Written by Dr. Donald J. Hagler

Federal Law in the United States has prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of marijuana for more than 70 years. However, with the discovery of potential medicinal properties of marijuana and the increasing misperception that the drug is harmless, there have arisen increased efforts to achieve its broad legalization despite persistent problems of abuse.

Medical use of marijuana has prompted many states to establish programs for sale of medically-prescribed marijuana. As public perception of marijuana’s safety has grown, some states have also passed voter-approved referenda legalizing recreational use of marijuana by adults. The result has been the same: limited legalization has led to greater availability of marijuana to youth.

How is Marijuana Used?

Whether used licitly or illicitly, marijuana is smoked or ingested. It may be smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints), e cigarettes, pipes or water pipes (bongs), and cigars that have been refilled with a mixture of marijuana and tobacco (blunts). Marijuana emits a distinctive pungent usually sweet-and-sour odor when it is smoked. Marijuana is not so easily detectable, however, when ingested in candy, other foods or as a tea.

Has Legalization Escalated Youth Exposure to Marijuana?

There is evidence legalization of marijuana limited to medical dispensaries and/or adult recreational use has led to increased unintended exposure to marijuana among young children.

By 2011, rates of poison center calls for accidental pediatric marijuana ingestion more than tripled in states that decriminalized marijuana before 2005. In states which passed legislation between 2005 and 2011 call rates increased nearly 11.5 percent per year. There was no similar increase in states that had not decriminalized marijuana as of December 31, 2011.

Additionally, exposures in decriminalized states where marijuana use was legalized were more likely than those in non-legal states to present with moderate to severe symptoms requiring admission to a pediatric intensive care unit. The median age of children involved was 18-24 months.

Marijuana use by adolescents has grown steadily as more states enact various decriminalization laws. According to CDC data, more teens now smoke marijuana than cigarettes.

It is unclear, however, whether this trend indicates a causal relationship or mere correlation. There is some evidence legalization may encourage more youth to experiment with the drug. A national study of 6116 high school seniors, prior to legalization of recreational use in any state, found 10 percent of non-users said they would try marijuana if the drug were legal in their state. Significantly, this included large subgroups of students normally at low risk for drug experimentation, including non-cigarette smokers, those with strong religious affiliation, and those with peers who frown upon drug use. Among high school seniors already using marijuana, 18 percent said they would use more under legalization.

There is also evidence of medical marijuana diversion having a significant impact upon adolescents. For example, researchers in Colorado found that approximately 74 percent of adolescents in substance abuse treatment had used someone else’s medical marijuana. After adjusting for sex, race and ethnicity, those who used medical marijuana had an earlier age of regular marijuana use, and more marijuana abuse and dependence symptoms than those who did not use medical marijuana.

Conclusions from this study may not apply to adolescents as a whole due to the select population surveyed. There are broader adolescent population studies suggesting no significant increase in use due to enactment of medical marijuana laws.

These authors, however, caution that their results may not be definitive for five reasons: not all states with medical marijuana laws are represented in the various studies; the studies rely upon survey data from a voluntary survey (the Youth Risk Behavior Survey) which has the potential for reporting bias; there are gaps in the annual youth risk behavior data; the primary outcome measure was obtained from a single survey item; and the research is not long-term relative to when medical marijuana laws were implemented.

Consequently, while all reported their data did not find medical marijuana laws to significantly increase teen use, they also advised continued long-term observation and research.

Is Marijuana Medicine?

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association noted there is very little scientific evidence to support the use of medical marijuana. Authors Samuel Wilkinson and Deepak D’Souza explain that medical marijuana is considerably different from all other prescription medications in that “[e]vidence supporting its efficacy varies substantially and in general falls short of the standards required for approval of other drugs by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”

The FDA requires carefully conducted studies consisting of hundreds to thousands of patients in order to accurately assess the benefits and risks of a potential medication.

Although some studies suggest marijuana may palliate chemotherapy-induced vomiting, cachexia in HIV/AIDS patients, spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, and neuropathic pain, there is no significant evidence marijuana is superior to FDA approved medications currently available to treat these conditions. Additionally, support for use of marijuana in other conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, Crohn’s disease and Alzheimer’s, is not scientific, relying on emotion-laden anecdotes instead of adequately powered, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials.

Also, to be considered a legitimate medicine, a substance must have well-defined and measurable ingredients that are consistent from one unit (such as a pill or injection) to the next. This consistency allows researchers to determine optimal dosing and frequency. Drs Samuel Wilkinson and Deepak D’Souza state:

“Prescription drugs are produced according to exacting standards to ensure uniformity and purity of active constituents … Because regulatory standards of the production process vary by state, the composition, purity, and concentration of the active constituents of marijuana are also likely to vary. This is especially problematic because unlike most other prescription medications that are single active compounds, marijuana contains more than 100 cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids that produce individual, interactive, and entourage effects.”

As a consequence, there are no dosing guidelines for marijuana for any of the conditions it has been approved to treat. And finally, there is no scientific evidence that the potential healthful effects of marijuana outweigh its documented adverse effects.

Sound ethics demands that physicians “First do no harm.” This is why a dozen national health organizations, including the College, presently oppose further legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

If and when rigorous research delineates marijuana’s true benefits relative to its hazards, compares its efficacy with current medications on the market, determines its optimal routes of delivery and dosing, and standardizes its production and dispensing (to match that of schedule II medications like narcotics and opioids), then medical opposition will dissipate.

The Extent of Marijuana Abuse

In the United States, marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug, with 23.9 million of those at least 12 years old having used an illegal drug within the past month in 2012.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded 2013 Monitoring the Future study of the year 2012 showed that 12.7 percent of 8th graders, 29.8 percent of 10th graders, and 36.4 percent of 12th graders had used marijuana at least once in the year prior to being surveyed. They also found that 7, 18 and 22.7 percent respectively for these groups used marijuana in the past month.

Figure 1. Long-Term Trends in Annual Marijuana Use by Grade

After a period of decline in the last decade, marijuana use has generally increased among young people since 2007, corresponding with both its increased availability through limited legalization and a diminishing perception of the drug’s risks. The number of current (past month) users aged 12 and up increased from 14.5 to 18.9 million.

