Pubdate: Thu, 15 May 2014
Source: Courier News (Bridgewater, NJ)
Copyright: 2014 Courier News
Contact:  http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2163
Author: Betty Lou DeCroce

JUST SAY NO TO LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

Lawmaker Says Pro-Pot Movement Premature, Dangerous

The parade of those clamoring for the legalization of pot in New 
Jersey includes an odd alignment of progressives, municipal 
prosecutors and doctors. They see legalization as harmless and 
inevitable. They make an interesting, if not a compelling case.

Legalizing marijuana, they argue, would eliminate from our already 
crowded court system cases of casual users of pot who pose little 
threat to the community. Why waste taxpayer money prosecuting these 
individuals and why burden these people with criminal records for 
smoking a weed? Instead, they argue, legalize pot, and tax it; 
filling government coffers with millions of dollars.

I have a different view: let's not make another illicit drug legal 
just for expediency. I am not persuaded that legalizing marijuana for 
anything but medical use will prove beneficial to our society.

The experiment with legalizing marijuana in Colorado is barely five 
months old; before we blindly follow that state off a Rocky Mountain 
cliff, let's review real world data. I'm not alone in that position. 
California Gov. Jerry Brown recently told The New York Times that "I 
think we ought to kind of watch and see how things go in Colorado," 
before legalizing marijuana in the Golden State.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is no big fan of legalization of 
marijuana, which was approved via referendum, not legislation. He 
said in an eye-opening documentary by CNBC that legalization sends a 
"terrible message" to minors. He's right. Pot smoking may or may not 
be as dangerous as alcohol, but it is not benign.

While the entertainment industry glamorizes marijuana and other drugs 
in movies and magazines, it sidesteps reality. Scientists at the 
National Institute on Drug Abuse warn that the effects of pot on the 
developing teenage brain include the potential of an 8 to 10 point 
drop in IQ over time. They also note that users are likely to become 
dependent, physically or psychologically.

Recently, fourth-graders in Colorado were caught selling an edible 
form of marijuana, which is popularly baked into candy and cookies. 
Their parents left the edible marijuana where their children could 
access it and take it to school -apparently ignorant of the dangers 
of ingesting marijuana . Eating pot can lead to life-threatening 
overdoses and dangerous behavior, especially in children. The 
catastrophic impact of drunk drivers on innocent people is already 
well documented. Do we really want to encourage young people under 
the influence of marijuana to get behind the wheel of a car and hurt 
more innocent people? I say no.

Marijuana smokers suffer many of the same respiratory problems as 
cigarette smokers. The American Lung Association says cigarette 
smoking-related diseases claim over 393,000 American lives each year 
and cost the nation over $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 
billion in direct health care expenditures. Encouraging the smoking 
of pot through legalization will only worsen those statistics.

Legalization proponents say we have to throw in the towel on the war 
on drugs and legalize marijuana so we can reap the benefits of taxing 
it. I say government's insatiable desire for tax dollars should not 
rest on legalizing harmful substances to subsidize more wasteful 
spending. Government already taxes cigarettes and alcohol heavily to 
generate revenue and then spends money telling people to quit smoking 
and not to abuse alcohol. Following the same schizophrenic model, the 
government will do the same with marijuana: legalize it, tax it, and 
then direct people to government subsidized clinics to stop abusing 
marijuana. What's next: Legalize cocaine or heroin so we can generate 
more government revenue?

The CNBC report on Colorado's marijuana experiment showed tremendous 
entrepreneurial activity built around marijuana sales and a booming 
demand for the weed largely among middle age people. The sellers are 
raking in big money, but how long will 50- and 60-year-olds shell out 
good money to relive the 1960s and 70s? Or will "Big Pot's" business 
model mirror that of cigarette companies - get them hooked young and 
keep them coming back?

Legalizing marijuana without knowing more about the social and health 
consequences is reckless and not something I can support.

Assemblywoman Betty Lou DeCroce

R-26th District
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom