Legalization Doesn't Make THC Drugs Any Less Risky | Opinion

After a multi-million-dollar effort and numerous failures, advocates of marijuana legalization finally succeeded in Ohio this month. Voters approved a referendum to legalize the non-medical use of the drug 57-43 percent. Though the harms caused by the legalization of marijuana cannot be undone, policymakers in states with any form of legal marijuana must take additional steps to prevent future harm and safeguard the health and well-being of users and non-users alike. Policymakers must learn from the failures of states that have experimented with this reckless policy.

After Ohio voted to legalize recreational marijuana, Governor Mike DeWine rightly warned the ballot measure has "a lot of holes," adding that state officials must "do this in a very responsible way." Fortunately, this ballot measure is an initiated statute, not a constitutional amendment, meaning the state legislature can make changes before it is implemented as law.

Governor DeWine identified "four general, safety-related areas" for legislators to address: preventing the accidental ingestion of marijuana, restricting marijuana use in public, addressing driving under the influence of marijuana, and adopting regulations to limit advertising.

At Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a leading national organization focused on advocating for health-first marijuana policies, we fully support Governor DeWine's emphasis on these four policy issues. Ohio has the opportunity to become a national leader for taking a sensible approach to the regulation of marijuana.

The accidental ingestion of marijuana––often in the form of THC-infused edibles, such as candies and brownies––is a growing problem, particularly among toddlers and young children. A recent study in the journal Pediatrics found there was a 1,375 percent increase in edible marijuana ingestions among children younger than 6 between 2017 and 2021.

To counter this risk, policymakers should prevent marijuana packaging and products from using bright colors and images that appeal to children, whether toddlers or teenagers. Packages should be in child-resistant containers. Drawing on policies implemented in Connecticut and New Mexico, states should require marijuana products to come with warning labels.

To prevent the public use of marijuana, legislators should prohibit the consumption of marijuana wherever tobacco is prohibited. In Colorado, marijuana use is prohibited in public, including on sidewalks and in parks, resorts, businesses, concerts, restaurants, and common areas in apartments. Additionally, California prevents smoking marijuana "within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, or youth center while kids are present." Non-users should not be required to smell marijuana in public.

Driving under the influence of marijuana is a growing concern, as marijuana-involved traffic fatalities doubled in Colorado after legalization. According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 20 percent of users admitted to driving under the influence of marijuana.

Thus, policymakers should scale up statewide prevention campaigns about impaired driving. In Massachusetts, students are shown a 25-minute video on marijuana at hundreds of driving schools throughout the state in partnership with AAA. Police departments must invest in training patrol officers to recognize the signs of impairment to help officers detect individuals who may be driving under the influence of marijuana. The state should also prohibit the consumption of marijuana while driving or in a vehicle, similar to open container laws with alcohol.

Following the playbook of the tobacco industry, the marijuana industry seeks to advertise its addictive products and normalize their use––it wants consumers to believe using marijuana is normal and perhaps even glamorous. This, in turn, will increase usage rates and their profits.

Many will agree that the marijuana industry should not be allowed to advertise on platforms that are seen by children, including billboards, newspapers, TV, and social media. Dispensaries should also be prohibited from using sales gimmicks aimed at encouraging customers to try more potent products, such as offering "buy one get one free" sales and giving out free samples.

But policymakers shouldn't stop at the four priorities outlined by Governor DeWine. They should also prioritize prevention education, especially in school-age children and other vulnerable populations, including pregnant and breastfeeding women. They should enact a 15 percent THC potency cap, as products above 15 percent THC are associated with the most severe impacts on mental health. Strict ethics guidelines should also be adopted for members of governing and regulatory bodies, as some members may have ties to the marijuana industry.

Policymakers should also enact mandatory reporting requirements on data relevant for public health, such as drugged driving, THC-related poison control calls, marijuana-related hospitalizations and ER visits, marijuana-induced psychosis, rising potency, environmental impacts, rates of workers testing positive for THC, and other issues impacting children and youth—Colorado is an example of a state that reports thorough information. Unfortunately, now that marijuana is legal in Ohio, we know that many, if not all, of these metrics will increase. The public deserves to know the consequences of what they voted for and were sold by the industry.

Following the vote to legalize marijuana in Ohio, the Buckeye State faces the risk of blundering legalization, as many states have done before. New York has had a shaky rollout of legalization, and New Mexico's regulatory system remains ineffective. More must be done to address and prevent the harms associated with the legalization of marijuana.

Kevin Sabet, Ph.D. is a former three-time White House drug policy advisor and the President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the nation's leading alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.