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A Political Stunt

A few points regarding the Feb. 2 article “Guilford Forum Examines Potential Consequences of Marijuana Legalization.”

First, we’re discussing a plant scientifically named “cannabis.” The word “marijuana,” however, is an intentionally misleading slang-word that was successfully propagated by those who favor cannabis prohibition in order to demonize its use and criminalize its consumers.

Second, this forum only discussed the extremely narrow viewpoint of the potential negative consequences on the youth should cannabis legalization happen. Except for providing a much-needed estimated $65 million additionally in tax revenue to our state budget in the first year alone, which one of our Democratic representatives disregarded this significance, there was no discussion about the potential benefits of cannabis legalization overall on the whole society of our state including youths, adults, and seniors. Our state representatives used a political stunt from the cartoon Simpsons script, “Won’t somebody please think of the children.” I’m deeply touched by their sentiment.

Moreover, the article didn’t cite any recent scientific studies that came to different conclusions regarding the affect that cannabis has on adolescents developing cognitive function and IQ. Noticeably, one study published 2013 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the methodology was flawed and the results were overestimated in the 1970s Dunedin study that was specifically referenced by Professor Deepak Cyril D’Souza M.D. at the forum. Another study published 2016 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that “adolescent cannabis use is not associated with IQ or educational performance once adjustment is made for potential confounds.” Furthermore, a 1999 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported “no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and non-users of cannabis.”

Matthew Yorzinski

Guilford