1 ® About the Author John Allen is a freelance writer living in Oklahoma City. © 2015 ReferencePoint Press, Inc. Printed in the United States For more information, contact: ReferencePoint Press, Inc. PO Box 27779 San Diego, CA 92198 www. ReferencePointPress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, web distribution, or information storage retrieval systems—without the written permission of the publisher. Picture Credits: Maury Aaseng: 9; Steve Zmina: 16, 21, 30, 34, 41, 48, 57, 62 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Allen, John. Legalizing marijuana / by John Allen. pages cm. — (Thinking critically) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-60152-783-7 (e-book) 1. Marijuana—United States--Juvenile literature. 2. Marijuana—Law and legislation—United States—Juvenile literature. 3. Marijuana abuse—United States—Juvenile literature. 4. Drug legalization—United States—Juvenile literature. I. Title. HV5822.M3A45 2015 362.29'50973—dc23 2014030116 Contents Foreword 4 Overview: Legalizing Marijuana 6 Chapter One: Should Marijuana Be Prescribed for Medical Use? Th e Debate at a Glance 12 Marijuana Should Be Prescribed for Medical Use 13 Marijuana Should Not Be Prescribed for Medical Use 19 Chapter Two: Will Legalizing Marijuana Lead to Increased Addiction? Th e Debate at a Glance 25 Legalizing Marijuana Will Lead to Increased Addiction 26 Legalizing Marijuana Will Not Lead to Increased Addiction 32 Chapter Th ree: Does Using Marijuana Present Health Risks? Th e Debate at a Glance 38 Marijuana Use Presents Signifi cant Health Risks 39 Marijuana Use Does Not Present Signifi cant Health Risks 46 Chapter Four: Does Legalizing Marijuana Benefi t Society? Th e Debate at a Glance 52 Legalizing Marijuana Benefi ts Society 53 Legalizing Marijuana Does Not Benefi t Society 59 Source Notes 65 Marijuana Facts 69 Related Organizations and Websites 72 For Further Research 76 Index 78 Foreword “Literacy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy we’re liv- ing in today.” Barack Obama (at the time a senator from Illinois) spoke these words during a 2005 speech before the American Library Associa- tion. One question raised by this statement is: What does it mean to be a literate person in the twenty-fi rst century? E.D. Hirsch Jr., author of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, answers the question this way: “To be culturally literate is to possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world. Th e breadth of the information is great, extending over the major do- mains of human activity from sports to science.” But literacy in the twenty-fi rst century goes beyond the accumula- tion of knowledge gained through study and experience and expanded over time. Now more than ever literacy requires the ability to sift through and evaluate vast amounts of information and, as the authors of the Common Core State Standards state, to “demonstrate the cogent reason- ing and use of evidence that is essential to both private deliberation and responsible citizenship in a democratic republic.” Th e Th inking Critically series challenges students to become dis- cerning readers, to think independently, and to engage and develop their skills as critical thinkers. Th rough a narrative-driven, pro/con for- mat, the series introduces students to the complex issues that dominate public discourse—topics such as gun control and violence, social net- working, and medical marijuana. All chapters revolve around a single, pointed question such as Can Stronger Gun Control Measures Pre- vent Mass Shootings?, or Does Social Networking Benefi t Society?, or Should Medical Marijuana Be Legalized? Th is inquiry-based approach introduces student researchers to core issues and concerns on a given topic. Each chapter includes one part that argues the affi rmative and one part that argues the negative—all written by a single author. With the single-author format the predominant arguments for and against an 4 issue can be synthesized into clear, accessible discussions supported by details and evidence including relevant facts, direct quotes, current ex- amples, and statistical illustrations. All volumes include focus questions to guide students as they read each pro/con discussion, a list of key facts, and an annotated list of related organizations and websites for conduct- ing further research. Th e authors of the Common Core State Standards have set out the particular qualities that a literate person in the twenty-fi rst century must have. Th ese include the ability to think independently, establish a base of knowledge across a wide range of subjects, engage in open-minded but discerning reading and listening, know how to use and evaluate evidence, and appreciate and understand diverse perspectives. Th e new Th inking Critically series supports these goals by providing a solid introduction to the study of pro/con issues. 5 Overview Legalizing Marijuana On the fi rst morning of 2014 consumers in Denver, Colorado, braved snow and biting cold to line up outside a store called Medicine Man. Th ey were waiting to make history as the fi rst customers in the United States to buy marijuana legally for recreational use. Once inside they were confronted by an array of marijuana strains in glass containers, many with fanciful names such as Alien Dawg Hybrid and Maui Sativa. For those who preferred to ingest the drug rather than smoke it, there were cannabis-infused candies and baked goods. Th e fi rst purchasers left the store to cheers from onlookers and waiting customers. Similar scenes played out at each of the twenty-four shops across the state that were licensed and geared up to begin legal pot sales. Denver’s mayor praised shop owners and buyers for behaving responsibly under the new law. For many activists, the day represented a shift toward sanity in the nation’s drug policies. “Th is is what we worked so hard for the last few years,” said Sean Azzariti, an Iraq War veteran who was the fi rst purchaser at the 3D Cannabis Center in Denver. “It’s mind-blowing.”1 Not everyone was so enthusiastic. Denver police sent out a tweet asking people if they knew the law and emphasized that pot users could still be arrested for public consumption, driving while impaired, or of- fering the drug to a person under age twenty-one. Denver International Airport warned passengers against trying to take legally purchased mari- juana home in their baggage. Many doctors, medical researchers, and addiction counselors were wary about the dangers of wider availability, especially for young people. Politicians and law enforcement experts fret- ted about marijuana’s role as a so-called gateway drug that could lead to more dangerous substances. Even some patients using the drug as a 6 prescribed painkiller were concerned that sales for recreational use would decrease the preexisting inventory for medical marijuana. Overall, opponents’ reactions ranged from eye-rolling skepticism to pronouncements of doom for the republic. As the experiment