Pubdate: Tue, 01 Apr 2014
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2014 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Andy Harris
Note: Dr. Andy Harris, a Republican, represents Maryland's 1st 
Congressional District.

MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION: UP IN SMOKE

Last week, the Maryland Senate approved Senate Bill 364, which would 
"decriminalize" possession of marijuana. The Senate bill, which 
passed 36 to 8, would remove criminal penalties for possession of 
less than10 grams of marijuana and impose small civil fines, with a 
provision for the judge to order drug education only after the third 
offense. The bill has gone to the House of Delegates, where a hearing 
is scheduled for today.

One could argue that people whose only crime is smoking or possessing 
a small amount of marijuana should not be punished with an arrest 
record, which could destroy their chances of getting a job and other 
benefits later in life. Those at Project SAM (Smart Approaches to 
Marijuana) - a national organization led by Kevin Sabet, a former 
senior adviser for the White House's Office of National Drug Control 
Policy, and former congressman Patrick Kennedy - are of this mindset. 
They argue that although rational drug policy should no longer rely 
on the criminal justice system to address lesser offenses, we should 
be doing all we can to discourage marijuana use.

SB 364 is unnecessary because, in fact, most Maryland counties are 
already not criminally charging for possession of small amounts, but 
rather putting offenders into a program that includes drug education 
and community service. Also, while there were 19,828 violations in 
Maryland in fiscal year 2013 for possession of less than 10 grams, 
there were only four convictions in state circuit courts.

As a physician, I have serious concerns about the potential impact SB 
364 will have on Maryland's youth. Legalization in the United States 
and elsewhere has resulted in documented increases in drug abuse, 
especially among children and teenagers. Marijuana use literally 
changes a teenager's brain structure; diminishes memory, attention 
and IQ; leads to learning and behavioral problems and poor school 
performance; and contributes to symptoms of depression, anxiety, 
psychosis and schizophrenia.

Youths are at risk. In 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the 
state could not interfere with an adult's possession of marijuana for 
personal consumption in the home. Although the ruling was limited to 
persons 19 and over, the use of marijuana by young people saw a 
drastic increase. According to a 1988 University of Alaska study, the 
state's 12- to 17-year-olds used marijuana at more than twice the 
national average for their age group. Other European countries that 
have legalized marijuana, including the Netherlands, show a 
more-than-two fold higher rate of use by youth when compared to 
countries where it is illegal.

All of these statistics should be considered in light of the 
legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington and efforts to 
do so elsewhere. The practical effect of any steps toward 
legalization is the encouragement of drug use, with unintended 
negative consequences on the well-being of our youth.

The argument that marijuana poses no greater threat to public safety 
than alcohol falls flat. A recent report from researchers at Columbia 
University found that fatal car crashes involving marijuana use have 
tripled during the previous decade. "If this trend continues, in five 
or six years, non-alcohol drugs will overtake alcohol to become the 
most common substance involved in deaths related to impaired 
driving," said co-author Dr. Guoha Li.

Finally, one of the more interesting opinion pieces I've read on the 
legalization of pot was written by Dr. Howard Samuels, one of the 
nation's leading drug and alcohol experts and founder of The Hills 
Treatment Center in Los Angeles. In response to efforts in Congress 
to legalize marijuana, he asks a simple question: "Why?"

He writes, "Why are Americans in such a hurry to get high? Why are 
people fighting passionately to create legislation that could put 
this burgeoning generation at such high risk? Do we really want to 
create a culture that is full to bursting with adults who have no 
coping or self-soothing skills, who live their lives with unexplained 
panic disorders and high anxiety (no pun intended)? ... Why would we 
want to introduce yet another drug that gets people high and back its 
usage with the power of Congress?"

It's a compelling question. And you can bet that for the sake of our 
youth, I -a member of the Congress of which he writes - will "just say no."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom