To the Editor:

As Princeton residents and professionals in medical/mental health, we feel it is important to share what we have learned and seen on the job.

I am Sara Popkin, M.D., board certified in adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. Adolescents are highly vulnerable to marijuana’s many known adverse effects. Marijuana’s impact on the cognition, behavior, and brain development of adolescents has both immediate and long-term implications, including lasting decline in intelligence measures; academic failure; an increased incidence of psychotic, mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders; an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents; and sexual victimization. Retail cannabis dispensaries in our town, even if restricted to adults, will be associated with a reduction of adolescent’s perception of marijuana’s harmful effects. In turn, this increases rates of adolescent marijuana use and its associated problems. We must educate youth about the significant harm marijuana can inflict on their developing brains. This will be increasingly difficult if they see it being sold on Nassau Street.

I am Matt Bellace, Ph.D in clinical neuropsychology and national youth drug prevention speaker. I travel the country speaking at schools about substance abuse prevention and mental health.  Vaping, especially cannabis, is the number one concern of my clients. As adults, the best thing we can do to reduce teen substance abuse is role model healthy choices. I advocate sharing your natural highs (e.g., running, cooking, meditation) with teens. In addition, we can practice radical honesty. Opening cannabis dispensaries in town will increase the number of people who smoke and walk around.  The stink is pervasive and the message to young people is clear, we allowed it.

In Princeton, there’s a sense of hopelessness around teen cannabis use, “You can’t stop them from using, so why not just open a dispensary or three?” It may not seem like it, but this decision matters. Young people are paying attention. Let’s be role models and keep dispensaries out of our town for the health of our youth.

I am Jared Newman, D.O., board-certified in family medicine and practicing in Central New Jersey for over 20 years. I’ve had many patients who overdosed during the current opioid epidemic, and I spoke to their parents to better understand the illness. Overwhelmingly, the first drug their child used was marijuana. It’s our responsibility as parents and professionals to protect children and, in my medical opinion, allowing the open sale of marijuana in Princeton will lead to more childhood drug exposure and increased risk of addiction. I also work with people in their 50s/60s, who have multiple medical conditions including chronic pain. I’m concerned about them self-medicating with marijuana without the full understanding that today’s product has much stronger levels of THC than decades ago. These interactions could cause life threatening complications. For example, cannabinoids affect key classes of cardiovascular medications including antiarrhythmics, calcium-channel blockers, statins, beta-blockers, and warfarin, potentially leading to increased levels of these medications in those patients. Ease of sale through stores in Princeton puts this population at grave risk.

Sara Popkin, M.D.
Tarkington Court

Matt Bellace, Ph.D
Dodds Lane

Jared Newman, D.O.
Westcott Road