In 2010, 7.3 percent of all persons admitted to publicly funded treatment facilities were aged 12-17. Marijuana is the leading illicit substance mentioned in adolescent emergency department admissions and autopsy reports, and is considered one of the major contributing factors leading to violent deaths and accidents among adolescents.

Figure 2. Emergency Department Visits by Type of Substance Abuse

  Such data indicate that marijuana use in adolescents is a major and growing problem. Given the widespread availability and abuse of marijuana, and its increasing decriminalization, it is important to examine the adverse clinical consequences of marijuana use.

Marijuana and Addiction

Marijuana is addictive. While approximately 9 percent of users overall become addicted to marijuana, about 17 percent of those who start during adolescence and 25-50 percent of daily users become addicted. Thus, many of the nearly 6.5 percent of high school seniors who report smoking marijuana daily or almost daily are well on their way to addiction, if not already addicted. In fact, between 70-72 percent of 12-17 year olds who enter drug treatment programs, do so primarily because of marijuana addiction.

Long-term marijuana users trying to quit report various withdrawal symptoms including irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which can make it difficult to remain abstinent. These withdrawal symptoms can begin within the first 24 hours following cessation, peak at two to three days, and subside within one or two weeks follow drug cessation.

Behavioral interventions, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational incentives (i.e., providing vouchers for goods or services to patients who remain abstinent) have proven to be effective in treating marijuana addiction.

Although no medications are currently available, recent discoveries about the workings of the endocannabinoid system offer promise for the development of medications to ease withdrawal, block the intoxicating effects of marijuana, and prevent relapse.

Is Marijuana a Gateway Leading to the Abuse of Other Illicit Drugs?

An additional danger associated with marijuana use observed in adolescents is a sequential pattern of involvement in other legal and illegal drugs. Marijuana is frequently a stepping stone that bridges the gap between cigarette and alcohol use and the use of other more powerful and dangerous substances like cocaine and heroin. This stage-like progression of substance abuse, known as the gateway phenomenon,

is common among youth from all socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Additionally, marijuana is often intentionally used with other substances, including alcohol or crack cocaine, to magnify its effects. Phencyclidine (PCP), formaldehyde, crack cocaine, and codeine cough syrup are also often mixed with marijuana without the user’s knowledge.

Other Effects of Marijuana on the Brain

The main active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). When marijuana is smoked, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. It is absorbed more slowly when ingested in food or drink.

In all cases, however, THC acts upon specific molecular targets on brain cells, called cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are ordinarily activated by chemicals similar to THC called endocannabinoids, such as anandamide. These receptors are naturally occurring in the body and are part of a neural communication network (the endocannabinoid system) that plays an important role in normal brain development and function. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors is found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. Marijuana over-activates the endocannabinoid system, causing the high and other effects that users experience. These effects include distorted perceptions, psychotic symptoms, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, disrupted learning and memory, and impaired reaction time, attention span, judgment, balance and coordination.

Chronic exposure to THC may also hasten the age-related loss of nerve cells. Numerous mechanisms have been postulated to link cannabis use, attentional deficits, psychotic symptoms, and neural desynchronization. The hippocampus, a component of the brain’s limbic system, is necessary for memory, learning, and integrating sensory experiences with emotions and motivations. THC suppresses neurons in the information-processing system of the hippocampus, thus learned behaviors, dependent on the hippocampus, also deteriorate.

Brain MRI studies now report that in young recreational marijuana users, structural abnormalities in gray matter density, volume, and shape occur in areas of the brain associated with drug craving and dependence. There also was significant abnormality measures associated with increasing drug use behavior. In addition to the regions of the nucleus accumbens and amygdala, the whole-brain gray matter density analysis revealed other brain regions that showed reduced density in marijuana users compared with control participants, including several regions in the prefrontal cortex: right/left frontal pole, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right middle frontal gyrus (although another small region in the right middle frontal gyrus showed higher gray matter density in marijuana users).

Countless studies have also shown that prefrontal cortex dysfunction is involved with decision-making abnormalities and functional MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies have shown that cannabis use may affect the function of this region.

Brain imaging with MRI was used to map areas of working memory in the brain and showed similar findings in normal and schizophrenic subjects who did not use marijuana, but decreases in the size of the working memory areas of the striatum and thalamus for those who had a history of cannabis use, that was more marked in those who used marijuana at a younger age and in users with schizophrenia.

In chronic adolescent users, marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory persists long after the acute effects of the drug wear off. A major study published in 2012 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides objective evidence that marijuana is harmful to the adolescent brain. As part of this large-scale study of health and development, researchers in New Zealand administered IQ tests to over 1,000 individuals at age 13 (born in 1972 and 1973) and assessed their patterns of cannabis use at several points as they aged. Participants were again IQ tested at age 38, and their two scores were compared as a function of their marijuana use. The results were striking: Participants who used cannabis heavily in their teens and continued through adulthood showed a significant drop in IQ between the ages of 13 and 38—an average of eight points for those who met criteria for cannabis dependence. Those who started using marijuana regularly or heavily after age 18 showed minor declines.

By comparison, those who never used marijuana showed no declines in IQ. This is the first prospective study to test young people before their first use of marijuana and again after long-term use (as much as 20+ years later) thereby ruling out a pre-existing difference in IQ. This means the finding of a significant mental decline among those who used marijuana heavily before age 18, even after they quit taking the drug, is consistent with the theory that drug use during adolescence—when the brain is still rewiring, pruning, and organizing itself—has long-lasting negative effects on the brain.

Other studies have also shown a link between prolonged marijuana use and cognitive or neural impairment. A recent report in the journal Brain, for example, reveals neural-connectivity impairment in some brain regions following prolonged cannabis use initiated in adolescence or young adulthood.

Another longitudinal study followed 3385 patients who were between 18 and 30 years of age in 1985 for over 25 years. Cognitive function was assessed at the end of the study and included tests of verbal memory, processing speed, and executive functioning. 84.3 percent of the population reported past marijuana use, but only 11.6 percent continued using marijuana during middle age. For each five years of past marijuana use, verbal memory decreased significantly.

Effects on Activities of Daily Living

Consistent with marijuana’s impact upon the brain, research demonstrates marijuana has the potential to cause difficulties in daily life and/or worsen a person’s existing problems. Heavy marijuana users generally report lower life satisfaction, reduced mental and physical health, more relationship problems, and less academic and career success compared to their peers who come from similar backgrounds. Marijuana use is also associated with a higher likelihood of dropping out of school, workplace tardiness and absence, more accidents on the job with concomitant workman compensation claims, and increased job turnover.

