By Michael Pauley
This coming November voters will decide Initiated Measure 29 (IM-29), a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in South Dakota. If the previous sentence gives you a sense of “déjà vu,” that’s understandable. This will be the third consecutive election where marijuana is on the ballot. Two years ago, voters opposed legalizing marijuana, with 53 percent voting “no.”
The South Dakota Catholic Conference has consistently opposed marijuana legalization. In a statement released earlier this year, Bishop Donald DeGrood of Sioux Falls and Fr. Daniel Juelfs of the Diocese of Rapid City said, “We urge our fellow Christians, and all persons of good will, to oppose Initiated Measure 29 because of the damage it will cause to so many human lives in our state.”
There are two questions at the heart of this debate: is marijuana harmful to individuals who use it, and does it harm the rest of society as well? The answer to both questions is yes. However, many voters seem unaware of marijuana’s detrimental effects.
For example, a Gallup poll reported that 96 percent of respondents felt that cigarettes were harmful to those using them, and 94 percent felt the same way about chewing tobacco. Yet only 56 percent believed that marijuana was harmful. This means that 40 percent of Americans somehow believe that cigarettes are unhealthy, but smoking marijuana is harmless. Whatever may be driving this dichotomy in public opinion, it’s not medical science.
Marijuana, while never harmless, has gradually evolved into a far more dangerous drug over the decades. The Mayo Clinic states:
“Today’s marijuana is enhanced genetically and bred for potency. The tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, content, about 10 milligrams per joint in the 1970s, is five to 15 times more potent today. THC is the active ingredient that gives cannabis its narcotic and psychoactive effects.”
In other words, we’re talking about a profoundly more toxic drug compared to what hippies were using at Woodstock in 1969. This “new marijuana” has been linked to serious mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, suicide, and psychotic illness.
But marijuana’s harm isn’t limited only to users. It’s been linked to increased rates of impaired driving, more job absences and workplace accidents, worse educational outcomes, lower income, more welfare dependence, and higher unemployment. As St. Pope John Paul II stated, “Drug abuse impoverishes every community where it exists. It diminishes human strength and moral fiber. It undermines esteemed values. It destroys the will to live and to contribute to a better society.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: “The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense.” (CCC 2291)
Legalizing marijuana in South Dakota would erode human dignity and undermine the common good. Our state would grow weaker and less healthy – and these are very good reasons to vote “no” on Initiated Measure 29. To learn more about marijuana and IM-29, visit ProtectingSDkids.com.
