Why marijuana should be legal for adults - CNN.

com

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/09/opinion/nathan-legal-marijuana/index.h...

EDITION: INTERNATIONAL TV:

CNNi CNN en Espaol

U.S.

MXICO

ARABIC

Sign up

Log in

Set edition preference

Home

Video

World

U.S.

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin America

Middle East

Business

World Sport

Entertainment

Tech

Travel

iReport

By David L. Nathan, Special to CNN

January 9, 2013 -- Updated 1441 GMT (2241 HKT)

18k
Recommend

911
Tweet Print

22
Share Email

172

More sharing

Part of complete coverage on

Opinion on the news

Keep dancing for Jesus, Ray Lewis!
February 2, 2013 -- Updated 1744 GMT (0144 HKT)

Roland Martin says we should not ridicule athletes who choose to be public about their faith.

Koch a friend and force to the end

February 2, 2013 -- Updated 1830 GMT (0230 HKT)

Charles Kaiser said his friend, the late New York City mayor, was a force for change on gay rights who stayed relevant in politics long after he left office.

David Nathan says pot should be sold and regulated like alcohol and tobacco.

Gun extremists' alternate reality

February 1, 2013 -- Updated 0109 GMT (0909 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
David Nathan disputes CNN op-ed by David Frum that argues pot should be illegal Nathan treats drug abusers and agrees with Frum that young people should avoid marijuana Drug should be legal for adults and sold like alcohol, with kids taught the risks, he says Nathan: If pot is illegal, then dangerous drugs like alcohol and tobacco should be, too

Editor's note: David L. Nathan, a clinical associate professor at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was recently elected as a distinguished fellow in the American Psychiatric Association. He teaches and practices general adult psychiatry in Princeton, New Jersey. (CNN) -- David Frum is one of today's best and most reasoned conservative political voices, so his recent CNN.com op-ed on marijuana policy was just a little disappointing. Not because he advocates the drug's decriminalization -- he rightly thinks locking people up or arresting them for casual use is a bad idea -- but because he opposes its legalization for adults. I agree with much of what he says about pot's potential harm, especially for the young and the psychiatrically ill. Like Frum, I am a father who worries about my kids getting sidetracked by cannabis before their brains have a chance to develop. But I am also a physician who understands that the negative legal consequences of marijuana use are far worse than the medical consequences. Frum would reduce the punishment for marijuana use for adults but nominally maintain its illegality in order to send a message to young people that pot is a "bad choice," as if breaking the rules wasn't as much an incentive as a deterrent for adolescents. Kids are smart enough to recognize and dismiss a "because I said so" argument when they see one. By trying to hide marijuana from innately curious young people, we have elevated its status to that of a forbidden fruit. I believe a better approach is to bring pot into the open, make it legal for people over the age of 21, and educate children from a young age about the actual dangers of its recreational use. Opinion: War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure Throughout my career as a clinical psychiatrist, I have seen lives

Paul Waldman says a girl being shot in a Chicago park is a real example of what guns mean in America; a fantasy about needing an assault rifle to fend off a home invasion is not

Why Limbaugh is gushing over Marco Rubio

February 1, 2013 -- Updated 1631 GMT (0031 HKT)

Ruben Navarrette says while not all conservatives agree with the Florida senator on immigration reform, they are praising him nonetheless

More gun mayhem -- and yet we wait for action

January 31, 2013 -- Updated 2333 GMT (0733 HKT)

LZ Granderson says, as we see more die in gun violence, the question is whether Newtown really changed the prospects for gun control

I hate, hate Super Bowl parties

February 1, 2013 -- Updated 2330 GMT (0730 HKT)

Jeff Pearlman says nothing ruins a Super Bowl more than a Super Bowl party with drunk dolts who won't shut up--except for the commercials

Americans, even NRA members, want gun reforms

February 1, 2013 -- Updated 1242 GMT (2042 HKT)

1 of 5

2/3/2013 5:43 PM

Why marijuana should be legal for adults - CNN.com

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/09/opinion/nathan-legal-marijuana/index.h...

