The Trumbull County Mental Health & Recovery Board joins Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio Veterans United and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association in their concerns about the harmful effects that early marijuana use can have on our children. After seeing the negative impact that marijuana legalization has had in other states, we also are concerned about an increase in impaired driving.

The proponents of Issue 2 argue that legalization of recreational marijuana will regulate and control marijuana products so that they will be safe and less likely to be “laced” with other substances. The truth is that Issue 2 would allow every adult citizen to grow marijuana plants for “personal use.” This will actually give individuals looking to combine marijuana with dangerous substances more access to marijuana because they can now legally grow their own and sell it on the streets.

Along with the “safer” marijuana argument, proponents state that Issue 2 will generate revenue for the state by putting a tax on marijuana. We all know that when products are taxed, the price goes up. The tax on marijuana will make it unaffordable for some and they will be forced to continue to buy marijuana on the streets. Legal marijuana will be available for people with a higher social economic status, and those who cannot afford it will be at a higher risk of being exposed to potentially fatal products. Recreational marijuana is not meant to make Ohio better, it is meant to make investors richer.

Unlike alcohol, which does have research and scientific evidence that provides low-risk guidelines based on biology, family history and psycho-social factors, no such evidence-based guidelines exist for recreational marijuana use. Teenagers can and do access alcohol very easily. If marijuana is more available, they will be able to access it more easily also. The younger a person is when he or she starts using an addictive substance, the greater the likelihood becomes for that person to become addicted to it. This is why the drinking age is 21. However, most people in substance-use treatment indicate they started drinking alcohol much younger, around the age of 12 or 13. If we can’t keep our kids safe from drinking alcohol, how will we keep them safe from marijuana if it is available in everyone’s homes?

Whether it is the potential societal risks or the fact that we are increasing the availability of yet another addictive substance, the legalization of recreational marijuana, without a better plan, doesn’t appear to be for the benefit of Ohioans.

Carol Henderson, LSW, LICDC, is president of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board. She has worked 30 years in the field of addiction and recovery.