White House drug czar: Legalized pot not OK

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GateHouse Media Washington BureauMichael Botticelli, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, this week reiterated the White House's opposition to state efforts to legalize marijuana. while testifying before a House panel examining federal and state responses to the heroin and opioid crisis.

By Peter Urban

WASHINGTON – The White House’s focus on treatment for drug addiction instead of criminal prosecution of addicts has not altered the Obama administration’s stance on legalization of marijuana.

Michael Botticelli, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, this week reiterated the administration’s opposition to state efforts to legalize marijuana. He testified before a House panel examining federal and state responses to the heroin and opioid crisis.

Botticelli, who previously was director of Massachusetts substance abuse services, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he and the White House do not support legalization of marijuana, something Massachusetts voters are considering.

“I do believe that when you look at the data in terms of the high levels of marijuana use that we have among youth in the country … that we are in for more significant problems in the United States,” he said.

Massachusetts would become the fifth state in the nation to fully legalize recreational use of marijuana if voters approve a ballot initiative in November. Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska have already legalized it.

Botticelli said there has been an increase in marijuana use among young people in recent years, and a rising belief by them that marijuana is not harmful.

“We have historically high levels of marijuana use among youth and we also see historically low levels of perception of risk of marijuana use among the youth in our country,” he said.

That perception is reinforced by public efforts to legalize marijuana and a marijuana industry that markets to the young with mascots and other promotions, Botticelli said.

“We have an industry that is quite honestly targeting our youth with things like funny cartoon characters and edibles,” he said.

Botticelli stressed that marijuana can be harmful to young users and can serve as a “gateway” to harder illicit drugs for those prone to addictive disorders.

“I think the evidence is pretty clear that early use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana – often used together – significantly increases the probability that someone will develop a more significant addictive disorder later in their life,” he said. “Early substance use actually effects brain development and predisposes people for more significant vulnerabilities later in their life.”

That claim was disputed at the hearing by Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who suggested that it is a myth that marijuana is a gateway drug to heroin or other illicit drugs.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-South Boston, who serves on the committee, agreed with Botticelli. He, too, opposes legalizing marijuana in the state – saying that at the Cushing House in Boston, a treatment center for youth, every young person he has questioned said they began with marijuana.

       “While I don’t know if marijuana is a gateway drug to heroin, every single kid that I’m dealing   with who is on opioids or on heroin started with marijuana. So there is a perfect match – 100 percent,” Lynch said. “So it deserves a cautionary note in terms of some of this marijuana legalization. I think we are buying ourselves a huge problem.”

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, says that marijuana can be addictive, and its use during adolescence “may make other forms of drug abuse or addiction more likely.”

The White House spells out its opposition to legalizing marijuana on its website at whitehouse.gov/ondcp/marijuana, saying it steadfastly opposes legalization because it would “increase the availability and use of illicit drugs, and pose significant health and safety risks to all Americans, particularly young people.”

“Confusing messages being presented by popular culture, media, proponents of ‘medical’ marijuana, and political campaigns to legalize all marijuana use perpetuate the false notion that marijuana is harmless. This significantly diminishes efforts to keep our young people drug free and hampers the struggle of those recovering from substance use disorders,” the Obama administration writes.

More than 18 million Americans age 12 and older reported using marijuana within the past month, making it the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. In 2010, marijuana was involved in more than 461,000 emergency department visits nationwide – nearly 39 percent of all those involving illicit drugs, according to the White House.