Let me start by saying that I am not against medical marijuana. I am not sure anybody really is. If using marijuana eliminates the suffering of someone in chronic pain or someone fighting cancer or another debilitating disease, I join hands with the advocates and support the efforts in place to make this drug available to those in need. Personally, I remember very clearly, the conversation my own family had, 14 years ago, as we watched our mother fight cancer. We would have done anything to take away the pain she was experiencing toward the end of her life. Had she entertained the notion, we would have found it for her, no matter what the consequences.
However, I am a therapist, whose work with families, couples and individuals, is starting to reveal that the recent legalization to legalize marijuana, under the guise of medical use, is wreaking havoc on many people’s lives. While there does not seem to be much scientific evidence yet, that marijuana is a gateway drug, my experience is that very few people who use it, even minimally on a recreational level, stop there. I have some ideas about why that might be….
Whenever something is more readily available, people are better able to access it. This might seem obvious, but it is one of the reasons that pornography addiction is on the rise as well. (That is a topic for another day.) The legalization of marijuana, for someone prone to addiction, makes that path an easier one to take. And while many people claim to be using the drug for medical purposes, they choose to use it in a social setting, rather than the way one would normally administer an antibiotic or another disease fighting drug. Any drug used in a social setting runs the risk of being used to excess, because of the atmosphere that is created.
Additionally, the use of medical marijuana is rarely used as one would use a prescription where the dose is very specific and caution is used to not exceed the prescription. Often people who use it take an if-a-little-is-good-a-little-more-is-better approach and then despite what the media is saying, emotional and relational consequences are experienced. The husband with tennis elbow might be feeling a lot better, but sometimes his family might not be experiencing what he is experiencing…I think you know what I mean.
Another observation I have made, as I work with teens whose addiction has gone from the use of pot to the use of heroin or cocaine, is that if any drug is tried because the peer group has suggested it, the teen shows the propensity to try whatever the peer group suggests. Again, as long as the peer group doesn’t go beyond these boundaries, then it might be fine, but pot isn’t the only drug more readily available. And the dealers providing marijuana to minors have changed the formulas, so that the content is much stronger than the stuff being passed around in the parents of today’s teens’ generation. I cannot tell you how many times I have had parents tell me that they did not think that their teen smoking pot was a big deal, because they did it in high school and it was never a problem. There really is no comparison to the strains being sold to today’s youth and the pot of the 1980’s.
Addiction, whether it is addiction to an illegal substance or one that is legal, is hard on families, on marriages, and on individual’s lives. Whether one is addicted to technology, exercise, food or cocaine, there are consequences that can be difficult to navigate. My heart goes out to the families whose child has lost their full ride to college, or the wife who struggles to keep a job or the communication that has broken down because of broken promises or hidden secrets. As our society navigates the legality of substances, it is important to remember that individuals have to take into account their personal life situations, their propensity for addiction and their life goals, when they decide to self medicate and subject those around them to those consequences. While there does seem to be a percentage of people who can navigate this new legality with responsibility and overall life success, more and more people are finding their life situation more difficult rather than more fulfilling.
Honestly, no one comes to me for help because their life has improved because of the recent changes in legislation. I only see people who are struggling to put lives, families and marriages back together. Addiction seems to be a part of that struggle for more and more people. And for that, there is help available.
Make good choices. One of those choices might be seeking help before addiction has taken people and things you love away.
Sonia
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720.449.2235 (voice & text)