Legalizing Marijuana is a Terrible Idea

It seems that many states, my home state of New Jersey included, are hell-bent on legalizing recreational use of cannabis. The arguments in favor of this, though loud and dominant in the media, are not particularly convincing.

Most of the advocates tout the desire to legalize the drug so that the state can raise additional tax revenue off of the sales. Enhancing the ability of an over-bearing confiscatory high-tax state like New Jersey to extract even more revenue from its citizens is never going to be a compelling argument for me.

Slightly better is the argument that legalizing the drug will result in fewer individuals in prison for usage. While I agree that we have far too many individuals in jail for such petty crimes, full-scale legalization of recreational usage seems like an over-reaction to a problem which may be fixed by simply reducing the penalties involved.

But the absolute worst argument in favor of legalization is that cannabis is harmless or somehow beneficial to users. You will find these types of claims all over websites which market marijuana-related products, and they are absolutely false and extremely dangerous. If there are any mild benefits for a healthy person using cannabis, they are far outweighed by the negatives. Sadly, the proponents of marijuana usage will often laugh off any suggestion that using their drug of choice can do harm as a return to "Reefer Madness," a supposedly comical early 20th century belief that using cannabis can cause you to go crazy.

The sad facts are these: the more research that's done, the more science has realized that cannabis usage for healthy people is detrimental, both on a personal neuro-cognitive level, and on a societal level. It is particularly bad for youth as the impact of the active ingredient in cannabis--tetrahydrocannabinol or TCH--on the developing brain can be profound and long-lasting. Here is a list of articles detailing some of these findings. I would encourage anyone interested in this issue to at least skim over these studies:

Cannabis as a Neuro-Toxin:

Does Cannabis Cause Lasting Brain Damage? (2012)
"Recent studies using high-resolution imaging techniques, combined with more robust delineations of specific brain regions in very heavy cannabis users, have revealed evidence of dose-related alterations, mostly in the hippocampal and parahippocampal regions."

Is Cannabis Neurotoxic for the Healthy Brain? (2013)
"Our results suggest that in the healthy brain, chronic and long-term cannabis exposure may exert significant effects in brain areas enriched with cannabinoid receptors, such as the hippocampus, which could be related to a neurotoxic action."

Long-term Effects of Marijuana Use on the Brain (2014)
"Our findings of negative correlations between connectivity indexes and measures of marijuana use suggest a cumulative deleterious effect of marijuana on OFC (orbitofrontal cortex of the brain) connectivity."

Persistent Cannabis Users Show Neuropsychological Decline from Childhood to Midlife (2012)
"Persistent cannabis use was associated with neuropsychological decline broadly across domains of functioning, even after controlling for years of education. Informants also reported noticing more cognitive problems for persistent cannabis users."

Impact of Cannabis on Memory

Effects of Cannabis on Memory and Cognitive Function
"Cannabinoids appear to disrupt short-term memory by interfering with the filtering of information, such that a greater volume of information reaches consciousness, overwhelming the ability to store, or prioritise such information for storage in memory."

The Chronic Effects of of Cannabis on Memory in Humans: A Review (2008)
"Sufficient evidence has accumulated from recent studies of cannabis users in the unintoxicated state to conclude that long-term heavy cannabis use is associated with impaired memory function."

Study Shows Memory Loss Due to Cannabis Related Harm to Mitochondria (2016)
"Acute cannabinoid intoxication induces amnesia in humans and animals, and the activation of type-1 cannabinoid receptors present at brain mitochondria membranes (mtCB1) can directly alter mitochondrial energetic activity."

Even pro-cannabis sites admit that the substance impacts memory in a negative way...
9 Ways to Prevent Cannabis-induced Memory Loss

Impact of Cannabis on Executive Function
(Note: Executive function is the set of mental skills that govern time management, attention, planning and the ability to cope with multiple tasks at the same time.)

Cannabis Use Before age 15 and Subsequent Executive Functioning (2011)
"The results suggest that chronic cannabis users process complex information more slowly and performance worsens in cognitive overload tasks as lifetime consumption increases."

