A group of doctors who treat addicts in California have issued a statement expressing some reservations about the legalization of marijuana in California. Voters are expected to approve Proposition 19, a measure that would allow the drug to be sold legally under certain state regulations.
The California Society of Addiction Medicine issued a statement to the effect that people on both sides of the issue are either lying about science, or picking out only those scientific facts that support their position.
- The doctors noted that the language of Proposition 19 says that marijuana is non-addictive.
- However, about 9% of people who begin to use marijuana when they are over 18 years old become addicted.
- The rate of marijuana addiction for those who start using before 18 years old is 17%.
- Marijuana is a mood-altering drug, according to the statement, that causes dependency in high doses, especially in children and teenagers.
- If marijuana is legalized, the doctors said, it should be restricted to those over 21 years old.
"Because adolescent brains are still developing," the Society declared, "marijuana use before 18 results in higher rates of addiction ... and disruption to an individual's life. The younger the use, the greater the risk."
The physicians also said that if marijuana is legalized, more people will need treatment for addiction, and "a truly fair, socially just public policy would use tax revenue for marijuana sales to pay for increased treatments."
Posted By: Jane St. Clair