A 2014 study combined the data of three investigations from Australia and New Zealand which compared a series of outcome measures of young adults according to their marijuana use at age 17. The researchers found a significant dose-response effect for each of these. After adjusting for co-variables, compared to those who never used cannabis prior to age 17 (OR 1.0), the odds of graduating from high school by age 25 dropped to 0.78 (95% CI,0.67-0.90) for those who used cannabis less than monthly to 0.61 (95% CI,0.45-0.81) for those using it monthly or more to 0.47 (95% CI,0.30-0.73) for those using it weekly or more to 0.37 (95% CI,0.20-0.66) for daily users. The decrease in attaining a university degree was almost identical. The odds of dependence on cannabis between the ages of 17 and 25 rose progressively from 2.06 (95% CI,1.75-2.42) for less than monthly users to 17.95 (95% CI,9.44-34.12) for daily users, and the odds of other illicit drug use between the ages of 23-25 rose from 1.67 (95% CI,1.45-1.92) for less than monthly users to 7.80 (95% CI,4.46-13.63) for those who were daily users prior to age 17. The odds of a making a suicide attempt between the ages of 17 and 25 were increased from 1.62 (95% CI,1.19-2.19) for less than monthly users to 6.83 (95% CI,2.04-22.9) for daily users.

While unadjusted odds ratios were progressively higher for progressively higher amounts of cannabis used before age 17 for both depression (between ages 17-25) and for welfare dependence (at ages 27-30 depending on the study), these differences were no longer significant after adjusting for co-variables. Although the greatest harm was among heavier users, it is most concerning that even less than monthly usage prior to age 17 was associated with a significantly lower educational achievement, and significantly higher rates of drug dependence and suicide attempts.

Marijuana and Mental Illness

Figure 3. Mood and Anxiety Disorders Among Users and Non-Users of Marijuana

 A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and mental illness. People who are dependent on marijuana frequently have other comorbid mental disorders including but not limited to anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and personality disturbances, including amotivation and failure to engage in activities that are typically rewarding (see figure 3).

Marijuana use is associated with a 7-fold increased risk of depression (OR 7.10, 95% CI,4.39-11.73) and a 5-fold increased risk of suicidal ideation (OR 5.38, 95% CI,3.31-8.73) when used alone, and with a 9-fold increased risk of depression (OR 9.15, 95% CI,4.58-18.29) and nearly 9-fold increased risk of suicidal ideation when marijuana plus other drugs are involved (OR 8.74, 95% CI 4.29-17.79).32 Daily marijuana use in young women has been associated with a five-fold increase in depression and anxiety.

Population studies also reveal an association between cannabis use and increased risk of schizophrenia. In the short term, high doses of marijuana can produce a temporary psychotic reaction involving hallucinations and paranoia. There is also sufficient data indicating that chronic marijuana use may trigger the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in people predisposed to it, perhaps also intensifying their symptoms.

A series of large prospective studies showed a link between marijuana use and the later development of psychosis with genetic variables, the amount of drug used, and the younger the age at which use began increasing the risk of occurrence. Although it is possible that pre-existing mental illness may lead some individuals to self-medicate with (abuse) marijuana and other illicit drugs, further prospective studies similar to those examining psychosis, will more firmly establish marijuana as a causative factor for other forms of mental illness.

A review of 10 studies evaluating the possible link between cannabis use and the development of psychotic disorders found nearly a 50 percent increased risk of psychosis among cannabis users versus nonusers. “Longitudinal studies show a consistent pattern of association between cannabis and psychosis, which could be indicative of a causal relationship.” “There is a strong body of epidemiologic evidence to support the view that regular or heavy cannabis use increases the risk of developing psychotic disorders that persist beyond the direct effects of exogenous cannabinoids.”

One mechanism that may contribute to this increased risk is the increase in neural noise caused by cannabis. Neural noise is random neural activity of the brain which reflects poor processing of information. The active constituent of cannabis (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) has been reported to increase this neural noise which may play a role in the psychosis-like effects of cannabis.

Although there may be other factors that contribute to the apparent relationship between marijuana use and psychosis, it is an important factor to be considered, especially when there is a family history of mental illness.

Marijuana and Driving

Marijuana contributes to accidents while driving due to its significant impairment of judgment and motor coordination. Data from several studies was analyzed and documented that use of marijuana more than doubles a driver’s risk of involvement in an accident. Because they impede different driving functions, the combination of even low levels of marijuana and alcohol is worse than either substance alone.

Studies have shown a statistically significant increase in non-alcohol drugs detected in fatally injured drivers in the past decade. The most commonly detected non-alcohol drug was cannabinol, the prevalence of which increased from 4.2 percent in 1999 to 12.2 percent in 2010 (Z = -13.63, P < 0.0001). The increase in the prevalence of non-alcohol drugs was observed in all age groups and in both sexes. In this study, increases in the prevalence of narcotics and cannabinol detected in fatally injured drivers were particularly apparent.

Other Health Effects of Marijuana

Since marijuana contains many of the same compounds as tobacco, it has the same adverse effects on the respiratory system when smoked as tobacco. These include chronic cough, respiratory infections, and bronchitis. In the longer term emphysema and lung cancer are also among its effects. In fact, smoking marijuana is more harmful than tobacco for two reasons: first, because it contains more tar and carcinogens than tobacco, and secondly, because marijuana smokers tend to inhale more deeply and for a longer period of time as compared to tobacco smokers.

Marijuana use also has a variety of adverse, short- and long-term effects, especially on the cardiopulmonary system. Marijuana raises the heart rate by 20-100 percent shortly after smoking; this effect can last up to three hours. In one study, it was estimated that marijuana users had a 4.8-fold increase in the risk of heart attack in the first hour after smoking the drug. This elevated risk may be due to increased heart rate as well as the effects of marijuana on heart rhythms, causing palpitations and arrhythmias. This risk may be greater in older individuals or in those with cardiac vulnerabilities. Marijuana use has been found to increase blood pressure and heart rate and to decrease the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

Chronic smoking of marijuana and its active chemical THC has consistently been shown to increase the risk of developing testicular cancer, in particular a more aggressive form of the disease. One study compared 369 Seattle-area men aged 18-44 with testicular cancer, to 979 men in the same age bracket without the disease. The researchers found that current marijuana users were 1.7 times more likely to develop testicular cancer than nonusers, and that the younger the age of initiation (below 18) and the heavier the use, the greater the risk of developing testicular cancer.

