Posted on 09/07/2019 4:37:12 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
Colorado's experiment with marijuana legalization has been an epic disaster, according to one doctor seeing its effects on the front lines.
Dr. Karen Randall, an emergency room physician certified in "cannabis science and medicine," said the legalization of marijuana has damaged, rather than helped, her home state. Randall, who spoke alongside former White House drug czar John Walters at the right-leaning Hudson Institute on Friday, said the public is being misled about the effects of recreational marijuana.
"I think the public needs to know that we are not okay," Randall said. "The grand experiment is not going so well. I don't think the public is hearing about this as they should be."
In 2012, Colorado and Washington become the first states in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The Centennial State is often pointed to as a success story with more than $1 billion in tax revenues generated since legalization. Eight more states followed in approving recreational use.
While the country has plowed ahead with marijuana legalization, less attention has been paid to potential downsides of the weed market. Randall said legalization has brought with it high-potency dope: The average joint in Colorado, she says, now contains 20 milligrams of THC, 10 times as much as the average joint at Woodstock. Concentrated products, sometimes called "shatter," can be up to 99 percent THC.
"My fellow physicians don't understand, they don't understand the potency that we're dealing with in Colorado at this point," Randall said. "The potency has dramatically increased."
Randall has seen a "marked increase in medical problems" at the emergency room she works at in Pueblo, Colo. She's experienced increased admissions for cannabis-related nausea and cardiac issues. Dr. Randall is likely not alone. One recent study found a three-fold increase in marijuana-related admissions in the aftermath of legalization.
At the same time many patients use legal marijuana heavily under the misguided impression that it has medical benefits, according to Dr. Randall. She cited one patient who used marijuana to treat his brain cancer—unsurprisingly, without success.
"Patients routinely use a gram a day, five grams a day," she said. "Why? It's okay, it's legal, it's healthy, the industry has said it will cure all kinds of diseases."
The Colorado state government is also working to perpetuate this belief. Randall cited the state's recent decision to add Autism Spectrum Disorder to the list of conditions eligible for treatment with medical marijuana, which specifically permits the drug's use by minors. The Autism Science Foundation says there is "limited research, and no evidence, on the potential short-term, long-term or neurodevelopmental risks and benefits of medical marijuana or its related compounds in ASD."
There is, however, evidence that marijuana adversely affects developing brains. The U.S. surgeon general warned that chronic teen marijuana use negatively affects IQ, school performance, and is even linked to psychotic disorders including schizophrenia.
Randall said the state government has not only ignored scientific findings about marijuana's effects to push sales, but failed in the regulatory responsibility it promised would accompany legalization. The surgeon general's report noted that marijuana use during pregnancy is linked to "adverse outcomes, including lower birth weight." A recent study of Colorado dispensaries found that 69 percent recommended women use marijuana anyway, with some actually discouraging mothers from telling their doctors about their drug use.
Randall pointed to other commonly cited effects of legalization, including a historic increase in homelessness and a growing population of chronic, marijuana-dependent users. All of these, she suggested, have gone unreported in spite of the toll they are taking on her community.
The glittering image of post-legalization Colorado—with billions in tax revenue and a happy populace—runs up against the uncomfortable reality of poor regulation and patients dangerously misguided about the risks and benefits of marijuana use.
"There are a whole host of us who are speaking out about it, and people need to start listening and looking to the future," Randall said. "This is going to be a crisis with potential long-term consequences that will far outpace the opioid crisis, with lasting damages and lasting injuries, as well as a significant cost to the public."
Let’s not forget that 25 year olds still have “undeveloped” brains. I had thought that brain development continues until age 25, but I have recently heard scientists at conferences say that the brain does not mature until age 30. Meaning that marijuana use among the young is a bigger problem than we thought. It is not likely that a 30 year old who has stayed clean his whole life is going to take up marijuana use, and the younger people who are more inclined to experiment are at the highest risk for brain damage.
