The Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys, Inc. today sent a letter to the Indiana Interim Study Committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services asking the committee to oppose medical marijuana legalization. Based on the reasons listed in the letter below, the Association believes data, medical studies and research on states that have legalized medical marijuana show legalization is wrong for Indiana.

Marijuana use increases the risk of opioid abuse and other controlled substances.

Despite claims to the contrary, the legalization of marijuana could further exacerbate Indiana’s opioid epidemic. According to a study recently published by the American Journal of Psychiatry, marijuana users were more than twice as likely to abuse prescription opioids. The study surveyed more than 30,000 American adults, and this finding held true even when statisticians controlled for age, sex, race, ethnicity, other substance use, mood or anxiety disorders, prior nonmedical opioid use, family history of drug use, alcohol use, depression, and antisocial personality disorder. “[C]annabis use, even among adults with moderate to severe pain, was associated with a substantially increased risk of non-medical prescription opioid use.” In the same vein, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in 2015 that marijuana users are actually three times more likely to become addicted to heroin.

Additional studies have concluded that people simply do not substitute marijuana for other drugs. Last year, the National Academy of Sciences found that cannabis use actually predicted continued opioid use. “[C]annabis use was associated with reduced odds of achieving abstinence from alcohol, cocaine, or polysubstance use after inpatient hospitalization and treatment for substance use disorders.”

If marijuana has medicinal value, it must be subjected to the rigorous FDA process.

Some of marijuana’s isolated components have shown medical promise. However, in order to be truly effective, these active ingredients must be isolated from the rest of the cannabis plant – similar to when morphine is made from opium. There are currently three medications derived from cannabis that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – Marinol, Cesamet, and Epidiolex. These prescription cannabinoids have undergone the rigorous clinical testing process and have proven medical value that outweighs any potential side effects.

This is how the process of defining what is medicine is supposed to work. Public opinion is quickly outpacing science in this arena, to the detriment of public health and safety. Drug companies have a clear path between development and the consumer. Numerous tests and exhaustive research is on that path, and no stakeholders acting in good faith should be afraid of these safeguards. The FDA process for approving medicine remains the only scientific and legally recognized procedure for bringing safe and effective medications to the American public.

Marijuana legalization has had troubling effects in other states.

States that have legalized marijuana have suffered consequences, particularly in three primary areas – in the workforce, amongst youth, and on the roads.

As marijuana use has increased in states that have enacted legalization, so has workplace impairment. This translates into serious and extensive impacts to both employees and employers, including reduced employee wellness and increased employer costs. Even when controlling for alcohol use, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that marijuana users are 106% more likely to have missed at least one day of work in the last month because they “just didn’t want to be there,” and 40% more likely to have missed at least a day in the last month due to illness and injury. Legalization has also had serious impacts on workforce availability. The CEO of large Colorado construction company GE Johnson said that his company “has encountered so many job candidates who have failed pre-employment drug tests because of their THC use that it is actively recruiting construction workers from other states.”

The impact of marijuana legalization on youth cannot be overstated. Frequent pot use by children correlates with increased health and social problems, including impaired cognitive functioning, increased risk of addiction and psychotic illnesses, elevated rates of school dropout, and an increase in other risky behaviors. In 2015, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that the top ten states with the highest rate of current marijuana youth use were all medical marijuana states, but the bottom ten were all non-medical marijuana states. Additionally, higher average exposure to medical marijuana advertising has been associated with higher youth average use and intentions to use.

Lastly, marijuana legalization is directly linked to increased impaired driving. In 2012, the British Medical Journal concluded that marijuana use doubles the risk of car accidents. Unsurprisingly, legalization has also caused an increase in marijuana-related traffic fatalities in Washington and Colorado. In Washington, marijuana-related traffic fatalities more than doubled in the year after retail sales of marijuana were allowed. In Colorado, a driver tests positive for marijuana in almost one of every five traffic deaths, a number that has steadily increased since legalization began.

For all of these reasons, we believe medical marijuana is wrong for Indiana. We urge you to take a stand against these policies that would cause further harm to our state and its communities. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

David N. Powell

Executive Secretary