Not so long ago, the issue of legalized marijuana used to be the stuff of somewhat esoteric political debates between Republicans and Libertarians—maybe the occasional anarchist thrown in for good measure. Even stalwart Republicans of the 1970 era like William F. Buckley, Jr, founder of the National Review, was a vocal supporter of its decriminalization. It’s no surprise that everyone from Rick Steves to Brad Pitt and Miley Cyrus are extolling the virtues of pot at nearly every opportunity—some more careful than others, of course, about potentially alienating wide swaths of fan their fan base.
I was never taken in by siren call of marijuana; I knew of too many people who used it. I noticed how they lost their spark, their vitality, and even ambition or a desire to make something better of themselves. They disappeared into a murky mediocrity, surviving rather than thriving. In many ways, it reminds me of Huxley's soma. When I had the opportunity to work for a time in the Tobacco Tax Compliance field for state government, my eyes were further opened to the interconnected nature of the black-market in selling to a surprising number of establishments, and, then, in turn, often using the proceeds to support some very dangerous causes. Despite Rick Steves’ glowing assertions otherwise, I was always confident that it was only a matter of time until organized crime stepped in to take a piece of the action. After all, not all growers and producers are going to be satisfied with the built-in containment measures of the current system; they want to expand and grow. That expansion has to go somewhere, and that means the illegal market. Imagine someone blowing up a balloon; it’s eventually going to pop. If you see state laws and regulations as the thin veneer of containment,
I know of so-called conservatives who even market marijuana or its derivatives. They apparently make a good enough living at it that those nagging concerns in the back of their minds have grown much quieter now over time. What are some of these associated costs, though? You might be surprised to learn of profoundly negative environmental, social and economic, health, psychological, and even livability issues associated with its grow and production. I decided to gather some items here and share a related thought or two as it relates. These will mostly be short paragraphs followed by related links. I’m keeping the links in the visible form in order that you can see the sites before accessing them; they’re not all Fox News, for example.
Leading with one’s weakest point is not usually a good debate strategy, but in this case I’ll note that the quality of life argument seems the hardest to quantify objectively. Other than a few articles like this one, there aren’t many examples of newspaper stories and the like talking about how the nature or feel of loved towns has been lost forever due to this drug. While I had one particular story recounted to me from a resident in Eastern Oregon about how awful things had become in her neighborhood, too little information remains from the contact to use it in any kind of a meaningful way here. While many of us may feel that the presence of these establishments somehow negatively impacts our daily life, there’s no way to quantify this. Further, in states such as Colorado, reports actually suggest that the added tax revenue may be increasing the value of existing neighborhoods.
Okay, so enough with the lukewarm reception, because now it’s going to get downright chilly in here. Surprisingly, some very large illegal grow operations have been taken down in Southern Oregon by law enforcement in recent years—particularly Jackson County. These raids don’t only include the illegal grows themselves, but also what are called “narco slaves.” These are agricultural laborers who are forced to work in these poor living conditions for extended periods of time under threats of constant violence.
Narco Slaves, Organized Crime, & Social Impact
Narco Slaves: https://abcnews.go.com/US/narco-slaves-migrant-workers-face-abuse-oregons-cartel/story?id=95069523
Exploited Workers, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/10/02/weed-cannabis-undocumented-immigrants-00059827
Captives of Cannabis, https://www.nbc.com/nightly-news-films/video/captives-of-cannabis-human-trafficking-in-the-marijuana-industry-part-2/NBCN606981904
Modern Day Slaves: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2022/09/30/nbcs-jacob-soboroff-discovers-ties-between-marijuana-industry-and-modern-day-slaves/?sh=23bab26039c4
The Reality of Legal Weed in California, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-08/reality-of-legal-weed-in-california-illegal-grows-deaths
US Cannabis Industry and Organized Crime, https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/u-s-cannabis-industry-may-be-linked-to-international-organized-crime-officials-say-159567941894
California’s Pot Legalization Failures, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-22/california-legal-pot-measure-has-not-met-expectations
Another unintended consequence of the legalization of marijuana has been the negative health effects on the young. There is significant evidence that the adolescent brain may suffer particular harm from consumption of pot. In some people who have a pre-existing mental health condition, the marijuana may also greatly worsen the situation—particularly in terms of violence. A popular “shock jock” on Fox News made the argument, for example, that marijuana is what is behind the school shooters. He got this idea from an article out of Cambridge, but he took its conclusions likely just a bit too far. The article’s focus is individuals who are already psychotic. It’s possible this could apply to some—or even many—of the school shooters, but the way it was presented on Fox News doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence in citing it confidently at this time. (You might add marijuana to the list I conveyed in my own article on this topic as one additional potential factor in school shootings.) Besides the harm it causes the body, inadvertent consumption of cannabis edibles by children is a skyrocketing reason for Emergency Room visits.
Health Consideration Links
Consumption of Marijuana Edibles Surges by Children, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/health/children-eating-edibles-weed.html
Marijuana’s Effect on Adolescents, https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/teens.html
Cannabis and the Adolescent Brain, https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1920325116
Physical Risks of Marijuana, https://www.samhsa.gov/marijuana
Marijuana’s Connection to Violence, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7084484/
Persistent Cannabis Use and Violent Behavior, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41537-020-0104-x
Where Pot Became Legal, Car Accident Deaths Rose, https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-07-19/where-pot-became-legal-car-crash-deaths-rose-study
The environmental destruction brought by illegal marijuana grows is also thoroughly documented. One of the first times I began thinking about this issue was when a lovely lavender farm just north of us was converted to a large marijuana grow operation. I like going out at night and star watch, so I was really taken aback by the light pollution produced by this operation. At night, it looked like a pillar of light towering above the facility. I briefly tried to raise concerns over this environmental harm with my state representatives, but they didn’t seem to care. Most likely, they are on the receiving end of donations from these groups anyway. It’s the harm of the illegal operations, though, that really deserve a closer look.
Environmental Damage of Illegal Marijuana Grows
Legalizing Marijuana and Abating Environmental Harm: Am Overblown Promise, https://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/50/2/Topic/50-2_Vitiello.pdf
The Environmental Downside of Cannabis Cultivation, https://daily.jstor.org/the-environmental-downside-of-cannabis-cultivation/
Reporting Illegal Grows (CA Flyer), https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=184717&inline
Grow Lamp -Loving, Water-Sucking Marijuana Plants Aren’t So Green, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-05-09/marijuana-industry-seeks-to-lessen-its-environmental-impact
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