proceed- ed, news reports noted troubling incidents related to use by children and individuals with mental illness. Five months after Colorado’s fi rst legal sales, criticism was mounting. “I think, by any measure, the experience of Colorado has not been a good one unless you’re in the marijuana busi- ness,” said Kevin A. Sabet, the executive director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization. “We’ve seen lives damaged. We’ve seen deaths directly attributed to marijuana legalization. We’ve seen marijuana slipping through Colorado’s borders. We’ve seen mari- juana getting into the hands of kids.”2 Many observers predicted that the controversy was far from over, and that each side would continue to marshal evidence supporting its point of view on legalizing marijuana. What Is Marijuana? One reason for the controversy over legalization is marijuana’s status as the most frequently used illegal drug in the world. Many view it as a substance that is basically harmless when used in moderation. Th e word marijuana refers to the dried fl owers, seeds, stems, and leaves of the can- nabis plant, which originated in south and central Asia and grows wild in many parts of the world. Th e shredded cannabis mixture is usually green, gray, or brown in color. On the street the drug goes by various names—as many as two hundred slang terms—including grass, weed, ganja, dope, reefer, roach, and Mary Jane. A related, stronger form is called hashish or hash. During the nineteenth century newspapers and medical jour- nals almost always referred to the drug as cannabis. Some say the name change to marijuana, which began in the fi rst decades of the twentieth century, had a racial basis. According to this theory, American offi cials sought to connect the drug to Mexican immigrants and other minori- ties. Th us, they employed the Mexican word to emphasize its dangerous eff ects as a “loco weed” used by outsiders. While the name shift might have played to prejudice against Hispanics, the US government was not 7 alone in its worries about the drug’s effects. Mexico actually prohibited the drug in 1920, seventeen years before the US government’s ban. Marijuana contains more than four hundred compounds. The high induced by using marijuana comes mainly from a chemical called delta- 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This chemical has psychoactive prop- erties—that is, it alters the user’s mind. The strength, or potency, of marijuana depends on the amount of THC it contains, which can vary considerably from batch to batch. THC levels in marijuana ordinarily average about 5 percent, though there is evidence that potency has in- creased over the years. By comparison, hashish contains up to 20 percent THC. Another chemical in marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), has a calm- ing, sedative effect. Studies indicate it can relieve symptoms of nausea, anxiety, and convulsions. The physical effects of using marijuana vary from person to person and also depend on how the drug is taken. Almost all users experience an altered mood. Whereas some may feel euphoric and grow more ani- mated, others may become relaxed and mellow—the state described as feeling high or stoned. By altering the release of transmitters in the spinal cord, the THC in pot can bring pain relief. Some users notice a change in perceptions or a distortion of reality. Users generally have an increased heart rate, reduced blood pressure, and impaired short-term memory and concentration. Physical coordination is reduced. Smoking marijuana causes the eyes to redden and the mouth to become dry. Marijuana use also stimulates the appetite, a reaction known as the munchies. The ef- fects of smoking pot subside in a few hours, but the drug can be detected in a person’s body for weeks. Employers who must maintain a drug-free workplace administer urine tests to screen employees. A urine test usu- ally can detect marijuana in a person’s system up to two weeks after use. How Marijuana Is Produced and Consumed As an illegal narcotic in most of the United States, marijuana plants have to be cultivated in secrecy. Often pot is grown privately in small outdoor plots or greenhouse facilities. Authorities estimate that about one-third of America’s marijuana crop is grown indoors. Larger crops are often 8 States with Legalized Marijuana for Medical or Recreational Use grown on remote farmlands or in forested areas. Once the plants are ready for harvest, the fl owers are hung upside down to dry in a dark space at room temperature. Th e dried buds are then cured in glass jars and packaged. Some growers use ethanol to extract cannabinoids from leaves, stems, and buds, resulting in a product that can be mixed with food. 9 Marijuana is consumed in many different ways. According to the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, most users (including medical patients) “smoke the dried plant for the quick- est effects; its active ingredients can also be delivered through capsules, vaporizers, mouth sprays, suppositories, liquid extracts, and foods and beverages.”3 Users typically smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints or in water pipes called bongs or hookahs. In general, smok- ing small amounts of the drug is less harmful for casual users. Marijuana in other forms, such as baked goods and candies, may contain higher levels of THC and thus deliver more intense, and potentially more dan- gerous, effects. The History of US Marijuana Laws Authorities in the United States began to focus on marijuana’s potential hazards during the first decades of the 1900s. Influenced by exaggerated antimarijuana propaganda such as the 1936 film Reefer Madness, the US Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937, which regulated traf- ficking of the drug with heavy taxes. Harry J. Anslinger, the head of the US Treasury’s Narcotics Bureau, wrote at the time, “How many murders, suicides, robberies, criminal assaults, holdups, burglaries and deeds of maniacal insanity it causes each year can only be conjectured.”4 Attitudes began to change in the 1960s when the youth culture em- braced drug use as a form of rebellion and a way to expand conscious- ness. Smoking pot became an accepted part of the hippie lifestyle. De- bate raged about the harshness of laws against possession and whether the drug should be legalized. Congress responded with the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, which classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, thus grouping it with the most dangerous narcotics and subjecting it to the most severe penalties. Nevertheless, several states reduced their penal- ties for marijuana possession, beginning with Oregon in 1973. In 1978 New Mexico passed the first state law recognizing marijuana’s medical value. In the 1980s the Reagan administration instituted a so-called war on drugs that included laws requiring mandatory sentences for drug of- fenders. But again the pendulum swung back toward lenience in 1996 10