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Drug Policy

Poppot’s positions on Legalization and Decriminalization of Marijuana

Parents Opposed to Pot does not support the legalization of marijuana.  Nearly a decade of marijuana commercialization in Colorado and Washington gives us an informed perspective, and the policy of legalization failed at all levels. 

We believe that states that have legalized adult use of marijuana need to repeal it. The tax money does not make the social costs worth it. States with legalization break federal law, even if the federal government does not enforce the law.  Legalizing and commercializing marijuana should not be a states’ rights issue.

We do not take a position on decriminalization, but ask our supporters to explore the position statements of SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and AALM (Americans Against Legalizing Marijuana) for education on this matter.

Is it ok to use pot?

We believe the message to youth must be that no amount of pot use is ok.  This message will save lives, preserve young brains, and lead to better short-term and long-term mental health. 

We strongly believe that the use of marijuana is more dangerous than an arrest for marijuana. We acknowledge that damages from marijuana use on individuals are uneven and unpredictable.  The potency (percent of THC) in marijuana, the amount of use, and the starting age of the user affect outcomes, but no one can predict who will have a psychotic reaction from using it.  You do not need mental illness or addiction in the family to suffer extreme consequences from using marijuana.   Also, the brain damages from marijuana appear to come on to users much more quickly than the brain damage from extensive alcohol use.

We object to claims that marijuana is a “harmless herb,” “safer than alcohol,” or that it can be “regulated like alcohol.”  The industry targets youth through its advocacy in social media and advertising for marijuana.  The press fails at its duty to investigate false claims by the industry.  Drug education fails because it emphasizes harm reduction over primary prevention.

We don’t call people who use cannabis “criminals,” nor do we claim that people should go to jail if they use it.  There are all kinds of other variables that go into incarceration: plea bargaining down from other crimes; selling to youth; intent to sell, or if another person dies from drugs given or sold to them.  

Parents and children

We object strongly to any marijuana use by pregnant and lactating women. The medical evidence against its use, and the potential for future damage to the children, are strong.

We strongly object to the use of marijuana by parents who have children in the home, or by people in charge of minors.  Any marijuana use impairs judgment a great deal more than a glass of wine or beer, and the number of child abuse deaths related to marijuana use is staggering.  Whenever small children are left in hot cars or left alone to drown in pools, we should check into the caregivers’ drug use.

No age group is safe from the risks of this drug, which is not safer than alcohol or tobacco.  In fact, studies show that: 1)the percentage of marijuana users who develop a cannabis use disorder is higher than the percentage of alcohol only users who develop an alcohol use disorder.  2) Long-term, heavy marijuana users  have more downward social mobility, job and relationship problems than long-time, heavy alcohol users. 

Social Justice Issues

Inequalities in the justice system are not caused by drug laws, and are not unique to drug laws.  Certainly wealthy criminals can afford to hire topnotch defense attorneys, while low income defendants reply on public defenders.

Legalizing drugs is the wrong way to address issues of unequal justice, such the higher rate of arrests for black and brown citizens, relative to their rates of usage, than whites. We concede that arresting people for possession of marijuana is not the best way to educate them about the true dangers of this drug.

Problems of unequal justice should not lead to the legalization of drugs.  Legalization enables more drugs, and more drugs cause more criminal behavior.  Other means of criminal justice reform are possible, such as diversion and drug courts, which can help people without resources.

We don’t take a stand on the expungement of records for marijuana, due to the great variation in states’ laws.

Schedule I Designation

We believe marijuana must remain in a Schedule I classification, the same designation for heroin.  Schedule I is for drugs that have a high potential for abuse. Several agencies of government reviewed the designation multiple times.  Scientists in these agencies keep coming to the same conclusion:  Marijuana is a Schedule I drug.

The schedule I category also stands for no acknowledged medical use.  For information, we recommend a recently-published medical book, Cannabis in Medicine, edited by Kenneth Finn, MD.  

Whole plant marijuana is not medicinal.  If components of the plant, or synthetic cannabinoids, are “medicinal,” the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) should make the determination. 

Because the industry avoids FDA approval, it’s harder to hold them accountable.  For example, many people who became sick or died from EVALI were using marijuana vapes for “medical” reasons.   We accuse many medical marijuana dispensaries of failing to warn their “patients” of the risks, such as driving under the influence of medical marijuana and causing traffic fatalities.

Contrary to popular belief, there are extensive studies on the medicinal properties of marijuana.

