Editor’s note: This commentary is by Tim Trevithick, of Shelburne, who is a Student Assistance Program counselor at Champlain Valley Union High School.
[A]s a high school Student Assistance Program counselor (SAP) in Vermont, I urge the governor to veto the marijuana legalization bill on his desk. We don’t need any more legal drugs sending the message to our kids that they are OK to use.
In my school, I see the stress that many of our kids are under. Getting good grades and being successful are just some of those stressors, and marijuana has a detrimental impact on school achievement. Long-term studies find that kids who use marijuana are less likely to get good grades or graduate from high school. In fact, one study found that adolescent marijuana users were almost six times more likely than non-users to drop out of school.
This can be seen in states like Colorado, which is now the national leader in youth marijuana use. Citations at school for marijuana possession have skyrocketed since legalization, and a just-released study shows that pot-related hospital visits by kids in the state has more than quadrupled since the state legalized marijuana.
Pot edibles are also a serious risk for high schools like the one I work at. Edibles contain much higher potency than a typical joint, and they are now being marketed and advertised in a way that appeals to teens. Now that the pot marketplace is laden with pot sodas, candies and ice creams, kids and teens will think this is a fun and cool way to try drugs for the first time – or worse, they might come across an edible belonging to their parents and eat it unknowingly, thinking Mom or Dad just brought home a Starbucks cake pop when it’s actually a 95 percent THC kush pop.
We also can’t ignore the link between marijuana and heroin abuse. No kid starts using drugs by injecting heroin into their veins. Instead, they start with the most accessible and normalized drugs – so why further normalize pot use? Studies have found that more than four in 10 people who ever use marijuana will go on to use other illicit drugs. The CDC also says marijuana users are three times more likely to become addicted to heroin.
Edibles contain much higher potency than a typical joint, and they are now being marketed and advertised in a way that appeals to teens.
The governor has another reason to stop and think about pot legalization: road safety. According to AAA, car crashes in Washington related to marijuana have doubled in the state since they passed laxer laws. And they continue to rise in Colorado, too. What scientists have found – and what everyone knows – is that marijuana slows your reaction time, and stunts your reflexes. These are critical skills for driving, especially if you are a new teen on the road.
A new study published last month by the Governors Highway Safety Association also showed that 2015 was the first year on record with more drugged drivers killed than drunk drivers. Of those drugged drivers, more than a third had used marijuana. Additional research conducted at the University of Auckland has pointed to a strong link between marijuana use and car crashes. Researchers found that habitual marijuana users were 9.5 times more likely to be involved in such crashes.
Marijuana legalization is simply not the Vermont way. At the end of the day, it is about one thing: making a small number of business people and special interests rich. Pot legalization is about Wall Street, not Main Street. The pro-pot lobbyists have their eyes set on Vermont as the next state to bring them profits. But legalizing and commercializing marijuana would do nothing to help our schools, kids, jobs, or roads – and instead would enrich a new industry intent on hooking kids as profitable customers. Gov. Scott should think twice about passing this legislation. Our kids’ futures are at stake.
