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Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Orleck, who is a retired pharmacist and lawyer. He served as an assistant attorney general under Vermont Attorney General Jerome Diamond.

Are you a gun owner concerned about passage of restrictive gun laws? Do you support legalization and sale of marijuana in Vermont?

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If your answer is “yes” to both questions, there is more you need to consider. If it is “yes” to the first question and “no” to the second, it appears you may understand the dangers.

Do you think the legalization of marijuana issue is the same that your grandparents dealt with in the 1960s? THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive ingredient of pot was only 1 percent during the Woodstock era but today’s plants produce 15-18 percent THC and in the form of concentrates can be up to 99.9 percent THC. Did you know that high potency THC available as “shatter” or “dabs” and in edible form can be deadly and cause psychosis leading to suicide, homicide and other violence? If you answered “no” to these questions, shouldn’t you now be wondering why you would support legalization? If you answered “yes” to this and support legalization, then you just might be addicted and can’t help yourself or worse. You could even be a criminal profiting on the addiction of others. If so you need to repent or hopefully you will be arrested.

By now you may be thinking about why I at first asked about your gun control position. What has the high potency THC marijuana of today have to do with gun rights? The answer is “a lot” but first consider this: Today’s legalization movement has little to do with the marijuana of the past, but the industry would make you believe it does and that deception is the foundation for their success. The deception is working! Public opinion is not adamantly opposed to legalization, and it should be. The deception is furthered by the argument that there is no way to prove with certainty that marijuana caused a violent act. With so many life variables, there is no way that causation can ever be proven with certainty and it should not be necessary. The relationship is there. Over and over, it is there. We should be hearing alarm bells and calling for an end to this legalization madness. The FDA doesn’t wait for absolute proof of a direct cause and effect when evaluating drug safety and whether it can be marketed. Statistically credible causal relationships are what they look for and public safety is primary in the decision-making.

When killers use guns and bullets the reaction is almost immediate naming the weapon as the culprit but the real malefactor, THC, slips away unseen to kill again somewhere else. Are you getting the picture? High potency marijuana is the real killer and the gun is an innocent accomplice. Until we get it, more gun laws will be passed and the violence and even the mass killings will also increase. Those selling the lie will continue to deceive and the body count will continue to rise but that is OK with them as long as they get paid.