Prohibiting marijuana “doesn’t make our state any stronger or safer, and in the end, it hurts our kids, our families and our communities,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a speech on Monday, Feb. 18. In that same speech, he announced plans to decriminalize possession of 25 grams or less of cannabis for personal consumption, as well as the complete legalization of medical marijuana in the state. While this is wonderful news, some Wisconsinites might fear potential consequences due to some exceedingly long-lived myths about cannabis/marijuana—some of the most common of which follow.
Decriminalization (and eventual legalization) means that more people will start consuming cannabis.
Studying the experience of Colorado—which was compiled in an October 2018 government-mandated study called “Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado”—makes an interesting case against this myth. Colorado’s government concluded that the state “is not experiencing an increase in youth usage of marijuana,” and due to an increased effort in awareness, “the proportion of students trying marijuana before age 13 went down from 9.2% in 2015 to 6.5% in 2017.” Regardless, along with alcohol, marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs in the country. The latest federal survey on drug use found that nearly half of the American population used marijuana at least once despite its illegal status; it could hardly be any more popular.
There will be more DUIs.
As Colorado shows, accepting cannabis as a part of life means that traffic officers can be better trained to detect it, making roads safer. The percentage of DUIs with “marijuana-only impairment has stayed steady, at around 7%,” according to Colorado’s government, and the state’s “DUI cases overall were down 15%” since cannabis was legalized.
Crime will increase.
The case study in Colorado shows that legalization did not particularly influence crime. Since the legalization of marijuana, the state has seen a significant decline in property crime and a slight increase in violent crime—but both changes are within expected variations and cannot be attributed to cannabis.
Marijuana is a gateway drug.
“This is a bit unclear, and it’s important to note that the true gateway drugs are alcohol and tobacco. Use of those substances almost always precedes cannabis use,” explains Randall Brown, addiction expert and director of the University of Wisconsin Hospital’s Center for Addictive Disorders. “The vast majority of those who use cannabis do not move on to harder drugs. Mechanisms for that movement through substances are quite complex and involve individual genetic predispositions, environment of upbringing, childhood trauma, abuse, peer network, exposure to drugs and a host of other individual and social factors.”
Marijuana is addictive.
Marijuana does not cause the same kind of physical addiction that other drugs can, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It is, however, true that regular users can become dependent on it, as using marijuana is so pleasant that some people habitually use more than is reasonable.
“Cannabis can provide relief from some symptoms of illness,” Brown explains. “Users often report relief from anxiety, and repeated use to relieve those symptoms may create a form of psychological dependence. This occurs in about 8-9% of regular users.” Withdrawal symptoms are very mild, even after decades of heavy daily use: “Symptoms can include nausea, anxiety, insomnia and headaches,” according to Brown. “Symptoms of possible cannabis withdrawal (e.g. irritable or anxious mood, perspiration, nausea and sleep disturbances) have been described in association with the use of very high doses, but their clinical significance is uncertain,” the World Health Organization adds.
Alcohol, on the other hand, causes serious physical addiction. Alcohol withdrawal can cause delirium, seizures, fever, and it can even be fatal, yet it is legal.
