By Monterey Bud
More popular than either candidate running for POTUS in the 2016 general election, marijuana legislation attempting to legalize recreational marijuana is anticipated to help fire up the pro-pot base in five states next month. While an elevated turnout would be great at the polls, the editorial board at USA Today is telling their readers to … wait on legalization.
From California to Maine, constituents will cast their ballots to either legalize recreational marijuana … or not. Advising a wait-and-see approach on the outright legalization of recreational consumption, the editorial board at USA Today is supporting the rescheduling of marijuana and endorsing the use of medical cannabis — concluding that most states should probably hold off on enacting full-blown legalization.
“This argues for some caution when voters head to the polls Nov. 8 in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada to consider recreational use measures. Passage would double the number of states that have legalized use by all adults who are at least 21.”
Ignoring the detailed reports exposing the reduced crime rates, declining DWIs, increased tax revenue, and increased safety on the highways and byways for those states that have legalized recreational marijuana, the USA Today editorial staff seemed reticent to endorse legalization.
“In Colorado and Washington State, the first to legalize, retail stores did not open until 2014. As the Colorado Department of Public Safety asserted in its first post-legalization report this year: It is too early to draw any conclusions about the potential effects of marijuana legalization or commercialization on public safety, public health or youth outcomes.”
Conversely, rather than believing that it’s “too early” to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of legalization, the editorial staff at USA Today implied there are still several unanswered questions surrounding the timely topic, and instead offered the opinion that voters should cast their ballots for the status quo – continued prohibition.
“Adults are better able to decide for themselves what risks they want to take, but the major concern is underage use. Science suggests that developing brains are more sensitive to the changes associated with marijuana use. Many questions remain: How much is too much? At what age is it most harmful? Do genetic factors matter? These issues often get less attention than they deserve in the debate over legalization.”
According to a 2015 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment report, 78% of Colorado high school students have abstained from marijuana use for the past 30 days, and 62% have never smoked pot. Also of interest, 91% of those surveyed stated they began smoking pot after the age of 13.
While USA Today suggests a wait-and-see approach for individual states contemplating the legalization of marijuana, since legalizing recreational pot in 2012, the Centennial State has witnessed a dramatic reduction in their overall traffic fatalities, violent crime, and teen use of marijuana. Maintaining students suffer from legalized pot through increased usage, the paper’s thumbs down approach to legalization disregards the ever-increasing tax revenue from legal marijuana sales headed for Colorado schools during fiscal 2016.
