On Nov. 6, Michigan voters will head to the ballot box to decide the fate of Prop 1 – legalizing the use of recreational marijuana. We’re more than a month away from the election, and opponents to the proposal are coming out in full force.
This week, Michigan Law Enforcement agencies coordinated press conferences across the state to roll out trite talking points (below), that border on propaganda, about negatives of legalizing marijuana.
Except for the majority of the talking points are either taken out of the context of the study or come for studies that contain conclusions that contradict the talking point altogether.
Below are just a few of the inconsistencies with the presented talking points along with links to the cited studies and articles so you can judge for yourself.
I’m sure I missed some inaccuracies; however, the fact law enforcement agencies believe they can present this as fact is disgusting and should be below the office of any law enforcement officer.
Then again, they’re legally allowed to lie the public so your mileage may vary.
1.1 Uses the National Survey on Drug Use and Health [DSDUH] to allege marijuana use is increasing in Legal states; however, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says the opposite:
1.3 New Zealand Study. Read it yourself. It’s not conclusive: http://www.pnas.org/content/109/40/E2657#ref-2
1.5 THE ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF SUBSTANCE USE DURING COLLEGE notes 40 percent of heavy users discontinue college enrollment while 25 percent of minimal users discontinue college enrollment. That’s not “twice as likely.” Jesus. Read here: http://www.cls.umd.edu/docs/AcadOppCosts.pdf
2.1 Is Driving While High Dangerous? Fatal Car Accidents Involving Marijuana Triple Over 10 Years
The article does not state the data the police are citing here.
From the same article: “So how dangerous is driving while high? The short answer is, experts still haven’t come to a consensus on the issue. While previous studies on the topic have suggested that marijuana use may impair coordination and reaction abilities, other studies have proposed that driving while stoned showed no significant change in the risk of being involved in a crash.”
“More recently, a news station in Washington, a state which legalized recreational marijuana use in 2012 – along with Colorado – held an experiment in which they tested the driving abilities of three volunteers who were high.
…
Surprisingly, it took the subjects’ smoking nearly a gram of pot before the driving instructor deemed them unfit to drive. The results of the driving experiment gives support to those who say driving while stoned is far less dangerous than driving drunk.”
Selective data mining here.
3.1 Publication cites an unscientific poll, which surveyed just 600 people. https://www.westword.com/news/half-of-marijuana-users-have-gone-to-work-high-survey-says-9923753
3.2 The Quest does not say what the police are saying. Drug (all drugs) positivity in Colorado is equal to the national average 4.2 percent while it’s below the national average in Washington (4.1 percent) Read it here: http://newsroom.questdiagnostics.com/2018-05-08-Workforce-Drug-Positivity-at-Highest-Rate-in-a-Decade-Finds-Analysis-of-More-Than-10-Million-Drug-Test-Results
Check out the map: http://www.dtidrugmap.com
3.3 Uhh, I don’t know why they cited this study: Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Adolescent
Read it here because it says nothing of what they’re saying: http://thesciencenetwork.org/docs/BrainsRUs/ANYAS_2004_Giedd.pdf
4.1 The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact: Vol. 5 Sept. 2018, Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
This study fails to track data for drug overdoses, which are down and seems like an overall win compared to more ER visits.
“Marijuana treatment data from Colorado in years 2006 – 2016 does not appear to demonstrate a definitive trend. Colorado averages 6,683 treatment admissions annually for marijuana abuse.”
Read the study yourself: https://www.rmhidta.org/html/FINAL%202017%20Legalization%20of%20Marijuana%20in%20Colorado%20The%20Impact.pdf
Less death or more ER visits. The Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area wants you to pick the former.
Also, the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area is operated by law enforcement who have a financial incentive to not see pot legalized. Take this study with a grain of salt.
4.4 Cited here is a study from 2016 while a study from 2018 from the same agency is left out. Why? It contradicts the earlier study Again, selective data mining.
“The study found that the majority of homeless who ended up in Colorado jails moved here prior to legalization of marijuana, and most moved here to escape a problem or be with family. More than one third of the homeless who moved to Colorado after legalization in 2012 reported legal marijuana as a reason that drew them to Colorado. However, only two individuals selected legal marijuana as the only factor that drew them to Colorado.”
Read for yourself:
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/publicsafety/news/division-criminal-justice-publishes-study-homeless-jails
Law enforcement agencies have a financial incentive to keep recreational marijauna use illegal, and that’s a digusting reason to keep a personal choice illegal.
Take what they say with a grain of salt.
Anthony Alaniz 