Most cases of depression in terminally ill people can be successfully treated. [3] (Catholic Conference of the United States, 2001). However, primary care physicians are generally not experts in diagnosing depression. Where assisted suicide is legalized, depression is still undiagnosed and the only treatment is a lethal prescription. Colorado and Washington approved recreational marijuana measures for adults in 2012. Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia followed in the fall of 2014. In 2015, Ohio voters rejected an election measure focused on the commercial production and sale of recreational marijuana. On November 8, 2016, voters in four states, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada, approved adult recreational marijuana, while voters in Arizona rejected it. In 2018, Michigan voters approved “Proposition 1” by a margin of 56% to 44% to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana in the state. In 2018, Vermont became the first state to legalize adult marijuana through the legislative process (rather than through a voting initiative).
The Vermont law went into effect on July 1, 2018. In May 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, House Bill 1438, and the governor signed the law into law in June. Recently, New Jersey (AB 21) legalized some personal uses, while marijuana was removed from Schedule I. While the majority of Democrats of all ages support legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, older Democrats are less likely to say so. About half of Democrats ages 75 and older (51%) say medical or recreational marijuana should be legal; Larger proportions of young Democrats say the same thing. Yet only 8 percent of Democrats ages 75 and older believe marijuana should not be legalized, even for medical purposes — a proportion similar to that of all other Democrats who say so. In recent years, attitudes toward marijuana have changed culturally. At the time of writing, medical marijuana is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia; Recreational marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado. A large and growing body of literature indicates that the legalization of marijuana can have negative effects on individual and public health.
Nineteen states, two territories and the District of Columbia have legalized small amounts of recreational cannabis (marijuana) by adults. Rhode Island recently passed the Rhode Island Cannabis Act. In late June 2021, Connecticut legalized recreational cannabis use with the passage of SB 1201. Some aspects of the law will not come into force immediately, but people 21 years of age and older will be able to use cannabis for recreational purposes as of July 1, 2021. On April 7, 2021, the Virginia legislature accepted the governor`s recommended changes for a much faster implementation window for HB 2312, which would legalize the recreational use of cannabis in Virginia and create a regulated commercial market. New York legalized cannabis with the signature of Governor AB 1248, which was passed during the 2021 New York session. In addition, the New Mexico Legislature introduced its Cannabis Regulation Act during its first special session on March 30, 2021. The law, HB 2a, was signed into law by the governor. The new poll follows President Joe Biden`s decision to pardon those convicted of possession of marijuana at the federal level and directs his administration to review how marijuana is classified under federal law. It was put in place ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when two states legalized recreational marijuana use — as well as 19 states and the District of Columbia, which had already done so.
In the long run, public support for marijuana legalization has risen sharply, according to a separate Gallup poll question asking whether marijuana use should be legalized — without specifying whether it would be legalized for recreational or medical use. This year, 68% of adults say marijuana should be legal, matching Gallup`s record legalization support in 2021. Proponents claim that assisted suicide will be narrowly limited to the terminally ill, but these so-called “narrow” proposals will inevitably be expanded. The New York State Task Force on Life and the Law wrote in 1997: “Once society aided suicide for. Patients with incurable illnesses who experience unbearable suffering will find it difficult, if not impossible, to limit the option to such a small group. People who are unable to make the choice on their own), who are not terminally ill, or who cannot self-administer lethal drugs, will also seek the option of assisted suicide, and there will be no principled basis for denying it” (New York State Task Force, 1997). The issue of recreational marijuana is a broader social policy consideration that includes the implications of legalization for international drug cartels, national criminal justice policies, and federal and state tax revenues in addition to public health. However, physicians responsible for public health are experts with a personal interest in the subject. Recent legislation reflecting changes in public attitudes toward marijuana has allowed recreational marijuana use in Colorado and Washington.
Unfortunately, the negative health consequences of the drug are not significant in the debate over the legalization of recreational marijuana. In many cases, these negative effects are more pronounced in adolescents. A compelling argument, based on these negative health effects in adolescents and adults, can be advanced to break the direction society is taking in terms of legalizing recreational marijuana. Marijuana use is remarkably common among teens in the United States. According to surveys, about 1 in 5 high school students have used it in the past month. What`s even more concerning is that 1 in 12 used it at least 20 times in the past month and 1 in 16 used it daily. Recreational marijuana will have many negative health effects. The drug is addictive, with growing evidence of a withdrawal syndrome. In addition, it has been shown to have negative effects on mental health, intelligence (including irreversible decreases in cognition) and the respiratory system. Acutely drunk driving with marijuana significantly increases the risk of a fatal car collision.
Recreational legalization may have theoretical (but as yet unproven) positive social implications on issues such as national criminal justice policies, but these effects will not be without significant public health and societal costs. Currently, there is a lack of resources to educate doctors about this most commonly used illegal substance. The potential benefits and significant risks associated with marijuana use should be taught in medical schools and residency programs across the country. We need to separate our private desires from what we all hope to have available to us one day, and instead focus on the significant dangers associated with legalizing assisted suicide as public policy in this society as it operates today. Assisted suicide would have many unintended consequences. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1998. August 12. Vol. 280, No. 6, p. 512.
Marijuana is the only smoked “drug” and, although still poorly understood, there are legitimate concerns about the long-term effects of marijuana smoke on the lungs.11,12 Compared to cigarette smoke, marijuana smoke can result in three times more tar inhaled and four times more carbon monoxide inhaled.13 In addition, Smoking marijuana has been shown to be a risk factor for lung cancer in many,14, 15, but not all,16 studies. We also need more research on marijuana use and safety among youth. Although studies have shown that the chemicals in marijuana seem to help people with chronic pain, as well as nausea, vomiting, and appetite problems common in cancer, the studies have all been conducted in adults. Teens are different from adults — and may react differently to marijuana. We need to find ways to fund and facilitate this research so that we can truly understand everything about how marijuana affects our youth. Our primary responsibility in everything we do as parents and caregivers should be to our children – because they rely on us to keep them safe and healthy, and because they are our future. The marijuana policy is no different. Let us be careful and thoughtful and think of our children. Fear, prejudice and prejudice about disability play an important role in assisted suicide. Who ends up resorting to assisted suicide? Proponents advocate its legalization, arguing that it would relieve untreated pain and discomfort at the end of life. But all but one person in Oregon who allegedly enforced that state`s assisted suicide law in the first year wanted to commit suicide not because of pain, but out of fear of losing their functional abilities, autonomy, or control of bodily functions (Oregon Health Division, 1999). Subsequent reports from Oregon documented similar results.
Moreover, in the Netherlands, more than half of the physicians surveyed stated that the main reason given by patients for requesting death was “loss of dignity” (Birchard, 1999).