Page 9 - Delaware Medical Journal - July/August 2019

Why Legalization of Recreational Marijuana Is Not an Intelligent Decision
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
ANDREW W. DAHLKE, MD
MSD President Andrew W. Dahlke, MD is a Neuroradiologist who practices with Southern Delaware Imaging Associates in Lewes.
Any attempt to legalize marijuana will lead to increased use, and increased marijuana use leads to poorer health outcomes. The state medical societies of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware have worked together to help oppose the well-funded proponents of recreational legalization. Thus far, we have succeeded in each state. This success is impressive, especially considering the governors of both New York and New Jersey ran and were elected on platforms promising to legalize marijuana.
The following is just a partial list of reasons why we as a society need to continue to strongly oppose legalization of recreational marijuana:
■ Smoking marijuana causes the same illnesses as smoking cigarettes: lung cancer, head and neck cancer, bladder cancer, coronary artery disease,
stroke, peripheral vascular disease and emphysema.1 Additional health risks include: hyperemesis syndrome, decreased sperm counts, amotivational syndrome, paranoia, depression, hypertension, dental disease, and suicide.3,5,7,8,10,11
■ Since marijuana is a Schedule I drug, the only way to legally access the drug for medical studies is from the federal government. Hence, there is poor data on how many marijuana cigarettes equal cigarettes in contributing to the above- mentioned illnesses.7 Given the strength of current marijuana and the heavy oil
and tar content, one marijuana cigarette is estimated to equal two packs of tobacco cigarettes. The federal government should classify marijuana as a Schedule II drug so it is available for testing on lab rats. Then we will have data to estimate the true health risk and monetary cost of legalization.
■ There is no accurate test to tell when someone is intoxicated with marijuana. A rare user of marijuana will be intoxicated at a level that is 10 times less than a daily user. When there are workplace and determine if the person tested is actually intoxicated or merely smoked marijuana the night before.4,9,12,13
■ Since legalization occurred in Colorado, ER visits directly related to marijuana use have tripled. A disproportionate number have been from edibles. Although edible cannabis made up only 0.32% of marijuana sales from 2014 to 2016, edibles accounted for 10.7% of the marijuana-related ER visits. Medically, the variability in gastric emptying rate and the variability in hepatic enzymes that metabolize the THC and CBD metabolites make oral ingestion an unpredictable and dangerous proposition. There have been several deaths from edibles, and no deaths from inhaled accidents and other accidents).2,6,7,8,14
■ Selling edibles in brownies, cookies, gummy bears, and lollipops amounts to marketing marijuana to children.14
Del Med J | July/August 2019 | Vol. 91 | No. 4 153