Connor Driscoll

I/M Pd. 5 & 6

A Troubling Trend: Marijuana Legalization
Its early Sunday morning, January 11th, 2015. Outside the small town of
Bremerton, Washington, a Toyota Corolla is travelling seventy-five miles per hour, unusually
fast, along Seabeck Holly Road. Suddenly, it veers off of the road and slams into a tree. Inside,
all three passengers die on impact- eighteen-year-old Luther Wiggins-Stoudemire, fourteen-yearold Jenna Farley and sixteen-year-old Kassidy Clark. All of the persons in the car were students
at Olympic High School. A classmate, Damon Dore, commented of the three, All of them made
people laugh. All three of them made a lot of people laugh, so that's going to be something we'll
all remember here today (McCarty 1). The driver is the only one to survive. Seventeen-year-old
Marcus McKay is charged with 3 counts of vehicular homicide. During the legal proceedings,
McKay admits to smoking marijuana before setting off to drive that night (McCarty 1).
Washington is one of four states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Over the past six
years, the number of users of marijuana has increased by 5.3 million (from about 5.8% to 7.5%
of the total adult population) (NIDA 2). Support for legalization has grown tremendously in the
past decade. According to the latest Gallup poll, 58% of Americans now support recreational
legalization, up from 36% in 2005 (Jones 1). This uptick in support is part of a disturbing trend
reflected in the polls. The increased use of marijuana that accompanies legalization: 1) has
multiple negative long-term and short-term health impacts on individuals 2) acts as a
gateway drug, and 3) will lead to more marijuana-related roadway fatalities.
Marijuana has a diverse range of adverse short-term and long-term health effects. The
active ingredient within marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol, or more commonly referred to as
THC. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a government-funded agency within
the Department of Health, THC quickly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream THC acts

on specific brain cell receptors that ordinarily react to natural THC-like chemicals in the brain
Marijuana overactivates parts of the brain that contain the highest number of these receptors.
This causes the high that users feel (NIDA 2). The effects include: altered sight perception,
altered temporal perception, changes in mood, impaired body movement, difficulty thinking and
problem-solving, and impaired memory. These are the most widely known marijuana effects.
The more serious problems, however are the long-term effects. Repeated marijuana use is known
to increase the risk of serious lung infections. Any ingested plant material carries with it the risk
of bacterial of fungi infection. Furthermore, any type of smoke inhalation can impair immune
function because of a reduced ability of alveolar macrophages to kill bacteria and tumor cells
(Howden and Naughton 1). Studies have found that marijuana smoking may increase ones risk
of larynx cancer. According to research done in 2000 by the UCLA School of Public Health, Pot
smokers were 2.6 times more at risk for head and neck cancer than their non-potsmoking counterparts. If they used more than one [marijuana cigarette] a day, the risk jumped to
4.9 times more than someone who never smoked (Huang, Zhang, Tashkin, Feng, Straif, and
Hashibe 2000). Researchers have indicated that, it makes a lot of sense, because we've known
for a long time there's a lot more tar in marijuana -- more than cigarette smoke. So people are
being exposed to more carcinogens. (Hoffman 1). The reason why this is not highly publicized
is because it takes 30 to 40 years for many head and neck cancers to develop. Head and neck
cancer is not the only serious effect of marijuana abuse. There is also research showing that
smoking marijuana increases the risk of mental illness for those who have a genetic vulnerability.
Specifically, those who carry the AKT1 gene. This gene codes for an enzyme that affects
emotion handling through dopamine receptors. According to the NIDA, One study found that
the risk for those with this variant was seven times higher for daily marijuana users compared

