California Family Minute
July 28, 2010
A Parent’s Worst Nightmare
by Rebecca Burgoyne,
CFC Research Analyst
Earlier this month, four Sacramento-area teens were injured in a single-car, rollover accident in a quiet neighborhood. All except the driver were ejected from the crushed Ford Explorer. The 17-year-old unlicensed driver was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and causing serious injury. Investigators found broken whiskey bottles, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia along the slope where the vehicle rolled.
Marijuana, the subject of much recent public debate, is growing in popularity among teens nationwide, at the same time they have shied away from cigarettes, binge drinking, and methamphetamines. The proportion of young people using any illicit drug is also up slightly, driven largely by marijuana use. In 2009, 12 percent of 8th graders, 27 percent of 10th graders, and a third of 12th graders reported marijuana use in the prior year. The marked increase of the past few years stands in stark contrast to preceding years’ declines in usage.
Researchers noted that beliefs about marijuana’s risks had been declining even longer and that changing attitudes about certain illicit drugs often prompted changes in behavior. National institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow told the Boston Globe, “When the perception of the danger of the drug goes down, in the following years you see an increase in use.” The percentage of eighth graders who saw a “great risk” in smoking pot declined from 50.5 percent in 2004 to 48.1 percent in 2008, and 44.8 percent in 2009.
Despite the illegality of marijuana use and possession under federal law, marijuana enthusiasts have led a sophisticated, organized, and well-funded campaign to gain the acceptance of recreational pot in California. In 1996, unable to achieve traction in the Legislature, enthusiasts successfully encouraged voters to legalize medicinal marijuana through the initiative process. While marijuana possession and usage still remains illegal under federal law and may be prosecuted as such, in 2009, the Obama Department of Justice announced turning a blind eye to marijuana activities consistent with state law.
While California already has the nation’s most pot-friendly laws, the issue of recreational marijuana has recently gained momentum. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) promoted unsuccessful legislation this session that would have legalized, taxed, and regulated marijuana used for anyone over age 21, and marijuana advocates qualified Prop 19 for the November ballot. Promoted by a medicinal marijuana entrepreneur, Proposition 19 would legalize up to one ounce of the plant for anyone over age 21 to possess, cultivate on a 25-foot square plot of private property, process, share, or transport. Cities and counties would be tasked to permit, regulate, and tax commercial cultivation and sales.
Proponents argue that current marijuana regulations and laws are failing, resulting in more serious crimes being ignored while non-violent users are targeted. Crime and powerful drug cartels prosper, and the state misses out on billions in possible tax income from marijuana sales. Such propagandizing arguments appeal to today’s popular economic themes, while ignoring health risks and moral considerations.
Opponents point out glaring errors of omission in the drafting of Proposition 19 – drug-free work environments will be impossible to maintain, preventing labs, schools, and transportation companies from keeping out employees “under the influence,” until after an accident happens. Employers and schools will be unable to qualify for federal contracts that require a drug-free environment. While law enforcement has legal enforceable limits for driving under the influence of alcohol, there is no legal limit for smoking dope and driving.
During the past decade, California voters have been assured that expanded gambling would be the financial savior of the state, yet we have large, glitzy casinos encroaching closer and closer to neighborhoods, and state deficits continue to skyrocket. While the state Board of Equalization estimates legalizing marijuana could bring in upwards of $1 billion, a recent study on the effects of the initiative’s passage by the RAND Corporation urges caution; potential income could be substantially higher or lower based on a number of unknowns, including the levels of taxation, amount of tax evasion, and federal response. Even the nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst emphasizes the uncertainty behind many issues of revenue and expense with Proposition 19 due to many unknowns.
The RAND study also found that passage of Proposition 19 would dramatically drop the cost of marijuana by as much as 80 percent and increase usage. And if it is easier to get and cheaper to buy, teens would have an easier time getting it. Not only that, their perception of a legal substance would be “low risk” – “low risk” for an entry-level drug that can lead to dependence and stronger, more dangerous drugs. Young people are especially vulnerable. This is not what parents want for their teens today.
