Another major report. Same conclusion. Legalisation of recreational cannabis is a disaster for public health. Not only does legalisation result in significantly increased usage (despite what pro-drug advocates said wouldn’t happen), it’s youth who take up smoking dope at a much greater rate. Knowing the increased harm of drugs to developing brains, this is the perfect storm for creating longterm problems. Let’s keep saying NO to dope.
We said that Colorado was like the “canary in the coal mine”, with its legalisation of recreational cannabis. We’re thankful for the chance to watch their dangerous experiment before doing it in New Zealand. And the evidence continues to reveal that kiwis made a great decision last year by voting NO to dope.
(Alexandria, VA) – Today, a new Colorado report compiled by the Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area finds marijuana-positive traffic fatalities, hospitalizations, illegal market activity, and opioid-related deaths continue to rise following marijuana commercialization.
According to the report, marijuana-impaired driving is continuing to have a catastrophic impact on Colorado. Since legalization, traffic deaths in which drivers tested positive for marijuana increased 138 percent while all Colorado traffic deaths increased 29 percent. In 2020, 131 individuals were fatally injured in crashes where the driver tested positive for marijuana.
The percentage of all Colorado traffic deaths involving drivers who tested positive for marijuana increased from 11 percent in 2013 to 20 percent in 2020.
Calls to the poison control center due to marijuana exposures continue to rise in Colorado, with 318 total calls in 2020 versus 125 in 2013, a 154 percent increase. Of these calls, 69 percent were for youths aged 0-18. Such calls totaled 221 in 2020, representing a 240 percent increase since 2013.
Of suicides among Colorado youth aged 10-19, marijuana was present in 51 percent of toxicology reports.
2020 was the worst year on record for opioid deaths nationwide, and Colorado saw the largest jump in such deaths in more than 20 years, with 956 opioid-related overdose deaths, a 56 percent increase over 2019, and a 137 percent increase since 2013.
While marijuana legalization proponents argue such a change in drug policy can help curb the opioid epidemic, this has not been shown to be the case in Colorado. Apart from a small decline between 2017 and 2018, opioid overdose deaths have increased year over year in Colorado since 2012.
The illicit marijuana market continues to be unphased six years after legalization was instituted. In 2020, the Colorado Drug Task Force conducted 294 investigations, made 168 felony arrests, and seized just under six tons of illicit marijuana en route to 21 different states.
The report also concludes that alcohol consumption in Colorado, which marijuana legalization proponents argued would decrease with marijuana being legalized, has in fact increased 10 percent since 2013.
The Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA) program has published annual reports every year since 2013 tracking the impact of legalizing recreational marijuana in Colorado. The purpose is to provide data and information so that policymakers and citizens can make informed decisions on the issue of marijuana legalization.
Yet more research confirming what we already know, that dope is detrimental to our health and wellbeing in many different ways. A recent study found that past and present male marijuana smokers had a decline in sperm quality, meaning meaning low volume in semen and decrease in the quality of sperm. I wonder if our own male drug advocates are concerned about this? Yes, that’s you Nandor, Ross, Russell, Andrew 😉
If you believed the fanciful ‘claims’ of drug advocates in NZ and thought that liberalising drug laws wouldn’t lead to increased use…. think again. A new poll says the percentage of American adults who have tried marijuana rose to 49%, the highest measured to date.
As of June 2021, eighteen US states have legalised recreational use of cannabis, with all but D.C. having also legalised its commercial sale. So it’s no surprise at all that there are now record levels of Americans trying marijuana.
“12% of adults say they currently smoke marijuana, which has remained steady in recent years since. It was initially measured at 7% in 2013, about the time a wave of states began decriminalising and legalising marijuana use for recreational purposes.”
Read the full story here
DC Police Chief reveals the truth about marijuana – “it’s undoubtedly” tied to a rise in violent crime”. Despite the fanciful and delusional “theories” of drug advocates, the conclusions from leaders in crime prevention and health are consistent – drugs (including marijuana) are harmful and lead to a rise in violent crime. New Zealand certainly dodged a deadly bullet when we voted NO to cannabis legalisation in the 2020 referendum. Say Nope To Dope.
So, we continue to discover real-world evidence that marijuana is far more dangerous and sinister than our drug advocates want you to believe. It’s clearly not the laid-back organic herb it’s made out to be. Dope is proven to be detrimental to mental health as well as physical health; but it’s also linked to crime. This interview with a veteran DC Police Chief makes it crystal clear that marijuana is “undoubtedly” tied to a rise in violent crime.
“When you have something where people get high reward… and the risk for accountability is very low, that creates a very, very, very, very, very bad situation.”
The must-watch video interview is here
Helius Therapeutics has confirmed cannabis oils were taken from their Auckland factory without permission by one of their team in 2020. The company’s chairman had been kept in the dark about the incident for 6 months. National’s associate drug reform spokesperson Shane Reti was dead right when he said the incident could undermine the sector. “It will cause aspersions in an industry that wants to be squeaky clean and this shows that they’re not and that’s a real shame.”
This is not a good look for a company that will be one of the main producers of medical marijuana in New Zealand. Not only would we expect much tighter security, even more concerning is that the company kept it secret from the the public and even their own chairman.
