IS MARIJUANA THE NEXT BIG TOBACCO?

California was the first state to legalize marijuana for medical use in 1996. In 2010, Proposition 19 would have made California the first state to legalize non-medical marijuana, but voters defeated the measure by a 53.5-46.5 margin. However, lawmakers will try again. There are two major initiatives that have a very good chance of qualifying for the November ballot due to their financial backing and political support.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) recently released a new report that evaluates the retail marijuana legalization proposals in California from a public health standard. According to the study, recreational marijuana will likely lead to a new profit-driven industry similar to Big Tobacco that could impede public health efforts.

Researchers said they began their study with the premise that legalizing marijuana makes sense because its prohibition has caused excessive incarcerations and cost taxpayers too much money. However, they concluded that legalized recreational marijuana would replace a crime problem with a public health issue.

“Evidence from tobacco and alcohol control demonstrates that without a strong public health framework, a wealthy and politically powerful marijuana industry will develop and use its political clout to manipulate regulatory frameworks and thwart public health efforts to reduce use and profits,” the report states.

Rachel Barry and Stanton Glantz of the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education and Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy authored the study. In an interview, Glantz expressed his concern that a new marijuana industry would spend large sums of money to curry favor with lawmakers. “I think a corporate takeover of the market ... is very, very hard to stop,” he said, adding. “They are already potent lobbyist in California.”

Jason Kinney is a spokesman for the coalition that wrote the law for the legalization campaign. “This report inexplicably chooses to ignore the extensive public-health protections and mandate included in our measure – as well as the child safeguards, the small business and anti-monopoly provisions and the unprecedented investments in youth prevention, education and treatment,” he said.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a well-known backer, established a panel of experts that recommended the best approaches to legalization in a blue ribbon report. The commission urged caution, stating marijuana “should not be California’s next Gold Rush.”

Newsom and other leaders of the commission said in a prepared statement that while a ballot measure needs to provide a strong framework for regulation, “it must also preserve some flexibility in order to evolve those regulations over time.”

Abdi Soltani, executive director of the ACLU of Northern California and a member of the Newsom commission’s steering committee also weighed in. He said he agrees with some of the concerns raised in the report but ultimately believes the initiative protects the public. “My middle school child will not walk into a corner store where tobacco and alcohol are marketed and see marijuana for sale,” Soltani said.

I hope Soltani is right. As a parent and former middle school teacher, my concern is not about the profit margin, but rather how our children with be detrimentally affected. Study after study has proven that marijuana use alters sense of time, impairs body movement, impairs thinking and problem-solving, and impairs memory, all critical to success in school. Marijuana use has been linked to depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts among teens. Also, contrary to common belief, marijuana can be addictive.

It doesn’t take a blue ribbon panel to realize that smoking pot can cause great mental, social, and physical harm to teens and tweens. Further, like Big Tobacco, whether legalized recreational marijuana will hurt or help our communities will not be the concern of those profiting from its sale.

Contact Margaret Lavin at elementarydays@gmail.com.