ruined by drugs like cocaine, painkillers and alcohol. I have also borne witness to the devastation brought upon cannabis users -- almost never by abuse of the drug, but by a justice system that chooses a sledgehammer to kill a weed. Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, caffeine and refined sugar are among the most commonly used, potentially habitforming recreational substances. All are best left out of our daily diets. Only marijuana is illegal, though alcohol and tobacco are clearly more harmful. In several respects, even sugar poses more of a threat to our nation's health than pot. I agree with Frum that chronic use of cannabis correlates with mood changes and low motivation, especially when started in adolescence. In individuals with psychosis, it may trigger or worsen their symptoms. But these dangers are far surpassed by the perils of alcohol, which is associated with pancreatitis, gastritis, cirrhosis, permanent dementia, physiological dependence and fatal withdrawal. In healthy but reckless teens and young adults, it is frighteningly easy to consume a lethal dose of alcohol, but it is essentially impossible to do so with marijuana. Further, alcohol causes severe impairment of judgment, which results in violence, risky sexual behavior and more use of hard drugs. Those who believe cannabis to be a gateway to opioids and other highly dangerous drugs fail to appreciate that the illegal purchase of marijuana exposes consumers to dealers who push the hard stuff. Given marijuana's popularity in this country, the consumption of more dangerous drugs could actually decrease if pot were purchased at a liquor store rather than on the street corner where heroin and crack are sold. Opinion: Legalize pot? No, reform laws There is another more pressing reason to legalize and regulate marijuana, even for the sake of our children: the potential for adulteration of black-market cannabis and the substitution of even more dangerous copycat compounds. Much like Prohibition-era fatalities from bad moonshine, harmful synthetic marijuana substitutes are proliferating, with street names like K2 and Spice. The Drug Enforcement Administration struggles to combat these compounds by outlawing them, but I see no decrease in their popularity among my patients. Natural marijuana poses much less danger than synthetic cannabinoids -- legal or otherwise. So who had the bright idea of banning cannabis in the first place? Was it physicians? Social service organizations? No. The credit goes to the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which in 1937 pushed through laws ending the growth, trade and consumption of all forms of cannabis, including the inert but commercially useful hemp plant. America's ban on the so-called "Weed of Madness" was based on bad science and fabricated stories of violence perpetrated under the influence. The madness of cannabis can be ascribed not so much to its users, but to those who sought to criminalize the drug so soon after the monumental failure of alcohol Prohibition. That's not to say our marijuana laws have failed to change drug use in America. Cannabis is more widely used today than at any time before its prohibition, even though it was domesticated in antiquity and has been cultivated ever since. Pot prohibition has also greatly increased illegal activity and violence. Otherwise law-abiding private users became criminals, and criminals became rich through the

Mark Glaze says the majority of Americans, across the political spectrum, do not go along with the NRA lobbyists: They want gun reforms

Hillary: Secretary of empowerment

February 1, 2013 -- Updated 1609 GMT (0009 HKT)

David Nathan

Donna Brazile says more than any other Secretary of State, Clinton has focused on the powerless--particularly women and girls--as a matter of America's foreign policy

NRA chief: Why we fight for gun rights

February 1, 2013 -- Updated 1245 GMT (2045 HKT)

David Keene says law-abiding Americans are entitled to own firearms and protect their families under the Second Amendment.

The cell phone revolutionary

January 31, 2013 -- Updated 1219 GMT (2019 HKT)

John Sutter says a new nonprofit is developing a technology to enable activists to communicate even if governments try to shut them down

Make football safe for our kids

January 31, 2013 -- Updated 1645 GMT (0045 HKT)

Roxanne Jones says we can no longer ignore the medical evidence that football players are suffering dangerous brain injuries.

A reality check for Chuck Hagel bashers

January 31, 2013 -- Updated 1246 GMT (2046 HKT)

John Avlon: Contrary to the neoconservatives attacking him, defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel is squarely in the GOP mainstream.

Save the Postal Service from collapse

January 31, 2013 -- Updated 1640 GMT (0040 HKT)

Rick Geddes says the key to bringing the Postal Service out of the horse-and-buggy era is to end its monopoly and allow it to function like a business.

Be a little skeptical on immigration reform

January 31, 2013 -- Updated 2307 GMT (0707 HKT)

Howard Kurtz says it might be wise to take the upbeat media coverage on immigration reform with a healthy dose of skepticism

Bill Gates: Invest in better teaching

January 30, 2013 -- Updated 2033 GMT (0433 HKT)

The entrepreneur turned philanthropist says measuring the effectiveness of teachers is vital to creating better schools.

2 of 5

2/3/2013 5:43 PM

Why marijuana should be legal for adults - CNN.com

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/09/opinion/nathan-legal-marijuana/index.h...

untaxed, bloody and highly lucrative illicit drug trade.

