C. Mass politicians, doctors warn against legal pot
At a panel discussion Wednesday in Worcester on the opioid crisis hosted by Fallon Health, a group of local officials -- including doctors and a state senator -- voiced their concerns about legalizing recreational marijuana, with several officials saying they were worried about how legitimizing the drug could affect children down the line.
The panel at the Beechwood Hotel consisted of outgoing Massachusetts Medical Society President Dennis Dimitri, State Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster), Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early and Worcester Commissioner of Health and Human Services Dr. Mattie Castiel. Dimitri, Early and Flanagan all said they oppose the measure, while Castiel said she is undecided on the issue but has concerns about the drug, particularly its effects on children.
The Massachusetts Medical Society is opposed to the legalization of recreational marijuana, and was opposed to legalizing medical marijuana before that measure passed. Dimitri said that the science backing up marijuana’s benefits as a medicine is shaky at best. Cannabis is probably not a good primary treatment for any medical condition, and its benefits as a secondary therapy are also debatable, he said.
“One could argue that because medical marijuana has been legitimized, that that has in the eyes of many people -- particularly among adolescents and other young adults -- seemed like, ‘Well, jeepers, if it's a medicine, how bad can it possibly be?’ And we know that there are times when it can be bad,” Dimitri said.
Flanagan was one of many state legislators who traveled to Colorado to learn about how the legalization of recreational pot out west has affected life in the state. Marijuana legalization, she said, has been a huge misstep for Colorado.
“They have an uptick in visits to the emergency room, not only by tourists but by children,” Flanagan said. “The animals are getting into it, and they’re going to the vets because the edibles are so concentrated. You don’t realize that you can’t eat the whole cookie, you can only eat part of the cookie, and then it doesn’t affect you until an hour later.”
Castiel was less committal on her stance towards legal pot. She said she is concerned how legalizing marijuana could affect developing brains, but she also wants a more sound criminal justice policy surrounding marijuana-related incarceration before she takes a definitive position on the issue.
“My first impression was that I don’t want it because I think that we have a huge opioid epidemic … [but] I know what's happened in the past with prohibition of alcohol, so I’m worried about both ends.” she said. “Until we decide what prison reform is, if we’re going to incarcerate people for using marijuana, if they have a certain amount of marijuana, until we get that straight, what does that mean?”
Early said he didn’t oppose marijuana as a medicine when it came to dealing with patients with serious health problems, like pancreatic cancer. However, he said, marijuana is an IQ killer and a motivation killer in young adults, and that it could lead to more motor vehicle accidents.
“I do not need to see more drivers, especially young people who are at the greatest risk for accidents -- behind the wheel of a car with diminished capacity or a diminished ability to operate safely. I think this is just going to add to the carnage,” he said.
The presence of THC in various foods in colorful packaging is also troubling, he said.
“The people in Colorado tell us, ‘Don’t do it, it hasn't worked for us.’ They're putting THC now in gummy bears, in chocolate milk. Who’s that being advertised to?” he asked rhetorically.
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