To the Editor:

The growing number of states legalizing marijuana doesn’t change the fact that multiple adverse health effects are linked to marijuana. I am an anesthesiologist, practicing in New Jersey for about four years. I’ve seen patients using marijuana coming to the operating room due to various causes. I’d like to present some facts from academic articles and clinical databases.

First, marijuana is known as the gateway drug toward harder drugs. Contrary to popular belief, marijuana can be addictive. Early exposure to cannabinoids in adolescent rodents decreases the reactivity of brain dopamine reward centers later in adulthood. To the extent that these findings generalize to humans, this could help explain the increased vulnerability for addiction to other substances of misuse later in life that most epidemiological studies have reported for people who begin marijuana use early in life. Recent data suggest that 30 percent of those who use marijuana may have some degree of marijuana use disorder. People who are addicted to marijuana are three times more likely to be addicted to heroin.

Second, marijuana does have negative effects on the neural system. THC’s chemical structure is similar to the brain chemical anandamide. This similarity allows the body to recognize THC and to alter normal brain communication. THC can affect short-term memory and judgment and distort perception, therefore impairing performance at school or work and safe driving.

The trend of increased medical incidents relating to marijuana use is clear. Colorado Department of Public Health shows that hospitalizations related to marijuana nearly tripled from 1,313 per 100,000 hospitalizations in 2011 to 3,025 by 2015. Several meta-analyses of multiple studies find that the risk of being involved in a vehicle crash significantly increased after marijuana use. Studies also suggest specific links between marijuana use and adverse consequences in the workplace, such as increased risk for injury or accidents. One study of postal workers found that employees who tested positive for marijuana on a pre-employment urine drug test had 55 percent more industrial accidents, 85 percent more injuries, and 75 percent greater absenteeism compared with those who tested negative.

This is why I’m strongly against having any recreational marijuana stores in town. The false sense of marijuana being harmless will harm people. Normalizing marijuana use will undoubtedly exacerbate the drug abuse problem in our community. The huge profit incentives will drive the industry to prey on our youth. We already know the age restriction doesn’t work well for tobacco products and similarly the age restriction doesn’t work well in states that have legalized marijuana earlier. Thus, Princeton doesn’t need to relearn these lessons at the expense of our public health and safety.

Rong Zhao, MD, PhD
Ettl Farm