considerations of legalization in ohio the marijuana experiment
TRANSCRIPT
Considerations Of Legalization In Ohio
The Marijuana Experiment
Woodstock Weed
Potency about 3-4% THC
72% of all pot was imported
Primarily leaves, stems, flowers and hodgepodge pieces of the plant
Brought into the country in bricks
Smoked – maybe pot brownies
California Introduces “Medical” Marijuana in 1996
California Proposition 215● California marijuana activist Dennis Peron● Medicinal properties to give comfort to HIV
patients● Won with 55.5% of the vote● Opposition said law was too vague● Compassion won over voters
Marijuana Status (Medicinal)- 23 States and DC
● California – 1996
● Alaska – 1998
● Oregon – 1998
● Washington – 1998
● Maine – 1999
● Colorado – 2000
● Hawaii - 2000
● Nevada – 2000
● Montana – 2004
● Vermont – 2004
● Rhode Island – 2006
● New Mexico - 2007
● Michigan – 2008
● Arizona – 2010
● DC – 2010
● New Jersey – 2010
● Delaware – 2011
● Connecticut – 2012
● Massachusetts - 2012
● Illinois – 2013
● New Hampshire – 2013
● Maryland – 2014
● Minnesota – 2014
● New York - 2014
Marijuana Status (CBD) - 11 States
● Alabama● Florida● Georgia● Iowa● Kentucky● Mississippi● Missouri● South Carolina● Tennessee● Utah● Wisconsin
Who Are the Cardholders?
In states where measured, patients:
Have less than 5% of all patients have the life threatening issues
Over 90% use for chronic pain
Average cardholder - 32 year old white male with no history of chronic illness and a history of substance abuse
Cannabidiol Medications
● Children with Seizure Issues● Charlotte’s Web (Charlotte Figi) – Stanley
Brothers ● Epidiolex (GW Pharmaceuticals)● Mixed Success● Epilepsy Foundation – Need for more testing
Responsible Ohio
Concerns● Marijuana monopoly● Children would be allowed access to “medical”
marijuana (with written consent of a parent)● “Medical” marijuana individuals can share pot● Home-grown pot can be shared● Program for low-income individuals to get low-cost
pot● How much can a person have?● 1159 stores allowed – only 203 Starbucks in Ohio● Can “medical” marijuana folks use in public? the
workplace? Correctional facilities? Daycares?
1. DO WE WANT THIS FOR OUR COMMUNITY?
2.IF THIS HAPPENS, WHAT DO WE NEED TO CONSIDER?
Two Policy Considerations
LEGALIZATION AND EMPLOYERS
Business Impact
Employer Concerns
● Liability for injuries or damages caused by impaired employees
● Compliance with state and federal workplace policies – OSHA, DOT, “safety sensitive” positions
● Worker’s Compensation and drug free workplace
● Hiring, disciplining and firing employees● Guidelines for accommodations and leave
requests
Colorado Employer Concerns
Courts have upheld rights to maintain a drug-free workplace•Main problem in Colorado – confusion over the law•Colorado Staffing Association’s ED Jan Haire – “legalization is “a horrible dilemma for our members, because there’s no way to know if someone’s impaired.”
-Lee Bowman, Scripps 3/23/14
Quest Diagnostics Employee Drug Testing (November, 2014)• Positive results increased by 6.2% since 2012• Double digit increases in Colorado and Washington• 415,000 estimated pot users in the workforce• Marijuana most frequently for positive tests
Discrimination
• Michigan – Joseph Casias sued his employer– Case dismissed by Sixth Circuit
Court of Appeals• Maine – Brittany Thomas sues Adecco
– ACLU is taking this case up• Colorado – Brandon Coats sued Dish
Network– Court ruled wasn't illegal firing
because marijuana is an illegal drug federally
• WSJ article - "Medical Marijuana Poses Litigation Risk to Employers." (August 15, 2013) – Cost employers between $69,000 and $107,000 in costs, not including any award.
• New Mexico – Employer must pay for pot? Link to story included
LEGALIZATION AND COLLEGE CAMPUS
College and University Impact
Impact on Colleges
●Federally schedule I drug●Conflict with state law●Federal funding●Federal financial aid●NCAA Considerations●Off-campus use
Maryland School of Public Health (June, 2013)• Study followed 1200 college students over 10
years• College students skipped more classes, earned
lower grades and dropped out more often• Unemployment rates higher after college• 15 times or more per month – twice as likely to
have experience “discontinuous enrollment”
Grades and Retention
MARIJUANA AND MENTAL HEALTH
Mental Health Impact
Northwestern University
Northwestern Medicine at Northwestern University1.
December, 2013 – Brain Abnormalities with Chronic Use
○ “The younger drug abuse starts, the more abnormal the brain.”○ Of schizophrenia patients surveyed, 90% used before
schizophrenia set in2. April, 2014
– Casual Marijuana Use Linked to Brain Abnormalities
○ Changed the volume, shape and density of gray matter in brain – effects on decision making
○ “I’ve developed a severe worry about whether we should be allowing anybody under age 30 to use pot unless they have a terminal illness and need it for pain.”
3. March 2015 - Teen cannabis users have poor long-term memory in adulthood
○ Daily users – Hippocampus changes that influenced memory (18% worse on long term memory tests)
○ Two years marijuana free and did not change results
Meta-analysis was conducted by Australian researchers in 2011 for the Archives of General Psychiatry• used 83 studies to assess the impact of marijuana
use on the early onset of psychotic illness.
