Universities in Colorado have been having issues controlling the use of marijuana among students younger than 21 years old.
Among the many issues, “runners,” or students older than 21 who are able to legally buy marijuana, have been obtaining weed from medical dispensaries and distributing it to underage ?students, in the same way that alcohol is often provided to minors.
Authorities have expressed their surprise that there are issues with legalized marijuana use, which in itself is troubling, and across the board it seems officials do not know how to handle it.
If Colorado were going to legalize marijuana, they should have looked at the distribution and consumption of other products with age restrictions ?attached.
This includes the sale of products like alcohol. It might have even been in their best interest to take a closer look at these seemingly lax medical ?dispensaries.
By 2009, 10.4 million young people between 12 and 20 drank, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and ?Alcoholism.
There are about 5,000 alcohol-related deaths each year among people under 21 years old.
Marijuana is a popular ?substance.
In a 2013 survey released by Healthy Kids Colorado, 37 percent of high school students reported trying marijuana.
Given its popularity and the effects that is has, the legalization of marijuana should have come with strings attached.
It is an intoxicating substance that underage people can now get their hands on easily.
Problems should have been anticipated, and policies should have been in place when legalization was ?established.
It is great that there is an age limit for the use of marijuana.
It indicates that authorities recognize marijuana is still powerful and can potentially lead to larger problems with drug use, in the way that alcohol can lead to the abuse of other substances.
But this age restriction is hard to enforce when older people are willing to purchase marijuana for underage people.
The fact that this is happening is not surprising. The fact that authorities are unsure how to deal with it is.
Moreover, officials expressed surprise that so many underage people gained access to the drug points to an issue with the lack of policies when it comes to the legalization of marijuana.
It is more surprising that the state did not seem to have any policies in place before the legalization was made official.
The state should have taken more responsibility to develop consequences for those buying marijuana for underage users.
The problem also stem from the over-prescription of ?marijuana.
Students old enough to purchase the drug claimed they visited a clinic to be treated for medical problems they made up.
The patients claimed it was incredibly easy to convince the medical staff to prescribe marijuana. That’s extremely ?problematic.
If it were not so easily accessible to these people, not as many underage students would use marijuana.
The medical staff and workers at the dispensaries need to establish a way of screening those who are requesting a prescription.
This could decrease accessibility and lower underage marijuana use.
There also needs to be stricter policies regarding marijuana use on college campuses.
Any campus can say they restrict it, but campuses need to monitor and restrict drug use on campus.
Campus police should ask drug users for identification and proof of prescription when they see a student use marijuana on campus.
The legalization of marijuana can benefit many people, but if regulations remain this loose, it could corrupt the chances of ?legalization in other states.
Colorado needs to be more responsible and show the rest of the country that this change can work.
