Connecticut Medical Society Steps Up Opposition, Warnings on Marijuana Legalization
/As Connecticut appears increasingly likely to permit legal use of recreational marijuana, the Connecticut State Medical Society is again raising strident concerns about the public health dangers of doing so. The state legislature is actively considering legislation that could make marijuana use legal within the next year, and many observers have predicted approval is more likely than not.
“Chronic marijuana use has long-term cognitive effects,” warns Dr. Gregory Shangold, President of the Society, in a recent interview on the Connecticut Medical Society podcast. Shangold, an emergency physician, pointed out that the potency of the current marijuana substances is much higher than years ago, and “we’re seeing the effects of that.”
In testimony before the legislature’s Public Health Committee, the Society offered forceful opposition.
“CSMS is fiercely opposed to the legalization of recreational marijuana. We have significant concerns about the lack of scientific evidence that supports recreational marijuana use by adults and young adults,” the testimony stated.
“We must look at the potential effect legalization will have on overall use and significant harms, including impaired driving and accidents, creation and worsening of severe mental health issues, and negative impacts on developing minds. The rush towards legalization of recreational marijuana ignores how profit-driven corporations hooked generations of Americans on cigarettes and opioids, killing millions and straining public resources. We need to learn the lessons from history to ensure that any legalized marijuana product does not become the Big Tobacco of the 21st Century.”
On the podcast, and in the testimony, much of the focus was on youth. Two recent studies, on published in the U.S., the other in Europe, raised similar concerns earlier this year.
“Research on adolescent brain development has found that brain maturation, particularly that of the prefrontal cortex, proceeds into the mid-20s. The earlier an adolescent experiments with marijuana, the more at risk they are for increased substance use later in life,” the testimony stated.
Shangold, in the podcast interview, said that “one of the dangers of ongoing discussion of legalization of recreational marijuana in recent years is that, particularly among youth, we’ve “lowered the impression that this is a harmful substance.” In Connecticut, and particularly in states that have already legalized, Shangold said, “we’re seeing the results… The truth of the matter is that youth are now using it more.”
He noted in the podcast a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association that indicates impairment among youth can linger for up to 5 hours after use, which he says can be particularly dangerous if young people are driving during that time. He underscores that the state has taken steps through the years, through motor vehicle laws, to protect the safety of young drivers. Legalizing recreational marijuana would do just the opposite.
He also pointed out that state government has an infrastructure – and funding – in place to discourage youth from smoking cigarettes. No such effort exists regarding marijuana, which also heightens concern among physicians as to what might occur if legalization were to proceed.
In an op-ed appearing this week in The Hartford Courant, Shangold indicated that “since the state of Washington legalized the recreational use of marijuana studies have shown that 23% of youths who committed suicide had marijuana in their systems – up from 14%.” He also noted that “cannabis user disorder in young people has grown 25% in states that have legalized marijuana.”
“This isn’t a theoretical,” Shangold stressed in the podcast. “Many states have passed this, and we’ve seen the deleterious effects. This is what will happen to Connecticut if we pursue legalizing recreational marijuana.”
In the event this legislation does move forward, the Society is calling for mitigation measures to lessen the impact on public health, particularly the health of Connecticut’s adolescents and youth. They urge the legislature to:
Raise the legal age of marijuana use and purchase to 25
Ensure dispensaries are not within close proximity to college campuses
Restrict marketing efforts overall and in particular to individuals under the age of 25
Restrict purchase amounts for consumers between the ages of 21 and 25
“We believe Connecticut should not sacrifice the health and well-being of our youths for the unproven promise of increased revenues,” Shangold emphasized in this week’s op-ed. “Allowing the recreational use of marijuana is bad science, bad policy and dangerous to Connecticut’s public health.”
