A COME-DOWN FROM THE HIGH QUESTION 2 CONUNDRUMS

The so-called Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative, or Question 2,
was not sensible at all. Health and science were largely ignored, and
the pernicious impact of this substance was barely acknowledged.
According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University, today's marijuana is 175 percent more potent than
in 1992 and 300 percent more potent than in the 1970s, and for some
it is physically and psychologically addictive and a gateway drug.
Potency is a function of THC, marijuana's primary psychoactive
ingredient, and THC concentrations have risen. Marijuana is associated
with impaired driving, problems with memory and learning, and poor
mental health.

Among college students use is widespread. Because THC reduces nausea,
marijuana contributes to increased alcohol consumption and alcohol
poisoning. Jeopardizing one's future with a criminal record is
certainly not helpful. But downplaying facts about health and mental
health isn't either.

Why didn't the supporters of this initiative, including some
politicians, educate the electorate about science and health? We can't
improve policy without open debate and with half truths.

Janie L. Kritzman