As a recovering drug addict and a counselor for both in-class and online drug classes I am always shocked when a seemingly sane person claims to believe marijuana should be legalized. The latest “intelligent” mind to voice this opinion is Pat Robertson. He could not be more wrong!
Evangelical patriarch Rev. Pat Robertson has long been a leader in the conservative movement advocating for a better civil and moral society. But his recent support of marijuana legalization couldn't be more off the mark. This as reported in cnn.com.
He claims marijuana and alcohol should be treated the same, both legal and heavily regulated.
Regulating marijuana like the way we regulate alcohol (or cigarettes) will only result in the increased use and abuse of marijuana, particularly among youths. All you need to do is look at recent statistics for adolescent marijuana use in states where it is has been legalized for medicinal purposes. Those states have seen as much as an 80% increase in marijuana use among teens!
Stats on Marijuana Use
Among cannabis users in treatment in the United States, 80.5% are not married, 90% have obtained an education of 12 years or less; 25% are unemployed and 46% are not in the labor force (of which 55% are students). Of the cannabis users who entered treatment services from 2000 to 2008, nearly a quarter report psychiatric problems. In addition, driving under the influence of marijuana could double a person's risk of getting in a serious or fatal car crash.
Legalizing marijuana is not the answer. We need to take drugs out of society and make them as difficult as possible to obtain. Drug classes combined with vigilant efforts to keep drugs out of the mainstream will go a long way to a better future.