Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ken Finn, MD, a practicing pain medicine physician from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was a member of the Colorado Governor’s Task Force on Amendment 64, Consumer Safety and Social Issues Work Group, is currently a member of the Colorado Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council and is also a member of the American Board of Pain Medicine; Exam Council, Executive Board and Appeals Committee.
[C]olorado has led the charge in both medical and recreational marijuana. Unfortunately, Colorado is experiencing significant consequences as a result and over a broad spectrum of problems. These include public health and safety, adolescent use and addiction, and driving impairment and fatalities. Vermont is on the cusp of the potential health disaster Colorado and other states such as California and Washington are seeing.
In other states with legal marijuana, there has been increased utilization of the health care system and an increase in ER visits due to marijuana related conditions. The current most commonly used legal drugs, tobacco and alcohol, generate a lot of money for their respective industries, but the associated societal costs far outweigh what they may make. The marijuana industry is not any different. One hospital in Colorado Springs lost over $20 million health care dollars between 2009 and 2014 due to marijuana-related ER visits.
Adolescent use and addiction have become a significant concern. Cannabis use disorder is the number one admission diagnosis for adolescents being treated for substance use in Colorado. Vermonters need to understand the increase in adolescent addiction treatment began with de facto legalization in 2009. According to Dr. Christian Thurstone at the University of Colorado’s adolescent substance abuse treatment clinics, 97 percent of adolescents who are admitted for substance abuse treatment are there for cannabis use disorder. Ease of access and normalization by the industry has created a new generation of substance users, many of whom will graduate to harder drugs, which is supported in the medical literature. This is Big Tobacco 2.0. Who can recall that “Doctors prefer Camels,” Joe Camel, and cigarette candies?
Colorado had the highest opioid overdose deaths on record in 2016, despite a very robust medical marijuana program. The increase in heroin overdoses coincided with legalization and a recent study showed that cannabis users will have a higher likelihood of non-prescription opioid use and opioid use disorder.
The number of marijuana-related driving fatalities on Colorado roads continues to increase, particularly since legalization, and 2016 saw a record number of overall fatalities and the highest percentage related to marijuana. There was a 145 percent increase in the number of drivers testing positive for marijuana in fatal crashes between 2013 and 2016. The recent loss of five innocent lives in Vermont to impaired driving should be a wakeup call to Vermonters that adding another legal drug to the mix is simply not a good idea.
Have we done a good job with the legal drugs that we already have? Alcohol, tobacco and opioids have led to poor health outcomes, including adolescent use and overdose deaths. Why would Vermont want to add another psychoactive substance to the list which has already caused problems in other states? The fact that it is not yet legal in Vermont and you are seeing driving fatalities linked to marijuana should be a sentinel sign. Pay attention and trust your gut. Will this be good for Vermont or not? If you think revenue will solve your problems, ask Colorado’s governor who is cutting the state’s budget by $500 million due to shortfall in funds. Where is the money?
Anecdotes do not make good science and we need solid scientific evidence that cannabinoids, not dispensary cannabis, can be used for particular medical conditions. Cannabinoids have promise of good medical utility, but let science rather than public opinion determine what is best and it is not a good idea to be flying the plane while building it. Vermont needs to ask itself if they truly think this is a good idea. Would Vermont have voted to legalize tobacco if they knew the health effects ahead of time? Reason would likely answer “no.”
