To the Editor:

It is with considerable incredulity that, as an addiction professional, I view the activity of the Cannabis Task Force and its seemingly intractable position on approving retail outlets in Princeton.  When one considers all the downsides of such a decision, given the knowledge we have about marijuana’s effect on the adolescent brain, the dramatic increase in pediatric emergencies in states that have legalized, increases in drugged driving cases, and a surge in black market activity in those “legalized” states, one can only assume that this task force has fallen, hook, line, and sinker for the marijuana industry’s aggressive marketing efforts to portray marijuana as a benign drug. Their campaign began by creating the myth of marijuana as a medicine and, while it may have beneficial effects for a small portion of the population, the marijuana lobby used this public health masquerade as a stepping-stone to its larger objective — mass commercialization of recreational marijuana.  Make no mistake, the bottom line is the emergence and dominance of the marijuana industry by corporate entities and big tobacco companies.  And this means, by definition, the need to expand markets and capture new customers.  What better market than young people who are clearly the target of the promotion and use of candy-like THC edibles?

The industry has also created a false narrative around “social equity,” suggesting that dispensaries will compensate for past injustices to minorities.  Yet, regarding minority access to the industry, nationally only 2 percent of cannabis businesses have minority ownership.  Even so, what kind of “social equity” advocates for wider availability of a drug that has been proven to reduce cognition and blunt ambition and motivation?

I spent more than 40 years working to create and develop addiction treatment and prevention programs. I have engaged with thousands of individuals whose lives have been affected by addiction. I have worked with parents who were at their wits end to try to help their child abandon marijuana in the face of declining grades and an aimless future. Cannabis Task Force Chair Eve Niedergang was recently quoted as saying, “We would never do anything to harm the children of our community.”  How does this statement correlate with the decisions your task force is making?  It’s no mystery that use of any drug increases when there is greater access to that drug. Does Princeton want to become a “stoner tourism” destination?

Those in opposition to this ill-considered idea will likely be marginalized as hysterical and out of touch with the new thinking.  Kudos to them for taking a stand against the Council’s apparent intention to move forward with this ill-fated action.  We should expect more from our governing authorities when it comes to protecting the health and welfare of Princetonians.  Perhaps it’s not too late and they will, in the end, do the right thing.

Raymond V. Tamasi
Southern Way