CHANGES ARE COMING.

My garden is weed and grass free.

I Changed My Mind Concerning Legalizing Recreational Marijuana In Michigan and Voted No

The ballot initiative of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will be on the ballot for the November, 2018, election.  I was in favor of decriminalizing marijuana, but changed my mind today (10/27/2018) when I filled out my ballot and voted NO.  I struggled with favoring legalizing  recreational marijuana and being the leading proponent of protecting humans from exposure to harmful chemicals.  This is the main reason I changed my mind on this ballot proposal and voted NO.  I went to a medical meeting yesterday.  The speaker, an addiction doctor, said that Michigan was the only state that had legal medical marijuana and did not see a beneficial effect in legal medical marijuana decreasing opioid deaths.  The opposite happened in Michigan with more opioid deaths after medical marijuana became legal.  I asked why medical marijuana had a possible adverse effect on opioid deaths in Michigan and the speaker said he did not know.  Will legal recreational marijuana cause more opioid deaths in Michigan? 

I have a few concerns.  Marijuana being a factor in causing traffic accidents is of great concern to me.  There should be severe penalties imposed on high drivers who cause auto accidents.  I do not want recreational marijuana to be regulated to the point that the black market can easily sell marijuana below the legal price.  I do not want marijuana to be regulated like alcohol when I see the influence that the alcohol industry has over those who regulate it.  The alcohol industry's best interests are not always what is best for the consumer, especially concerning competition and price of the product.  I want rules and regulations that will limit the influence of those entering this nascent legal business before they get bad habits.  

A word about medical marijuana.  I feel that anyone who really wants to buy marijuana legally can probably obtain a medical marijuana card by claiming they have chronic pain.  A large number of medical marijuana cards have been issued in Michigan. 

At this time marijuana is an alternative medicine when used for medicinal purposes.  Very little research that would pass FDA scrutiny has been done concerning marijuana, because marijuana is an illegal federal Schedule I drug.  Abdul El-Sayed, M.D., a Michigan gubernatorial candidate is right in advocating for more research in Michigan concerning medical marijuana.  Hopefully, Michigan could become a producer of prescription marijuana.  However, Michigan produced prescription marijuana will not have access to a national market due to current federal law.   At the federal level marijuana should not be a Schedule I drug.

Ted Golden, M.D.