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As someone who shapes public policy and works to keep children healthy, safe and drug-free, I often asked to explain my opposition to legalizing marijuana.
It best explained with a twist on the iconic of Dreams phrase: you build it, they will come. When it comes to marijuana, the facts show that you legalize it, young people will use and abuse it. seems obvious that more people will use a substance deemed legal and presumably safe by government than they will use an illegal and presumably dangerous one. This logical conclusion has serious consequences for young people. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is funded by the federal government Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, released a study earlier this year that proves that the less dangerous young people consider a particular substance, the more they use it. Between 2007 and 2011, the percentage of adolescents who perceived great risk from smoking marijuana once or twice a week decreased from 54.6 percent to 44.8 percent. At the same time, young people who smoked marijuana in a given month increased from 6.7 percent to 7.9 percent. Those numbers reflect a time when policy makers in New Jersey and several other states were debating medical marijuana. When then-Gov. Jon Corzine and the Democrat-controlled Legislature legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, I predicted it was the first step toward legalizing dangerous drugs. This is an instance in which I wish I were wrong Pack Of Cigarettes. Three years ago, the message to children was that marijuana can be medicine for some Cheap Cigarettes Near Me. Today, the message has devolved further to say: It OK to smoke it. As some continue to push for legalizing marijuana regardless of medicinal circumstance, young people will continue to think it safe. The number of young users in New Jersey will shoot through the roof if New Jersey ever sanctions the use of an illicit and dangerous drug. This is sending the wrong message to young people. Marijuana is an addictive drug that often leads users to use other illegal drugs and down a path toward a number of medical and social problems. The science is clear: Marijuana can cause disinterest in activities Cigarettes Brands, lower grades and isolation. It affects the brain, heart and lungs. Teen users have an increased risk of schizophrenia and depression and suicidal thoughts. And they are more likely to engage in delinquent and dangerous behavior Best Menthol Cigarettes, whether it unsafe sex or driving under the influence How Many Packs Of Cigarettes Are In A Carton. Studies have shown that children in treatment facilities are more likely to have abused marijuana than any other drug alcohol included. If those are the consequences, why on Earth would government send the incorrect message by legalizing this drug? I have many friends on the other side of this debate and their most compelling argument is relieving the courts from being bogged down by drug offenses. There are better ways to accomplish this, such as our landmark bipartisan mandatory drug court program that will allow nonviolent offenders to get the treatment they need. Under Gov. Christie leadership, our focus has been on helping people break free from addiction to dangerous substances. Instead of changing the law and ignoring a problem, we have changed our approach to help people reclaim their lives. Another note about the national survey gives me hope that we can teach children to lead healthier lives: As marijuana use increased, binge drinking decreased, because the message has been sinking in about this hazardous behavior. Instead of building a ball field that teaches young people it OK to put a harmful substance in their bodies Marlboro Black Menthol, we can build one where the first base is the correct message that marijuana is dangerous and not part of a healthy future. Related articles: Where To Buy Fake Cigarettes Cheap Online Smoke Shop |