A similar study of 455 men in Los Angeles found that men with testicular germ cell tumors were twice as likely to have used marijuana as men without these tumors.

THC can also cause endocrine disruption resulting in gynecomastia, decreased sperm count, and impotence.

Effects of prenatal exposure to marijuana

The risk of using marijuana during pregnancy is unrecognized by the general public, but infants and children exposed prenatally to marijuana have a higher incidence of neurobehavioral problems. THC and other compounds in marijuana mimic the human brain’s cannabinoid-like chemicals, thus prenatal marijuana exposure may alter the developing endocannabinoid system in the fetal brain, which may result in attention deficit, difficulty with problem solving, and poorer memory.

Evidence especially suggests an association between prenatal marijuana exposure and impaired executive functioning skills beyond the age of three. Specifically, children with a history of exposure are found to have an increased rate of impulsivity, attention deficits, and difficulty solving problems requiring the integration and manipulation of basic visuoperceptual skills.

Rising Potency and Contaminants

The potency of marijuana has been increasing for decades, with THC concentrations rising from 4 percent in the 1980s to 14.5 percent in 2012 in samples confiscated by police. Some strains now contain as much as 30 percent THC. For a new user, this may mean exposure to higher concentrations of THC, with a greater chance of an adverse or unpredictable reaction. Increases in potency may account for the rise in emergency department visits involving marijuana use. For experienced users, it may mean a greater risk for addiction if they are exposing themselves to high doses on a regular basis.

However, the full range of consequences associated with marijuana’s higher potency is not well understood, nor is it known whether experienced marijuana users adjust for the increase in potency by using less. Since the legalization in Colorado, one certified lab there has reported that much of the marijuana they have studied and tested has been found to be laced with heavy metals, pesticides, fungus and bacteria.

Health Risks Underestimated

Health risks associated with marijuana use are often underestimated by adolescents, their parents, and health professionals. As explained above, there are newer, stronger forms of marijuana available than that which existed in 1960; current forms of marijuana are known to be three to five times more potent.

Parents underestimate the availability of marijuana to teens, the extent of their use of the drug, and the risks associated with its use. In a 1995 survey, the Hazelden Foundation found that only 40 percent of parents advised their teenagers not to use marijuana, 20 percent emphasized its illegal status, and 19 percent communicated to their teenagers that it is addictive.

Parental Monitoring Important

Research shows that appropriate parental monitoring can reduce drug use, even among those adolescents who may be prone to marijuana use, such as those with conduct, anxiety, or affective mood disorders.

Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) found that adolescents were much less likely to use marijuana if their parents stated their disapproval.

“Parents who do not want their kids getting drunk and using drugs should begin by sending a strong message to their kids about the importance of avoiding alcohol. Our survey results this year show how important it is for teens to get a clear anti-use message from their parents, especially from Dad. Teens who get drunk monthly are 18 times more likely to report marijuana use than teens who do not drink; those who believe their father is okay with them drinking are two and a half times more likely to get drunk in a typical month. Therefore, parents who do not want their kids getting drunk and using drugs should begin by sending a strong message to their children about the importance of avoiding alcohol.”

In 2011, past month use of illicit drugs, cigarettes, and binge alcohol use were lower among youth aged 12 to 17 who reported that their parents always or sometimes engaged in monitoring behaviors compared to youths whose parents seldom or never engaged in monitoring behaviors. The rate of past month use of any illicit drug was 8.2 percent for youths whose parents always or sometimes helped with homework compared with 18.7 percent among youth who indicated that their parents seldom or never helped.

Columbia Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse found that teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven per week) were less likely to have used marijuana. Compared to teens who had infrequent family dinners (2 or fewer per week), teens who had frequent family dinners were almost 1.5 times likelier to have said they had an excellent relationship with their mother and their father. The report also found that compared to teens who said they had an excellent relationship with their fathers, teens that had a less than very good relationship with their father were:

Compared to teens who said they had an excellent relationship with their mothers, teens who had a less than very good relationship with their mother were:

Consequently, the College encourages parents to take advantage of the “family table,” and to become involved in drug abuse prevention programs in the community or in the child’s school in order to minimize the risk of their children experimenting with drug use.

In Conclusion

In summary, marijuana use is harmful to children and adolescents. For this reason, the American College of Pediatricians opposes its legalization for recreational use and urges extreme caution in legalizing it for medicinal use.

Likewise, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) recently offered their own policy statement opposing efforts to legalize marijuana. They similarly pointed out that

“marijuana’s deleterious effects on adolescent brain development, cognition, and social functioning may have immediate and long-term implications, including increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, sexual victimization, academic failure, lasting decline in intelligence measures, psychopathology, addiction, and psychosocial and occupational impairment.”

Thus the AACAP (a) opposes efforts to legalize marijuana, (b) supports initiatives to increase awareness of marijuana’s harmful effects on adolescents, (c) supports improved access to evidence-based treatment, rather than emphasis on criminal charges, for adolescents with cannabis use disorder, and (d) supports careful monitoring of the effects of marijuana-related policy changes on child and adolescent mental health. The College agrees with this position on marijuana.

The College urges parents to do all they can to oppose the legalization of marijuana, such as working with elected officials against the drug’s legalization and scrutinizing a candidate’s positions on this important child’s issue when making voting decisions. The College encourages legislators to consider the establishment and generous funding of more facilities to treat marijuana addiction.

Children look to their parents for help and guidance in working out problems and in making decisions, including the decision to not use drugs. Therefore, parents should be role models, and not use marijuana or other illicit drugs. Finally, these reports strikingly emphasize the need for parents to recognize and discuss these serious health consequences of marijuana use with their children and adolescents. They also point to the requirement for medical experts and legislators to seriously discuss and review these observations prior to promoting any state or federal effort considering legalization.

Dr. Donald J. Hagler is a Professor of Pediatrics, Consultant in Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiovascular Diseases Mayo College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic.

This is a position paper of the American College of Pediatricians which has been republished with permission. For the original version with extensive footnotes and references, please consult the ACP website.