with infrequent- or non-users (Is there a link between marijuana use and mental illness?,
2015). The fact that there exists these kinds of long-term mental health impacts has caused
many experts to claim that marijuana is in some ways, even more dangerous than tobacco. The
reverse of which, is commonly touted by proponents of legalization. Although there is a lot of
evidence on both sides of the discussion- only time (and more research) will eventually settle the
question about the extent to which marijuana plays in the aforementioned long-term health
impacts.
Gateway theory, or the argument that the abuse of so-called soft-drugs increases the
risk of eventual abuse of hard-drugs- is a controversial theory articulated by opponents of
legalization. This idea is vehemently disputed by proponents of marijuana legalization. Consider
this, however, according to data collected by NIDA, less than 1% of illicit drug users started with
hard drugs such as heroin or cocaine. Not only this, but there is a certain logic to it- 2 theories
that explain the gateway effect- the Crowd Theory and the Experience Theory. Crowd Theory
suggests that the social environment plays a significant role in an individuals choice to engage
in drug abuse. By increasing the accessibility and overall use marijuana through legalization, one
could get mixed up with a worse social group, or one that pressures a person to use more lethal
drugs. Experience theory proposes that those who smoke marijuana, and enjoy it, actively seek
out alternatives that provide a similar high. The claims are backed up by multiple scientific
studies. One such study was performed by the Yale University School of Medicine in 2012.
According to Amanda Cuda, an author for the Connecticut Post, The study found that, among
both men and women, those who had used marijuana were 2.5 times more likely than those their
age who abstained to later dabble in prescription drugs (Cuda 2). The study was perhaps one of
the most comprehensive of its kind, focusing on a sample of over 50,000 18 to 25-year-olds. It

found that marijuana was uniquely dangerous, as men who drank alcohol or smoked cigarettes
were only 25 percent more likely to abuse prescription opioids (Cuda 2). A survey of studies
by The Guardian, a left-leaning newspaper, conceded that, On the whole, research generally
supports the notion that cannabis use is a risk factor for subsequent use of harder illicit
drugs (Taylor 3).
Perhaps the most voiced concern by opponents of legalization is that it will lead to an
increase in marijuana-related roadway fatalities. Such a concern is not only warranted, but
completely validated according to the latest data collected by those states which have legalized
marijuana. According to the NIDA, Marijuana significantly impairs judgment, motor
coordination, and reaction time, and studies have found a direct relationship between blood THC
concentration and impaired driving ability (Does marijuana use affect driving? 1). Simply put,
legalization of marijuana will almost certainly increase usage rates. Marijuana is also a uniquely
dangerous drug. Unlike alcohol- which generally is metabolized at 1 drink and hour, marijuana
impairs a potential driver for up three hours. This is well after the high wears off. With more
users, comes a more dangerous roadway situation. In Colorado, the number of users increased
22 percent from 2012 to 2013, after legalization (Ingold 1). For Colorado, this translated to a
doubling in the amount of impaired driving tickets- from 33 to 66 in one year, and around 80%
of them involving marijuana (Harbarger 1). The worst case scenario, however, was played out
in Washington. According to the Associated Press, The number of drivers involved in fatal
crashes who tested positive for active THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana,
had held fairly steady from 2010 to 2013 between 32 and 38 per year. That number jumped
to 75 in 2014 (Associated Press 2015). The doubling of fatalities related to marijuana in

Washington, is a tragic, but yet very preventable situation. The real question is: Will other
states follow, knowing full well the risk?
Its unnerving to think that even with all the scientific inquiries, and empirical datasupport for marijuana legalization continues to increase. There is an undeniable link between
legalization- and marijuana usage rates. This also extends to youth, the age group that nobody
wants to see increased drug usage rates in. Although activists like to point out that the drug is
less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, this is not a reason to legalize it. At best, it amounts to an
excuse given when doctors and lawmakers question the motive for legalization. Similar logic
could be used to argue for looser food safety standards (after all, cigarettes are worse!). Even
with claims of biased research (on both sides), the fact that a well-respected government
institution, NIDA, has conducted numerous studies on the matter, confirms anti-marijuana
activist claims on the issue. The basic, overwhelming, medical evidence is damming. Marijuana
can lead to short-term adverse mental states, and increased long-term lung infection risk.
Secondly, marijuana might act as a gateway drug- leading to higher addiction rates of other illicit
drugs. According to the gateway drug theory, users are drawn into a different social strata
(Crowd Theory), which might be more prone to pressuring that person into use of different
drugs. Furthermore, the marijuana user might seek a similar effect (Experience Theory), and
could lead to a diversity of drug abuse. Lastly, the question of the morality of legalization is
arises when one looks at the increased roadway fatalities associated with legalization. Is it moral
to legalize a drug, which you know will kill a certain amount of people each year? Opponents of
legalization argue that legalization turns the victims into an acceptable loss, a mentality with
lethal repercussions. Although support for marijuana legalization is expected only to increase, I
hope that both proponents and opponents understand the impact of marijuana legalization.