Readers of The Boston Globe are pushing back against Dr. Jeffrey Morgan’s argument that legalizing recreational marijuana was a mistake. Morgan’s opinion piece, “Legalizing recreational marijuana was a mistake, and we know it,” ran in the Globe’s Opinion section on Sept.
The reader responses defend legalization as settled policy in Massachusetts. They argue that acknowledging cannabis risks does not demonstrate that prohibition is better public policy.
Morgan had raised concerns about high-potency THC, impaired driving, psychosis risk, and accidental ingestion by children. The readers said several of his claims deserve greater scrutiny.
One reader noted that the assertion marijuana costs taxpayers $4.50 for every $1 collected in tax revenue comes from a 2018 report commissioned by the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University, an organization that has advocated against marijuana legalization. The figure does not come from a government study or broadly accepted independent economic analysis, the reader wrote.
The claim about marijuana detected in drivers involved in fatal accidents also drew scrutiny. The reader argued that detection does not establish that marijuana caused those accidents. THC can remain detectable for several hours or even days after its impairing effects have subsided.
On psychosis, the reader acknowledged that evidence linking frequent, high-potency cannabis use with psychosis is concerning. But that supports stronger regulation and education, not necessarily prohibition.
Marijuana was readily available in Massachusetts long before legalization, the reader added. The question is whether the state is better served by a regulated market with age restrictions, testing, and oversight, or an illicit one.
The reader concluded that Morgan makes a persuasive case that marijuana is not harmless. He makes a much less persuasive case that prohibition would be less harmful, the reader wrote.
The reader letters mark the latest public exchange over the state’s cannabis law.
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