When Barack Obama said he would “fundamentally transform” the United States, few anticipated that the plan involved destroying the minds of young people through addictive substances. But after the expenditure of $250 million by Obama backer George Soros on behalf of the marijuana legalization movement, we are seeing the results, especially in Colorado. The new website www.legalizationviolations.org is documenting the fallout and the damage.

In addition to what is reported on this site, such as kids using, and even selling, marijuana, we have some other sensational cases in Colorado, such as a husband and father, Richard Kirk, who began hallucinating after eating a marijuana cookie, and shot and killed his wife.

In another case, a 19-year-old student jumped off a Denver hotel balcony to his death after eating a marijuana cookie. USA Today reported that Levi Thamba Pongi, a native of the Republic of Congo, ate the cookie and “exhibited hostile behavior” that included pulling things off walls and speaking erratically.

In addition to these deaths, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver has filed an indictment “alleging money laundering related to marijuana cultivation and distribution” in Colorado. The case involves money transfers from a Colombian bank, as well as violations of federal firearms laws.

In the face of the human deaths and destruction being wrought by marijuana legalization in Colorado, and the movement of the Colombian groups into the state, the Heritage Foundation took a stand this week in favor of “Reefer Sanity,” the name of a new book by drug policy expert Kevin A. Sabet.

Heritage featured Sabet giving a speech exposing the “seven great myths about marijuana” that have driven this unfolding disaster. Sabet co-founded SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) with former Democratic U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy (RI), in order to focus public attention on the harmful consequences of marijuana use and counteract the impact of the drug-friendly media. Writer David Frum is a member of the board.

One of Sabet’s slides advised people to “Follow the Money,” and named George Soros as the key money bags behind the growing number of states accepting legal marijuana. Sabet’s website included the figure of $250 million invested by Soros in the drug legalization movement. In addition, Peter Lewis gave $50 to $70 million to this movement, and John Sperling gave over $50 million.

As far back as 2004, in our article, “The Hidden Soros Agenda: Drugs, Money, the Media, and Political Power,” we noted the billionaire hedge-fund operator’s investment in a Colombian bank accused of drug-money laundering.

Calvina Fay of the Drug Free America Foundation described Soros as an “extremely evil person” because of his campaign to legalize dangerous mind-altering drugs.

Over a year ago, in our column, “A Kennedy Shocks the Pro-Dope Liberal Media,” we noted the potential impact that SAM could have on the “debate” over marijuana, such as it is in the liberal media.

Sabet, in his Heritage Foundation speech, did not directly address President Obama’s personal role in the unfolding debacle confronting our youth, except to say that using marijuana is clearly not a solution to a deteriorating economy that produces few jobs for young people.

Yet, the facts are that Obama was a member of the “Choom Gang,” a group of heavy marijuana smokers, when he was growing up in Hawaii. His childhood mentor, Communist Party operative Frank Marshall Davis, was also a pothead.

Although Sabet is pursuing a non-partisan approach to the disaster in order to appeal to Democrats, in an attempt to stop the deadly and dangerous drug legalization experiment, he is nevertheless giving the Soros-funded activists a case of nerves. His book features a quote from Ryan Grimm of the far-left Huffington Post, saying that backers of pot legalization should find Sabet “dangerous” because of his effectiveness.

The new website www.legalizationviolations.org is also a SAM project and is performing a useful function in publicizing cases in Colorado that are not getting national media attention.

Some headlines on the site from Colorado include:

• Denver emergency room doctor seeing more patients for marijuana edibles
• 4th Grader Tries To Sell Pot On Playground
• Kids caught distributing pot in school
• Colorado kids getting into parents’ pot-laced goodies
• 4 With Ties To Colorado Pot Accused Of Laundering

In regard to the latter, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has released its own statement on the case involving money being wired from bank accounts in Colombia to bank accounts in Colorado for the purchase of a “marijuana grow” facility.

The charges are big news in Colorado (see “Feds: Four men diverted Colombian cash to Colorado marijuana business” in the Denver Post). But it is truly a national story, showing that the Colombian drug traffickers are moving into Colorado to take advantage of the “legal” side of the marijuana business.

One of the myths Sabet addressed in his Heritage speech was the idea that marijuana is harmless. He noted its link to lower IQ and mental illness.

In a case out of Tennessee that did make some national news, a woman named Stephanie Hamman smoked the drug and drove her car into a church, where she stabbed her husband because he liked NASCAR. “I love to smoke it,” she said of marijuana. “Sometimes when I do, I start seeing things that others don’t. Isn’t God good? He told me this would happen, and just look, I am okay.”

“In court,” the local TV station reported, “guards walked Hamman in, her eyes were closed and she appeared to be talking to herself.” She is charged with attempted first-degree murder and felony vandalism.

This article was originally published at the Accuracy in Media website.

On Wednesday, May 8th, the bill to legalize marijuana as “medicine” was heard in the Senate Executive Committee.  The bill, sponsored by State Senator William Haine (D-Alton), passed by a vote of 10-5, and now advances to the full Senate for consideration.  It has already passed in the House.  (See how your state representative voted HERE.)

Legitimizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes will encourage and increase destructive behavior, especially among young people. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. Research has found that adolescent and teen drug use rises as the perception of harm diminishes.

The FDA classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance because it has a high potential for abuse and there are currently no acceptable medical uses for treatment. Schedule 1 controlled substances are determined by an eight-factor analysis:

1. Its actual or relative potential for abuse

2. Scientific evidence of its pharmacological effects

3. The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug

4. Its history and current pattern of abuse

5. The scope, duration, and significance of abuse

6. What, if any, risk there is to public health

7 .Its psychic or physiological dependence liability

8. Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already under control

If marijuana is classified as medicine, marijuana use among youth will increase. Colorado has seen an explosion of adolescent and youth entering addiction facilities while California saw admissions for drug treatment more than double, according to the federal government’s first-of-its-kind report.

These potential harms were pointed out at a conference held at Moraine Valley Community College on April 15th to sort fact from fiction about how marijuana impacts health and safety, Illinois’ youth, drugged driving, the workplace while creating a law enforcement nightmare. 

In the video below, Peter B. Besinger, former Drug Czar of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, warns against legalizing marijuana as medicine and the implications for everyone in the state if this legislation is approved.    For example, Bensinger pointed to Colorado as a state that legalized “pot” as medicine as an example of why the drug is dangerous.