The findings were clear and consistent: “The results of meta-analysis provide evidence for a relationship between cannabis use and earlier onset of psychotic illness…[The] results suggest the need for renewed warnings about the potentially harmful effects of cannabis.”
Link between Marijuana and Mental Illness?
LEGALIZATION AND COMMUNITY CONCERNS
Impact on the Community
● 2007-2012 – Traffic fatalities decreased 14%● 2007-2012 – Traffic fatalities involving drivers
testing positive for marijuana increased 100%● In 2007, Colorado traffic fatalities involving
operators testing positive for marijuana represented 7.04 percent of the total traffic fatalities. By 2012, that number more than doubled to 16.53 percent
Rocky Mtn. HIDTA Report - Fatalities
Teen drivers
Liberty Mutual/SADD survey (USA Today Reporting)● 19% admitted to driving after smoking
marijuana● 36% - marijuana smoking no distraction while
driving● 34% who admitted to smoking while high said
it made them a better driver
Homeless Influx Into Denver?
● Homeless shelters say increase because of medicinal and legal pot.
● Older – medicinal; younger – recreational ● Up to estimated 30% relocated for marijuana (Denver’s
Salvation Army Crossroads Shelter)● Denver’s Saint Francis Center – “300 new faces per
month” – many were drawn because of legal marijuana● Urban Peak – youth-oriented homeless program – up 328
homeless young adults.○ 1/3 cite legal marijuana for moving to Denver
Colorado – Predicted recreational taxes =
$107,000,000
Actual total collected in 2014 = $63,414,883
Medical (2.9%) = $10,886,966
Retail Sales Tax (12.9%) = $39,186,917
Wholesale Retail Excise Tax (15%) = $13,341,000
Nearly 40% - black market
Ohio – Predicted recreational taxes = $554,000,000
Tax structure 15% tax on grower 15% tax on distributor 5% retail tax No tax on medical No tax on home grown
(shared only)
Marijuana Taxes
Colorado Director of Marijuana Coordination
● Andrew Freedman – Colorado Marijuana Czar● Interview with Boston Herald Radio (June,
2015)● “You do not legalize for taxation. It is a myth.
You are not going to pave streets. You are not going to be able to pay teachers. The big red herring is the whole thing that the tax revenue will solve a bunch of crises. But it won’t.”
● The tax dollars brought in largely go toward the “cost of legalization.”
People are not put in prison for small time marijuana use today. Ohio Prison statistics reveal that less than 1% of inmates are behind bars for marijuana possession.
Racial Disparity• Not an issue exclusive to marijuana• Drug Policy Alliance review of Colorado – Post
legalization – African Americans are still arrested at a higher rate than whites for marijuana crimes.
Prison and Marijuana
ER Admissions• 374,000 ER visits due solely to marijuana – ER visits increase
nationally more than 50% from 2004 to 2011.• Children’s Hospital of Colorado – 2.3% of all poisonings of
children under 12 were marijuana-related.• Colorado - Hospitalizations related to marijuana have increased
82 percent from 2008 to 2013. Other Considerations• 1000% increase in amounts of marijuana seizures in Denver
since 2011.• 350% higher rate of use by 8th graders than the national
average• 38% reported they got it from a friend who obtained it
legally• 23% reported they got it from their parents
ER Visits and Other Considerations
Not Just Smoking…
Marijuana Edibles
Marijuana Edibles
Up to 70% THCMore potent than smoking (12% THC)THC Levels are inconsistent, even with packagingMarch 9, 2014 Denver Post – testing showed that labels didn’t match actual THC level
Meet Claude…
Black Cherry Gummy BearTHC Infused100 milligrams of THC per bearColorado law – 10 mg per servingFoot = one serving
Wyoming College Student
•Levy Thamba Pongi – Northwest College
•Ate one marijuana cookie – recommended serving size was 1/6 of a cookie.
•Jumped out of window
•Autopsy – marijuana intoxication was a “significant contributing factor.”
Kristine Kirk
•Husband ate a marijuana candy
•Started hallucinating
•Told wife to shoot him
•On phone with 911, he killed her
Other Products
Marijuana Wax
What is Marijuana Wax? Highest potency of marijuana
on the market and quicker high
Created by using butane to extract "hash oil" or "butane hash oil (BHO) from marijuana plant
Marijuana put in long tube and then heated with butane.
Waxing Creation Issues
• Wax is to marijuana as freebasing is to cocaine
• Vapors fill room and ignite with a spark
• Risk of burns and homes blowing up
• Learn how to cook wax on YouTube
• FEMA issued bulletin in February to identify BHO production
• 32 hash oil explosions in Colorado in 2014 and 0 in 2012
• Closed Wax System – more expensive
Marijuana Transformation: The High
•BLOGS HAVE CALLED IT THE “FUTURE OF CANNABIS”•CAN EXCEED 80% THC•HALLUCINATIONS•IMMEDIATE HIGH – SMOKING TAKES ABOUT 20 MINUTES•DESCRIBED AS AN INTENSE EXPERIENCE, EVEN FOR SEASONED MARIJUANA USERS
Dabbing and Vaping
Lancet Psychiatry Journal Study
• Higher potency weed may be linked to increase in likelihood of psychotic episode.
• Weekly user of high potency weed (15% THC) content were 3 times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic episode.
• Daily use – 5 times more likely
Legalization = Commercialization
• With legalization comes market for stronger, more intense high• Very little research done on higher potency weed• Little to no regulation on high-concentrate pot
products
Questions?