PROPOSITION 19: VOTERS MUST CONSIDER IMPACT ON CHILDREN

According to a National Drug Abuse Institute survey called
"Monitoring the Future" (2009): About 7 percent of eighth-graders, 16
percent of 10th-graders and 21 percent of 12th-graders had used
marijuana in the month before the survey.

These statistics constitute a 20 percent decrease in teen marijuana
use from 2000 to 2007. This decline is often attributed to strong
cautionary messages about the use of pot. However, the decline in
teen marijuana use is now slowing because it is currently the most
commonly used illegal drug. Could our teens be waiting for the big
party that will accompany the legalization of pot?

I have been in classrooms where adolescents argue in favor of
legalizing marijuana. Arguments range from the most common one --
it's no worse for you than alcohol -- to the rarest: Einstein used pot.

One will also hear: "My uncle has a prescription for medical
marijuana" (there can be no such legal prescription); "My dad is a
lawyer and he uses it" (yes, but you are not your dad.); etc.

Our young people need to be encouraged to think about pot in a way
that relates to them. Like all drugs, pot affects the brain and the
way we behave. This is particularly important for adolescents, whose
brains are still in formation. We owe our youth the facts about drugs
as they pertain to them; not the facts the way we see them.

Adults might feel they have a right to use or misuse any drug they
want, legal or not. But we're not talking about the occasional two or
three glasses of wine here. If you want to give a convincing argument
for the legalization of pot, don't compare it to alcohol. The misuse
of alcohol is rampant and costly to our citizens and our society.

Alcohol-related crashes kill someone in the United States every 22
minutes, and they are the leading cause of death among young people.
Of all murders, alcohol was involved in at least 34 percent of cases.
More than half of rapists had been drinking. Heavy drinking is
involved in 60 percent of violent crimes, 30 percent of suicides and
80 percent of fire and drowning accidents. All of this at a cost of
billions of dollars per year, not to mention the emotional upheaval
associated with the misuse of alcohol.

A convincing argument for the legalization of pot should not be
specious. Pot is different than alcohol and, as such, has its own set
of consequences to consider.

Doubtless there are many adults who use pot on a regular basis and
have not experienced anything but beneficial effects, from euphoria
to pain control. But we should give our youth the truth about drug
use and possible misuse.

Some of them think that legalizing pot means it has no ill effects.
Many do not realize that even if it is legalized in California, it
will remain a federally controlled Schedule I drug until it is
further studied and rescheduled. Many adolescents are not formulating
critical questions like: Do we need another legalized drug? How will
pot be controlled if it is legalized? What will be the possible costs
to me and to society at large if marijuana is legalized? Why does pot
affect me the way it does?

They are mostly hearing arguments like, "It's no worse than alcohol."
Some even say, "It's better for you than alcohol." Many will tell you
that they didn't even know that alcohol, at one time, was illegal.

It is naive to think that adolescents will abstain from pot until
they are 18 or 21. They do not do that with alcohol, and most likely
will not do it with pot. So, before voting yes on Proposition 19, we
might think about our youth and how we will empower them with the
truth about drugs and what constitutes use and misuse of them.

If we don't, they will go to the self-interested bloggers on the
Internet who spend their time dismissing honest questions as "myths."