Quoting the Colorado Department of Transportation, he said the number of motor vehicle fatalities in accidents where the driver had used marijuana has more than doubled from 23 in 2007 to 52 in 2011.  Besinger asserts that “marijuana has psychoactive ingredients that effect judgment, time, coordination and depth perception.”  Illinois’ HB 1 would allow a “medical” marijuana patient to operate a motor vehicle at their own discretion, even though research shows that a single marijuana joint with moderate levels of THC can impair a person’s ability to drive for more than 24 hours.

After watching the video, you will want to take action!  Please do so this week. The bill has already passed in the Illinois House.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send an email or a fax to your state senator today to ask him/her to vote NO to HB 1.  You can call IFI for their name and phone number at (708) 781-9328, or call the Capitol switchboard at (217) 782-2000 and asked to be connected to their office.

Click HERE to download the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) White Paper on State-Level Proposals to Legalize Marijuana.

Contact your state senator now!

Click HERE to make a donation to the Illinois Family Institute.

Illinois state lawmakers return to Springfield today for the first day of the lame duck Veto Session. 

Among the many pieces of legislation the legislature might take up is HB 30, which would legalize “medical” marijuana. 

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to email your state representative now and urge him/her to vote “NO” on HB 30. 

Facts about HB 30: 

• If passed, HB 30 would allow the creation of 59 “medical” marijuana stores throughout the state of Illinois – one for each state senate district. 

• If passed, HB 30 would conflict with federal and Illinois zero tolerance drug laws. 

• HB 30 allows for a qualified patient to get 2½ ounces of marijuana every 14 days (183 joints, 13 per day). Even the most experienced marijuana drug user smokes on average three to four joints a day, which would leave roughly 135 joints, or around 1.8 ounces. The patient could sell the 1.8 ounces of marijuana for $250 to $550. Diversion of medical marijuana would be a problem for schools and teachers. 

• HB 30 would permit a qualified medical marijuana patient to drive a school bus or a car 6 hours after consumption. Research shows that a single marijuana joint with a moderate level of THC can impair a person’s ability to drive for more than 24 hours. (Leirer et al, 1991) Marijuana impairs cognitive and psychomotor performance. It can slow reaction time, impair motor coordination, limit short-term memory, and make it difficult to concentrate and perform complex tasks. 

• One third (33%) of all drivers in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for which there were known drug test results were positive for one or more drug. Marijuana was the most frequently identified drug, accounting for 28% of drug positive drivers. (NHTSA 2010) 

• Each year, two-thirds of new marijuana users are under the age of 18. One in six of these adolescents will go on to develop marijuana use or dependence. (SAMSHA, 2010; Hall and Degenhardt, 2009) 

• Teens that start smoking marijuana regularly (20 times a month) before age 18 and are dependent show an average IQ decline of 8 points by age 38. (Persistent Cannabis User Show Neuropsychological Decline from Childhood to Midlife, Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study) 

• Colorado experienced an explosion in their medical marijuana industry and students were able to easily access marijuana from the increased number of registered users. Since 2009, public school suspensions for drug violations increased 45 percent, expulsions for drug violations increased 35 percent, and referrals to law enforcement increased 17 percent. 

Time is short. Please call your legislator now and urge him or her to oppose HB 30.  It will only take a minute, so please take action now. Then share this alert with your friends and family in Illinois so that they, too, can ask their representatives to stand against anti-family policies like HB 30. 

Thank you!

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Marijuana is one of the most hotly debated drugs of our time.  According t an important report by Kevin Sabet, PhD, Policy Consultant and Assistant Professor, University of Florida, we can say with some certainty that marijuana use is significantly linked with addiction, heart and lung complications, mental illness, car crashes, IQ loss and poor school outcomes, poor quality of life outcomes and poor job performance.  Please read and print a copy of “Just the Facts:  Marijuana and Health.”   

The upcoming election is very important.  All State Representative and Senate districts will be on the Nov ember ballot.  There will be many opportunities to talk with the current Legislators and their opponents prior to the November 6 election as they are out campaigning and asking for your vote. 

Legislators will be back in Springfield on November 27-30 and December 4-6 for the Veto Session.   Those Legislators who are not running for office and those who lose in the election can still vote until January 9, 2013.  Those “Lame Duck” Legislators are more likely to cast votes on controversial legislation, such as HB 30, which legalizes marijuana as medicine.  The bill could be called for a vote very quickly, so it’s important to talk to the state legislators who represent you and the candidates running against them BEFORE the election.

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to contact your state lawmakers to ask them to oppose legalizing “medical” marijuana in the Land of Lincoln. 

State Representative Lou Lang (D-Skokie) is once again pushing a bill to legalize so-called “medical” marijuana. As you may know, the Marijuana Policy Project is supported by George Soros, the radically liberal billionaire from Eastern Europe. They are heavily invested in trying to get policies like this passed into law.

Lang’s 68 page proposal, HB 30, passed out of the Human Services Committee last week along party lines by a vote of 6 to 5. It now moves to the full house.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send your state representative an email or a fax to tell him/her that you do not want marijuana sold in your neighborhood for any purpose.

The issue of legitimizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes will encourage and increase destructive behavior in users. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. Research has found that adolescent and teen drug use rises as the perception of harm diminishes. If marijuana is classified as medicine, marijuana use among youth would increase.

