Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

It’s no secret that I have never supported cannabis (marijuana in all forms). I am disappointed that Arizona has legalized marijuana. It, along with CRT being pushed in our schools, the effort to demonize religion and the proliferation of the LGBTQ lifestyle, signal a moral decay within our country. I believe I represent the silent majority of Americans that abhor these initiatives.

Today I ran across an article written by a UK journalist in support of my position. I know that after reading this, there will be some pro-cannabis enthusiasts that will then cite articles demonstrating that cannabis is safe. We are all entitled to our own opinions on the subject.

Here is the link to the article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10976437/How-Californias-legal-cannabis-dream-public-health-nightmare.html . It’s entitled “How California’s legal cannabis dream became a public health nightmare.”

In California and elsewhere the use of this substance has become glamorized, trendy and often billed as a health supplement. That’s not what is being heard from ERs throughout the country. One doctor stated, ‘We’ve been seeing the problems for a while now: depressive breakdowns, psychosis, suicidal thoughts, all related to cannabis. The patients are regular people, not down-and-outs.” It has led to a new syndrome called ‘scomiting’ when patients are admitted to the ER screaming and vomiting simultaneously. Not a pretty thought, is it?

It turns out that frequent use is not worth the risks. “Studies have shown that frequent ingestion of cannabis can increase the risk of serious mental illness like psychosis and schizophrenia, as well as insomnia, social anxiety disorder and suicidal thoughts.” The article states, “In California, hospital admissions for cannabis-related complications have shot up – from 1,400 in 2005 to 16,000 by 2019. In California, and the other 18 states that have legalised (sic) cannabis, rates of addiction are nearly 40 per cent higher than states without legal cannabis, according to research by Columbia University.”

One of the reasons pushed for legalization was that it would dry up black market sales. Well, that proved to be wrong as well. Why? Because black market charges less than regulated markets. After all, they have no overhead and can sell for much less. It is estimated that the black market is raking in twice the dollars of regulated shops. Oops…that didn’t work out as planned.

It was also touted that with legalization police would be free to enforce more serious crime prevention. Again, wrong assumption.  It has led to a proliferation of burglaries, break-ins, car thefts, etc. The list has become endless.

What has legalization created? Regulated shops that glamourize much stronger products than ever before, in order to sell as much as possible. People who regularly and frequently use are more likely to end up in an ER with any one of a variety of mental illnesses. Addiction rates soaring in the 18 states that have legalized marijuana. Instead of eliminating illegal sales, business for them is booming and crime related to its use have skyrocketed. Its use is contributing to the social and moral decay of our country.

Is this what we want? Those who voted for its legalization in Arizona were sold a bill of goods, none of which materialized. At what point will we realize that this social experiment failed? It’s time to consider repeal of its legalization.

© Joyce Clark, 2022      

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