WHY DO NURSES LIKE RACHEL URGE A YES VOTE FOR MEASURE 91? Because research is urgently needed for medical marijuana, schools need drug education, and drug prevention and treatment needs funding.
As a nurse I have firsthand experience with how people use marijuana. There is no question the current approach of treating it as a crime has failed. With Measure 91, Oregon has a better way forward. The problems I see with the current approach are solved by Measure 91.
PROBLEM 1: Medical marijuana transforms lives, but almost no research can be done on it. For patients with diseases like multiple sclerosis or cancer, medical marijuana can be the difference between a decent and unbearable life. But because marijuana is illegal, there’s no effective system for labeling, testing and dosing. Medical studies are nearly impossible to conduct. Patients and doctors must rely on guesswork.
SOLUTION: Make marijuana legal so that research can be done and doctors and medical patients can get basic information.
PROBLEM 2: Kids and schools need drug education, not drug dealers. Right now, illegal marijuana is widely available and people who buy marijuana are funding drug cartels and criminal market dealers. These dealers sell marijuana to young people, making it too easy for kids to get. And they are the ones who “educate” kids about marijuana.
SOLUTION: Take marijuana off the streets and put it behind a counter. So money no longer goes drug dealers and cartels.
PROBLEM 3: Marijuana prevention programs are woefully underfunded or nonexistent in ORegon.
SOLUTION: Tax marijuana sold by legitimate businesses so money goes to marijuana prevention and drug treatment programs. Kids are more likely to say no to marijuana when they get proven drug education, With tobacco, regulation, taxation and education has been effective in reducing use, and stopping teens from starting.
By Rachel Seidelman, Registered Nurse – Portland