Cara Dyck

Harvey

On Nov. 6th, North Dakotans will have the opportunity to vote for or against the legalization of recreational marijuana in our state. While I believe there are many reasons to oppose Measure 3, the health, safety and wellbeing of our children is one I am absolutely passionate about.

Many people do not realize that the marijuana products of today are far more powerful than they were even a decade or two ago, since the active ingredient, THC, has been able to be much more concentrated. Something else has changed in recent years: in states such as Colorado, marijuana shops sell their product in all sorts of yummy concoctions: gummies, brownies, cookies and other sweets that children love, and tragically, have unwittingly overdosed on. Once the product is taken out of its original packaging, there is virtually no way to discern what is in these “brownies,” and these disguised drugs are making it into the hands and bodies of children from curious toddlers to unsuspecting teenagers.

Proponents of legalization are quick to cry out that marijuana is a safe alternative to other drugs, including alcohol, because there have been no medically confirmed deaths from its use. But the AAA reports that fatal crashes resulting from drivers with marijuana in their system doubled in Washington in the year after recreational marijuana was legalized, and tragic youth suicides have been directly linked to kids who took their lives during the psychosis brought on by the marijuana in their bodies.

Furthermore, the harmful impact that marijuana use has on an unborn child or nursing infant is very alarming, especially considering that marijuana use by pregnant women in California nearly doubled between 2009-2016. Medical research shows that marijuana, whether ingested directly, passed on in utero or through breastmilk, or breathed in through second hand smoke, does affect children’s developing brains in key areas such as memory, verbal skills, and behavior.

Please, take some time to do your own research. There are many helpful resources available online, such as https://www.dfaf.org/research and the website votenoon3nd.com. I also highly recommend watching the film Chronic State, available on YouTube.

I urge you to vote no on Measure 3, and yes to the safe and bright future of North Dakota’s children.