Colorado’s Amendment 64, which aims to legalize marijuana for individuals over the age of 21, has garnered new opposition. The Colorado Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics Board of Directors voted to add their organization to an open letter warning of the risks that they believe passing Amendment 64 would create for children in Colorado.
The letter states, “Regardless of your feelings about marijuana, we, as pediatricians, feels it is important to know about how marijuana legalization can affect children and teenagers and the increased risks they could face if Amendment 64 passes.”
The pediatricians list a number of statistics about marijuana use in their letter, including that accidental marijuana ingestion by children has increased since medical marijuana collectives opened in Colorado in 2009. Between October 2009 and December 2011, 14 children ages 8 months-12 years were seen at Children’s Hospital in Colorado for accidental marijuana ingestion.
In the past, the American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that, “Any change in the legal status of marijuana, even if limited to adults, could affect the prevalence of use among adolescents.”
Directly contrasting this, however, are studies which have shown that there is no increased marijuana use among children and teens in states where medical marijuana has been legalized.
The adolescent marijuana use argument is one that has been used by politicians and physicians alike, with little research to actually back up the idea. Since no state has fully legalized marijuana, it is difficult to gauge the impact that legalization would have on children because there is no precedent.
That being said, after conducting a study of teen marijuana use in June 2012, professor Daniel Rees concluded that, “There is anecdotal evidence that medical marijuana is finding its way into the hands of teenagers, but there’s no statistical evidence that legalization increases the probability of use.”
Other pediatricians who opted to sign the letter opposing Amendment 64 include Claudia Kunrath, MD, Kathryn Wells, MD, and Kristine Knutti Rodrigues, MD.
[Source]
bhudder4220 said on Oct 8, 2012
Pretty sure when an a&w came up in town the percentage of people who didn't have a&w in my town went up so should a&w be shut down for access to unhealthy foods what happened to self regulation and house hold rules you don't leave your bottle of sleeping pills just kicking around (which can actually cause and has caused death) so take the same precatiouns with all meds (even though orally ingesting marijuana once couldnt be any more taxing on an adolescents health then regular doses of malitonin) idk just seems like another desperate attempt at oppression and refusal of change from another ignorant and right wing conservative stat
NISMOTOKER said on Oct 8, 2012
WOULDNT YOU RATHER TEENs smoke weed than drink or pop pills. like wtf. wheres the logic at … oh wait there is none
AxelFoley said on Oct 10, 2012
I'd rather they didn't do any of those, until they were 20 (I smoked regularly and drank to excess occasionally from around age 12). The human brain can take up to the age of 25 to fully develop and there is evidence that those sorts of substances change and inhibit development. Adolescent drinkers and smokers are more prone to mental health problems later in life, worse outcomes in school (not that I cared much about that, but it can make things easier). While I agree I'd rather my children be exposed to small amounts of weed than get alcohol poisoning or overdose on pills, or be exposed to drug dealers who would sell hard drugs to minors, there is a lot of logic in keeping kids away from weed.
glas said on Oct 8, 2012
14! 14 kids in two years had "accidental" marijuana ingestion! How many kids in that same period of time went to the hospial for any other prescription…. i would be willing to bet that more than that went to the hospital for oxycodone alone. how many went for "accidental" alcohol ingestion? 14 in two years is nothing to worry about with a drug that cant kill you!
app25 said on Oct 9, 2012
What kind of bull shit is that, legalization shouldn't be determined by bad parenting. People who leave drugs, weapons or cleaning supplies around children can not blame rat poisoning from doing the job. If your kid eats some pot brownies, he/she may get sick you learn from mistakes now own up and be an adult, if your kid gets into your oxicodein or nyquil, maybe your draino or other things for the house..he/she may die