[Vision2020] please watch it and pass it on......

Fri Apr 19 13:25:51 PDT 2013

Bill:

I work for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.  Specifically, I
serve as support for the Regional Advisory Committee on Substance Use
Disorders.  The RAC has been watching this issue closely.

The Idaho Office of Drug Policy recently put out an editorial about this
same issue.  As counterpoint to your article from MPP I've pasted it
below.  I will add that I have seen studies indicating that marijuana use
by teens is shown to decrease IQ by as much as 8 points for heavy users.

Office of Drug Policy_Marijuana
Editorial<http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=ScH3x4trT6U%3d&tabid=262&mid=1910>

Compassion at What Cost?

-Elisha Figueroa, Administrator, Idaho Office of Drug Policy

Idahoans by nature are compassionate folks. Caring for friends and
neighbors in times of need is second nature. But now pro-marijuana groups
are asking us to prove our compassion by legalizing an illicit drug and
calling it medicine. However, the legalization of “medical” marijuana comes
with much too high a cost.

In the United States, medications go through a scientifically rigorous
process to ensure they are safe, effective, and can be dosed and
administered properly. In fact, a form of synthetic THC has gone through
this process and is available to patients in the medication Marinol.
Idaho’s Office of Drug Policy encourages the use of this process to further
research and identify components of the marijuana plant that may be
formulated into pure, safe medications, free from the harmful chemicals
contained in the raw marijuana plant. Ignoring that system and using the
raw marijuana plant puts individuals’ health and safety at risk.

For example, the Institute of Medicine has reported that marijuana smoke
contains 50-70% more cancer-causing agents than tobacco and additional
research has shown links to lung, prostate, cervical, bladder and
testicular germ cell cancers as well as chronic respiratory illnesses.  Yet
we are asked to believe that smoking tobacco will kill us, but marijuana
smoke will heal us? In addition, the links to mental illness and addiction
documented in the research cannot be ignored. This is not “reefer madness”
as some proponents of legalization would suggest, but multiple studies
citing connections between the drug and depression,  anxiety,  schizophrenia,
and psychosis.

Trusted medical organizations such as the American Medical Association,
American Cancer Society, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Institute
of Medicine do not support medical marijuana. And lest we forget, marijuana
is classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule I drug
with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, a
classification that was confirmed in January of this year.

Additional risks to our health from this drug come in the form of public
safety issues. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, marijuana is the most prevalent drug detected in impaired
drivers, fatally injured drivers, and crash victims. In Montana, 43 percent
of DUID cases involved marijuana. Further, the Denver Police Department
reported in June 2012 a 69% increase in overall crime at medical marijuana
dispensaries and a 75% increase in burglaries as compared to June of 2011.

The negative consequences medical marijuana states are experiencing as a
result of these programs is clear. Compassionate voters believed they were
helping sick people and have been surprised and dismayed by an industry
that is overrun with fraud. Colorado’s Department of Public Health reports
that 90% of their “medical” marijuana cardholders don’t have a terminal
illness, but claim to need marijuana for pain or muscle spasms. Even
Reverend Scott Imler, the co-author of California’s marijuana initiative,
states, “Most of the dispensaries operating in California are little more
than dope dealers with storefronts.”

In a recent editorial, Mr. Taule pointed out that 18 states have legalized
marijuana for medicinal purposes and  Washington and Colorado have
legalized marijuana for recreational use.  This is absolutely true. He also
seemed to suggest that Idaho should do the same. However, I’m reminded of a
friend’s nine-year-old daughter who recently asked him, “Dad just because
other places have said marijuana is ok, doesn’t make it right does it?” No,
it does not make it right, and the health and safety of Idahoans is too
high a price to pay for “medical” marijuana.

On Fri, Apr 19, 2013 at 1:07 PM, Bill London <london at moscow.com> wrote:

>
>      [image: alert_header_04.19.13.png]
>
> Supporter,
>
> [image: alert_body_getiton_v2.png]<http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=ziBM7SNqFfq7ZUerATZu1g>Tomorrow
> is April 20 (4/20), a date that has become synonymous with marijuana and is
> celebrated at public events and private get-togethers across the nation.
> Whether you partake or pass, I hope you will use it as an opportunity to
> share your feelings about marijuana with those close to you.
>
> Specifically, I encourage you to start conversations with friends and/or
> family members who still think marijuana is too dangerous to be legal for
> adults. Help them understand that it is actually far less harmful than
> alcohol, and explain why you support ending prohibition. It’s this type of
> personal appeal that will get people to listen to the facts and reconsider
> their current beliefs.
>
> *MPP just released a short and entertaining online video, titled “Let’s
> Get It On,” to inspire people to initiate the marijuana conversation.
> Please take a moment to check it out – it’s worth it – and then share it
> with anyone who supports making marijuana legal. You will also have the
> option of sending an editable pre-written email to those you know who could
> still use some enlightenment. *<http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=jaYI1AsgSSvdRHrW3c3Jug>
>
> Winning over the hearts and minds of the people you know best is the
> quickest and easiest way to build support for reform. So please *watch
> the “Let’s Get It On” video today*<http://control.mpp.org/site/R?i=plldnsOQYvkvTRwHlVTv2A>,
> share it widely, and help begin the conversations that will bring marijuana
> prohibition to an end.
>
> Thanks,
>
> [image: Mason's signature]
>
> [image: Mason Tvert Signature Image]
> Mason Tvert
> Director of Communications
> Marijuana Policy Project
> Denver, CO
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