After a slow and careful process, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has chosen a group of authorized marijuana growers and producers ("Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission identifies medical marijuana growers and processors," Aug. 15).
Although this is a good thing for patients, the selection process described in your report is prone to political manipulation and driven by economic self-interest.
What is the next move for the growers and produces and their political allies? To lobby hard for recreational marijuana legalization. Do you think they are setting up growing facilities just for medical marijuana? Think again.
The end game for the medical marijuana industry does not have to be the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Maryland should not support a recreational marijuana industry. Any taxes we derive from that industry would be quickly overwhelmed by the burden on our families and community from the deleterious effects of marijuana use.
There is a middle ground: Keep marijuana available solely for medical use. The science clearly shows an increase in dependency, psychosis, suicide, chronic anxiety, depression and altered brain development as a result of early, frequent and chronic marijuana use.
Teenagers and young adults are particularly vulnerable. Do we need that? As we go forward I hope we should be very careful and rational about preventing the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Kevin Becker, Sparks Glencoe