Normalization and promotion of drug use

Marijuana legalization contributes to the epidemic of addiction, because it normalizes the use of drugs.  Addiction today is mainly poly substance abuse.  We believe — in contrast to the Drug Policy Alliance — that it’s possible to have a rich and fulfilling life without drug use. Whether we’re children or adults, we’re better off if we negotiate the challenges of life without substance use.  Using the term “War on Drugs” is passe, since the government stopped using that term over a dozen years ago. 

(For more detail, please utilize the search function on this website, for example “drug policy,” “schedule I” “mental health,” etc.  We refer the public to a detailed article from USA Today for the problems presented by legalization. )

 

Politics

Lies and propaganda designed to get full marijuana legalization

These claims aren’t based on fact, but they’re propaganda points commonly used to get public support for legalization.

  • Marijuana needs to be rescheduled in order to explore its medical properties. (The National Academy of Medicine Report of 2017 considered at 10,000 scientific abstracts to reach 100 conclusions.  There’s no shortage of research studies on marijuana.)
  • Marijuana is safer than alcohol. (The risks of marijuana use are somewhat different from those of alcohol. Seth Leibsohn’s article, When a Lie Travels, demonstrates why it’s inappropriate to compare these two substances.  Both are dangerous, but marijuana is far more toxic to the brain than alcohol. Keeping marijuana illegal keeps usage down which is a form of “harm reduction.”)

Strangely, pot advocates often talk about the dangers of alcohol as a reason to legalize marijuana.

  • Millions of people are in jail for possessing small amounts of marijuana. (The number of people in federal and state prisons for minor marijuana infractions is less than 1%. There is truth to the claim that blacks and Hispanics are treated more harshly by the criminal justice system. True before and after legalization, this issue cannot be resolved by legalization and it isn’t limited to drug policy.)

Not good substitute for opioids

  • Legalizing marijuana frees police to concentrate on more serious crimes. (FBI data from the first four states to legalize, Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon, shows that crime increases significantly after legalization. Those four states had about 450 murders and 30,300 aggravated assaults in 2013. In 2018, they had almost 620 murders and 38,000 aggravated assaults—an increase of 37 percent for murders and 25 percent for aggravated assaults, far greater than the national increase.
  • Regulation works. (Despite the fact that states have costly regulatory bodies, much dispensary marijuana is tainted with mold, fungus and pesticides.  Some of the vaping illnesses and deaths can be traced to legal, regulated marijuana stores. In other words, it’s not only bootleg marijuana vapes that are causing deaths.)

Not a tax windfall

  • Legalized marijuana brings billions of tax dollars into the states that have legalized. (In all the states that have legalized, marijuana tax money represents less than 1% of state revenue.  We don’t have detailed analysis of the social costs: crashes, traffic deaths, butane hash oil explosions, mental health and emergency room costs related to cannabis.)  States that have legalized faced a huge increase in homelessness.
  • People do not drive better under the influence of marijuana, as pot advocates claim. (Traffic deaths rose in the first states to legalize marijuana. Although data is preliminary, insurance company statistics suggest this outcome, too.  Mixing marijuana and alcohol, and multi-drug impairment is a rising problem that coincides with marijuana legalization. Drugged driving surpassed drunk driving as a cause of traffic deaths a few years ago. Marijuana is the number one drug associated with drugged driving.)
  • Marijuana isn’t addictive. (Roughly 30% of regular marijuana users in the US are classified as having a cannabis use disorder, versus 10-20% of alcohol users.  A study from UC Davis found that adults dependent on cannabis had more financial and social problems than those dependent on alcohol. Addiction studies show that 9% of adult users and 17% of those who begin pot use as adolescents become addicted. These statistics come from the last century and don’t account for today’s high potency cannabis.)

The most devious lie

  • Marijuana never killed anyone.  The most pernicious lie is that marijuana never killed anyone, which advocates repeat because marijuana doesn’t cause overdose deaths by crossing the blood-brain barrier.  (In addition to those killed by marijuana-impaired drivers, we have a long list of those whose marijuana use caused mental illness and led to other drugs or suicide.  Young people have also died from cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, heart arrhythmia and from vaping marijuana. Not to mention when people do foolish and stupid things when under the influence, causing accidental death.)

When asked in polls, about 65% of the people claim to favor legalization, but these polls don’t ask about decriminalization.   When polls ask about decriminalization, the answers change.

The Drug Policy Alliance, an organization at the forefront of drug policy reform, pushes for the legalization of all drugs.

