Marijuana legislation is tied to a 25% increase in cannabis-use disorder among teens, and the share of 12th graders who vaped pot products nearly doubled from 2017 to 2021, according to a new report.
The pot industry is saturating minority communities with dispensaries but only 4% of those who see profits from selling marijuana products are people of color.
And there were more than 800,000 marijuana-related emergency room visits in 2021, or nearly double the 455,000 recorded in 2011.
The steady march toward lenient marijuana laws is having measurable harm on young people, minorities and other Americans, television personality and board-certified doctor Drew Pinksy said Thursday in a report. It was drafted with Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an organization that warns about the harms of marijuana use and is devoted to preventing “another Big Tobacco.”
The new report said 52.5 million Americans used marijuana in 2021 versus 17.5 million in 1992.
Marijuana flower is also becoming more potent, with the average concentration of THC increasing from 3.75% in 1995 to 15.8% in 2018. Dr. Pinsky said he is witnessing the consequences at his practice.
“We are seeing psychotic episodes at an extraordinary rate,” Dr. Pinsky said.
Dr. Pinksy, known for the radio show “Loveline” and television program “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” presented the data with a roster of past and current lawmakers, drug-policy officials and his daughter, Paulina Pinsky, at the D.C. summit that coincided with April 20, or “4-20,” a date synonymous with marijuana use.
Ms. Pinsky said the issue is personal to her. She was hooked on pot but was 485 days sober as of Thursday.
“It’s funny being a marijuana addict because no one takes you seriously,” she said.
Former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island Democrat, said he cannot understand why the U.S. would legalize marijuana and run rampant ads for sports gambling and hard liquor at a time when broader addiction and overdose rates remain unacceptably high.
“I see our country in denial,” Mr. Kennedy said. “We’re actually pouring gasoline on the fire.”
The summit served as a counterweight to the tide of politicians and industry players who said lax pot policies would advance social justice and equity, without causing much societal harm.
Things have changed swiftly over the last decade.
Colorado and Washington state become the first places in America to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. Since then, 19 states and D.C. have joined them, though states have varying approaches to sales.
Congressional Democrats have taken steps to legalize weed at the federal level, though it hasn’t passed into law.
Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called a legalization bill in April 2022 “one of the most important criminal justice reform bills in recent history,” and President Biden last year moved to pardon persons convicted of federal offenses related to simple possession of the drug.
A Pew Research Center survey last fall found roughly six in 10 Americans believe marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational use, three in 10 think it should be legal for medical use and one in 10 think it should not be legal in any form.
Advocates say marijuana is not as harmful as alcohol and should be put on a level playing field with booze, while others point to revenue from sales or say it is a serious equality matter, in that convictions for marijuana possession are impacting too many minorities.
“Today is the start of an entirely new industry for our state, and a historic moment in our work to advance social and economic justice,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said last year in launching voter-approved marijuana dispensaries in the Garden State.
The SAM report said the promises of legalization often don’t match reality.
Emergency-room visits and hospital admissions for marijuana abuse are up 89% following California’s decision to legalize marijuana, while Colorado has reported a 46% increase in hospitalizations due to a condition known as cannabis-related hyperemesis — prolonged and cyclical vomiting — “in just five years after the legalization of recreational cannabis,” the report said.
In Virginia, six in 10 regular marijuana users reported driving while under the influence of pot in recent months, while roughly a quarter reported driving under the influence of the drug at least once a week.
The report also said marijuana dispensaries are often set up in minority neighborhoods while owners rake in profits elsewhere. It decried the industry as “largely bereft of diversity,” with only one minority-owned dispensary in Illinois in 2022.
“Many people have bought the marijuana industry’s line that their products weren’t addictive or dangerous and could actually help communities of color. Now, the data is in to prove it was a lie,” said SAM President Kevin Sabet, who worked as a drug policy advisor to presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University professor who tracks drug issues and was not involved in the SAM report, agreed that the financial benefits of cannabis legalization “have not been shared with oppressed communities.”
“Many of the corporate representatives and investors who made the social justice argument were not sincere. They just wanted the money, and now they are getting it,” he said.
Sen. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska Republican, said the nation usually relies on the Food and Drug Administration to vet drugs and determine their effects and safety, yet the pot industry is seeking big profits and doesn’t want to be constrained.
“This is about a business,” Mr. Ricketts said. “They want to have a business that is not regulated.”
As a result, he said, habitual use is leading some young people to consider suicide or engage in risky behavior, including impaired driving.
“These are the consequences of having legalization of marijuana,” Mr. Ricketts said. “People are waking up to how dangerous this drug actually is.”
