News / Education
STUDY VALIDATES NARCONON HAWAII’S STANCE AGAINST LEGALIZING MARIJUANA
Narconon Hawaii stance is validated by professionals who take a look at statistics
Kapolei, HI – A recent call for a study on legalizing marijuana by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger validates the stance on this drug taken by Narconon Hawaii.
Bobby Newman, a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor and Executive Director of Narconon Hawaii, says that legalizing marijuana is not the answer to California’s budgetary shortfall. In contrast, legalizing marijuana will likely backfire and make things worse.
According to an article published in the Los Angeles Times on June 7, Governor Schwarzenegger responded to the mounting concern over the drug war and the legalization of marijuana by calling for a study to be conducted on the feasibility of the drug’s use to generate revenue for the state.
“People are looking to make a profit,” says Newman. “This is the only reason that legalizing marijuana is being promoted as a viable option.”
After personally educating more than 130,000 kids, adolescents and adults in six states about the dangers of marijuana as a gateway drug, Newman says, “I can tell you first hand that giving people another excuse to use a mind-altering substance and then abuse it for any reason is not the answer.”
Substance abuse – legal and illegal – costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars each year in lost productivity, accidents, broken marriages, child abuse and a whole assortment of emergencies, only to name a few of the many social problems.
According the LA Times article, the $8 billion dollars in a potential tax windfall does not offset the existing $200 billion spent annually to remedy consequences of the social cost of marijuana use. And that’s not even considering that marijuana usage usually leads to harder drugs that can further wreck lives.
Staff members in Narconon organizations worldwide have known for many years that legalizing marijuana is not the answer, particularly at Narconon Hawaii based in Kapolei, Oahu.
“We cannot say that every kid that uses marijuana will go on to use harder drugs,” explains Newman. “But we do know that every person who nearly died due to cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine and that entered Narconon programs – thousands per year – started on their descending spiral by smoking marijuana.”
Also according to one study, the current legal substances of alcohol and tobacco are used by 30 percent to 65 percent of the public. The use of all illegal drugs combined totals about 6 percent usage among public across the country.
“If legalized, there is a tremendous chance that marijuana usage would skyrocket and cost even more to the taxpayers and to society”, Newman says.
To learn more about marijuana addiction or substance abuse, please feel free to call Narconon. If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction, contact Narconon