Our friends at ILCAAAP recently published the following points of concern regarding HB 30:

OPPOSE HB 30 – Legalizes Medical Use of Marijuana

• The U. S. Food and Drug Administration has not determined that marijuana is safe and effective. Legislators are not doctors and should not determine what is medicine.
• HB 30 defines an “adequate supply” of marijuana as 2.5 ounces of useable cannabis during a 14 day period. This is equivalent to 183 joints every 14 days or 13 joints a day.
• HB 30 permits a patient to apply for a waiver, based on the patient’s medical history and the physician’s professional judgment,to receive more than 2.5 ounces in 14 days.
• A person does not have to be terminally ill to qualify for the medical use of marijuana. HB 30 allows the Department to add other debilitating medical conditions or treatments.
• HB 30 defines “visiting qualifying patient” as someone with a debilitating medical condition who possesses a valid registry identification, or its equivalent, issued pursuant to the laws of another state, district, territory, commonwealth, insular possession of the United States or country recognized by the United States that allows that person to use cannabis for medical purposes in the jurisdiction of issuance. Who will verify that these cards are not forged? Fake IDs could be made and dispensed nationwide or globally.
• HB 30 protects a verifying physician from arrest and penalties solely for providing a second opinion concerning a patient’s disease, condition, or symptoms. If a patient’s regular physician does not want to provide written certification for marijuana, could the patient then get a second opinion and receive the written certification from this physician? In some states, a small amount of physicians provide most of the written certificates.
• HB 30 does not permit people to possess cannabis on the grounds of a preschool, primary, or secondary school. Could people possess cannabis on college campuses or in dorm rooms?
• If the Department does not issue a valid registry identification card in response to a valid application or renewal within 30 days, the registry ID card shall be deemed granted and a copy of the application, including the valid written certification or renewal shall be deemed a valid registry ID card. p. 48-49.
• HB 30 does not require a photo on the ID, and homeless people can send in an application without listing an address. Lost cards must be reissued within 10 days. How will authorities determine if someone is using a stolen or lost ID? Who will be checking the random ID numbers to notify authorities that a lost or stolen card is being used to purchase marijuana?
• HB 30 exempts patients, caregivers, and medical marijuana organizations and employees from disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau for the medical use of marijuana according the act. How many counselors, lawyers, nurses, beauticians, etc. will use medical marijuana, and how will this impact their clients?
• HB 30 allows patients younger than 18 years of age to qualify for a registry identification card if the patient’s physician explains the risks and the custodial parent or legal guardian consents in writing. Not all parents are responsible, and some parents abuse drugs. Recent studies show the harm from children using marijuana.
• HB 30 requires the patient’s certifying physician to notify the Department in writing if the patient has ceased to suffer or the physician no longer believes the patient is benefiting from the medical use of cannabis, and the card shall be null and void; The patient then has 15 days to destroy any remaining cannabis and related paraphernalia. What guidelines will be followed to make sure the cannabis is not sold or stolen?
• HB 30 preempts Home Rule. Cities and home-rule communities may not regulate registered nonprofit medical cannabis organizations and would have to allow them to operate.
• HB 30 stipulates that a nonprofit medical cannabis organization may not be located within 1,000 feet of the property line of a pre-existing public or private preschool or elementary or secondary school. It could locate next to a church, college, library, YMCA, park, etc.
• HB 30 requires the Department to “give reasonable notice” before doing a random inspection or cannabis testing at a medical cannabis organization.
• HB 30 requires the Department to promulgate rules no later than 60 days after the effective date of the legislation. This rushes the process and mistakes could be made.
• HB 30 requires the Department to issue reasonable rules concerning the medical use of cannabis at a nursing care institution, hospice, assisted living center, assisted living facility, assisted living home, residential care institution, or adult day health care facility. Who will oversee this so there is no abuse of patients or misuse of cannabis by staff or residents?
• HB 30 states “no dispensary is authorized to possess more plants than are reasonably necessary to satisfy the adequate supply of the patients who have designated that dispensary as his/her provider”. (p. 44) Neighborhood dispensaries could contain thousands of plants.
• HB 30 changes the DUI law and allows those possessing a valid registry card to operate a motor vehicle 4 hours after consuming medical cannabis. Section 11-501.9 According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana has serious harmful effects on the skills required to drive safely: alertness, ability to concentrate, coordination, and the ability to react quickly. Theseeffects can last up to 24 hours after smoking marijuana. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road. Many people who are under the influence believe they can drive safely. This is a public safety issue.

by Dr. Paul Chabot Ed.D – Illinois Family Institute

We can learn a lot from the legalization of so-called “medical” marijuana in California. Illinois’ HB 30, a much broader bill than the California law of 1996, has again been introduced in Illinois.

HB 30 allows a “patient” to possess 6 cannabis plants but only 3 mature plants for a 60-day period. A patient may have two caregivers who can each grow/possess 6 plants. For a 60-day period 3 mature plants can produce 1,764 joints and 6 mature plants (two caregivers) can produce 2,528 joints or 29 per day. What patient can possibly smoke that many and what will happen to the rest?

Allowing the use of cannabis for “medical” reasons is the necessary first step to full legalization.

“The key to it is medical access, because once you have hundreds of thousands of people using marijuana under medical supervision, the whole scam is going to be bought. Once there’s medical access…then we will get full legalization.” Richard Cowan, former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana.

We’re closely watching Illinois’ HB 30, sponsored by Lou Lang (D-Skokie), Angelo Saviano (R-Elmwood Park), and Ann Williams (D-Chicago).

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send your state representative an email or a fax to tell him/her that you do not want marijuana sold in your neighborhood for any purpose.

Please read this important article from Dr. Paul Chabot regarding “medical” marijuana:

From the 1996 Prop 215 that brought us so-called medical marijuana (nothing medical about it), allowing anybody to smoke pot who has 150 bucks in their pocket and claims any alignment, to today’s all out far-left agenda of overall drug legalization, comes Proposition 19 – another train wreck for disaster California.

Voters in the Inland Empire were not fooled by prop 215 in 1996 and rejected its false claims in the voter booths. However, overall statewide voters did pass the initiative, but by a marginal 56% – and most of those voters thought pot would only be used by terminally ill patients. California voters are smarter today – most know somebody who has a medical pot ID card for any number of bogus reasons, including hair loss, itchy skin and high heal pain. Los Angeles exploded with over 1,000 pot stores – more than Starbucks, 7-11’s and McDonalds combined! More kids enter drug rehab for
pot than any other drug combined. That may be why state voters defeated Prop 5 in 2008 – another attempt by the pro-drug lobby to move forward their agenda in California under the guise of “compassion.”

Today’s Proposition 19, on the November ballot, is led by Richard Lee, founder of a pro-marijuana advocacy group called “Oaksterdam University” in Oakland, CA. His proposition allows the following: Expressly omits any definition of what constitutes being “under the influence” of marijuana; States that you cannot use marijuana while driving, but makes it completely permissible to use marijuana just prior to getting behind the wheel; Prevents employers who operate transportation companies or have company vehicles from requiring employees operating these vehicles be drug free; Does not regulate marijuana like alcohol or tobacco; Would not eliminate the need for illicit marijuana dealers; Would place hundreds of employers, including public schools, at risk
of violating the Federal Workplace Act.

