Pot Legalization in Colorado Effects Iowa

A doctor who runs a drug treatment clinic for youth in Colorado says legalizing marijuana has led to many problems in his state and also carried over into Iowa.

Dr. Christian Thurstone recently met with drug prevention groups in Iowa.

“We’ve seen referrals to substance treatment, to adolescent substance treatment skyrocket — they’ve quadrupled in the last couple of years. We’ve seen used rates, prevalence of use among teenagers — go up significantly, pre-post,”

He says there are other problems created by marijuana.

“We’ve seen a doubling in traffic fatalities, with a driver who is positive for marijuana, double since 2006. We’ve seen school expulsions go up 40-percent pre-post 2010 when we had our defacto legalization of marijuana,”

He says Iowa has also been impacted…

“In terms of the internet advertising of marijuana products, and the specific marijuana products which have tripled the number interdictions of marijuana
coming from Colorado to Iowa the last few years. So, there are people who are really trying to change the current patterns of of marijuana use in Iowa.”

 

 

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