The Dangers of Legalizing Marijuana Are Now Becoming More Apparent

While there have been debates back and forth about the dangers of legalizing marijuana, the results are coming out. These results show just how dangerous it is to legalize marijuana and other drugs. Doctors and hospitals are wondering if everyone thought of the children before legalizing marijuana for their own benefits. Seattle Children’s Hospital says the number of offenses for drugs in schools continue to rise on a daily basis.

The chief of Adolescent Medicine at Seattle Children’s, Dr. Leslie Walker, states that more kids are forming a mentality that marijuana is okay for them to use, because the drug is now legal in certain states. Dr. Walker explains, “When kids perceive something as safe, then that’s what they are going to go for because most people try to make decisions about their body based on what’s safe.” Dr. Walker continues on, “So, if they perceive that marijuana is safe and they want to get high, then they’re going to try that.”

Think about that last statement. If you go to the store and buy a bag of chips, you are buying them because they taste good to you and you believe they are safe, because they are manufactured by a top brand company. You do not even think about it. You buy them, eat them, and move on with your day. Why do you have this reaction? It is because you believe consuming these chips and other store items are safe. You are told they are safe and therefore you consume these products without a second thought. This is exactly how kids are viewing marijuana. They do not believe that consuming marijuana will harm them in anyway, because it is “legal”.

Reports say principals and schools where marijuana is legal are seeing more marijuana use in public and more use among families. Schools are urging that parents stress the importance of sending a clear message to their kids that using drugs is not OK or safe. Dr. Walker stresses her point, “Each cohort of kids needs to hear the same message and I think, as a society, we haven’t been great about that.” Dr. Walker continues on stating, “We need to wrap it all together and say that substance abuse is a threat to good development and to future abilities to be successful.”

Right now in Seattle’s school system kids are getting suspended for using and selling marijuana, but these actions are not serious enough. Schools in the area say it is not their goal or intention for these kids to end up in the justice system, but rather they want them to have a healthy, drug free life. The dangers of legalizing marijuana are very apparent and now it is up to us to decide how to handle this situation. With new marijuana inventions popping up like the e-joint, which is similar to the e-cigarette, will anything be able to control teens from abusing marijuana? And at what age will kids start abusing this drug now that it is legal in some states?