Why? Because
she thinks it will help save the children:
A discussion of legalizing medical marijuana in Illinois is likely fueling an increase in the number of Park Ridge teenagers using the substance, the Maine Community Youth Assistance Foundation contends.
Margaret Polovchak, executive director of MCYAF, said increased dialogue about marijuana legislation in the state leads to a greater public perception that the substance is not harmful, resulting in a growing number of users.
It's wrong on so many levels, one scarcely knows where to begin. But I guess we'll start with the fact that
teen marijuana use declined for 10 years straight after the national debate over medical marijuana emerged in the mid-90's.
You see, Illinois isnât the first state where this conversation has taken place. There's actually an abundance of empirical data to consult before spouting off mindless speculation. Here, check out
this helpful chart showing how almost every state that legalized medical marijuana experienced a subsequent decline in teen marijuana use.
Now you'll never find me arguing that passing medical marijuana laws makes kids less likely to try it. But the fact that rates of use have fluctuated similarly in states with and without such laws really just massacres the idea that having a public debate about marijuana policy somehow endangers children. If you want to see an endangered child, check out
this video of a SWAT team shooting two dogs in front of a 7-year-old during a bust for a small bag of pot.
Anyone who's concerned about children getting mixed messages in the medical marijuana debate should stop lying about medical marijuana. You know it's medicine because the Institute of Medicine
said so. You know it's medicine because its main ingredient is approved by the FDA and
the manufacturer even marketed it as "legal marijuana." You know it's medicine because seriously ill patients continue to turn to it for relief, even when doing so places them at risk of being raided and imprisoned simply for trying to make their cancer suck a little less.
The effort to protect children from the dangers of drugs is a noble one, but taking medicine away from people who need it is one strategy that shouldnât even be on the table.