Legalizing recreational marijuana is neither safe nor smart | Opinion

In November, Florida voters will have to carefully consider the profound implications of legalizing recreational marijuana. Advocates say Amendment 3 will solve income inequality and advance social justice. This is a fantasy. Legalizing recreational marijuana is neither safe nor smart. It will lead to lost productivity and increased crime, drug addiction, health care costs, homelessness, pollution and traffic fatalities, as has been the case in states that have legalized pot.

Legalizing recreational marijuana is robbing the poor and uneducated and giving permission to a privileged few wealthy investors to profit from addiction and human degradation. Smart & Safe Florida (a misnomer, as marijuana impairs the ability to meditate and causes great harm to society) is the group leading the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana. It is largely funded by Trulieve and its “Big Marijuana” cohorts. They have spent tens of millions of dollars to fund the campaign because they stand to make billions if recreational marijuana is legalized. This is corporate greed at its worst.

John Michael Pierobon is vice president of the Tobacco Free Partnership of Broward County. (Courtesy of John Michael Pierobon)

“Big Marijuana” is similar to “Big Tobacco,” an industry notorious for exploitation and manipulation, but with a more powerful and damaging drug.

A 2022 study by the Society for the Study of Addiction found that in the United States, the frequency of cannabis use increased by an average of 20% as a result of the legalization of recreational cannabis use.

Marijuana consumption also increased across all age groups when Canada legalized marijuana. Canadian youth and young adults now consume cannabis at the highest rates in the world. The youth believe that because it is legal, it is not harmful. But making it legal does not make it safe.

According to the CDC, marijuana use directly affects “the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, decision-making, coordination, emotion, and reaction time.” The CDC adds that “children and teens (who still have developing brains) are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of cannabis. Long-term or frequent cannabis use has been linked to an increased risk of psychosis or schizophrenia.”

Marijuana can be passed to fetuses during pregnancy. Several studies link it to low birth weight. Marijuana use significantly increases the risk of neonatal intensive care unit admissions and stillbirths.

In states where recreational marijuana has been legalized, children, especially those under 10, are at greater risk of accidental poisoning from edibles and other marijuana-based products. The average rate of emergency room visits due to cannabis use in this age group has more than tripled, from 20.9 per 10,000 visits in 2019 to 65.6 per 10,000 visits in 2022.

A study published in JAMA Network Open found that emergency room visits increased by 475% when Canada legalized marijuana. The research suggests that “the number of cannabis-related traffic crashes has increased over time and that the commercialization of cannabis markets may lead to further increases.”

The risk of a fatal car crash increased significantly in states that legalized recreational marijuana. A recent study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine found a significant increase in fatal crashes of 22% in Oregon and 20% in Alaska when they legalized it. In Colorado, the number of traffic fatalities in which drivers tested positive for marijuana increased 140% between 2013, when the state legalized recreational marijuana, and 2019, according to a Colorado state police report.

A Centennial Institute study of the economic and social costs of legalized marijuana found that for every dollar in tax revenue, Colorado residents spent about $4.50 mitigating the effects of legalization. The biggest costs were to their health care system and the number of school dropouts.

Smart & Safe Florida claims that legalized recreational marijuana will be regulated. Today, the Chinese mafia controls much of the booming illegal marijuana trade, where it is legal and heavily regulated in states like California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York.

Anyone concerned about rising crime, health care costs, traffic fatalities and accidental poisonings, or who cares about income inequality, social justice and the protection of the most vulnerable among us, should vote no on Amendment 3.

John Michael Pierobon is chair of the Tobacco Free Environments Subcommittee of the Tobacco Free Workgroup of the Consortium for a Healthier Miami-Dade and an active member of the Tobacco Free Partnership of Broward County and Tobacco Free Volusia.