CALIFORNIANS MUST LOOK AT SCIENCE OF MARIJUANA

Like so many political debates in our society, the argument over
Proposition 19, the initiative to legalize marijuana in California,
is portrayed as good vs. evil, black vs. white, us vs. them - while
nobody is looking objectively at the medical science of marijuana. If
research does enter the debate, each side touts the scientific bits
that bolster its arguments and then ignores the rest.

The California Society of Addiction Medicine is in a unique position:
We take no position on Prop. 19, but we wish Californians would look
at the research before they make up their minds on how to vote.

We are the doctors who specialize in the treatment of drug abuse; we
work every day with people addicted to drugs, including alcohol. We
are a diverse group of doctors committed to combining science and
compassion to treat our patients, support their families and educate
public policy makers.

Less than one-third of the Society of Addiction Medicine's 400
physician members believe prison deters substance abuse. Most believe
addiction can be remedied more effectively by the universal
availability of treatment. When, according to the FBI, nearly half -
750,000 - of all drug arrests in 2008 in the United States were for
marijuana possession, not sales or trafficking, we risk inflicting
more harm on society than benefit. Prop. 19 does offer a way out of
these ineffective drug policies.

However, two-thirds of our members believe legalizing marijuana would
increase addiction and increase marijuana's availability to
adolescents and children. A recent Rand Corp. study estimates that
Prop. 19 would produce a 58 percent increase in annual marijuana
consumption in California, raising the number of individuals meeting
clinical criteria for marijuana abuse or dependence by 305,000, to a
total of 830,000.

The question of legalizing marijuana creates a conflict between
protecting civil liberties and promoting public health, between
desire and prudence, between current de facto legalization in
cannabis clubs and revenue-generating retail marijuana sales.

Each individual, family, politician and community must struggle with
these competing agendas in making a decision about whether marijuana
should be legal. The society wants to make sure voters understand
three basic facts about how marijuana affects the brain:

- -- The brain has a natural cannabinoid system that regulates human
physiology. The flood of cannabinoids in marijuana smoke alters the
brain's delicate balance by mimicking its chemistry, producing a
characteristic "high" along with a host of potential side effects.

- -- Marijuana is addicting to 9 percent of people who begin smoking at
18 years or older. Withdrawal symptoms - irritability, anxiety, sleep
disturbances - often contribute to relapse.

- -- Because adolescent brains are still developing, marijuana use
before 18 results in higher rates of addiction - up to 17 percent
within two years - and disruption to an individual's life. The
younger the use, the greater the risk.

Marijuana is a mood-altering drug that causes dependency when used
frequently in high doses, especially in children and adolescents.
It's important that prevention measures focus on discouraging young
people from using marijuana.

Prop. 19 erroneously states that marijuana "is not physically
addictive." This myth has been scientifically proven to be untrue.
Prop. 19 asks Californians to officially accept this myth. Public
health policy already permits some addictive substances to be legal -
for instance, alcohol, nicotine and caffeine. But good policy can
never be made on a foundation of ignorance. Multiple lines of
scientific evidence all prove that chronic marijuana use causes
addiction in a significant minority of people. No one should deny
this scientific evidence.

Physicians see many people who seek help in quitting marijuana. If
Californians decide to legalize marijuana, who will pay for the
additional treatments that will be needed? This question becomes
profoundly more relevant if your own child has become devoted to
smoking pot. If marijuana is legalized, a truly fair, socially just
public policy would use tax revenue from marijuana sales to pay for
increased treatments.

The Society of Addiction Medicine strongly recommends that, if
marijuana is legalized, restrictions must minimize access for anyone
under 21, and a tax on revenues must be directed to treatment.