Colorado Deals With Variety of Problems Stemming From Marijuana Legalization

Law enforcement and health officials in Colorado are seeing a variety of problems stemming from the legalization of recreational marijuana. They range from poisonings from edible marijuana to drugged driving.

“I think, by any measure, the experience of Colorado has not been a good one unless you’re in the marijuana business,” Kevin A. Sabet, Executive Director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization, told The New York Times. “We’ve seen lives damaged. We’ve seen deaths directly attributed to marijuana legalization. We’ve seen marijuana slipping through Colorado’s borders. We’ve seen marijuana getting into the hands of kids.”

Marijuana from Colorado is flowing into neighboring states, according to law enforcement officials. In those states, drug arrests in counties near the Colorado border are on the rise. Last month, Colorado health officials reported legal marijuana edible products have been linked to two recent deaths and an increase in emergency room visits in the state. Edibles include marijuana-laced baked goods, candies and beverages.

It is too early to tell what recreational marijuana’s effect is on fatal car crashes, teenage drug use or school expulsions, the article notes.

Brian Vicente, one of the authors of Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana in Colorado, says the dire predictions of what would happen once the measure became law have not occurred. “Every major institution said this would be horrible and lead to violence and blood in the streets,” he said. “None of that’s happened. The sky did not fall.”

Vincente says Colorado needs to pass stricter rules about edible marijuana. “Marijuana was illegal for 80 years,” he noted. “Now it’s legal, and everyone’s just trying to figure out how to approach these new issues.”