Read our position on legalization and rescheduling.

Mental Health

Large new study shows teen cannabis use risk for later depression

Leaders of the Parents Movement of the late 1970s and 1980s feared their children’s pot use led to apathy, lower grades and other drugs. The old concerns remain, but the new anti-pot Parents Movement warns more about the fact that marijuana may lead to severe forms of mental illness.  A new study confirms that teen marijuana use increases depression and the risk for suicide in young adulthood.

According to the study, the odds of developing depression are 37% higher in young adults up to age 32 who used marijuana as teens, compared to those who did not. The odds of a young adult thinking about suicide were 50% higher in those who smoked pot as teens. The odds of a suicide attempt were almost 3.5 times higher in the pot smokers versus those who didn’t use marijuana. Continue reading Large new study shows teen cannabis use risk for later depression →

Testimonies

My 16-Year-old son died from marijuana

By Gordon MacDougall, Ludington, Michigan  My heart is broken. I taught my son that peer pressure is dangerous and that action is never justified because someone else said it was “okay.”

Henry MacDougall March 2, 2001 -October 7, 2017

 

Less than one year ago I received a parent’s worst nightmare at my front door: a Police Officer informing me Henry had been in a horrific car crash. He died a 16-year-old junior at Ludington High School, full of potential. No father should ever have to bury his son. The cause? Recreational marijuana.

How It Happened

It was the evening of October 6, 2017 (homecoming night!). Henry was at the home of a 19-year-old young man, “dabbing”, which is the use of an inhaler to breathe marijuana into your system, making it extremely potent.

This 19-year-old took videos of my son Henry both while he was dabbing and also after he passed out; he then let Henry get into his car to drive home. Apparently, Henry passed out again, only this time behind the wheel. Driving through a stop sign, he hit a semi-truck. He would die a few hours later. And my life has never been the same.

You can imagine my agony as my state now faces a decision on the November ballot on whether or not to legalize the very drug that took my son. I implore Michigan voters: please vote no to legalizing recreational marijuana in Michigan.

Marijuana is Too Accessible

When someone loses a child, you ask yourself, “how can I honor his legacy to make sure this never happens again to someone else’s child?”  Some people have said, “if it was legal it would mean less trouble in the world.” Those who make that argument are short-sighted, basing their rationale on their own desire and not on facts or responsible judgment.

Medical marijuana is already legal in Michigan but its use is already being abused. This ballot initiative addresses recreational marijuana, allowing every adult in a home to have up to 12 plants. Can you imagine how accessible it will become to children?! In spite of parents’ best efforts, when a dangerous substance is that easily within reach (often cloaked in gummy bears and brownies), children and teenagers will find access. By making recreational marijuana legal – this will increase abuse on this dangerous drug, not curb danger.

It is not helpful to point fingers at those who have lost someone and suggest we are to blame as parents. On top of poor choices, Henry made that night, this substance was way too accessible and acceptable to the people in this community.

We must do all we can now and in the future to empower law enforcement and the justice system to address those who are using it irresponsibly in our communities. To make it legal, will make their jobs all the harder. Facts show that very few in Michigan are in prison because of marijuana use. Let’s not open the door to unnecessary problems like recreational marijuana flooding our streets and homes more than it already is. Please, as a state, let us NOT lift the regulations on a dangerous substance just to make it more convenient. Your children are too important to make recreational marijuana more accessible.

Redeeming the Future

I know first hand that talking to those who are for legalizing recreational marijuana is a waste of time: one excuse leads to the next. I am not interested in rationales, or unsubstantiated claims. I lost my son because of his misuse of this terribly misrepresented drug. I am interested in truth and in protecting other parents from having to experience the pain I felt, and still feel.

I would do anything to go back in time and keep my son from going to that house that fateful night. In the same way, I want to do all I can to keep the canary in the cage when it comes to legalizing this poison. Please share my story, tell your neighbors who are not aware, inform your churches and your social clubs, make sure the coaches and teachers are educated and make sure your teenagers know about my Henry and the dangerous drug that took his life.

Together, we must tell others so we can be informed and responsible citizen voters on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Please, Michigan – say NO to recreational marijuana before it’s too late.

Thank you.
– Gordon MacDougall, Henry’s Dad.  This blog first appeared in Healthy and Productive Michigan website.

The high school paid honor to Henry MacDougall, too.  Here’s another article in which Gordon speaks out on behalf of his son.

Continue reading My 16-Year-old son died from marijuana →