Cannabis , Students at Green Acres Elementary School in North Ogden, Utah fell victim to an unfortunate accident involving THC gummies inadvertently brought from home by a student. The student assumed the gummy worms were just candy. He shared them without any knowledge that the gummies could make his friends sick.
Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or illnesses reported. And yet the incident is proof positive that accidents can happen even with strict cannabis measures in place. It is a reminder that we must be ever more vigilant if we want to make cannabis legal across the board.
One of the Strictest States
The people behind the Utahmarijuana.org website say that Utah has one of the strictest regulatory regimes among the states with legal medical cannabis. The state regulates who can use medical cannabis, how they can use it, and more. Needless to say, the child responsible for the school incident was not in legal possession of the THC gummies.
We will assume that one of his parents holds a medical cannabis card and legally purchased the gummies. Provided the law was followed, having the gummies in the parents’ home was completely legal. But leaving them where a child could access them demonstrated poor judgment, at the very least.
Police reports indicate that the child had no idea what he was carrying to school. His friends also had no idea what they were eating. If nothing else, the incident is a red flag for proponents of state-legal cannabis.
We Have Enough Problems With Alcohol
None of this is to say that medical cannabis should be banned or that states should not take a look at recreational consumption. What I am saying here is that any laws legalizing cannabis nationwide ought to be circumspect and with certain protections built in. If we are going to make marijuana legal in this country, we need to be a lot more responsible with it than we have proven ourselves with alcohol.
As I have said in previous posts on this topic, we already have enough problems with alcohol and kids. There is a reason why organizations like MADD exist. There is a reason local police agencies run regular stings to find out where teenagers are buying booze.
Let’s Talk About Vaping, While We’re at It
I find it ironic that our culture has taken such a strong stand against vaping while turning a blind eye to alcohol and cannabis. Vaping has been demonized over the last decade despite the fact that it has proved to be less harmful than smoking. Many of the same people who would love to see vaping banned also support smoking recreational marijuana.
Some of the same concerned citizens who are understandably upset about teen vaping do not seem to be as upset about teen alcohol consumption. And should marijuana ever become legal across the country under federal law, will they be as concerned about teen pot use?
It Must Be Done Responsibly
My personal opinions on cannabis don’t matter at this point because it’s only a matter of time before full federal legalization becomes reality. What does matter is that we do what we do responsibly. If we are going to legalize weed, we need to get a handle on it before actually changing the law.
The incident in Utah only demonstrates the accidents will happen even with the strictest controls in place. But that does not mean we should dismiss strict controls. It simply means that we must be as vigilant as possible to make sure cannabis does not end up in the hands of our children.
