
County, most likely in Pittsfield and Great Barrington -- supporters
of recreational use are planning a ballot question for 2016 to
coincide with the presidential election. Supporters will spend heavily
to promote legalization; opponents may be less well-funded, but will
be just as outspoken. It would be foolhardy to predict the outcome.

But if pot smoking becomes legal, youngsters will believe that it's
perfectly OK. And that's all we need -- future generations of
potheads posing risks to their own well-being and creating even more
danger for the rest of us.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D