Ed Wood is among many who are waking up to the manipulations and outright lies of Big Marijuana. In his letter to the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Wood writes:
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Pot Taxes May Help State Income, but Problems Remain
Regulation does not keep pot out of the hands (and bodies) of youth whose brains, still being in the formative stages, are most susceptible to permanent harm.
Gangapreneurs brush off the prospect of a permanent IQ drop for the next generation, even though marijuana use by 12- to 17-year-olds has been shown to be highest in medical marijuana states, where marijuana has been introduced, in part, to close down its black market. Regulation does not keep this substance out of the hands (and bodies) of youth whose brains, still being in the formative stages, are most susceptible to permanent harm. What will be the impact on high-school performance, initiative and the next generation?
We don’t know the impact of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) because we don’t measure it systematically, other than with the badly flawed FARS data from NHTSA, which was never designed for that purpose. Of the 25,000 DUIs a year in Colorado, how many are due to drugs? The answer is that we don’t know because the state doesn’t even bother to measure it.
Employers are increasing their use of employee drug tests, even as the once respectable Denver Post campaigns to end that practice. How much will marijuana legalization reduce competitiveness, lower product quality and increase workplace accidents? Insurers in New Mexico are awakening to the latter issue.
What will it take to successfully rebut the avalanche of misrepresentations and outright lies from “big marijuana” that threatens our health, safety and prosperity?
Ed Wood
President
DUID Victim Voices
Morrison, Colo.