Marijuana is dangerous! Vote "No to I-182!"

Editor,

It cannot be denied that marijuana has medical properties. But proponents of I-182 want you to recognize the medical benefits and deny the significant negative health, social and economic consequences that it has on our communities. 

Marijuana is neither safe nor harmless. While well-tested pharmaceutical marijuana products may be a valid form of medication, I-182 does not responsibly grant access of medical marijuana with the oversight of medical professionals to patients who may truly benefit from it while knowing the possible risks of taking it. In the meantime

• Because marijuana contains psychoactive cannabinoids, substance use disorders resulting from its use are serious and a widespread health problem. 

• Marijuana use has adverse health consequences including damage to specific organs and tissues and impairments in behavioral and neurological functioning. 

• Marijuana is the most common drug involved in drugged driving and is a significant cause of highway crashes, injury and death. 

• Marijuana legalization leads the public to view marijuana as less harmful which increases the rate of marijuana use in youth. While cigarette use has decreased in high school students, marijuana use has increased. 

• Marijuana is the drug used by an estimated 61 percent of all Americans suffering from a substance use disorder related to drugs other than alcohol.

It is not in the best interest of Montanans to once again make marijuana more widely available and more acceptable. It didn’t work the first time and it won’t work again. I-182 is just another attempt by the promarijuana advocates to normalize its use in this state. 

Susan Sullivan

Billings