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Given the federal government’s reclassification of marijuana to a Schedule III drug, is now the time for Indiana to legalize medical marijuana?
Time and again, Hoosiers have been pitched the benefits of cannabis-related products, from CBD to recreational marijuana.
The story is always the same: lofty promises of tax revenue, job growth and public health. But consistently, in state after state, the burdens of legal cannabis outweigh the benefits.
As the federal government moves to reschedule medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, the industry is eying Indiana and the 25 other states where recreational cannabis remains illegal and sees dollar signs in untapped markets. (Ten of these states, including Indiana, also ban medical marijuana.)
Proponents of legalization tout astronomical numbers of theoretical tax revenue. However, Indiana has the benefit of looking to other states to see that these numbers are deeply misleading.
Some of the income generated by taxes is immediately eaten up by the costs of regulation. Beyond these direct costs, the secondary costs explode.
Law enforcement faces additional challenges in fighting the black market, which is often over-saturated, blended with legal products, and remains the more affordable option for cannabis consumers.
Impaired driving enforcement becomes difficult and costly as cannabis use surges, requiring expensive lab tests and expert analysis.
Emergency room and poison control calls drastically increase. Juveniles gain easier access to products containing THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana. And this does not begin to address the complications in healthcare costs, insurance, liability and employment among companies that require “drug free” workplaces.
None of these costs are addressed when states look at the tax revenue, and the people of the state suffer as a result.
Medical marijuana is the most misleading. Every single one of the 24 states that has legalized recreational marijuana started with allowing medical marijuana. It is the Trojan horse for recreational marijuana and the myriad negative effects on society caused by cannabis legalization, and it is let in to allow for a product with unproven effectiveness.
The majority of conditions medical marijuana is prescribed to treat are difficult to prove and the product of subjective self-reporting.
None of these products are tested by the FDA to determine whether they are safe for consumption. What other forms of “medicine” have we relied upon state regulatory structures to bring to market?
But perhaps most importantly, we are learning more everyday about the dangers of long-term THC use, regardless of whether that THC is labeled as “medical.”
THC use is linked to a variety of mental health issues, including psychosis, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
Cannabis use disorders, Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome and the devastating impacts of THC use on developing juvenile brains are just starting to be understood.
Medical marijuana is pushed as an alternative to opioid use. Unfortunately, releasing snakes to kill the rats still leaves you with snakes.
The risk to Hoosiers is too great.
In 2018, Indiana passed legislation to allow CBD products with low levels of THC, with the intention of helping those with cancer and seizure disorders.
The unintended consequence of that legislation was the birth of an industry that exploited the system, leading to high-potency THC products being sold across the state.
Indiana will be making the same mistake twice by attempting to legalize medical marijuana.
We should learn from our previous mistakes and prevent the legalization of any THC products. The risks outweigh the benefits.•
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Becker is the Elkhart County prosecutor and Holtsclaw is the Greene County prosecutor. Send comments to [email protected].
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