Despite Warnings, District of Columbia on Track to Become Nation's Pot Capital

News Article

Measures recently passed by the District of Columbia Council and the House of Representatives would make D.C. one of the most marijuana-friendly cities in the nation despite new warnings by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) about the "significant adverse effects" of smoking pot.
In a March 4 landmark vote, the D.C. Council voted 10 to 1 to eliminate all criminal penalties for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana and using the drug in private homes. Smoking pot in public remains a misdemeanor in the District, but the penalties for doing so were reduced.

"This means that outside of Washington [State] and Colorado, marijuana penalties are now less punitive in our nation's capital than anywhere else in the country," said Dan Riffle, director of federal policies at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

The D.C. Council legalized pot for medicinal purposes in 2010. Last Thursday, legislation was proposed that would make marijuana easier to obtain legally by allowing doctors to decide who was eligible for the program.

However, possession and use of marijuana still remains illegal under federal law. Because the District is a federal enclave, all laws passed by the D.C. Council are subject to congressional review. Because the bill changes the District's criminal code, Congress had 60 days to intervene before the new law goes into effect next month.

Instead, the Republican-led House approved an amendment to an appropriations bill (H.R. 4660) introduced by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) prohibiting the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) from enforcing federal law in D.C. and states with existing medical marijuana laws.

The amendment was adopted May 30 on a 219-189 vote, with 49 Republicans voting in favor and 17 Democrats opposed in what MPP called a "historic victory in Congress."

The amendment, which Rohrabacher said was a "no brainer" for conservatives, prohibits the use of federal funds "to prevent states from implementing state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana."

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), a physician who co-sponsored the amendment, argued that legalizing medical marijuana was a states' rights issue. But two other House Republicans who are also physicians vigorously opposed the measure, pointing out that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is available in other forms.

"Mr. Chairman, marijuana is neither safe nor legal," Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) reminded his House colleagues. "Let's get it straight. The Controlled Substance Act makes marijuana in the United States illegal because it's not safe. And Mr. Chairman, there's more and more evidence every day that it's not safe. The effect on the brains, the developing brains of teenagers and young adults is becoming more and more clear."

"And Mr. Chairman, this is not a medicine," Harris continued. "This would be like me as a physician saying, you know, "I think you need penicillin. Go chew on some mold.' Of course I wouldn't do that! I'd write for 250 mg. of penicillin [every] six hours times ten days. I don't write "Chew on some mold a couple times a day.'"

"This will take the away the ability of the Department of Justice to protect our young people," agreed fellow physician Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), who also voted against the amendment.

Just five days after the amendment passed in the House, an article published June 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine by NIDA scientists noted that marijuana use is linked to "significant adverse effects," including the often disputed claim that "marijuana can be addictive and that this risk for addiction increases for daily or young users."

"The popular notion seems to be that marijuana is a harmless pleasure, access to which should not be regulated or considered illegal," wrote the authors, adding that it is a "gateway drug" that can lead to further drug abuse.

"An estimated 2.7 million people 12 years of age and older met the DSM-IV criteria for dependence on marijuana…there is also recognition of a bona fide cannabis withdrawal syndrome (with symptoms that include irritability, sleeping difficulties, dysphoria, craving, and anxiety) which makes cessation difficult and contributes to relapse," the authors point out.

A NIDA fact sheet published in January also noted that smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes is unwarranted.

"Clinical evidence has not shown that the therapeutic benefits of the marijuana plant outweigh its health risks," it stated.

Those risks include interference with brain development in young people, with "substantially reduced connectivity among brain areas responsible for learning and memory."

Impaired judgment, reduced motor coordination that "more than doubles a driver's risk of being in an accident," lung irritation leading to respiratory illness, increased heart rate, temporary psychotic reactions, and personality disturbances, "including a lack of motivation to engage in typically rewarding activities," are other side effects of the drug.

Pot is particularly harmful for teens, the researchers noted, because it impairs critical thinking and memory functions in the brain. One long-term study showed that teens who regularly smoked pot in early adolescence had decreased IQs as 38-year-old adults even if they no longer used the drug.

"It is important to alert the public that using marijuana in the teen years brings health, social, and academic risk," said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of NIDA and lead author of the paper.

"Physicians in particular can play a role in conveying to families that early marijuana use can interfere with crucial social and developmental milestones and can impair cognitive development," she said.

Source