Read article here
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre 26 July 2021
A new study has found that an estimated 4.2 per cent of the population aged 14 and over, who have never tried cannabis before, would try it if use of the drug were legal.
Led by researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), UNSW Sydney, the study also found that an estimated 2.6 per cent of the population said they were likely to use more cannabis if it were legal.
Lead author, Professor Don Weatherburn from NDARC said, “These findings clearly conflict with the popular view that legalisation of cannabis would not increase consumption.”
Using data from the Australian National Drug Strategy Household survey, the study found that the decriminalisation of cannabis use would likely lead to an increase in consumption of cannabis among young people with mental health problems.
“Consumption of cannabis would be substantially higher among males, younger people and people who suffer from mild, moderate and/or severe level of psychological stress,” said Professor Weatherburn.
“However, it is not known whether those who experience psychological distress are more likely to use cannabis as a form of self-medication, or whether other factors are responsible for both cannabis use and psychological distress.”
The study states that while the vast majority of people may be unaffected by any change in the legislative status of cannabis use, small changes in the number of heavy users of cannabis could have significant effects on demand for treatment and drug-related harms.
READ MORE: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/news/increase-cannabis-consumption-likely-if-decriminalised-australia-says-new-study
Stuff co.nz 4 August 2021
A young man, who reportedly “hot boxed” in his car before fatally crashing it, was “robbed of a normal life” by a growing cannabis dependency, his father told a coroner.
Ethan Phillip Crone, 24, was killed in May 2017 when he missed the intersection of Easterbrook and Hicklands roads, south of Rangiora, smashed though an arrow sign and over a stopbank, then crashed into a tree.
In a report released on Wednesday, Coroner Marcus Elliott found Crone died from injuries to his head, chest and limbs.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, was detected in his bloodstream.
The coroner found there were several factors at play but Crone’s death illustrated the dangers of driving after using cannabis.
“The New Zealand Drug Foundation states: Do not drive after using cannabis because this greatly increases the chance of an accident.
“If Mr Crone had not used cannabis, he may have perceived the corner and sign and avoided the crash.”
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125967813/cannabis-a-factor-in-young-mans-fatal-car-crash–coroner
Black Coloradans arrested at twice the rate of white people nearly a decade after pot legalization
Colorado Newsline 22 July 2021
Though the total number of arrests for adults and juveniles for pot-related crimes has gone down overall since Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012, wide racial disparities persist, a new report finds.
The widest disparity is among Black Coloradans, who are arrested at twice the rate of white people for pot-related charges, according to a 180-page analysis published this week by the state Department of Public Safety.
“This report provides a wealth of valuable information to help policymakers, law enforcement, schools, the marijuana industry, and the public understand the effects of legal recreational marijuana in our communities,” Stan Hilkey, executive director of the Department of Public Safety, said in a written statement.
“The information is presented in a comprehensive and unbiased manner, and I am proud of the detailed and extensive work our DCJ researchers have done to collect and analyze this vast compilation of data,” he added.
According to the report, which is required by law every two years, the total number of marijuana arrests decreased by 68% between 2012 and 2019, from 13,225 to 4,290. The number of marijuana arrests decreased by 72% for white people, 63% for Black people and 55% for Hispanic people.
The analysis found that the marijuana arrest rate for Black people (160 per 100,000) was more than double that of white people (76 per 100,000) in 2019. The report noted that the disparity has not changed in any meaningful way since marijuana was legalized in Colorado in 2012.
Similar disparities persist for juveniles arrested for marijuana-related issues. For white juveniles, arrests decreased by 47% from 2012 to 2019, compared to 41% for Black juveniles and 26% for Hispanic juveniles.
READ MORE: https://coloradonewsline.com/2021/07/22/colorado-marijuana-arrests-racial-disparities/
Cannabis-induced psychosis: Amid push for legalization, sister says brother ‘was lost to us for a decade’
Fox News 23 July 2021
Parents Opposed to Pot advocate says lawmakers ‘want to legalize ultra-high potency THC products’
An anti-marijuana advocate accused lawmakers of being dishonest about the effects THC can have on young adults and society as a whole as Senate Democrats push to legalize cannabis.
“When our lawmakers talk about legalizing marijuana, they talk about it like it’s chamomile tea and that it has no side effects and there’s no downside to using and it,” Heidi Swan, a board member for Parents Opposed to Pot, told Fox News. “But have they told us about the physical side effects, the mental side effects and the increased problems to society?”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced a discussion draft last week for the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which aims to legalize marijuana at the federal level.
The bill would treat marijuana much like alcohol or tobacco, allowing it to be taxed and regulated. Buyers must be at least 21 years old, and retail sales transactions would be limited to no more than 10 ounces of cannabis or the equivalent amount of any cannabis derivative.
“What they want to legalize is ultra-high potency THC products,” Swan, of California, told Fox News. “And then when you say that, people say, ‘What are you talking about? It’s just marijuana.’ No, it’s not just marijuana. This is a highly processed product.”
READ MORE: https://www.foxnews.com/us/sister-cannabis-induced-psychosis-legalization