Kerby Anderson

Every few months I do a commentary on marijuana because of new research that has been published about its potential dangers. The occasion this time is an editorial by The New York Times admitting they were wrong. You don’t see such an admission very often.

The editors said, “It’s Time for America to Admit That It Has a Marijuana Problem.” They had accepted the view that marijuana “was a harmless drug that might even bring net health benefits” and “that legalization might not lead to greater use.” They have now concluded “that many of these predictions were wrong.”

While it is encouraging to see this admission, the editors could have looked at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which TWO YEARS AGO warned“ Secondhand cannabis smoke contains many of the same toxic and cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke and some in higher amounts.”

It isn’t just the fact that many more Americans are using marijuana, but that we all must deal with it. Charlie Cooke explained that walking through many U.S. cities, we are forced to deal with the “unpleasant and ubiquitous smell of weed.” He adds, “There is a reason that the colloquial name for marijuana is skunk.”

He refers to this as “pot anarchy” because marijuana use has achieved a privileged status in America. You cannot smoke in most buildings and must do so in a parking garage. It is illegal to drink alcohol on the street.

But let’s return to the issue of secondhand smoke. That is what drove the ban on tobacco smoking in public. No such ban seems to be in effect for marijuana. And though we know the dangers of marijuana, there is no black-box warnings about its risks.

I commend The New York Times for its editorial. We all need to pay attention to the dangers they list.