Page 82 - Occupational Health & Safety, September 2017

Drug &Alcohol Testing
damaging as smoking five cigarettes and that marijuana smoke con- tains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogens than tobacco. We know that there is an impact on focus and learning and that smoking mari- juana has an impact on short-term memory, links to depression, and impaired coordination. All of this adds up to higher health care costs that are, again, paid in large part by taxpayers and employers.
With evidence of the costs of marijuana mounting, it seems fair to expect that support for legalized marijuana would wane. However, that is not the case. As of January 2017, 29 states and the District of Columbia had some form of legalized marijuana, with eight states allowing anyone 21 years or older to legally use marijuana. Added to that, half a dozen new marijuana laws were submitted in state legislatures in January 2017 alone. It may seem counterintuitive, but don’t be mistaken. The movement to legalize marijuana is not only successful; it is well-funded, well-organized, and well-executed.
Consider This...
In the United States, prescription and over-the-counter drugs are considered unsafe until proven safe. Safety is proven through a se- ries of stringent clinical trials, and before the Food and Drug Ad- ministration (FDA) will approve a drug to be legally sold, it must show “substantial evidence” that it is both safe and effective for
each of its intended uses. Once the FDA approves the drug, it must be manufactured under close scrutiny, packaged with best dosage, and labeled to include the conditions the drug has been proven to treat, the known side effects, any contraindications or special con- ditions where using the drug would pose too much risk, and unsafe interactions with other drugs. Simply stated, it is a complex and arduous process. A process that marijuana—although legalized as a medicine—has not undergone.
Nor has marijuana gone to market following the Dietary Sup- plement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, which puts supplements in the same category as food and therefore under different regulations than drugs. DSHEA requires that dietary supplements must not pose “a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury when used as directed on the label or with normal use if there are no directions on the label.” Although manufacturers of dietary supplements are not required to test in clinical trials, the FDA can prove the supplement poses a sig- nificant health risk after they have caused harm. Because there is no requirement for health care providers or consumers to report adverse effects, the window is wide open for consumers to experi- ence serious and/or fatal risks.
Even if marijuana is legalized solely for recreational purpos- es—and were to follow the model of the 21st Amendment that
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