“Your numbers are way off. Might want to check your math.”
Which numbers? What do you propose as correct?
Anecdotes are interesting but not terribly illuminating. I knew two brothers back in the 60s who took LSD every weekend. Both ended up PhDs in Physics and worked for NASA for decades. So anecdotally, I could recommend one take LSD every weekend if you wanted to work for NASA. Of course, it’s ridiculous.
I’ll wait to hear the rebuttal from Ashley Roachclip, President, United Heads for Hemp...
I talked to a fireman a couple of years ago who had a brother who became a pothead as a teenager. The brother never amounted to anything, and eventually died of the addiction. The fireman’s attitude towards his brother was “good riddance.”
Plenty of ‘rebuttals’ right here on this thread.
The Lottery funding Public School makes sense.
A bunch of dumb people play the hopeless Lottery.
Public school creates a bunch of hopeless dumb people,
to play the Lottery. Win, win.
Evidence? I believe SAMHSA stats show only modest increases in use in legalizing states.
I can’t help but notice it.
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and used to consider SF as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Two years ago, when I visited, there were areas permeated with pot smoke, and I had to hurry past for fear that staying too long would cause me to fail a urinalysis. The city is filthy now, and looks more like a third world slum than a world class city.
Here in MD, I drive past “medical dispensaries” all the time. We have all heard about the problems in Baltimore, and I live along a major drug trafficking hub.
It is becoming impossible to avoid the effects of rampant drug abuse. I’m afraid that the whole country is being dragged down.
That estimate is an extrapolation from IV administration to lab rats. They've been unable to kill larger lab mammals with any dose of THC.
“Given that the dose to cause a “high” is fairly high, and that the typical dose delivered by smoking a joint is fairly low, I fully expect that consuming a few grams of THC in one dose will easily overwhelm whatever resistance the pothead may have. He can easily die.”
AOC has a degree too.
You seem to be quite hysterical, doc.
I’m glad people who know as little as you do don’t have the power to effect anything.
Yeah, you are so right. I am only a scientist with a PhD in the area of toxicology, and who is currently the head of a neurological toxicology research department. Yep, I have no understanding whatsoever of how intoxicants affect the brain or cause lethality.
Given that the dose to cause a “high” is fairly low, and that the typical dose delivered by smoking a joint is fairly low, I fully expect that consuming a few grams of THC in one dose will easily overwhelm whatever resistance the pothead may have. He can easily die.
Marijuana causing problems. Well, duuuuuuh!
There is no sound evidence that laws against marijuana reduce its incidence to any substantial degree. And while the FBI reports that 2 in 3 murders are solved, assuredly no more than 2 of 3,000 marijuana "crimes" even come to the attention of law enforcement - which is to be expected, because while murder has a victim, every participant in a marijuana "crime" wants it to succeed and go undetected.
With the recent research coming out about the damaging effects of pot use, and the real world negative effects of legalization, the more the pot defenders arguments are sounding like democrats. Twist the facts, mock research that doesn’t fit your agenda, and belittle dissenting voices.
The point was that most of the funds don’t go to where they were supposed to.
Whoever wrote that headline was obviously smoking some good stuff.
As far as I know, AOC does not have a degree in any subject that requires actual understanding of fundamental scientific principles, nor does she have an advanced degree in any subject. Not only do we not know her GPA, which would tell us how well she actually learned, but her major and minor were in subjects that are notoriously short of empirical substantiation and are highly susceptible to being vehicles for political indoctrination rather than education.
Having a STEM PhD means that I had to demonstrate deep mastery of fundamental principles and had to conduct rigorous laboratory research to get the degree. In no way is a STEM PhD comparable to any study in soft subjects.
Anyone who has experienced a loved one who is addicted to marijuana knows that it is a recipe for disaster. But that’s what the Left wants. A stoned citizenry is a compliant citizenry.
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