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Marijuana has been a hot topic in the news in recent months. With four states and the District of Columbia having legalized the drug for recreational purposes, there has been a lot of debate over how to regulate marijuana going forward.
A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that roughly half of Americans (53 percent) favor legalizing marijuana, while 44 percent are opposed. Why do we find this statistic concerning? Because we are worried about the effect that legalizing marijuana will have on teens.
Adolescence is a period of active brain development, and marijuana use can alter the brain in ways that negatively affect learning and memory. Early marijuana use can also increase the risk of becoming addicted to marijuana later in life. In addition to the health risks, adolescent marijuana use is associated with poorer educational achievement and increased likelihood of dropping out of high school.
CASAColumbia believes that legalizing marijuana will lead to more teens using the drug. When we polled our own blog readers, 60 percent of you agreed. The very act of legalizing marijuana sends a message that the drug is safe and acceptable to use. Legalization will also inevitably lead to the growth of a commercial marijuana industry, whose business model is to promote marijuana use, and like the tobacco and alcohol industries, will be incentivized to promote underage and heavy use to maintain customers.
Legalizing marijuana is also expected to increase the number of people who use the drug and, as a result, more people will become addicted. The addiction treatment system already lacks sufficient resources to treat everyone who currently needs care — it certainly is not prepared to handle an increase in patient demand.
Given what we currently know about marijuana, CASAColumbia does not support its legalization for recreational use. However, incarcerating people for using marijuana serves neither the individual’s nor the public’s interest. CASAColumbia instead supports keeping marijuana illegal but eliminating criminal penalties for personal use.
Marijuana use should be treated as a public health problem, not a crime. Possession of small amounts of marijuana (typically one ounce or less) for personal use should not result in a criminal arrest, record, incarceration or penalties that affect housing, child custody, education or employment opportunities. Only people who engage in marijuana dealing or trafficking or drive while intoxicated by the drug should face criminal penalties.
Additionally, we know that the enforcement of marijuana laws has disproportionately impacted racial minorities. Having a criminal record for marijuana use is damaging to individuals’ livelihoods and life opportunities, particularly for youth. While eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana possession will not completely end the racial bias in law enforcement, it should reduce racial disparities in arrest and incarceration rates.
Read CASAColumbia’sfull position statements on marijuana legalization, decriminalization and medical marijuana.