Teen Marijuana use on the Rise: Is America Finally Ready to Discuss Regulation?
Whether they realize it or not, the American minor is one of the staples of politics in the United States. Both sides of an out of touch political aisle hold up our children and claim to know how policies will or will not impact them. For the largest group of Americans who cannot vote, children have an awful lot to do with governing policy in the United States.
Marijuana advocates and patients are accustomed to this. The excuse of “what about the message this sends to children” has caused a tremendous amount of pain for patients who have witnessed their safe access be compromised as a result. Sick patients typically are not wearing trench coats and selling drugs on the street, rather, they are just seeking relief. Patients would say the message to children should be “we do not sit idle in this country and watch people suffer when we can easily help them.” Talking to your children about why people medicate is a far easier approach. Marijuana simply having legal status does not put it teen hands. Like alcohol, (with far worse addicting qualities yet receives less criticism), there are safety precautions to make sure minors/non patients are not purchasing it. Direct conversation is always the best antidote, but just as television executives have found, parents do not want to be the bad guys and have tried to enlist the help of policy makers to make their lives easier.
Reports on rising teenage marijuana use have been making the media rounds lately. According to an article by the Associated Press that was posted on CBS News, monthly marijuana use by teens rose from 19% in 2008 to 27% currently. The article cites a study conducted by the Partnership at Drugfree.org. Additional findings included a rise in teenagers who smoke 20 or more times per month. In 2008 this number was at 5%, but has almost doubled to 9% in 2012. Morgan Fox, a spokesman for Marijuana Policy Project responded to the findings by saying “If we remove marijuana from the criminal market and have the market run by responsible business people that have an incentive to check IDs and not sell to minors, then we might see those rates drop again.”
The facts obviously shows that legalized marijuana is not the core of the issue as even in states where marijuana is not legal, teens have been resourceful enough to find cannabis. Our attack on marijuana for close to a century has created a black market, The Mexican Cartel, dangerous synthetics, and gross misinformation. Ridiculous propaganda that was easily proven false by the last 50 years of youth has only made opponents seem silly and created an even larger generational gap. If a rise in teen cannabis smoking truly is a concern, then regulation is the only way to keep it out of the hands of minors.
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Here is a copy of the thank you response sent:I want to thank you for votnig YES in support of the Rohrabacher-Hinchey-McClintock-Farr Amendment to H.R. 5326, the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill. Your vote in favor of this amendment was a vote to save substantial tax dollars while protecting the ability of states to regulate medical marijuana programs without fear of federal interference. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia currently oversee regulated, controlled medical programs, with Connecticut on the verge of becoming the 17th state. However, in the last 18 months, the DEA has escalated its assault on these programs, raiding and shutting down many compliant, licensed and regulated dispensaries. These raids have had a chilling effect on the implementation of medical marijuana programs throughout the country, causing delays that have negatively impacted patients’ ability to access the medicine they need forcing the critically ill into the black market. The Rohrabacher-Hinchey-McClintock-Farr Amendment would have put an end to this obstruction, barring the use of federal funds to interfere where states have chosen to regulate medical marijuana. I urge you to cosponsor a series of bills designed to protect the states’ rights to implement regulated medical marijuana programs to meet the needs of critically ill patients: H.R. 1983, the States’ Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, would remove marijuana from Schedule I and commission the Institute of Medicine to determine an appropriate classification below Schedule II, recognizing marijuana’s accepted medical use. The issue of regulating medical marijuana would be returned to the states, and individuals complying with state medical marijuana laws would be exempt from federal arrest and prosecution. H.R. 1984, the Small Business Banking Improvement Act, would protect banks that accept deposits from medical marijuana dispensaries from federal fines or seizures. H.R. 1985, the Small Business Tax Equity Act, would allow tax deductions for normal business expenses incurred by dispensaries and other medical marijuana businesses. H.R. 2306, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, would deschedule marijuana, leaving individual states free to determine marijuana policy, from prohibition to decriminalization to taxing and regulating, according to the determination of the state’s legislature or voters. The federal government would still be able to prosecute people for transporting marijuana from states where it is legal to states where it is illegal.Once again, I want to thank you for votnig YES on this important amendment. Please join the cosponsors on H.R. 1983, H.R. 1984, H.R. 1985, and H.R. 2306 and continue to voice your commitment to this issue.