Prop 19 would also devastate communities: The proposition states, “that a lawful occupant, lawful resident or guest may cultivate cannabis on private property,” up to 25-square feet of pot growing per residence; Does not limit the cultivation to “personal
consumption” by the cultivator; Would allow for the growing and processing of marijuana in the front yard or backyard of any residence no matter how close that residence is to a school; Would allow each resident in a “dwelling” the ability to claim a 25 square feet plot for growth and cultivation; Potentially removes enforcement on behalf of the land/property owner; Would prohibit bus, trucking and transit companies from requiring employees to be drug-free; would allow licensed marijuana dealers to advertise without restriction, near schools, libraries and parks, just like cigarette companies; Would forbid school bus drivers from smoking marijuana on schools grounds or while actually behind the wheel, but a bus driver could arrive for work with marijuana in his or her system, thereby placing hundreds of school children at risk on a daily basis.

The pro-pot leaders claim our state will raise billions in tax dollars. What they don’t tell you is that for every one-dollar we would garner from a pot tax, California taxpayers would end up paying another $9 for every $1 of pot tax cleaning up the societal
health care costs. Drug trafficking organizations in Mexico would not vanish, as the pot heads claim, because these organizations also traffic in heroin, meth, cocaine, weapons and people. And here’s the bottom line – what kind of message do we want to send to youth? We already have enough problems with alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs in our state.

Because of these facts, it’s no surprise that both Democrats and Republicans are speaking out against Prop 19, including California’s two Governor candidates, Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman. Even the ultra liberal mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newson, is against Prop 19. Here in the Inland Empire, we continue to lead by example as exemplified by cities like Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga. Both recently approved city proclamations against Prop 19.

Dr. Paul Chabot Ed.D is President of Chabot Strategies, LLC, is the founder of the Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition and theCoalition for a Drug Free California.

How did they vote?

For a second time in the past few weeks, lawmakers in the Illinois House of Representatives reject a bill to legalize “medical” marijuana, this time by a vote of 56 YES and 60 NO.

Thanks in part to your calls, emails and faxes, this bill has been defeated! It also must be noted that Illinois’ law enforcement community strongly opposed SB 1381. Former Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline along with the president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the president of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association and other key law enforcement officials pleaded with legislators to vote against this anti-family bill.

See how your State Representative voted byclicking HERE. (To see how your State Senator voted, click HERE.)

Former Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline joined other Illinois law enforcement leaders at a press conference at the Daley Center today announcing their opposition to the proposed “medical marijuana” bill now pending in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Cline, who is co-chair of the newly formed Illinois Partners Providing Marijuana Education, said the group’s goal is “to educate the public and legislators about the facts related to marijuana and counter misinformation and distortions of fact being heavily publicized by pro-marijuana legalization lobbyists.” There are 13 organizations and individuals in the group, including Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, Educating Voices and Prevention First, a drug prevention resource center.

Peter Bensinger, former DEA Administrator and president of Bensinger, DuPont & Associates, a consulting firm working with Drug-Free Workplace programs, warned that SB 1381, which would legalize marijuana use by individuals with specified ailments, “would be a major problem for employers and drive businesses away from Illinois.” He said the proposed bill “would compromise meaningful workplace drug testing by requiring impairment to be shown.” Proving impairment is not a criterion for current workplace drug testing programs. “This means that someone who tests positive for marijuana in their system could be allowed to drive a car, interact with customers or operate machinery,” he said, adding, “Employers would have to wait for accidents or other problems to happen before they could take action.”

A primary issue for the group is having legislators vote on what is medicine and how it is used to treat patients. “Decisions about what is safe medicine, its dosage, how it is distributed and for what ailments must be left to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and scientific procedures, not voters and state legislators,” Bensinger said.

Cline countered claims by legalization advocates that crime will go down if marijuana is legalized for medical or other use. “As a former Chicago police officer who worked narcotics and gangs, I can tell you that the passing of this bill will lead to more crime and increased drug use,” Cline said. “Street Gangs will open up marijuana dispensaries and use the profits to buy guns, heroin and cocaine, and bail out fellow gang members.”

Cline also expressed concern that the Illinois bill provides no control over the number of dispensaries that can open or where they can be located, other than within 500 feet of a school. “There could be marijuana sold in a shopping mall where your teenagers hang out, at your neighbor’s house, or next door to your business,” he said, adding, “The potential for increased crime around the dispensaries is going to be very high. We’ve already seen that in other states.”

Chief Patrick O’Connor, president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, one of the Partner groups, called the potential passage of medical marijuana legislation “an enforcement nightmare” for local law enforcement officers. “This is the first time I have ever seen the production and distribution of a drug placed into the hands of the users without control or oversight of those users,” he noted.

“The number of plants this bill would allow individuals to possess is excessive and presents a high possibility of ending up on the street,” O’Connor said. He explained that the number of plants that would be available to individuals under the proposed law would produce approximately 30 marijuana joints per day. “This is far beyond the number of joints that anyone could possibly smoke in one day, which means there will be a significant amount of left over marijuana with the high probability of being passed on to friends or sold on the street,” O’Connor said.

Brent Fischer, president of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, aimed directly at public statements made by legalization advocates suggesting that law enforcement officers have a vested interest in keeping marijuana illegal. “Regardless of what you have heard, law enforcement’s opposition to this legislation is not about money. It is about the message we send to our youth, the safety of our communities, and the rights of employers and property owners,” he emphasized. “We should learn from our sister states’ horrible experiences with this type of legislation,” Fischer said, stating, “Common sense should tell us that this is not about medicine but about legalization of a recreational drug. This is bad public policy — period.”

The speakers also distributed a list of major medical organizations and governmental agencies that do not support marijuana as medicine. “The American Medical Association (AMA) specifically states that its new position on medical use of marijuana should not be viewed as an endorsement of state legalization efforts. Yet the public is being led to believe that it supports these efforts,” Bensinger explained.

“The public and our legislators deserve documented facts before they make decisions about a substance that already has a serious impact on public health and safety,” Bensinger concluded.

Take ACTION: Send your state representative an email or a fax to tell him or her that you do not want marijuana sold in your neighborhood for any purpose. This is your chance to speak up before it’s too late and before it gets passed in the legislature!