Most Popular
Opinion: The end of the war on marijuana But America can fix this mess through marijuana legalization. Federal, state and local governments can regulate the cannabis trade as they do with alcohol and tobacco -- monitoring the production process for safety and purity, controlling where it is sold, taxing all aspects of marijuana production and consumption, and redirecting resources from punishment to prevention. Forget the antiquated dogma and judge pot prohibition on its own merits. If you still believe that cannabis should be illegal, then you must logically support the criminalization of alcohol and tobacco, with vigorous prosecution and even imprisonment of producers and consumers. Does that sound ridiculous? Then you must conclude that the only rational approach to cannabis is to legalize, regulate and tax it. Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.
Today's five most popular stories

New York woman goes missing in Istanbul on photography trip Ex-Navy sniper killed at Texas gun range Body of missing NY mother found in Turkey Iran says it will resume nuclear talks in Kazakhstan Alabama hostage suspect urged to let boy 'go home to his mother'

The opinions in this commentary are solely those of David Nathan.

3981
Comments

18k
Recommend

911
Tweet

22
Share

172

Print Email More sharing

Sponsored links Master Without Bachelor Online MA in 12 months from leading British University - free catalogue college.ch PhD Scholarships AgTraIn (Erasmus Mundus) Agri. Transformation by Innovation www.agtrain.eu Modular Vegetation System unique, simple, sustainable urban greening modular vegetation system www.bera-bv.com/PocketHabitat

From around the web

Astronomers Discover The First "Bone" In the Milky Way (redOrbit) Employee Engagement: This Years Hottest Tip! (NimbleSchedule) Parents need not wait for others to protect our schools from intruders (Cranberry Newswire) Actor Jim Nabors Marries Male Partner In Seattle (National Memo) Police take away $1 million lotto prize from woman (Breaking World News Today) China Abandoning One-Child Policy Gives Hope To 2nd And 3rd Child Hiding In Secret Room (The Global Edition)

We recommend
France: We're not the pacifists you think we are Marijuana use is too risky a choice More and more Americans want pot legal A loss for Lance, a win for Oprah Pennsylvania's lawsuit against NCAA is absurd Make guns smart

3 of 5

2/3/2013 5:43 PM

Why marijuana should be legal for adults - CNN.com

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/09/opinion/nathan-legal-marijuana/index.h...

3981 comments

41

Discussion

Community

Share

blerg

25 days ago

"Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, caffeine and refined sugar are among the most commonly used, potentially habit-forming recreational substances. All are best left out of our daily diets. Only marijuana is illegal, though alcohol and tobacco are clearly more harmful. In several respects, even sugar poses more of a threat to our nation's health than pot." My favorite part of this piece. Very well written.
853 9

Reply

Share

Robert Earl Springer IV

>

blerg 25 days ago

Alcohol is illegal for kids because it is harmful for developing minds. Why not do the same with pot? It's not like marijuana is illegal because of harmful side effects anyways. Hungry, happy, sleepy. Those are the effects. An adult user of cigarettes can expect to get cancer in the near future. An adult user of marijuana can expect a trip to Taco Bell.
427 12

Reply

Share

Nic

>

Robert Earl Springer IV 25 days ago

That is exactly why pot is dangerous. Taco Bell food is bad for your health :-)
166 10

Reply

Share

DB

>

Nic 25 days ago

I've got an idea then... decriminalize pot and make Taco Bell illegal. It would solve a lot of problems.
243 3

Reply

Share

Gyrogearloose
42

>

DB 25 days ago Share

The mayor of NYC is working on that.

Reply

Martin Martinez
18 1

>

Gyrogearloose 25 days ago Share

Bloomberg has smoked marijuana

Reply

urownexperience
24

>

Martin Martinez 24 days ago Share

Everybody has smoked pot, anyone important at least.

Reply

Vertical1

>

urownexperience 22 days ago

I have never smoked pot, nor do I intend to. But I feel it should be made legal for those that choose to do so. The benefits far outweigh the risk, and that is coming from someone who has researched it but never tried it.
13

Reply

Share

F.B.Eye

>

Vertical1 11 days ago

Give it a go, it will stop you wasting your time researching things!
1

Reply

Share

Marcus Roberts

>

Martin Martinez 25 days ago Share

lol
7

Reply

4 of 5

2/3/2013 5:43 PM

Why marijuana should be legal for adults - CNN.com

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/09/opinion/nathan-legal-marijuana/index.h...

Home | Video | World | U.S. | Africa | Asia | Europe | Latin America | Middle East | Business | World Sport | Entertainment | Tech | Travel | iReport Tools & Widgets | RSS | Podcasts | Blogs | CNN Mobile | My Profile | E-mail Alerts | CNN Radio | CNN Shop | Site map | CNN Partner Hotels

2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of service | Privacy guidelines | Ad choices | Advertise with us | License our content | About us | Contact us | Work for us | Help

CNN en ESPAOL | CNN Chile | CNN Mxico | | | Trke CNN TV | HLN | Transcripts

5 of 5

2/3/2013 5:43 PM