Right On: Proposition 2 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing; vote no

October 3, 2018 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — Looking through the smokescreen put up by advocates, Proposition 2 is all about getting Utah on the road to recreational marijuana, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Many of the proposition’s sponsors are undoubtedly seeking relief for legitimate sufferers. But ask yourself why so many previously-unengaged people have suddenly become advocates for those with debilitating illnesses.

Would these advocates-of-convenience be there if relief were available through a more traditional source?

Many of those in Proposition 2’s heart-rending photos are children. The implicit message to all the state’s young people: Marijuana is safe.

Yet marijuana has known and demonstrable risks for young people, adversely affecting brain development. Studies show that it is a gateway drug to other addictive drugs for younger, socially-vulnerable users.

Furthermore and despite what you read, marijuana is addictive. More on that later.

It’s certainly true that potentially useful medicine can be derived from marijuana. One derivative in particular, CBD oil, shows near-term promise.

CBD oil is not addictive but only recently has been subjected to rigorous testing by the federal Food and Drug Administration. Just a few months ago, the FDA approved its first and so far only marijuana-based medication, Epidiolex. It has approved two other drugs with synthetic formulations of marijuana chemicals.

All Americans rely on the FDA to ensure that the medications we receive are safe, effective and pure. Should marijuana derivatives be any different? Are CBD oil-based medicines harmful for children? The FDA doesn’t know.

Despite the lack of adequate FDA research and despite the cautions of a vast majority of the medical community, 30 states now allow wide use of marijuana for medical purposes. Utah allows its use in more limited circumstances.

These marijuana products are not being safety-tested like pharmaceuticals; measured and dosed like food products; subjected to agricultural-safety and pesticide standards like crops; and held to labeling standards like alcohol.

Yet Proposition 2 asks Utah to jump onto this bandwagon heading toward a very uncertain future. Undoubtedly some sufferers would benefit but at what risk to the public at large? We don’t know.

Utah’s Drug Safe Utah coalition does not oppose the medicinal use of marijuana. Instead the coalition supports the Utah Legislature in its well-considered and incremental steps to make marijuana-based medicines available to those in need while ensuring public safety.

But Proposition 2 isn’t about recreational marijuana in Utah, right? Wrong.

Proposition 2 supporters wave their arms about how only those with legitimate medical needs will have access to marijuana drugs. But its sponsors oppose restricting production to a single, state-run facility, instead allowing it to be home grown. Why? They oppose requiring a doctor’s prescription. Why? They oppose limiting distribution to licensed pharmacies. Why?

Disclaimers to the contrary, Proposition 2 would lead to an explosion of “victims” allowed to have medical marijuana prescribed by “candy doctors.”

Recreational marijuana is being legalized in a number of states. Why is Utah trying to “hold back the tide?”

One answer: marijuana is addictive.

So says the liberal Atlantic magazine in an authoritative article titled “America’s Invisible Pot Addicts.” Here is a sampling of what the article’s marijuana skeptics have to say.

Ziva Cooper, a Columbia University professor of clinical neurobiology, notes, “A lot of these concentrates can have up to 90 percent THC,” whereas the kind of flower you could get 30 years ago was far, far weaker.

New York University public policy professor Mark A. R. Kleiman says that marijuana is a “very abusable drug,” noting that 40 percent of users reported daily or near-daily use, up from nine percent 25 years ago.

Stanford University professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences Keith Humphreys reports that, “In large national surveys, about one in 10 people who smoke it say they have a lot of problems. They say things like, ‘I have trouble quitting. I think a lot about quitting and I can’t do it. I smoked more than I intended to. I neglect responsibilities.’”

Humphreys goes on, “There are plenty of people who have problems with it, in terms of things like concentration, short-term memory, and motivation. People will say, ‘Oh, that’s just you fuddy-duddy doctors.’ Actually, no. It’s millions of people who use the drug who say that it causes problems.”

The federal National Institutes of Health reports that “nearly 3 of 10 marijuana users manifested a marijuana use disorder in 2012-2013.”

The Atlantic article points out that marijuana “is not benign, even if it is relatively benign compared with alcohol, opiates, and cigarettes, among other substances. Thousands of Americans are finding their own use problematic in a climate where pot products are getting more potent, more socially acceptable to use, and yet easier to come by.”

After Oregon legalized marijuana for those over age 21, there was a dramatic rise in its use by college students under 21, especially those who were heavy alcohol drinkers. As reported on NPR, these are the people most likely to suffer brain damage.

Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration official, says, “The mantra about how this is a harmless, natural, and non-addictive substance – it’s now known by everybody. And it’s a lie.”

Thousands of businesses, as well as local governments earning tax money off of sales, are now literally invested in that lie.

Sabet continues, “The reckless way that we are legalizing marijuana so far is mind-boggling from a public-health perspective. The issue now is that we have lobbyists, special interests, and people whose motivation is to make money that are writing all of these laws and taking control of the conversation.”

“The liquor companies are salivating. They can’t wait to come in full force,” says Matt Karnes of Green Wave Advisors. He adds that Big Pharma is targeting the medical market, with Wall Street, Silicon Valley, food businesses and tobacco companies aiming at the recreational market.

The latest example: The Coca-Cola Company is considering adding a “marijuana element” to drinks. Why not? Coca-Cola was founded adding a “cocaine element” to its signature product, hence its name. Marijuana is coming to a vending machine near you.

Canadian marijuana companies’ stocks are booming like the Internet did in the late 1990s.

The message in all this, especially to our young people: marijuana is safe, fun and increasingly legal.

Vote no on Proposition 2. Passing a proposition doesn’t make a drug a safe medicine.

Howard Sierer is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: hsierer@stgeorgeutah.com

Twitter: @STGnews