Considerations Of Legalization In Ohio

The Marijuana Experiment

Woodstock Weed

Potency about 3-4% THC

72% of all pot was imported

Primarily leaves, stems, flowers and hodgepodge pieces of the plant

Brought into the country in bricks

Smoked – maybe pot brownies

California Introduces “Medical” Marijuana in 1996

California Proposition 215● California marijuana activist Dennis Peron● Medicinal properties to give comfort to HIV

patients● Won with 55.5% of the vote● Opposition said law was too vague● Compassion won over voters

Marijuana Status (Medicinal)- 23 States and DC

● California – 1996

● Alaska – 1998

● Oregon – 1998

● Washington – 1998

● Maine – 1999

● Colorado – 2000

● Hawaii - 2000

● Nevada – 2000

● Montana – 2004

● Vermont – 2004

● Rhode Island – 2006

● New Mexico - 2007

● Michigan – 2008

● Arizona – 2010

● DC – 2010

● New Jersey – 2010

● Delaware – 2011

● Connecticut – 2012

● Massachusetts - 2012

● Illinois – 2013

● New Hampshire – 2013

● Maryland – 2014

● Minnesota – 2014

● New York - 2014

Marijuana Status (CBD) - 11 States

● Alabama● Florida● Georgia● Iowa● Kentucky● Mississippi● Missouri● South Carolina● Tennessee● Utah● Wisconsin

Who Are the Cardholders?

In states where measured, patients:

Have less than 5% of all patients have the life threatening issues

Over 90% use for chronic pain

Average cardholder - 32 year old white male with no history of chronic illness and a history of substance abuse

Cannabidiol Medications

● Children with Seizure Issues● Charlotte’s Web (Charlotte Figi) – Stanley

Brothers ● Epidiolex (GW Pharmaceuticals)● Mixed Success● Epilepsy Foundation – Need for more testing

Responsible Ohio

Concerns● Marijuana monopoly● Children would be allowed access to “medical”

marijuana (with written consent of a parent)● “Medical” marijuana individuals can share pot● Home-grown pot can be shared● Program for low-income individuals to get low-cost

pot● How much can a person have?● 1159 stores allowed – only 203 Starbucks in Ohio● Can “medical” marijuana folks use in public? the

workplace? Correctional facilities? Daycares?

1. DO WE WANT THIS FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

2.IF THIS HAPPENS, WHAT DO WE NEED TO CONSIDER?

Two Policy Considerations

LEGALIZATION AND EMPLOYERS

Business Impact

Employer Concerns

● Liability for injuries or damages caused by impaired employees

● Compliance with state and federal workplace policies – OSHA, DOT, “safety sensitive” positions

● Worker’s Compensation and drug free workplace

● Hiring, disciplining and firing employees● Guidelines for accommodations and leave

requests

Colorado Employer Concerns

Courts have upheld rights to maintain a drug-free workplace•Main problem in Colorado – confusion over the law•Colorado Staffing Association’s ED Jan Haire – “legalization is “a horrible dilemma for our members, because there’s no way to know if someone’s impaired.”

-Lee Bowman, Scripps 3/23/14

Quest Diagnostics Employee Drug Testing (November, 2014)• Positive results increased by 6.2% since 2012• Double digit increases in Colorado and Washington• 415,000 estimated pot users in the workforce• Marijuana most frequently for positive tests

Discrimination

• Michigan – Joseph Casias sued his employer– Case dismissed by Sixth Circuit

Court of Appeals• Maine – Brittany Thomas sues Adecco

– ACLU is taking this case up• Colorado – Brandon Coats sued Dish

Network– Court ruled wasn't illegal firing

because marijuana is an illegal drug federally

• WSJ article - "Medical Marijuana Poses Litigation Risk to Employers." (August 15, 2013) – Cost employers between $69,000 and $107,000 in costs, not including any award.

• New Mexico – Employer must pay for pot? Link to story included

LEGALIZATION AND COLLEGE CAMPUS

College and University Impact

Impact on Colleges

●Federally schedule I drug●Conflict with state law●Federal funding●Federal financial aid●NCAA Considerations●Off-campus use

Maryland School of Public Health (June, 2013)• Study followed 1200 college students over 10

years• College students skipped more classes, earned

lower grades and dropped out more often• Unemployment rates higher after college• 15 times or more per month – twice as likely to

have experience “discontinuous enrollment”

Grades and Retention

MARIJUANA AND MENTAL HEALTH

Mental Health Impact

Northwestern University

Northwestern Medicine at Northwestern University1.

December, 2013 – Brain Abnormalities with Chronic Use

○ “The younger drug abuse starts, the more abnormal the brain.”○ Of schizophrenia patients surveyed, 90% used before

schizophrenia set in2. April, 2014

– Casual Marijuana Use Linked to Brain Abnormalities

○ Changed the volume, shape and density of gray matter in brain – effects on decision making

○ “I’ve developed a severe worry about whether we should be allowing anybody under age 30 to use pot unless they have a terminal illness and need it for pain.”

3. March 2015 - Teen cannabis users have poor long-term memory in adulthood

○ Daily users – Hippocampus changes that influenced memory (18% worse on long term memory tests)

○ Two years marijuana free and did not change results

Meta-analysis was conducted by Australian researchers in 2011 for the Archives of General Psychiatry• used 83 studies to assess the impact of marijuana

use on the early onset of psychotic illness.

