LEGALIZING MARIJUANA NOT THE RIGHT PRESCRIPTION

"It's my medicine, Doc," said 18-year-old Jonathan, when I asked him
why he was smoking marijuana every day. Surprised that any physician
would prescribe marijuana for the anxious, depressed and disorganized
adolescent sitting in my psychiatric office, I asked him where he had
obtained the prescription. "A doc just like you. I heard about her
from a friend. Anyone over 18 can get one. All I had to do was show
my driver's license and answer a bunch of questions. It's good for a
year, Doc, longer than any of your prescriptions."

Confused and surprised, I questioned Jonathan about his treatment
with the other doc. He filled me in on his 20-minute visit with her
during the next hour and showed me a physician's statement that read
that Jonathon "has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition
and that the medical use of marijuana is appropriate for that serious
medical condition." No mention in the document of what the serious
condition was or how the medicine was to be prescribed.

Jonathan told me that he had gone to a dispensary and purchased the
marijuana. I sat there thinking about the thousands of prescriptions
I had written for young people during my 30 years of practice, for
each laboring over dosage and carefully considering the impact of
side effects on their young bodies. Twenty minutes ...

When I asked, he also told me that he had shared the marijuana with
his friends who weren't able to get prescriptions because they were too young.

With Jonathan's permission, I called the California doctor who had
prescribed the marijuana for him and told her about my 18 months of
work with Jonathan to help him with his depression, disorganization,
anxiety and lack of initiative in high school. I mentioned that
Jonathan had been smoking marijuana for about a year before he saw
her. During that year, his school performance, initiative and
self-esteem had fallen. He believed that he was less anxious but also
acknowledged that he was doing a lot less. I told her that this
pattern worsened after Jonathan purchased the medical marijuana from
the dispensary. She didn't know this, because she had planned no
follow-up visits to check on her young patient. It was also clear
from our conversation that she did not even remember seeing Jonathan.

I have continued to work with Jonathan. His parents, teachers and I
have spent months trying to help him understand that marijuana is not
the medicine for him.

Scientific studies support our work. Depression and marijuana are a
dangerous mix for teenagers. Extreme lack of motivation and
subsequent school and work failure are a common consequence of
marijuana use. Marijuana is also physically addictive and exerts
known negative effects on young people like Jonathan.

California and Colorado are both considering further legalization and
taxation of marijuana. It's important to recognize that Jonathan is
not alone in my practice. Fortunately for him, his parents, his
teacher and I are fighting hard to help him. However, it's hard to
counter that other "doc" who gave him 12 months of unsupervised
marijuana and the idea that it was his medicine.