Download Opponents to Marijuana Legalization

Opponents to Marijuana Legalization
There are thousands of national, state, and local organizations in the education, business, healthcare, community service,
youth, counseling and treatment, and religious areas which oppose marijuana legalization, including the following:
American
Academy of
Pediatrics
On January 26, 2015, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a public-policy statement against
marijuana use, reaffirming its opposition to legalizing marijuana. This statement cited harms to children and
adolescents. https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/American-Academy-ofPediatrics-Reaffirms-Opposition-to-Legalizing-Marijuana-for-Recreational-or-MedicalUse.aspx#sthash.DxwKHYTH.dpuf
American
Academy of
Child and
Adolescent
Psychiatry
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) released a public statement April 15,
2014, opposing marijuana use. The statement said that AACAP “(a) opposes efforts to legalize marijuana, (b)
supports initiatives to increase awareness of marijuana’s harmful effects on adolescents.”
http://www.aacap.org/aacap/policy_statements/2014/aacap_marijuana_legalization_policy.aspx
American
College of
Obstetricians
and
Gynecologists
In June 22, 2015, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a statement that
“Because of concerns regarding impaired neurodevelopment, as well as maternal and fetal exposure to the
adverse effects of smoking, women who are pregnant or contemplating pregnancy should be encouraged to
discontinue marijuana use.” http://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/News-Room/News-Releases/2015/Ob-gynsWarn-Against-Marijuana-Use-for-Pregnant-Women
American
Glaucoma
Society
The American Glaucoma Society released a public-policy statement against marijuana in treatment of
glaucoma on August 10, 2009. http://www.americanglaucomasociety.net/patients/position_statements/
marijuana_glaucoma
American
Medical
Association
On November 19, 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) released a public-policy statement saying,
“Cannabis is a dangerous drug and as such is a public health concern.” http://www.ama-assn.org/assets/
meeting/2013i/i13-refcommk-annotated.pdf
American
Society of
Addiction
Medicine
On July 30, 2012, the American Society of Addiction Medicine opposed state-ballot measures which would
legalize marijuana. http://www.asam.org/pressroom/read/2012/07/30/asam-opposes-state-ballot-measures-tolegalize-marijuana#.VYm_B1z1Pb4.email
Community
Anti-Drug
Coalitions of
America
On January 23, 2014, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America issued a statement that “CADCA
believes that substance abuse is a public health concern and has wide-reaching negative effects on our young
people and society. So we agree with President Obama’s comment that marijuana use is a ‘bad habit,’ a ‘bad
idea and a waste of time.’ We also echo the President’s sentiment that the case for marijuana legalization is
‘overstated’ and will not solve the many social problems our society faces.” http://www.cadca.org/news/cadcaresponds-president-obamas-comments-marijuana
Citizens
Against
Legalizing
Marijuana,
California
Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana, California (CALMca) opposes marijuana legalization. CALMca has
concerns for “youth, crime and safety.” http://www.calmca.org/about/
Drug Free
America
Foundation
The Drug Free America Foundation states that “Crude marijuana is not medicine” in a 2013 posting on its
website. http://dfaf.org/about-us/position-statements/why-crude-marijuana-is-not-medicine.html
The Drug Prevention Network of the Americas (DPNA) on its website states that it “is proud to support the
Drug
United Nations (UN) Conventions on Illicit Drug Abuse.” http://www.dpna.org/
Prevention
Network of the
Americas
Drug Watch
International
Drug Watch International supports “efforts to halt the legalization/decriminalization of drugs” according to its
2013 mission statement. http://www.drugwatch.org/about/mission-philosophy-principles.html
Family Council On August 22, 2012, the Family Council Action Committee released a policy brief opposing medical
marijuana. https://familycouncil.org/Library/Policy/MedicalMarijuana.pdf
Action
Committee
Hudson
Institute
On November 7, 2014, the Hudson Institute published a policy paper entitled “Why We Believe Marijuana Is
Dangerous,” and explained its opposition to the legalization of marijuana. http://www.hudson.org/
research/10777-why-we-believe-marijuana-is-dangerous
Institute for a
Drug-Free
Workplace
On July 26, 2014, the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace stated in a website post that “Legalizing marijuana
is bad for the workplace. The impact of employee marijuana use is seen in the workplace in lower
productivity, increased workplace accidents and injuries, increased absenteeism, and lower morale. This can
and does seriously impact the bottom line.” http://www.drugfreeworkplace.org/10-facts-about-marijuana/
International
Association of
Chiefs of
Police
The International Association of Chiefs of Police policy statement issued in 2012 states that the organization
“strongly opposes efforts to legalize marijuana.” The statement added “we are public safety experts who have
witnessed first-hand the damage and horror that drug abuse visits on society.”