The findings were clear and consistent: “The results of meta-analysis provide evidence for a relationship between cannabis use and earlier onset of psychotic illness…[The] results suggest the need for renewed warnings about the potentially harmful effects of cannabis.”

Link between Marijuana and Mental Illness?

LEGALIZATION AND COMMUNITY CONCERNS

Impact on the Community

● 2007-2012 – Traffic fatalities decreased 14%● 2007-2012 – Traffic fatalities involving drivers

testing positive for marijuana increased 100%● In 2007, Colorado traffic fatalities involving

operators testing positive for marijuana represented 7.04 percent of the total traffic fatalities. By 2012, that number more than doubled to 16.53 percent

Rocky Mtn. HIDTA Report - Fatalities

Teen drivers

Liberty Mutual/SADD survey (USA Today Reporting)● 19% admitted to driving after smoking

marijuana● 36% - marijuana smoking no distraction while

driving● 34% who admitted to smoking while high said

it made them a better driver

Homeless Influx Into Denver?

● Homeless shelters say increase because of medicinal and legal pot.

● Older – medicinal; younger – recreational ● Up to estimated 30% relocated for marijuana (Denver’s

Salvation Army Crossroads Shelter)● Denver’s Saint Francis Center – “300 new faces per

month” – many were drawn because of legal marijuana● Urban Peak – youth-oriented homeless program – up 328

homeless young adults.○ 1/3 cite legal marijuana for moving to Denver

Colorado – Predicted recreational taxes =

$107,000,000

Actual total collected in 2014 = $63,414,883

Medical (2.9%) = $10,886,966

Retail Sales Tax (12.9%) = $39,186,917

Wholesale Retail Excise Tax (15%) = $13,341,000

Nearly 40% - black market

Ohio – Predicted recreational taxes = $554,000,000

Tax structure 15% tax on grower 15% tax on distributor 5% retail tax No tax on medical No tax on home grown

(shared only)

Marijuana Taxes

Colorado Director of Marijuana Coordination

● Andrew Freedman – Colorado Marijuana Czar● Interview with Boston Herald Radio (June,

2015)● “You do not legalize for taxation. It is a myth.

You are not going to pave streets. You are not going to be able to pay teachers. The big red herring is the whole thing that the tax revenue will solve a bunch of crises. But it won’t.”

● The tax dollars brought in largely go toward the “cost of legalization.”

People are not put in prison for small time marijuana use today. Ohio Prison statistics reveal that less than 1% of inmates are behind bars for marijuana possession.

Racial Disparity• Not an issue exclusive to marijuana• Drug Policy Alliance review of Colorado – Post

legalization – African Americans are still arrested at a higher rate than whites for marijuana crimes.

Prison and Marijuana

ER Admissions• 374,000 ER visits due solely to marijuana – ER visits increase

nationally more than 50% from 2004 to 2011.• Children’s Hospital of Colorado – 2.3% of all poisonings of

children under 12 were marijuana-related.• Colorado - Hospitalizations related to marijuana have increased

82 percent from 2008 to 2013. Other Considerations• 1000% increase in amounts of marijuana seizures in Denver

since 2011.• 350% higher rate of use by 8th graders than the national

average• 38% reported they got it from a friend who obtained it

legally• 23% reported they got it from their parents

ER Visits and Other Considerations

Not Just Smoking…

Marijuana Edibles

Marijuana Edibles

Up to 70% THCMore potent than smoking (12% THC)THC Levels are inconsistent, even with packagingMarch 9, 2014 Denver Post – testing showed that labels didn’t match actual THC level

Meet Claude…

Black Cherry Gummy BearTHC Infused100 milligrams of THC per bearColorado law – 10 mg per servingFoot = one serving

Wyoming College Student

•Levy Thamba Pongi – Northwest College

•Ate one marijuana cookie – recommended serving size was 1/6 of a cookie.

•Jumped out of window

•Autopsy – marijuana intoxication was a “significant contributing factor.”

Kristine Kirk

•Husband ate a marijuana candy

•Started hallucinating

•Told wife to shoot him

•On phone with 911, he killed her

Other Products

Marijuana Wax

What is Marijuana Wax? Highest potency of marijuana

on the market and quicker high

Created by using butane to extract "hash oil" or "butane hash oil (BHO) from marijuana plant

Marijuana put in long tube and then heated with butane.

Waxing Creation Issues

• Wax is to marijuana as freebasing is to cocaine

• Vapors fill room and ignite with a spark

• Risk of burns and homes blowing up

• Learn how to cook wax on YouTube

• FEMA issued bulletin in February to identify BHO production

• 32 hash oil explosions in Colorado in 2014 and 0 in 2012

• Closed Wax System – more expensive

Marijuana Transformation: The High

•BLOGS HAVE CALLED IT THE “FUTURE OF CANNABIS”•CAN EXCEED 80% THC•HALLUCINATIONS•IMMEDIATE HIGH – SMOKING TAKES ABOUT 20 MINUTES•DESCRIBED AS AN INTENSE EXPERIENCE, EVEN FOR SEASONED MARIJUANA USERS

Dabbing and Vaping

Lancet Psychiatry Journal Study

• Higher potency weed may be linked to increase in likelihood of psychotic episode.

• Weekly user of high potency weed (15% THC) content were 3 times more likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic episode.

• Daily use – 5 times more likely

Legalization = Commercialization

• With legalization comes market for stronger, more intense high• Very little research done on higher potency weed• Little to no regulation on high-concentrate pot

products

Questions?