Dueling Sides on Prop 19 Trot Out Research
Categories: Cannabis Chronicles, Politics
As California voters weigh whether to support legalization of marijuana on the November ballot, forces for and against Prop 19 are stepping up the studies, statistics and rhetoric aimed at propping up their respective sides.
For instance, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), the nation's leading substance abuse prevention organization representing over 5,000 community anti-drug coalitions across the country, strongly opposes Prop 19.
Well, wouldn't you know that just weeks before the voter initiative's fate will be decided by voters, CADCA is releasing research that supports its opposing view to the initiative?
"After years of decline," CADCA cautions, "marijuana use among adolescents has been slowly climbing up again because fewer kids see it as harmful and more view it as socially acceptable." That makes this the absolute worst time to legalize the devil's weed in Cali, sayeth the buzzkillers.
"Not only does it send the wrong message to youth, it puts the public safety, health and academic achievement of California's kids at risk," crows CADCA. ". . . Since research shows a direct link between a decrease in perception of harm and social disapproval and an increase in drug use, there is no doubt that Proposition 19 will only lead to more marijuana use among youth."
Retired Gen. Arthur T. Dean, CADCA's chairman and CEO, also chimes in.
"With national data already showing softening attitudes and across the board increases for drug use--particularly marijuana, which increased in all grades according to a recent survey--this is not a message we can afford to send to California or the rest of America's youth. Marijuana already costs the United States $181 billion annually in increased health care and treatment costs, crime and lost productivity. So any revenue gained by taxing marijuana would be far outweighed by the healthcare and criminal justice costs to the state."
His group also claims pot proponents are ignoring "scientific evidence" that proves marijuana is harmful to the brain development of young people, affecting their motivation, memory, learning, judgment, behavior control, ability to succeed academically, ability to stay out of gangs, ability to stay out of a fatal motor vehicle crash and natural resistance to Pink Floyd, black light posters and midnight Del Taco runs.
OK, that last one was made up. Hell, they all may have been made up, so let's say the last one was made up by me. The makers of Prop 19, which is also known as the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, aim to make it legal for Californians over 21 to possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use; allow the use of marijuana in non-public places, such as a residence, or at public establishments licensed for on site marijuana consumption; and allow individuals to grow marijuana for personal use.
Backers point to other data to justify Prop 19 passage.
For instance, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), the nation's leading substance abuse prevention organization representing over 5,000 community anti-drug coalitions across the country, strongly opposes Prop 19.
Well, wouldn't you know that just weeks before the voter initiative's fate will be decided by voters, CADCA is releasing research that supports its opposing view to the initiative?
"After years of decline," CADCA cautions, "marijuana use among adolescents has been slowly climbing up again because fewer kids see it as harmful and more view it as socially acceptable." That makes this the absolute worst time to legalize the devil's weed in Cali, sayeth the buzzkillers.
"Not only does it send the wrong message to youth, it puts the public safety, health and academic achievement of California's kids at risk," crows CADCA. ". . . Since research shows a direct link between a decrease in perception of harm and social disapproval and an increase in drug use, there is no doubt that Proposition 19 will only lead to more marijuana use among youth."
Retired Gen. Arthur T. Dean, CADCA's chairman and CEO, also chimes in.
"With national data already showing softening attitudes and across the board increases for drug use--particularly marijuana, which increased in all grades according to a recent survey--this is not a message we can afford to send to California or the rest of America's youth. Marijuana already costs the United States $181 billion annually in increased health care and treatment costs, crime and lost productivity. So any revenue gained by taxing marijuana would be far outweighed by the healthcare and criminal justice costs to the state."
His group also claims pot proponents are ignoring "scientific evidence" that proves marijuana is harmful to the brain development of young people, affecting their motivation, memory, learning, judgment, behavior control, ability to succeed academically, ability to stay out of gangs, ability to stay out of a fatal motor vehicle crash and natural resistance to Pink Floyd, black light posters and midnight Del Taco runs.
OK, that last one was made up. Hell, they all may have been made up, so let's say the last one was made up by me. The makers of Prop 19, which is also known as the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, aim to make it legal for Californians over 21 to possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use; allow the use of marijuana in non-public places, such as a residence, or at public establishments licensed for on site marijuana consumption; and allow individuals to grow marijuana for personal use.
Backers point to other data to justify Prop 19 passage.
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