Michelle Hennessy – News Writer
Marijuana can have an impact on memory, fertility and increase risks of cancer, according to the director of SCSU’s Drug and Alcohol Resource Center, Sarah Michaud. Her words come after growing support for legalizing the drug.
“All drugs have negative consequences,” said Michaud. “With marijuana, even though there’s some leniency with it, it still can have long term medical consequences.”
She said there’s a growing misconception that marijuana is harmless among young people, and that’s something the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center is trying to reverse.
“The mentality among young people I think is nothing bad is going to happen if you smoke pot but there really are some risks,” said Michaud. “There are issues with short term memory; they’ve done studies about fertility too. These are things that students at 19 or 20 years old aren’t really thinking about but there are longer term risk factors.”
Campuses all over America are seeing a rise in the number of students who are seeking help to combat substance abuse problems, with young people beginning to experiment with drugs at a much younger age now, according to Michaud.
“Campuses all over the country are seeing an increase in the number of people going to get help,” said Michaud. “And people are going to college now with substance abuse problems, the problem is there before college. They did a study in Connecticut and found the average age for the first time consumption of alcohol was 11.”
According to a Public Religion Research Institute/Religion News Service poll, Americans are fairly divided when it comes to whether or not marijuana should be legalized, with 45 percent in favor and 49 percent being against it.
Students at SCSU like Ashley Thomas seem to agree with the 45 percent who want the laws changed.
“I don’t think it should be so much of a big deal,” said Thomas, studying for a master’s degree in psychology. “If someone has a large quantity then they’re obviously selling it and I’m not okay with that. But I think if someone has their own amount for their own use then it’s not a big problem.”
She said though there’s opposition for it being legalized, she doesn’t necessarily agree with their arguments.
“Some people argue that it’s a gateway to other drugs but I don’t really agree. I know people that just smoke it occasionally and they’re fine.”
While a number of states, including Connecticut, have now decriminalized marijuana, according to Norml.org, if a person is found in possession of the drug they can still get fined up to $2000 for a first time offence in Connecticut.
But even in places where marijuana is legal, not everyone will use it. According to exchange student Sanger Gorel from the Netherlands it’s no more popular there than in America.
“Most people have tried marijuana back home but it’s not actually that popular,” said Gorel. “The places they sell it are quite dark and only attract certain types of people, I don’t really feel comfortable going to them.”
Communications senior Zach Eucalitto also pointed out how other legal drugs like alcohol or tobacco can cause just as much of a disruption in someone’s life.
“I think if you look at the records, more people will die a year from alcohol or tobacco than will because of marijuana. So obviously there’s something going on there,” said Eucalitto.
He said like alcohol and tobacco, people tend to use marijuana as an escape.
“I think weed is just a way out for some people. Some people go to bars and some people smoke weed. It’s the same principle.”