For more information:
Parents, the Anti-Drug, Health Effects of Marijuana
Focus on the Family, Battling Drug and Alcohol Abuse
National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts: Marijuana
A Parent’s Worst Nightmare
by Rebecca Burgoyne,
CFC Research Analyst
Earlier this month, four Sacramento-area teens were injured in a single-car, rollover accident in a quiet neighborhood. All except the driver were ejected from the crushed Ford Explorer. The 17-year-old unlicensed driver was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and causing serious injury. Investigators found broken whiskey bottles, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia along the slope where the vehicle rolled.
Marijuana, the subject of much recent public debate, is growing in popularity among teens nationwide, at the same time they have shied away from cigarettes, binge drinking, and methamphetamines. The proportion of young people using any illicit drug is also up slightly, driven largely by marijuana use. In 2009, 12 percent of 8th graders, 27 percent of 10th graders, and a third of 12th graders reported marijuana use in the prior year. The marked increase of the past few years stands in stark contrast to preceding years’ declines in usage.
Researchers noted that beliefs about marijuana’s risks had been declining even longer and that changing attitudes about certain illicit drugs often prompted changes in behavior. National institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow told the Boston Globe, “When the perception of the danger of the drug goes down, in the following years you see an increase in use.” The percentage of eighth graders who saw a “great risk” in smoking pot declined from 50.5 percent in 2004 to 48.1 percent in 2008, and 44.8 percent in 2009.
Despite the illegality of marijuana use and possession under federal law, marijuana enthusiasts have led a sophisticated, organized, and well-funded campaign to gain the acceptance of recreational pot in California. In 1996, unable to achieve traction in the Legislature, enthusiasts successfully encouraged voters to legalize medicinal marijuana through the initiative process. While marijuana possession and usage still remains illegal under federal law and may be prosecuted as such, in 2009, the Obama Department of Justice announced turning a blind eye to marijuana activities consistent with state law.
While California already has the nation’s most pot-friendly laws, the issue of recreational marijuana has recently gained momentum. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) promoted unsuccessful legislation this session that would have legalized, taxed, and regulated marijuana used for anyone over age 21, and marijuana advocates qualified Prop 19 for the November ballot. Promoted by a medicinal marijuana entrepreneur, Proposition 19 would legalize up to one ounce of the plant for anyone over age 21 to possess, cultivate on a 25-foot square plot of private property, process, share, or transport. Cities and counties would be tasked to permit, regulate, and tax commercial cultivation and sales.
Proponents argue that current marijuana regulations and laws are failing, resulting in more serious crimes being ignored while non-violent users are targeted. Crime and powerful drug cartels prosper, and the state misses out on billions in possible tax income from marijuana sales. Such propagandizing arguments appeal to today’s popular economic themes, while ignoring health risks and moral considerations.
Opponents point out glaring errors of omission in the drafting of Proposition 19 – drug-free work environments will be impossible to maintain, preventing labs, schools, and transportation companies from keeping out employees “under the influence,” until after an accident happens. Employers and schools will be unable to qualify for federal contracts that require a drug-free environment. While law enforcement has legal enforceable limits for driving under the influence of alcohol, there is no legal limit for smoking dope and driving.
During the past decade, California voters have been assured that expanded gambling would be the financial savior of the state, yet we have large, glitzy casinos encroaching closer and closer to neighborhoods, and state deficits continue to skyrocket. While the state Board of Equalization estimates legalizing marijuana could bring in upwards of $1 billion, a recent study on the effects of the initiative’s passage by the RAND Corporation urges caution; potential income could be substantially higher or lower based on a number of unknowns, including the levels of taxation, amount of tax evasion, and federal response. Even the nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst emphasizes the uncertainty behind many issues of revenue and expense with Proposition 19 due to many unknowns.
The RAND study also found that passage of Proposition 19 would dramatically drop the cost of marijuana by as much as 80 percent and increase usage. And if it is easier to get and cheaper to buy, teens would have an easier time getting it. Not only that, their perception of a legal substance would be “low risk” – “low risk” for an entry-level drug that can lead to dependence and stronger, more dangerous drugs. Young people are especially vulnerable. This is not what parents want for their teens today.
For more information:
Parents, the Anti-Drug, Health Effects of Marijuana
Focus on the Family, Battling Drug and Alcohol Abuse
National Institute on Drug Abuse, InfoFacts: Marijuana
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