http://www.theiacp.org/portals/0/pdfs/IACP-NSAProp19Statement.pdf
International
Faith Based
Coalition
Since 2009, the International Faith Based Coalition “has led the Faith Based Organizations in the fight against
the legalization of Marijuana.” http://ifbc.us/about-2/bishop-ron-allen/
March of
Dimes
The March of Dimes advocates against marijuana use during pregnancy, saying that marijuana “can cause
lifelong health problems for your baby.” These problems include: premature birth, low birth weight, problems
with brain development, and neonatal abstinence syndrome. It reposted this statement in November 2013.
http://www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/marijuana.aspx
On March 4, 2015, the President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) stated, “For 35 years, Mothers
Mothers
Against Drunk Against Drunk Driving has been battling one of the greatest threats on our highways. Now, we are battling
another... drugged driving.” The statement further declared that traffic deaths have increased and… “some
Driving
12.6 percent of drivers had evidence of marijuana use in their systems.” http://www.madd.org/
blog/2015/march/drugged-driving-a-growing-trend.html
National Black On April 11, 2013, the National Black Church Initiative condemned the legalization of marijuana as a
dangerous “gateway drug.” “Marijuana has ravished the African-American community to the point of
Church
destruction.” http://www.naltblackchurch.com/pdf/medicalmarijuana-release.pdf
Initiative
National
Council on
On October 30, 2010, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) released a
position statement saying “NCADD is opposed to the broad availability of smoked marijuana.”
https://ncadd.org/images/stories/Get-involved/ncaddpositionstatement-oppositiontomedicalmarijuana-10-30-
Alcoholism
and Drug
Dependence
10.pdf
National
District
Attorneys
Association
In 2014, the National Traffic Law Center, a division of the National District Attorneys Association, said that
“Increased drug use leads to increased fatalities.” The white paper cites a study which found a two-fold
increased risk of vehicular accidents by drivers after smoking marijuana. http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/BTLvol22No2-V2rgb.pdf
National Eye
Institute
In a December 5, 2012 statement, the National Eye Institute said that even with multiple studies on marijuana
in the treatment of glaucoma, “none of these studies demonstrated that marijuana – or any of its components –
could lower [intraocular pressure] as effectively as drugs already on the market.”
https://nei.nih.gov/news/statements/marij
National
Families in
Action
On its website updated March 31, 2015, National Families in Action (NFIA) posted a section on the dangers of
marijuana, outlining the risks to employers, families, and children. NFIA helps protect children from alcohol,
tobacco, and other drugs. http://www.nationalfamilies.org/index.html
National
Institute for
Neurological
Disorders and
Stroke
On April 7, 2015, the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke released a paper concluding,
“Marijuana smoking may also be a risk factor for stroke. Marijuana decreases blood pressure and may interact
with other risk factors, such as hypertension and cigarette smoking, to cause rapidly fluctuating blood pressure
levels, damaging blood vessels.” http://www.ninds.nih.gov/ disorders/stroke/detail_stroke.htm
National
Narcotic
Officers’
Associations’
Coalition
In a statement released June 12, 2015, the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition stated, “The
marijuana lobby has made the illegal drug mainstream; it should stay illegal.” http://www.natlnarc.org/whathappened-to-the-marijuana-stigma-2/
National
Sheriffs’
Association
The National Sheriffs’ Association released a resolution in February 2014, stating “the National Sheriffs’
Association supports efforts to reduce instances of driving while under the influence of marijuana, thereby
reducing the number of motor vehicle collisions, related fatalities, and other injuries caused by such driving.”
http://www.sheriffs.org/content/resolutions
Phoenix House In December 27, 2011, the President and CEO of Phoenix House released a statement stating “we must
remember that marijuana wreaks havoc on our youth. At Phoenix House, the drug is a problem for nearly all
the teens we treat; about 76 percent of our adolescent admissions list marijuana as their primary drug of
choice.” http://www.phoenixhouse.org/news-and-views/our-perspectives/the-argument-against-marijuana/
Save Our
Society From
Drugs
Save Our Society From Drugs (SOS) is an organization dedicated to stopping ballot initiatives designed to
“‘medicalize’ unsafe, ineffective and unapproved drugs, such as marijuana.” http://www.saveoursociety.org/
about-us or http://www.saveoursociety.org/our-issues/medical-marijuana
Smart
Approaches to
Marijuana
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) “envisions a society where marijuana policies are aligned with the
scientific understanding of marijuana’s harms, and the commercialization and normalization of marijuana are
no more.” https://learnaboutsam.org/who-we-are/mission-vision/