On April 1^st, The Florida Supreme Court announced that a proposed constitutional amendment (Initiative #22-05) to legalize marijuana’s recreational use will appear on November ballots (South Dakotans will also see it). 60% of voters have to say yes for this to pass. So far, 13 states have legalized marijuana for medical use and 24 states have done so for recreational use. But, given the statistics and lessons revealed over several years, was it a wise move?

Medical marijuana has been around in Florida for a few years now. Voters approved medical marijuana for medical patients in 2016 by more than 71%. But recreational pot is another matter. Governor Ron DeSantis quickly announced his misgiving about the recent proposition by stating, “Do we really need to do more with that? Do we want more marijuana in our communities? I don’t think that will work out well.”

Well, why won’t it work out well? Why the apprehension? What has happened to other places where the growing, processing, selling, and casual marijuana use have increased?

Statistics have been accumulated from legalized states like Colorado, Washington, and Alaska, that reveal positive correlations between marijuana legalization and things like increased crime, impacts on the homeless, the work force, and drugged driving stemming from as early as 2012 to 2018. Now, in 2024, the social problems related to legalization (including results from California, Oklahoma, Oregon, etc.) have drastically expanded and deserve even more cautious consideration if we wish to promote health and safety in our society. Judge Cheryl Allen, of the Counsel for Pennsylvania Family Institute, said,

“The purposes of government include: to establish laws, maintain order and provide security, protect citizens from external threats, and promote the general welfare by providing public services. Legalizing marijuana for recreational use will not serve any of these purposes.”

Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin also gets it. Last month he rejected seven bills including a proposal to legalize marijuana. He says, “Addressing the inconsistencies in enforcement and regulation in Virginia’s current laws does not justify expanding access to cannabis, following the failed paths of other states and endangering Virginian’s health and safety.”

Of course, behind such opinions lies the true crux of the matter: marijuana is dangerous.

First of all, marijuana is not the pot of yesterday. Today’s marijuana is a high-potency industrialized THC (the “high” producer) drug that is up to 99% potency as compared to the 3% THC of 60s. This industrialization makes it even more addictive and more dangerous. And ingesting this modern weed -- whether by smoking, eating Gummy bears, candies, concentrates, waxes, or vaping -- has brought a host of health hazards. 

The high potency of marijuana has been associated with a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, and cannabis-induced psychosis. We also learn from the CDC that three in 10 people who use marijuana have marijuana-use disorder. And according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), approximately 1 in 10 people who use marijuana will become addicted. With repeated use, there is even an increased risk of schizophrenia and social anxiety. And, if that were not enough, suicides by cannabis users continue to climb.

These ailments and mental disorders have been shown to likely occur when the brain’s normal function has been hijacked with extended use of an addictive drug. Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has had a long career analyzing brain images that demonstrate that drug addiction is actually a brain disease, which in this case relates to a decrease in function of the dopamine system thereby causing a disruption in the frontal brain region which involve motivation and drive.

And this becomes very critical when it comes to young people whose brains continue to develop to the age of 25. Making marijuana easily available for our youth will likely contribute to permanently affecting their brain’s executive function of thinking, planning, solving problems, making decisions, and setting priorities. 

And, as evidenced by the candies above, our youth are targeted. “Ring Pots,” Pot Tarts,” and marijuana brownies have been popping up across the country for some time now. Who do you think they are marketed toward? Observe this chart and see how marijuana dispensaries sell to thousands of minors every year. Big Marijuana will stop at nothing to make all of the U.S. pay to keep up our physical dependency, thereby enriching their pockets. And they will spin it as if legalization were a good and just thing. Kevin Sabet, of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SMART), makes it clear:

“Floridians can expect to see Big Marijuana and its allies in Big Tobacco dump millions of dollars into a ballot initiative that will unquestionably be framed around things like ‘social justice,’ ‘tax revenue,’ ‘rights,’ and even ‘health care.’ The truth is legal marijuana is about none of those things, but rather making money off of products that have been medically proven to be dangerous.”

And these powerful interests are not stopping with marijuana. The aim is to legalize all drugs, including psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, DMT, mescaline, and LSD. Such a movement is spearheaded by groups like the Drug Policy Alliance, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Open Society Foundation. So, there’s big money and power behind what we are witnessing.

Pro-legalization supporters, such as those who proposed legalization in Florida, have a tendency to decontextualize the world in which today’s marijuana breaths. For instance, it is not simply an abstract world in which legal weed will beat the black market. In fact -- in the real world -- drug cartels and the black market continue to thrive under legalization as they undercut legal market costs and control potency, to name just two problems.  

Rather, it is a world in which vulnerable humans with vulnerable brains will see a dangerous product that is made to appear more acceptable because it is made more accessible. Legalized supply can and does create new demand. Those making policy decisions and proposals must make decisions based on our imperfect nature and biology, as well as the susceptibility of our impressionable youth. And with all the evidence that has been accumulated, of which I have only tapped a small amount, that should not be too difficult. Given all the alarm bells, including the nefarious characters behind such a push, are we actually better off adding marijuana to the mix of legal drugs today with other monsters like cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl roaming? My answer is an emphatic no!

In a 2014 survey in the International Journal of Drug Policy, 10 percent of high school students made it clear that they did not use marijuana but would if it were legal. I can’t think of a better reason to steer clear of this dangerous pathway. Factual, science-based analyses exist and are sending a pretty convincing message of caution and restraint. Legalization, on the other hand, sends the wrong message.

Victor Fernandez is a former Logic/Philosophy of Science adjunct and retired math teacher.

Image: USAF