Executive Function Deficits in Short Term Abstinent Cannabis Users (2008)
"The cannabis users, compared to both control groups, had deficits on verbal fluency, visual recognition, delayed visual recall, and short- and long-interval prospective memory....These findings suggest that cannabis use leads to impaired executive function."

Cannabis and Cognition: Short- and Long Term Effects (2011)
"A range of cognitive functions, encompassing attentional, memory and executive and inhibitory processes, are impaired both during the acute intoxication period and following long-term use of cannabis."

Impact of Cannabis Usage on the Developing Brain

Cannabis and Neurodevelopment: Implications for Psychiatric Disorders (2006)
"The effect of cannabinoids in the adolescent suggest long-term deleterious outcomes in cognition, depressive symptoms, schizophrenia and substance use disorders."

Effects of Cannabis on the Adolescent Brain (2014)
"Teens who engage in heavy marijuana use often show disadvantages in neurocognitive performance, macrostructural and microstructural brain development, and alterations in brain functioning."

Cannabis and Adolescent Brain Development (2014)
"Accumulating evidence from both animal and human studies suggests that regular heavy use during this period is associated with more severe and persistent negative outcomes than use during adulthood, suggesting that the adolescent brain may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of cannabis exposure."

Adverse Effects of Cannabis on Adolescent Brain Development (2016)
"These data provide compelling longitudinal evidence suggesting that repeated exposure to cannabis during adolescence may have detrimental effects on brain resting functional connectivity, intelligence, and cognitive function."

Societal Impact of Cannabis Legalization

While the above articles are mostly from scholarly journals, here are some news stories on the impact of cannabis legalization is having on society, largely from mainstream media sources that are otherwise favorable toward legalization:

Vagrants Overrun Colorado Town. Residents Cite Legalized Marijuana as Reason. (2017)
Pot Fuels a Surge in Drugged Driving Deaths. (2014)
Traffic Fatalities Linked to Marijuana are Up Sharply in Colorado. (2017)
Legalized Pot Sends More Teens to the ER in Colorado. (2017)
Is Colorado's Homeless Surge Tied to Legalized Marijuana? (2017)
Colorado Drug Overdoses Up in Almost Every County and Ahead of National Average (2016)
Survey: Colorado Stands Out for Consuming Drugs, Alcohol (2016)
Marijuana-related Fatal Car Accidents Surge in Washington State after Legalization (2016)
Fatal Road Crashes Involving Marijuana Double after State Legalizes Drug (2016)
How Big is Colorado's Drug Problem? (2017)

The message here is that even if voters and state legislatures are stupid enough to legalize this substance, if you care about the health of your brain, you would do well to avoid smoking weed. Fears of "reefer madness" may be overblown, but the conventional wisdom regarding the degraded behavior and reduced prospects of "pot heads" is pretty much on the money.

And let's not forget the ulterior motives of politicians and businesses who are looking to reap the benefits of legalization. Do they really care about the health and safety of the people they supposedly serve? Or are they simply looking for a way to make society more docile, stupid and ultimately easier to rule, while raking in big money? On this question, history is instructive:

A Disgraceful Little War -- The Opium War and Commissioner Lin

You have no freaking clue. None whatsoever.

I am living in a rural valley - very rural - no LE around - in SW OR. My DH is a firefighter and I hear dispatch 24/7 and I also know what goes on around my own area, and you have not a freaking clue.

Not. One. Freaking. Clue.

Today one guy was shot and the wait until fire and medics could see him - had to be scene safe - was about 40 minutes until LE arrived.

Slightly better is the argument that legalizing the drug will result in fewer individuals in prison for usage.

Oh. So druggies are not going to burgle or rob anymore, once the stuff is legalized, and the price goes through the roof? Gee, I wonder how they’ll pay for it? DUH!

Do you believe the federal government has the right to tell you what you may & may not consume?

If yes, show me where in the Constitution that right is mentioned.

Pills are legal you say? Go to the 7-11 and get some. Oh wait, you cannot legally buy them without a prescription.

Try again.

Do you believe the federal government has the right to tell you what you may & may not consume?

The drug trade crosses state lines and much of the supply comes in from the outside. Of course it's a federal issue.

Illegal cannabis equals more crime not the other way round.

