HaCKeRz KrOnIcKLeZ 3/HaCKeRz_KrOnIcKLeZ.iso/drugs/say.no.to.leg

Internet Message Format | 1996-05-06 | 9KB

From: Barry Smith <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Shalala: Say 'No' to Legalization of Marijuana
Date: 23 Aug 1995 04:52:51 GMT
Message-ID: <41ec73$[e-mail]>

Say 'No' to Legalization of Marijuana

Donna E. Shalala, US Secretary of Health and Human Services
The Wall Street Journal, August 18, 1995

Earlier this summer, the Department of Health and Human Services held the
first-ever national research conference on marijuana, at which scientists
presented groundbreaking information about the danger of marijuana use.
What was said has implications for every business, every citizen, and every
parent, particularly as new calls are being heard to legalize marijuana.

Peter Fried, who is associated with Carleton University in Ottawa, discussed
his preliminary findings that marijuana use during pregnancy has harmful
effects on children's intellectual abilities a decade or more after they are
born. Through the use of an animal model of addiction, Billy Martin of
Virginia Commonwealth University showed that compulsive marijuana use may
lead to an addiction similar to those produced by other illicit drugs.

These findings are particularly troubling because we have witnessed a
three-year increase in marijuana use among American teenagers, at a time when
more potent forms of marijuana are readily available: Thirteen percent of
eighth-graders reported having tried marijuana at least once in 1994 --- up
from 9.2% in 1993, 7.2% in 1992, and 6.2% in 1991. Still, as we commit
ourselves to contering this increase, we need to remember that there is also
some important continuing good news. Adolescent marijuana use remains well
below the levels of the late 1970s and early 1980s. This means that most
young people do not use marijuana, and we need to remind them again and again
of this crucial fact.

A Huge Mistake

Given the facts, it is surprising that some people in Washington and
elsewhere continue to bring up the issue of legalizing marijuana and other
illicit drugs. That would be a huge mistake.

First, marijuana is a problem in our country because it is harmful --- not
because it is illicit.  Research continues to show that it damages short-term
memory, distorts perception, impairs judgment and complex motor skills,
alters the heart rate, can lead to severe anxiety, and can cause paranoia and
lethargy.  Its use by young people is clearly associated with increased
truancy, poor school performance and crime. And new research by Roger Roffman
and Robert Stephens at the University of Washington shows that marijuana can
put a serious chokehold on long-term users who try to quit.

Second, marijuana use has great costs and consequences to all of us in
society --- not just to users. Young marijuana users are more likely than
nonusers to use other illicit drugs, to have automobile crashes, and to be
arrested. They are less likely to achieve their academic potential, which
detracts from national productivity in the long run. They are at greater risk
of needing expensive emergency room treatment, which costs us money in the
short run. Indeed, in 1993, twice as many teenagers ended up in emergency
rooms for marijuana use as for heroin and cocaine combined.

And, more broadly, drug use, including marijuana use, causes considerable
damage in our workplaces. Few Americans realize that three-fourths of regular
drug users are employed. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, employed
drug users are 33% less productive than their nonabusing colleagues. They are
likely to incur 300% higher medical costs and benefits.

Third, legalization of marijuana almost certainly would cause more young
people to use --- and become addicted to --- marijuana, as well as other drugs.

In part, that's because legalizing drugs takes away a significant deterrent
against drug use.  Moreover, for as long as we have monitored drug use,
we have seen that whenever there is a decrease in the percentage of young
people who perceive marijuana use as farmful, the percentage of users
increases.  Inevitably, legalization would suggest to young people that
marijuana is not harmful --- thereby knocking down a powerful barrier to use.

And even worse, because laws are rightly perceived by citizens in our
democracy as the expression of national values, legalization would imply that
marijuana use is an accepted --- and acceptable --- social practice.  For
many teenagers, that would intensify the already severe peer pressure they
face to use drugs.  Our daughters and sons would no longer have on their side
the moral authority of our laws to bolster their antidrug attitudes and
desire not to use drugs.

Indeed, reversing directions and legalizing marijuana could cause young
people to dismiss warnings they have heard from government and the larger
society about other illicit drugs like crack, cocaine and heroin --- an
erosion of trust that must never be allowed to happen.

What's behind the call for legalization of marijuana?  Sometimes, it's a myth
--- like the false notion that marijuana is a "soft" drug.  Sometimes it's
the erroneous conclusion that legalization is the way to make drugs less
prevalent in our country.

I believe there is a way to achieve a drug-free society --- but there is no
single, simple solution.  The Clinton administration has embarked on a
comprehensive drug strategy --- a massive effort to reduce both the supply
and the demand.  In this effort, the role of the Department of Heealth and
Human Services is critical: We are working with many partners to prevent drug
use, provide effective treatment, conduct research on drug issues, and
disseminate information to experts and the general public.

Specifically in relation to marijuana, we have taken a number of strong,
targeted steps.  We continue to fund major research on the effects of
marijuana use on behavior.  For example, within the next year, we expect
publication of the results of a major, government-funded study showing the
extent to which acute marijuana smoking and the potency of smoked marijuana
are related to motivation to perform work tasks.

Based on our growing body of knowledge about marijuana, we have developed an
aggressive communications strategy.  For example, we know that it is critical
to reach young people early, before they have begun to use drugs, with clear
information about marijuana and with positive alternatives for their time.
Young children typically have very strong antidrug attitudes; it's essential
to reinforce them.

We also know that in order to stop marijuana use we must send young people
clear and consistent messages.  As a result, we are working across many
media, with many partners, to tell young people: Don't start using marijuana,
and if you have, stop right away.  Marijuana use is illegal, dangerous and
unhealthy. It is not cool. It is not respectful of one's body.  And it is
certainly not rampant among young people.  This is a message we cannot
emphasize enough.

Our research tells us something else as well.  We know that young people need
to hear antidrug messages where they live, where they study, where they work,
where they play, and where they hang out.  In other words, while the federal
government must provide leadership, it cannot solve the drug problem alone
--- and it shouldn't try.  We're recruiting parents and other family members
to set drug-free examples for young people and talk with them about drugs.
We're helping schools, community groups, religious organizations, the private
sector, and state and local governments to join forces to give young people
something to say "yes" to.  We're meeting with the media and entertainment
industries to promote programming that deglamorizes drug use and other risky
behaviors.  And we're challenging young people to work with us, knowing that
teenagers have a unique gift for getting into each other's heads and
influencing behavior.

A National Challenge

Make no mistake.  We face a national challenge, and our young people are
watching closely to see how we respond.  We must not blink.  It is
unfortunate, however, that the Republican majority in Congress is attempting
to cut back dramatically our commitment to stopping drug use.  On Aug. 4, the
House slashed $401 million in substance abuse and mental health prevention
and treatment grants at HHS.  It also cut $300 million from the Safe and Drug
Free Schools program, depriving more than 23 million students of services in
1996 alone.  A Senate Appropriations subcommittee proposed to eliminate the
Office of the White House Drug Policy Coordinator.

This turnabout is remarkably short-sighted.  At a time when marijuana use has
climbed, the foundation of success is education, prevention, treatment,
research, law enforcement, interdiction and massive community involvement ---
not legalization or gutting our national commitment against drug use.

As we tighten our federal belts and rethink the scope and role of the federal
government, we must never forget that the drug issue is about our national
future.  It is about real human beings, young people who have within them
both a galaxy of gifts and a fragility that leaves them vulnerable to foolish
choices and risky behavior.  We must be there for them.  We must do what is
right for them and the nation.


[posted by Barry Smith, [e-mail]]