The Marijuana Business – Profitable Idea or Slippery Slope? BY EMPATHIC RECOVERY on September 26th, 2014
With more states approving legislation to legalize medicinal use of marijuana, what is the future for this enterprise? Will it be a carefully regulated, profitable business that becomes commonplace, or will it lead us down a slippery slope to more illegal use and increased drug abuse? A dispassionate review of the facts of marijuana use can help avoid romanticizing the issue, as well as expose the problems states will face in regulation and dispensation if wider legalization becomes a reality.
Definition Cannabis sativa is the scientific name for marijuana, with the leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds being dried for smoking in cigarettes, pipes, water pipes, and mixed into food or brewed as tea. Marijuana produces a mind-altering chemical called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). As the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, marijuana has been studied extensively and the debate over its effects and possible legalization rages on. Though the government has classified marijuana as a Schedule I substance, claiming it is not effective for medicinal use and has a high abuse risk, in more recent years the public has altered its perception of the dangers. With two states, Colorado and Washington, having legalized its use, and several other states legalizing the medicinal consumption and decriminalizing it, there is a perceived loosening in the strict prohibitions against marijuana and a public rejection of the old “Reefer Madness� image.
Effects THC passes rapidly into the bloodstream, brain, and organs when marijuana is smoked, affecting the
natural brain receptors that influence pleasure, memory, concentration, perception and movement. This can have an effect on mood, coordination, thinking, problem solving, and memory. Since smoking is the most direct way to disperse the drug into the system, it is the most popular method. But smoking is less popular with the public than ever, and there is a movement afoot by the Marijuana Policy Project to promote the use of edible marijuana products that have a slower absorption rate. However, the problem with edibles is that because the introduction rate is slower, it is more difficult to regulate. A New Zealand study on marijuana use in adolescence found that young users lost an average of 8 IQ points, and that certain brain connectivity functions were reduced somewhat in adulthood in those users. Further, they lost cognitive abilities were not fully restored in adulthood, although adult marijuana usage did not show the same mental declines. Obviously, adolescent usage is more important, in that it can cause deficiencies in growing brain functions that may not be recovered in adulthood. However, there are effects to the body, even in adulthood, that can make marijuana use contraindicated. Effects on cardiopulmonary and mental functions need to be considered. Marijuana smokers can suffer the same effects to the lungs that regular smokers encounter. There are no findings though that smoking marijuana contributes to lung cancer. But it is believed to contribute to lung problems in those who are already cigarette smokers. Marijuana use was also found to be a contributor to anxiety. As for marijuana’s medicinal effects, there are conflicting opinions. The Centers for Disease Control still considers marijuana an illegal Schedule I substance, and questions its use for medical purposes. Though many physicians have condoned its use to treat pain and nausea in cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other medical conditions, there is no substantive clinical research that bears this out. Opponents of its use feel that the health risks of using marijuana outweigh its therapeutic benefits, citing that the multitude of chemical compounds that compose marijuana have not been sufficiently tested to evaluate their effects. However, one of the chemicals, cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound, is being studied for its efficacy in the treatment of pain and pediatric epilepsy. One study has linked marijuana use to accelerated heart rate within an hour after use, putting its users at greater risk for heart attack during that time period. Marijuana’s effect on mental illness has also linked it to psychotic reactions in some patients, and it serves to exacerbate symptoms in schizophrenics. Marijuana is, of course, more risky for pregnant women and can lead to attention and memory problems in children. A rise in the potency of marijuana can also exacerbate all the foregoing symptoms, and can be responsible for adverse or unpredictable reactions. The effect on drivers also varies in relation to tolerance, potency, and different delivery methods of the drug, with results similar to that of alcohol users. However, vaporized marijuana use seems to promote the ingestion of fewer chemicals than the inhaled form.
Addictive Properties The CDC maintains that marijuana is addictive and that withdrawal causes irritability, insomnia, decreased appetite, anxiety, and cravings. It is also alleged that it increases relationship and other life difficulties, and that marijuana users tend to be underachievers who, as employees, exhibit more tardiness, absences, accidents, and workers’ compensation claims. Those users who kept marijuana use to a minimum were less apt to show adverse effects.
Status of Legislation Only two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized the use of marijuana. Both are currently establishing a framework for its regulation, taxation, and distribution. Colorado pot sellers have had
some problems with competition from illegal sales, since the high tax levied by the state has driven the price up somewhat. A number of states are still in a holding pattern with regard to the legalization movement. In the upcoming elections of 2014 and 2016 there will be several voter initiatives in which Americans can decide where their sentiments lie on this issue. More and more voters seem to be adopting a favorable view toward the legalization of marijuana and there are several which are on the verge taking that step. • Alaska – Alaskans have decriminalized pot for medical use, and according to polls, 54% support legalizing it. • Arizona – Citizens in Arizona legalized medical marijuana in 2010, and it looks as though they will be voting on legalization in 2014. Polls show 56% support it. • California – Legalization failed in 2010, but supporters hope to pass it in 2014. Pot is legalized for medical use and surveys show 54% of Californians support legalization. • Florida – Voters in Florida will decide in 2014 whether to legalize marijuana for medical use. Support figures fluctuate from 57% to 88% in favor of the measure. • Maine – Voters in Maine plan to address the issue in 2016, though they have already allowed medical marijuana use. Surveys show that 48% favor legalization. • Massachusetts – Having decriminalized marijuana for medical use, 48% of Massachusetts citizens support its legalization, taxation, and regulation. • Montana – Though Montana legalized medical marijuana in 2004, there are opponents of the measure, as well as those who oppose decriminalization. • Nevada – Though 56% of Nevadans favor legalization, and the use of medical marijuana was approved, there are no plans to vote on this issue until 2016. • New York – The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act is due to be introduced to the legislature in New York in 2015. Passage would regulate marijuana dispensaries, tax sales of the product, and allow limited possession and home growing by individuals. • Oregon – Efforts to legalize pot in Oregon failed in 2012, and supporters are pushing for it in 2014. Medical marijuana is legal, and 57% of voters favor its recreational use. • Rhode Island – With 52% supporting legalization and medical use having been approved in 2007, the state seems ripe for complete legalization. • Vermont – Vermont has not yet legalized marijuana use, although its governor is an advocate for reform and polls show its citizens are supportive of legalization. With so many states poised to make decisions on the use and regulation of marijuana, the elections of 2014 and 2016 will be a bellwether in the legalization effort. Whether or not legalization becomes law, the most important issue facing voters and the public is knowing the effects of the drug and how to regulate it and keep it out of the hands of minors. Most of the laws regarding marijuana use have yet to be substantively tested, and the burgeoning marijuana distribution industry has not yet found its footing. With most states adopting a “wait and see” attitude and only a couple actually legalizing pot use, it may still be too early to tell if these efforts have been successful and whether the push toward legalization will make it a reality. Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.