opinion

Legalizing marijuana would do more harm than good: Dialogue Delaware

Several years ago, while my friend Dave Humes and I were visiting Legislative Hall, Sen. Bryan Townsend stopped us and asked for our thoughts on the legalization of recreational marijuana. Dave and I looked at each other — neither one of us sure how to respond, but we both replied that we, individually, and as an organization, really did not have a position.

My lack of knowledge did not really constitute an affirmative answer, but I wonder if participants in the often-touted University of Delaware survey were in a similar situation, not really understanding the full ramifications of a positive response. That survey indicated that 60 percent of Delawareans approved of recreational marijuana.

OPPOSING VIEW: End marijuana prohibition

I contend that, with a full understanding of the damage caused by the use of marijuana, there would be a much different result.

Since that day, I have researched, on many fronts, the issues surrounding the use of marijuana. The information available clearly indicates that the use of recreational marijuana would be and is detrimental to the citizens of Delaware.

BACKGROUND: Delaware marijuana legalization bill to be rewritten in hopes of passage

I am surprised that our legislators would not come to the same conclusion, when and if they research this issue completely.

I cannot present the entire body of research or reasons against the legalization of recreational marijuana in the confines of this piece, but I will share the most pressing information that I have discovered: No major national medical association supports the use of recreational marijuana; these associations are comprised of experts, and they are asking for more clinical research.

A partial list includes the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, American Medical Association, the American Pediatric Association and American Glaucoma Society.

Within the Rocky Mountain, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area report, published by a program in the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy, reasons abound to reject any legalization of recreational marijuana.

The 2017 report regarding several states, including Colorado, notes:

Marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 66 percent.

Colorado youth ranked No. 1 in the nation for past-month marijuana use.

The yearly number of marijuana-related hospitalizations increased 72 percent.

Crime in Denver increased 6 percent, and crime in Colorado increased 11 percent from 2013 to 2016.

In addition, 66 percent of local jurisdictions have banned medical and recreational marijuana businesses due to negative aspects associated with these establishments.

Add to these problems homelessness, diversion, treatment and the impact on the tourist trade, and you have a grim picture of the negative impacts this would have on Delaware.

Is this what our citizens and government leaders want for our state?

With irrefutable evidence from this report defining the problems marijuana has brought to states that have legalized it, I must scrutinize the two reasons Delaware legislators have reported that they favor the legalization of recreational marijuana.

First, they compare the current regulations to prohibition: Lawmakers believe we should not prohibit the sale and use of marijuana, pointing to alcohol as an example. Historically, repeal of prohibition for alcohol has not fared well in considering the health of our population nationally.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health organizations report:

Roughly 88,000 deaths are annually attributed to excessive alcohol use.

Alcoholism is the third leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the nation.

Excessive alcohol use is responsible for 2.5 million years of potential life lost annually, or an average of about 30 years of potential life lost for each death.

25 to 40 percent of all hospital beds in the United States (except for those being used by maternity and intensive care patients) are being used to treat health conditions that are related to alcohol consumption.

Do we really want to add marijuana to the legal column? Don’t we, as citizens, accept the prohibition of certain items because our legislators deem them unsafe?

We are prohibited from texting and driving, from receiving dangerous medications without a prescription, from using certain pesticides and from using drugs like cocaine and heroin, just to mention a few. The anti-prohibition sentiment is not a valid reason to legalize marijuana.

Let’s consider lawmakers’ second reason in support of legalization: the increase in tax revenue.

I ask you to consider the casino fiasco. Delaware permitted casinos in hopes of tax income. Instead, the state must continue to give them tax breaks and other considerations so they can stay afloat.

According to a Dec. 26, 2017, News Journal article, Dover Downs had a $137,000 loss in the third quarter, and the state recorded a record low profit of $2.2 million on parlay sales. This tax revenue plan backfired, as will legalized marijuana.

In a more closely related example, alcohol and tobacco are also heavily taxed in our state, but the benefits do not outweigh the drawbacks. If we make a close evaluation, it is clear that this revenue doesn’t even come close to covering the many negative issues caused by these products.

Use and misuse creates countless problems: Cancer, heart disease, hospital stays, traffic accidents, visits to the ER, loss of productivity and on-the-job accidents, to name a few. It is my opinion that we are traveling down the same slippery slope concerning recreational marijuana.

As the money diminishes, we are left with cleaning up the remnants of a bad idea. This is exactly the sort of reports we are getting from citizens, news articles and government leaders from Colorado.

In Colorado, the tax from marijuana is a meager 0.8 percent of the total budget. The economic cost to society will far outweigh any potential revenue generated. In addition, the initial startup costs alone will create a negative cash flow in Delaware.

With medical marijuana legal in Delaware and the decriminalization laws in effect, the case for additional marijuana use is not a wise one. Legislators need to study the impact of this issue on the states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Residents and visitors of these states report a negative impact, which we do not want in Delaware.

Legislators and governors view the legalization of recreational marijuana as a way to balance budgets and gain revenue for their state, but at what price to the well-being of Delawareans?

It is well documented that legalization will lessen the danger of marijuana use as perceived by adolescents. As in Colorado, this will result in an increased use by all residents, but this will be especially damaging to our youngest citizens.

According to the CDC, using marijuana will damage these undeveloped brains, cause addiction and an increase in schizophrenic reactions. The CDC reports that those that become addicted to marijuana have a three times greater chance of becoming addicted to heroin, which has already reached epidemic levels.

A former head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Asa Hutchinson, said: “From my experience, the best economic policy for dealing with marijuana is to discourage use by enforcement and education rather than legalization and taxation. Legalizing this drug will swell societal ills, and this outweighs the monetary benefits that might be achieved from its lawful sale.”

Delaware legislators need to put public health ahead of profits, digest the negative reports from other states and consider the opinions of medical personnel, police officers, educators, safety experts and others, in order to do what is best for the residents of Delaware.

I urge our legislators to vote against legalizing recreational marijuana.

Don Keister is a board member of atTAcK addiction, an advocacy group formed following the accidental death of his son Tyler. This group is working to end the opioid and addiction crisis in Delaware.