Colorado Doctor Sounds Alarm on Marijuana Legalization

The Washington Free Beacon 6 September 2019
Family First Comment: The glittering image of post-legalization Colorado—with billions in tax revenue and a happy populace—runs up against the uncomfortable reality of poor regulation and patients dangerously misguided about the risks and benefits of marijuana use. “There are a whole host of us who are speaking out about it, and people need to start listening and looking to the future,” Randall said. “This is going to be a crisis with potential long-term consequences that will far outpace the opioid crisis, with lasting damages and lasting injuries, as well as a significant cost to the public.”

Colorado’s experiment with marijuana legalization has been an epic disaster, according to one doctor seeing its effects on the front lines.

Dr. Karen Randall, an emergency room physician certified in “cannabis science and medicine,” said the legalization of marijuana has damaged, rather than helped, her home state. Randall, who spoke alongside former White House drug czar John Walters at the right-leaning Hudson Institute on Friday, said the public is being misled about the effects of recreational marijuana.

“I think the public needs to know that we are not okay,” Randall said. “The grand experiment is not going so well. I don’t think the public is hearing about this as they should be.”

In 2012, Colorado and Washington become the first states in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The Centennial State is often pointed to as a success story with more than $1 billion in tax revenues generated since legalization. Eight more states followed in approving recreational use.

While the country has plowed ahead with marijuana legalization, less attention has been paid to potential downsides of the weed market. Randall said legalization has brought with it high-potency dope: The average joint in Colorado, she says, now contains 20 milligrams of THC, 10 times as much as the average joint at Woodstock. Concentrated products, sometimes called “shatter,” can be up to 99 percent THC.

“My fellow physicians don’t understand, they don’t understand the potency that we’re dealing with in Colorado at this point,” Randall said. “The potency has dramatically increased.”
READ MORE: https://freebeacon.com/issues/colorado-doctor-sounds-alarm-on-marijuana-legalization/

Keep up with family issues in NZ.
Receive our weekly emails direct to your Inbox.