15 reasons not to decriminalize cannabis
At a time when the question of decriminalizing cannabis is regularly in the news, here are 15 reasons why we shouldn't give a false signal of harmlessness to our young people:
Today's cannabis is nothing like the cannabis of the 60s, which contained 0.6% to 6% THC (Tetra Hydro Cannabinol, the main active ingredient in cannabis). Today, it contains between 10 and 35% THC. It's like offering vodka instead of cider.
As the product is much stronger, physical and psychological dependence sets in very quickly.
Cannabis is being used younger and younger, right from the start of secondary school, by young people whose cerebral maturation is not yet complete.
Cannabis is a true psychotropic drug, which has a lasting effect on behavior and remains stored in the body for at least 28 days after one dose. It takes 4 days to eliminate half the cannabis taken. It can be "flashed back" or "released" in the event of severe stress or exertion.
Its main effects are an amotivation syndrome, disinhibition (risk-taking), concentration difficulties, memory problems, loss of spatio-temporal reference points, disorganized thinking and subsequent failure at school, and respiratory problems (coughing, chronic bronchitis), weakened immune defenses, violent behavior, abnormally reduced sperm count, virility, anxiety, increased risk of schizophrenia, fixed ideas and hallucinations, depression, suicide.
Cannabis raises the tolerance threshold for alcohol. Those who have smoked cannabis tolerate alcohol very well, and need strong alcohols to feel its effects. A young cannabis user can drink several glasses of alcohol without getting drunk. They won't realize they're overdoing it, and may even end up in an alcoholic coma.
Cannabis' effects are potentiated by alcohol: the effect of combining the two is to multiply the levels.
Cannabis is seven times more carcinogenic than tobacco.
Cannabis increases strokes in young people
Cannabis is recognized as the 3rd leading cause of myocardial infarction.
Decriminalizing cannabis would be tantamount to authorizing driving under its influence, even though it is responsible for many deaths on the road, even for drivers who have not smoked before taking the wheel, due to the long-lasting storage of cannabis in the body.
Decriminalizing cannabis would not reduce cannabis consumption, but would shift the market to more potent drugs (cocaine, heroin). Will these new drugs then have to be legalized?
Countries that have decriminalized, such as Sweden in the 70s, have reversed course in the face of the health and social disasters caused by decriminalization. Sweden has recriminalized and implemented a genuine prevention policy (40 hours of education from kindergarten to high school). Even the Netherlands recognizes that consumption among young people has increased with legalization, and has closed its coffee shops to the French.
In 1989, France signed the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 33 of which stipulates that "States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to prevent the use of children under the age of 18.
appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of
psychotropic substances, as defined in the relevant international conventions, and to prevent the use of children in the illicit production and trafficking of such substances".
Decriminalization would be interpreted as a false signal of harmlessness towards our youth. Do we want to keep them healthy
or bring them down?