Ignoring destructive behaviors doesn't make them better. Indeed, it make the self-destructive party likely to engage in more and worse behaviors. Have you visited Denver before and after legalization? I have. The difference is stark. The once clean and walkable down-town is now filled with druggies and vagrants.

“If you define freedom by the ability to get yourself stoned legally, you’ve completely missed the point. You’re not free. You’re a slave to the endorphin rush. “

Wow, what a load of BS. You got the logical fallacy disease in a bad way lol.

Individual liberty is about being FREE. It’s about being free to decide for yourself how you want to live you life, period. If that means you want to drink 20 cups of coffee a day & you can afford it, have at it. Same with cannabis.

You pro-nanny-staters are in the wrong forum, IMO.

I can destroy any arguments that legalizing mj is a good thing.

Idiots. They smoke too much dope and just want to be able to grow it and make tons of $$.

LE has busted some growers here because they’re shipping to other states. I forgot to mention in my long comment above that over the CA border in Siskyou county that Russian, Bulgarian, and of course MX cartels, and Hmongs already there doing it a few years ago, bought huge tracts of land for mj growing. Once it was clear CA was going down the drain into legal mj, these tracts were bought. Of course, as in OR, most grow ops are not licensed so they’re still illegal. Freepers in some rural CA counties have commented and they have the same exact experiences as I’ve described.

Of course they destroy the environment with water theft, toxic chemicals and these gangs often use slave labor on their “farms”.

Of course they destroy the environment with water theft, toxic chemicals and these gangs often use slave labor on their “farms”.

But, but, but...what about the "freedom" to give yourself brain damage?

Absolutely horrific.

Thanks for the link. Neither alcohol nor pot HAS to turn a lot of society into morons. But it sounds like both sometimes do.

Many people learn to use alcohol with caution and without becoming habituated to it or over use, especially people of European ethnicity. Native Americans, not. But marijuana is quite different, more intense, and much easier to become habituated to it. Modern mj is bred with such high THC content that there is really no way to use it just to get a small buzz, as people can do with 1 beer or 1 glass of wine.

Not comparable. and I say this as a teenage alcoholic and then heavy drug user for about 2 to 3 years. Thankfully - I stopped all drug and alcohol use at age 20.

I’m sure you are right re chronic getting high. But there are plenty of alcoholics who imbibe huge quantities of alcohol and get plastered daily too. I have zero desire to get high, since high school too basically. CBD oil over a long period of time can knock away chronic unexplained pain (for me, migraines), though. It helps. I’m glad it is legal. I make my own combo of 3:1 so it is just right for me.

I agree, alcohol can be and is totally misused, an old friend has been on and off the wagon for years and we all hope she can stay off “this time”.

But that does not justify legalizing a dangerous drug.

The actual medicinal uses for mj should be researched and produced; here in OR “medical marijuana” is a total joke, the state pays for it (!!!!!!) and everyone who has a “card” just smokes it to get high aka stupid. I’m glad that works for you. Ganja ie mj is used in Ayurvedic medicine but either externally, or in herbal formulas that would not have any intoxicating effect, but it’s mostly all external use. I have never used it in my herb work as it’s illegal and I don’t want to experiment with something that I do not know much about anyway. Some of the classic Ayurvedic herb formulas are very complex.

Cool that you are into herbs. Ever tried anything for adhd control in kids, with success? Let me know. Looking for something to try soon.

We had WONDERFUL results with the Ayurvedic herb bacopa for abject fear. Like social fear that didn’t allow a child to function in public or school. A couple drops in milk a few times a day, over a good year or so, and we keep it up. It has a nickname for us: “brave drops.”

“Modern mj is bred with such high THC content that there is really no way to use it just to get a small buzz, as people can do with 1 beer or 1 glass of wine.”

The notion that one cannot use small amounts of cannabis is pure fantasy.You can very easily use small amounts of cannabis to relax after a long day just as you can with beer or wine.

Yes, cannabis is more potent today than it used to be & I thank God for this every day. Because cannabis is more potent today one doesn’t need to use as much to achieve the desired effect/outcome. As a medical marijuana patient here in the state of Florida I can personally attest to this.

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