Thanks to legal cannabis Pueblo, Colorado is undergoing an unprecedented green revolution. Legal cannabis has brought more jobs, businesses and investment to Pueblo than this community has seen since the industrial revolution. Legal cannabis is a clean, green industry that is helping Pueblo become a more vibrant, safe, healthy and wealthy community.
Colorado's legal weed market: $700 million in sales last year, $1 billion by 2016. Washington Post, February 12, 2015.
Everyone benefits from legal cannabis. Millions in new tax revenues have pumped vital lifeblood into Pueblo's public institutions. And this is just the beginning. As legal cannabis continues attracting new businesses and creating more jobs Pueblo could soon become the cleanest, greenest, healthiest and wealthiest community on the front range.
A Brief History Of Medical Cannabis: From Ancient Anesthesia To The Modern Dispensary. Medical Daily, January 21, 2016.
Some worry that legal cannabis is unhealthy. Nothing could be further from the truth. For thousands of years, people have relied on cannabis as one of nature's best medicines. Research has demonstrated that cannabis is a non-addicting medication that provides miraculous relief from the ills of PTSD, seizures, fibromyalgia, cancer, Dravet Syndrome, epilepsy and many more life-threatening illnesses. In case after case, cannabis has literally made it possible for the chronically ill to reclaim their lives.
Legalizing Medical Marijuana May Actually Reduce Crime, Study Says. Huffington Post, March 28, 2014.
Some worry that legal cannabis creates more crime. Actually, the reverse is true. The legal cannabis community deplores the illegal drug trade. Legal cannabis fights crime by cutting off business to international drug cartels. Legal cannabis applauds and supports all efforts by law enforcement to combat the illegal drug trade.
Prioritizing alcohol prevention: establishing alcohol as the gateway drug and linking age of first drink with illicit drug use. Journal of School Health, 86.1 (2016): 31-38.
Some worry that cannabis is a gateway drug. That is not true. Decades of studies have demonstrated that the most dangerous drug in America is alcohol. The vast majority of Americans who abuse drugs begin their downward spiral with alcohol. By a wide margin, alcohol is responsible for more crimes and deaths than any other drug. The second most dangerous drug in America is tobacco. Cannabis barely makes the list. Sadly, the national epidemic of opioid addiction is driven by abuse of prescription drugs and drug-dumping by international drug cartels. In stark contrast, cannabis kills no one. In 2015 and 2016, the number of overdose deaths due to cannabis is zero. Alcohol and opioids kill, but cannabis heals.
Marijuana is Not, Repeat Not, a Gateway Drug . Newsweek, April 25, 2015.
Please keep all of these facts in mind when you cast your vote for legal cannabis in November. If you want Pueblo to become the cleanest, greenest, healthiest and wealthiest community on the front range, then vote no on Question 300 and Ordinance 200.
Tim McGettigan, PhD
Professor of Sociology
CSU-Pueblo
proftim@mail.com
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