Cheryl Allen: Retail marijuana would hurt Pa., especially our young people

Government officials should refrain from promoting a predatory industry whose very existence relies upon drug dependency.

This was my message to state representatives in Harrisburg as I was invited to share testimony during a recent committee hearing on marijuana legalization.

I have extensive experience with young people and their parents or caregivers. I am a retired school teacher, having taught school in a Pittsburgh public housing project. As a lawyer, for over 15 years, my primary client was Children & Youth Services. As a trial court judge, I presided over thousands of juvenile and criminal court cases.

I have witnessed firsthand the impact of drug use. The single greatest reason why children come into the foster care system is because of their parents’ problem with substance abuse.

Having witnessed this common denominator with family dysfunction, it bewilders me that some elected officials are pushing for the legal retail sale of marijuana, which would undoubtedly lead to more detrimental effects; not only to our young people but to our community as a whole.

Marijuana is a harmful, mind-altering substance that can be addictive. This verifiable truth has only become worse with what today’s marijuana industry has chemically concocted and commercialized.

According to national survey data, using the most authoritative study on drug use by SAMHSA, in the last 20 years marijuana use has doubled, and daily use has quadrupled. If you’re spending a lot of time using marijuana, it’s an indicator of addiction. Sadly, too many moms and dads are witnessing the reality of a higher addiction rate among children versus adults.

When I say commercialization, I mean having more pot shops than Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. It’s an in-your-face culture filled with billboards and social media influence. And it’s a saturation of product lines like fruit-flavored vapes and candied concentrates with dangerously high potency reaching upwards of 90%+ THC (the psychoactive component of marijuana that causes the high).

It’s no coincidence that this rise in marijuana use coincides with state commercialization. A byproduct of retail marijuana legalization is increased use, particularly by young adults. As researchers with Temple University found, marijuana commercialization leads to more youth use due to factors like “easier access to cannabis, stronger cannabis potency, greater variety of cannabis products, and exposure to cannabis advertising and sales.”

Multiple bills have been introduced in Pennsylvania state government to legalize retail marijuana. House Bill 2210, sponsored by Philadelphia Democrat Rep. Amen Brown, would go so far as to force municipalities to comply with the marijuana industry and allow a pot shop in their neighborhood. This is Exhibit A of Big Government, and puts profits over the well-being of people and public safety.

For some, including policymakers, there can be a disconnect between marijuana use and its many health concerns. Take Gov. Josh Shapiro, who changed his position on retail marijuana after “months of internal research.” (I would welcome a discussion with him as to what his sources were for his research.) While Shapiro hasn’t talked much about marijuana since last February’s budget address — which called for a 20% tax on retail marijuana sales — he has repeatedly addressed concerns with mental health.

If you want to fight for better solutions for mental health, you should oppose retail marijuana. “There is no current scientific evidence that cannabis is in any way beneficial for the treatment of any psychiatric disorder,” identifies the American Psychiatric Association (APA). “In contrast, current evidence supports, at minimum, a strong association of cannabis use with the onset of psychiatric disorders. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to harm, given the effects of cannabis on neurological development.”

APA is not alone in their opposition to Shapiro’s agenda with marijuana. Every major health organization is opposed to marijuana legalization for recreational use, from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the American Society for Addiction Medicine to the Christian Medical and Dental Association.

Lastly, retail marijuana legalization is the opposite of a solution to social equity. While, admittedly, there are racial disparities in court cases involving drug trafficking and sales, these disparities are no justification for legalizing those drugs. To justify marijuana legalization based on racial disparity means we should legalize cocaine, heroin and other controlled substances. Just look to the state of Oregon to see how destructive that policy decision would be.

There are racial disparities in Pennsylvania’s child welfare system. It appears we’re replacing, or forgoing, the priority of finding what’s best for families with a debate over which revenue number to use with projected retail marijuana sales, none of which have ever included a companion list of expenses outlining the costs that retail marijuana would inflict on Pennsylvanians — which would be high.

Policymakers should serve to strengthen their community by enacting laws limited in scope that allow children to develop into responsible and thriving citizens. A hindrance to this pursuit would be to promote marijuana use in a greater way, where the state receives a payout with more addictive use of this harmful, family-destroying drug.

I concluded my testimony in Harrisburg with a quote from Booker T. Washington, who said, “A lie cannot become the truth, that wrong cannot become right, and evil cannot become good, just because a majority embraces it.”

Marijuana will not be a revenue generator, and no amount of tax revenue can justify the harm it would cause to Pennsylvania communities, particularly to our next generation.

Retired Judge Cheryl Allen served on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and the Pennsylvania Superior Court. She is of counsel for the Pennsylvania Family Institute.