What if the Federal Government Makes Marijuana Legal?

Marijuana and the US

Marijuana and its legality have been perhaps one of the most debated topics across the country over the last decade. It seems to be leaning in the direction of becoming more broadly accepted with more states each year making it legal for at least medical use.

Whether you are for or against Marijuana legalization, for now, it does seem it is moving in the direction of it being more available to the public. There are plenty of articles discussing the pros or cons of Marijuana’s legalization. This is not one of those articles. If or when marijuana becomes legal, there will be issues that come along with its legalization. This is what we will take a look at.

With the drug becoming more widely available for adults, the same will be true for children. Exposure to marijuana will become more common at younger ages. This is bound to happen. Currently, the first substance most children see a parent or adult using is alcohol. Marijuana legalization would change this and many children will likely see their parents openly use marijuana. With many studies out there stating marijuana can be damaging to cognitive development, this could be a serious problem for public health moving forward. Though it may be sometime before we have full information on the damage it does to developing minds.

“Substantial evidence from animal research and a growing number of studies in humans indicate that marijuana exposure during development can cause long-term or possibly permanent adverse changes in the brain.”—National Institute on Drug Abuse

The same is true of the second issue, the effects of Marijuana on prenatal development. According to the New York Times, two studies in Ottawa and Pittsburgh found some startling side of marijuana use during pregnancy.

“Most troubling, children of mothers who used marijuana heavily in the first trimester had lower scores in reading, math, and spelling at age 14 than their peers.”

“Prenatal exposure can affect the adolescent pretty significantly,” said Dr. Lauren M. Jansson, the director of pediatrics at the Center for Addiction and Pregnancy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.”—NY Times

The third issue has to do with the laws for DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) or DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Across the US, it is illegal to drive while using any substances and Marijuana is not an exception. Except there is one small problem, there is no easy way to field test intoxication with Marijuana.

This brings up a host of problems partially because there is no way to accurately detect the use of Marijuana relative to a person being arrested for DUI. Residue from Marijuana can be found in a swab test up to three days after use. Meaning people could get DUI's while not driving under the influence of Marijuana or if an officer doesn't have a swab a person could be left to keep driving while being under the influence of marijuana.

These are just a few of the issues which may arise from the spreading legalization of marijuana. As we move forward, there may be more and we will have to address them as they come up and hopefully preemptively avoid any we can.

AUTHOR

Aaron

Aaron has been writing drug education articles and documenting the success of the Narconon program for over two years.

NARCONON NEW LIFE RETREAT

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION