Proponents of recreational pot use
are giddy over the prospect of being able to legally grow their own.
Some of these folks are old enough to know better, but after all it’s
the cause that’s important, not the long-term health and safety impacts
that count.
The National
Institute of Drug Abuse and the Office of National Drug Control Policy
say, “Marijuana smoke irritates the lungs, and frequent marijuana
smokers can have the same breathing problems that tobacco smokers have.
These problems include daily cough and phlegm, more frequent lung
illness, and a higher risk of lung infections; increased risk of both
brain and behavioral problems in babies; temporary hallucinations,
paranoia and worsening symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.”
They
also say, “Compared to nonusers, heavy marijuana users more often
report lower life satisfaction, poorer mental and physical health, more
relationship problems and less academic and career success …”
None of this sounds healthy to me.
A
University of California San Francisco News Center report by Leigh
Beeson last July concerning second-hand pot smoke states, “One minute of
exposure to second-hand smoke from marijuana diminishes blood vessel
function to the same extent as tobacco, but the harmful cardiovascular
effects last three times longer, according to a new study in rats led by
UC San Francisco researchers.”
So,
even though you and I and the children of users may not use pot, we are
subject to some serious ill effects just by being in proximity to a
user for a minute or more.
Initially,
pot users experience near-instant gratification as they puff away. But,
over time they build up a tolerance that relies on increased usage to
obtain the same high.
The
Office of National Drug Control Policy reports, “prevalence of
higher-potency marijuana, measured by levels of the chemical
delta¬9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is increasing. Average THC levels
rose from less than 1 percent in the mid-1970s to more than 6 percent in
2002.
Sinsemilla potency
increased in the past two decades from 6 percent to more than 13
percent, with some samples containing THC levels of up to 33 percent.”
I
would say these institutions have a high degree of credibility. On the
other hand, pot bloggers produce information that doesn’t sync with the
available clinical evidence. You should decide which to believe.
The established impairment
level in Colorado is five nanograms of active THC per milliliter of
whole blood. Unlike alcohol, pot use can be detected for up to 100 days.
Keep that in mind the next time you take a mandatory drug test for
work, commercial drivers exams or a pre-employment physical.
Lompoc
is currently trying to figure out what to do about recreational
marijuana growing and use in the city. Even though neither Santa Barbara
County nor the state have figured out what to do yet, our elected
leaders decided to plunge headlong into an effort to regulate this
substance before the pot laws had been established.
So,
there are two basic questions — do city leaders want to condone an
increased risk to public health, or will they execute their
responsibility to protect the public and continue the ban on marijuana
use in our city?
Responsible
leadership is needed here. Even though political pressure will be
exerted to assure leaders they should approve this quickly, they must
sift through the fog of pot supporters’ rhetoric and make decisions that
serve the public good.
In this case, waiting until the state/county acts is the best course of action.
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