On March 31, 2021, New York State passed a law legalizing recreational use of cannabis for adults. Three-and-a-half years have since passed, so perhaps we should look at the effects of legalization on New Yorkers.
For purposes of this conversation, we will be leaving out the fiscal impacts of legalization, so we won’t be talking about taxes or entrepreneurship. We will only be discussing the health and societal impacts of cannabis usage. In this arena, the reasons we heard for legalization are:
Having a regulated industry would produce safer products for consumers.
Cannabis is a non-addictive substance, so having it legalized and easier to acquire would not be a danger to producing negative societal impacts.
It is not the government’s job to police recreational activities that do not harm others (the libertarian argument).
So how did New York fair in its quest for legalization with these reasons in mind? (Disclaimer: Much of the information from this article comes from an October 7 New York Times piece by Megan Twohey entitled “As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms.”)
Let’s go in order. Immediately following legalization, the industry began to produce far more potent products than already existed in the street market. That’s right: Despite the promise of safer products, New York State never bothered to actually implement any safety regulations over their products, and before you could blink, stores were flooded with products that were more potent than anything most users had ever experienced. And when an unchecked, newly-legalized industry enters the free-market, the goal of any manufacturer is to increase consumption, not create safety.
On to number two. In the past few years, doctors have reported an increase in cases of Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD), a diagnosis for people who have experienced negative impacts from recreational use. One of the symptoms of CUD is not being able to stop even if it’s having a negative impact on your job or personal life. In other words: addiction. In fact, 30% of users reported having some sort of CUD. Who would have guessed that the non-addictive drug is actually addictive? We live in a world where one could be addicted to many things that aren’t substances being put in one’s body. The easiest one that comes to mind is cell phone addiction, which I undoubtedly have. If the chemical reaction from usage in one’s brain isn’t technically addicting, that doesn’t mean that regular usage isn’t causing some sort of dependency.
Additionally, many new users who have been prescribed cannabis for medical reasons have found themselves continuously needing to up the dosage or potency of their drug in order to get the desired effect. However, this can often lead to a new problem called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS). I will spare you the details of what this disease does, but let me just inform you that the symptoms are not something you would want to experience, and it’s even led to cardiac arrest and death. Other users have reported suffering from severe hallucinations. Of course, quitting usage is not easy. Withdrawal symptoms exist (another aspect one would not expect from a non-addictive substance), and there is, of course, the possibility of lapsing.
The last area is the argument of government’s role in society in general. Libertarians will tell you that it’s not the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens from themselves. That’s why they are against certain initiatives, such as seatbelt laws. As long as an individual’s activities are not harming others, the government has no reason to police them. The other side of this argument is that government is supposed to help improve the lives of its citizens, and to this effect, I don’t think one can make the argument that legalization has improved the lives of anyone. At best, people are the same they were prior to legalization. More commonly, they have become addicted, unproductive members of society who need to be cared for. At worst, well, see the previous paragraph.
All in all, I do not think one can say that three years into this experiment, the legalization of recreational cannabis usage has had a net positive on society. Other than disproving the obviously wrong theory that cannabis is not addictive, I cannot think of one thing society has gained from the passage of this law. Now, the pro-legalization side will come back and say that the industry just needs to get its feet under itself, and that regulations will soon be in place. I’m not buying it. The legalization of cannabis has already cost people a great deal, and will continue to be a problem until we reverse this absolutely awful law.
Izzo Zwiren works in healthcare administration, constantly concerning himself with the state of healthcare politics. The topic of healthcare has led Izzo to become passionate about a variety of political issues affecting our country today. Aside from politics, Izzo is a fan of trivia, stand-up comedy, and the New York Giants. Izzo lives on Long Island with his wife and two adorable, hilarious daughters.
