The legalization of weed has been a topic long debated in many state governments. Here in Florida, there has been many different pushes and pushbacks on the notion from the various parties in the state. However, according to new research, pot might not be as hot as it’s been talked up to be, and these new findings might slow the roll of these motions.
In January, Florida governor Ron DeSantis made headlines when he said he expects the Florida Supreme Court will approve the ballot initiative for adult-use marijuana initiative.
“I think the court is going to approve that,” DeSantis said at a campaign event in New Hampshire, “So it will be on the ballot.”
Back in 2016, voters passed Florida Amendment 2 with 71% of the vote, which legalized medical marijuana. Florida became one of 38 states that have legalized it for medical purposes, the first being California in 1996. It is notable that this passed without support from the Republican Party of Florida, which has had control of all three branches of the Floridian government.
If Florida voters do vote to legalize marijuana recreationally, it would become the 25th state to do so, pushing the percentage of Americans who live in a state with legalized recreational cannabis from 0% in 2012 to over 60% in 2024.
Many, including DeSantis, remained opposed to legalizing recreational marijuana use. “Drugs are killing this country,” DeSantis said in 2023. “I would not legalize [it]. I think what has happened is this stuff is very potent now.”
However, even with the executive and legislature against legalization, it will ultimately be up to voters. The Florida Supreme Court appears poised to approve Florida Amendment 3 for the 2024 general election, which would put the question of recreational marijuana on the ballot. To pass, the amendment would need 60% of the vote.
Even with recreational legalization appearing imminent, some researchers are trying to pump the breaks.
Research into the effects of marijuana has been hamstrung by federal law, as marijuana is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the federal government, therefore rending the drug ineligible to be researched in many lab settings. The federal government must grant special licenses to study marijuana, which can be a lengthy process requiring background checks, inspections, special security and record-keeping procedures.
Dr. Yuguang Ban is a professor and researcher at the University of Miami who studies the impact drugs have on the body. “Research into the long-term impacts of marijuana use cannot be confirmed yet,” Ban said, highlighting the difficult process it is to study marijuana in the lab.
“Until we get more concrete data, I would not be comfortable with marijuana being legalized recreationally,” Ban said. However, this does not mean research has found no evidence marijuana can be used in a safe and effective way. “Preliminary research has shown marijuana to be effective in helping people recover from Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), as well as helping people battling anxiety, certain cancers, glaucoma, ALS and MS,” Ban said.
Moreover, medical marijuana has been approved in six states to help recovering addicts who are suffering through OUD.
“No other intervention, policy, pharmacotherapy or treatment paradigm has been as impactful as cannabis legislation has been on the rates of opioid consumption, overdose and death,” was the conclusion of a 2018 study at the University of Missouri — St. Louis into the efficacy of cannabis’ impact on the opioid crisis.
One of the biggest concerns regarding marijuana use is long-term damage to the lungs. Dr. Carol Boyd from the University of Michigan School of Nursing conducted a study in 2021 that found vaping cannabis is the most harmful form of smoking to your lungs. Even more than cigarettes or vaping nicotine.
“Our data challenges the assumption that smoking cigarettes or vaping nicotine is the most harmful to the lungs, however, if we control for vaping cannabis in our analyses, we find there is a weaker relationship between e-cigarettes or cigarette use and respiratory symptoms when compared to vaping cannabis,” Boyd said in 2021.
Alexis Valle, a medical marijuana user in Coral Gables, says she developed pneumonia in the spring of 2022 that landed her in the hospital. “Doctors said that the pneumonia most likely developed because of vaping,” Valle said. She said this came as a shock to her as she had only been vaping for five months. “Doctors told me vaping was destroying my lungs,” Valle said.
“Our lungs are designed for oxygen, pure clean air, so anything that isn’t oxygen is going to be bad for you,” said Isaac Cordero, another long-time user of medical marijuana in South Miami.
“The benefits of alleviating symptoms of anxiety, depression and chronic pain outweighs the downside of possible lung issues for me,” Cordero later added.
Lung issues are not the only problem when it comes to the effects of marijuana.
According to the Mayo Clinic, medical marijuana use can lead to increased heart rate, dizziness, impaired concentration and memory, slower reaction time, increased risk of heart attack or stroke, hallucination or mental illness and potential for addiction.
“I do know of people who are predisposed to underlying mental illness and that using marijuana can trigger episodes or worsening symptoms they already had,” Cordero said, “I don’t think this is discussed enough in the discourse about marijuana.”
Moreover, research backs up concerns about memory loss and marijuana use. According to a 2016 study at UC San Francisco, “Those who used marijuana for more than five years cumulatively have worse verbal memory in middle age than do their peers who have used marijuana less often.”
Noah Siegel, a freshman at the University of Miami, started smoking marijuana four years ago due to chronic illness when Florida voted to legalize marijuana medicinally. However, he did voice concern for the unregulated illicit black-market where people are forced to buy marijuana if they do not qualify for a medical card. “There needs to be more regulation,” Siegel said. “What’s coming in and what people are getting, you have no idea what is in it when buying off the black-market.”
Gio Cipriani has been an associate at Fluent Dispensary in Coral Gables since it opened in 2020. Cipriani emphasized that while vaping marijuana can lead to lung issues, smoking marijuana flower does not open yourself up to the same health problems that smoking cigarettes or cigars creates.
“When you have a cigarette, you have the nicotine, you have the chemicals it is coated in, you have the filter that all of this passes through and a combination of all of that burning up creates tar,” Cipriani said. “Tar creates black lung and all of the nasty inhalants cigarettes create.”
While you can add substances to marijuana flower to make it more dangerous, Cipriani said his data shows that average marijuana smoker is not adding such substances. “The average marijuana smoker is not adding exorbitant stuff to what they are smoking, they are usually sticking with bongs, bowls, or hemp paper,” said Cipriani.
Cordero, Valle and Cipriani all highlighted alternative ways to ingest marijuana from smoking. This mainly included taking marijuana via edibles, whether it be in the form of a chocolate bar, gummies or tongue tinctures.
Research into the effect of edibles is still in its infancy. Most research done on health concerns with marijuana have focused on the impacts of smoking flower or vaporizers. What we do know about edibles is that they do not harm the lungs, and for many users, this is all they need to make edibles their ingestion of choice.
Marijuana has also already become a point of contention in the sports world. With many leagues, such as the NFL, NBA and collegiate athletics having strict policies against using marijuana, players are rolling the dice that they will not have a random drug test after using marijuana.
“The main benefits of marijuana for athletes are muscle rehab and general relaxing of the mind,” said a UM athlete who requested anonymity for fear of being targeted for possible rules violations. The athlete also discussed the impact smoke has on the lungs. Players who smoke marijuana regularly have seen their on-field production drop. To combat this, most athletes who use it take it in either pill form or as an edible, the athlete said.
The last 10 years have been a whirlwind when it comes to recreational marijuana legalization across different states. In 2013, no American lived in a state with recreational marijuana fully legal. This number has ballooned to over 50% of the country living in a jurisdiction with legalized recreational marijuana as of Feb. 1.
The process has been streamlined to such an extent that research has not been able to keep up due to restrictions at the federal level.
“We need more research,” Dr. Ban said. “Until we have more concrete data it will be difficult to make an informed decision on the legality of recreational marijuana.”
words_steven calcutt. illustration_andrés alessandro. design_sal puma.
This article was published in Distraction’s Spring 2024 print issue.
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