Going to Pot: Legalizing Marijuana is Another Step Towards the Erosion of Society

This article is the first in a series dispelling the myths purporting that marijuana is harmless and that its decriminalization and increased availability should be supported by citizens of forward-thinking nations.

Since the states of Colorado and Washington legalized the possession and sale of marijuana, the eyes of the world have been upon the United States, as other governments sit in judgement to see the outcome of this experiment. Proponents of decriminalization and legalization see this as a decisive victory; because in their eyes, it changes the question of will marijuana achieve widespread legality to when that will happen.

However, that victory may well turn out to have been pyrrhic. Despite whitewashed claims to the contrary, and despite the biased opinions of its advocates, the factual evidence shows that marijuana is addictive and it is at once physically, cognitively, and morally harmful. When these deleterious effects are combined and the larger picture is considered, it is clear that any relaxation criminal statutes or any legislation that is favorable to the expanded availability of marijuana is but added lubrication to an already slippery slope.

Falsehood #1: “Marijuana is not addictive.”

Addiction can be defined as repeatedly continuing a behavior despite negative consequences. As it applies to marijuana, you can further define addictive behavior by increased tolerance, increased or unintended use, unsuccessful abstaining, an inordinate amount of time spent in its procurement, and an interference with other important life activities. By this definition, there can be no doubt—marijuana is addictive.

In 2007, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation released statistics plainly showing that over 42 percent of parolees who had been convicted of some sort of marijuana-related offense were back in prison within two years.

Approximately 6200 people are sentenced to U.S. federal prison for various marijuana offenses. The average such sentence is 36 months, and over 38 percent receive mandatory five-year or ten-year minimum sentences. Marijuana offenders are the least likely federal drug offenders to receive reduced sentences.

There are other repercussions besides prison. According to a report released in 2013 by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an eight-year statistical arc shows that high-school dropouts are nearly twice as likely to have used marijuana within the past month as are their peers who were still in school, at a rate of 27.3% to 15.3%.

A drug conviction can ruin job prospects, as can a failed drug test. Pre-employment urine tests testing positive for banned substances are at their highest levels in years, and marijuana is the most commonly used by applicants. “Employers are having some difficulty finding employees who can pass their drug tests,” states Dr. Barry Sample, who is a director at Quest Diagnostics, a medical research company.

Despite any legislation passed at the state or even federal level, employers still have the power to prohibit workplace drug use. This right of employers was upheld recently, when an appeals court in Michigan ruled that a Wal-Mart employee using medical marijuana was justifiably terminated, in accordance with their corporate policy and in compliance with state law.

Yet, despite those possibly catastrophic consequences, marijuana use is on the rise. In 2007, a survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration cited 5.8% of those polled as admitting to marijuana use within the past month. That number went up to 7.3% in 2012, before the legalization in Colorado and Washington. The respondents were 12 years old and over.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse states has concluded that marijuana is addictive. According to their research, approximately 9% of users become addicted. Individuals who started smoking marijuana at a young age or who smoke it daily become addicted at a rate of 17%, or 1 in 6. Significantly, up to 50% of all users admit to doing so daily. Just as significantly, among those entering drug abuse programs, 61% of individuals who are 15 years of age or younger list marijuana as their primary drug of abuse.

Consider those statistics for a moment. No reasonable person denies that certain other drugs, for example, cocaine, are addictive. Yet, only about 15% of those who try cocaine become addicted. Furthermore, because the sheer number of marijuana users is so great, the incidence of dependency is more than twice that of any other drug. 4.3% of Americans fit the medical definition of marijuana dependency, as opposed to 1.8% for cocaine and .7% for heroin. In the European Union, 29% of all new patients admitted to treatment programs are there listing marijuana as a primary problem.

When you consider attempts at abstinence, marijuana reaches another dubious benchmark qualifying it as an addictive substance. The average adult seeking professional treatment for cannabis dependency has attempted to quit on six previous occasions. Typically, they have used marijuana daily or near-daily for approximately 10 years, continuing to do so despite legal issues, psychological problems, physical impairment or deterioration, employment difficulties, or pressure to quit from friends or family.

As with any other addiction, those attempting to quit marijuana suffer from withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms may include increased irritability, inability to sleep, heightened anxiety, a depressed appetite, and a marked craving for the drug. Unlike as with other drugs, there is currently no medication available to help with symptoms of marijuana withdrawal, although research is ongoing.

Conclusion: When you look at it objectively, you are looking at a substance that can result in a medically-diagnosed dependency in a significant percentage of users. You are looking at a substance that can cause serious difficulty to its users, including criminal prosecution, fines, and jail terms, the alienation of loved ones, the loss of a job or difficulty finding work, and physical and cognitive impairment. Even with all of those associated negatives, individuals who wish to stop using that substance find it both psychologically and physiologically difficult to do so.

Given that description, you would have no choice but to say that the substance in question was addictive, and that there should be steps taken to prevent the possible spread of that addiction, rather than steps to encourage it.

Article Author: Albert F.

This article is the first in a series. Part 2 will be published exclusively on Intentious next month.

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