Medical marijuana advocates hear it all the time from our opponents: medical marijuana leads to more teen use and easier access to marijuana for teens. Let’s tackle the logic of this argument, yet again, in a minute. But first let us discuss where this opinion comes from.

To believe the increased legality of something leads to increased availability for those who are underage is to assume that something being illegal makes it less likely that a teen will get a hold of it in the first place. This is simply not borne out by common sense or history.

Marijuana use continues to go up, despite federal prohibition and continued prohibition in most states (including recreational prohibition in every state). Marijuana is more available now than it has ever been, despite decades of law enforcement raids and the arrest of 800,000 people every year in the U.S. for marijuana offenses.

To believe legalizing marijuana in any form will lead to increased availability for teens is to believe that prohibition works. And if you believe that, I own a bridge in New York City that I will sell to you cheap.

There is no way legalizing marijuana will lead to it being more available to teens than it is right now in the black market. DRUG DEALERS DO NOT CHECK I.D. But places like liquor stores do.

“I think we’re going to be sacrificing the mental health of our young people if we pass this law,” said Dr. John Knight, director of the Boston Children’s Hospital Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research, about Question 3, the measure to legalize medical marijuana in the state of Massachusetts.

This man obviously has a lot of formal education, but where is his common sense? Is it that people like him are completely unaware of how easy it is for gets to get marijuana and hard drugs on the street? Do they not know how much easier it is for a teen to get a joint than a bottle of Jack Daniels?

If you claim to want marijuana to be less available to teens, keeping it illegal and unregulated is the most illogical position you could take short of favoring passing out free joints at school like condoms.

Source: http://bostonglobe.com