D.C. Police Chief Calls Out Realities of Marijuana

Marijuana
John Stonestreet, Radio Host and Director of the Colson Center

In 2015, then-Washington D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier assured reporters that legalizing marijuana would not have an effect on crime. “They just want to get a bag of chips and to relax,” she said. “Alcohol is a much bigger problem.”

Six years later and DC is dealing with more than the munchies. Current Police Chief Robert Contee recently declared, “Marijuana undoubtedly is connected to violent crimes.” This in a community with a 20 percent increase in violent crime since Covid.

Contee grew-up in D.C., He knew the smell of marijuana because his dad was an addict. His life was turned around by a mom who taught him about consequences and a community that gave him support. Now, he’s trying to convince D.C. residents and lawmakers that bad ideas, including bad laws, have consequences… and victims.

This will be a tough thing to turn around. Christians will have a role to play, along with a shift in thinking about marijuana. One that matches reality.

Copyright 2021 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Marijuana Linked to Psychotic Episodes, Vomiting

Marijuana

On Sunday NBC News published an article regarding the link between high-potency marijuana and psychotic episodes and vomiting.

Among other things, NBC’s report highlights:

  • An increase in the number of reports of marijuana users going to the ER due to psychotic episodes and vomiting.
  • A 2019 study that found using marijuana with THC levels exceeding 10% increased the odds of a psychotic episode.
  • A growing body of research that suggests marijuana can have damaging effects on adolescent brains.

It’s important to point out that most marijuana today qualifies as “high-potency.”

The average amount of THC in marijuana has risen significantly in recent years — especially as states have moved to legalize so-called “medical” and recreational marijuana.

Research like this is part of the reason medical experts have warned children and pregnant women about the dangers of using marijuana.

A recent study out of California found a link between heavy marijuana use during pregnancy and negative health outcomes among children.

Other researchers have found marijuana use fuels self-harm among young men.

And a study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics found that heavy cannabis use among adolescents and young adults with mood disorders is “associated with an elevated risk of self-harm, overall mortality, and death by unintentional overdose and homicide.”

The list goes on, but all of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

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