Vermont Health Department offers stern report on marijuana impact

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine The "Health Impact Assessment" was released today by the Vermont Department of Health on the regulation of marijuana in Vermont. The report identifies the impacts of marijuana on the physical and mental health of users. It also calls for what would be stricter control of marijuana than there is for alcohol and in some ways for cigarettes. It also intones many of the sentiments of Governor Shumlin and Speaker of the House Shap Smith. Shumlin and Smith support strict regulation of legalized marijuana and oppose attempts to make it a tax revenue windfall.

Shumlin has repeatedly said legalization is intended to get rid of the criminal dealers, who also peddle all manner of illegal drugs, thus the tax should be low enough to avoid creating a black market. Smith on Friday said he believed legalization would eventually happen in Vermont, but not this year. Both Shumlin and Smith oppose edibles (in other words, you'd have to make your own brownies). Shumlin said in his State of the State Address last Thursday that he would support legalization if several strict requirements were met (see VBM story).

Also on Tuesday, a coalition of legalization supporters announced that they would begin running ads intended to push the Legislature toward legalization as soon as possible (see Seven Days story).

The report suggests (see list of stakeholders and other contributors below) that marijuana should be sold away from where youth could come in contact with it (as is the case with medical marijuana, but unlike alcohol and cigarettes that are sold in grocery and convenience stores, etc). The report also suggests that the minimum age should be 25 because of brain development, not 21 as a legislative study group recommended last year.

Marijuana use has gone down in recent years, according to the report, and is less prevalent in high schools than even high schoolers believe. However, marijuana use is related to riskier behaviors (the study warned against necessarily making a causal link) like suicide, drinking, smoking and other drug use, while users did not do as well in school. Marijuana use, the report states, also impairs driving.

The Vermont Cannabis Collaborative, a pro-legalization group which includes a wide-range of supporters, released a report in 2015 that indicated that sales of marijuana could increase tourism to Vermont 10-20 percent with sales of marijuana totaling $183 million to $365 million. A University of Vermont study suggested that marijuana would be taxed similar to cigarettes, or at one-third of its retail sale. At that rate, the tax revenues to the state would be in the $60-$120 million range.

The largest single tax in Vermont in fiscal year 2015 was the Personal Income Tax, which generated $705.4 million; others included Sales ($364.6 million), Rooms & Meals ($150.8 million), Corporate ($120.3 million) and Gasoline ($77.6 million).

The UVM authors acknowledged that because of the low cost of production, lawmakers might find that marijuana could be too inexpensive in their view and therefore might raise the tax or regulate the price. The UVM study also suggested that a black market would likely still exist after legalization and control about 25 percent of the market.

Colorado legalized marijuana in 2014. Tax revenues were $52.6 million in 2014 and through October 2015, were $59.8 million, or 63.6 percent higher than through October 2014. There, total marijuana tax revenue includes the 2.9% retail and medical marijuana sales tax, 10% retail marijuana special sales tax, 15% marijuana excise tax, and retail/medical marijuana application and license fees.

The Health Department Report

COGNITION

"Frequent and persistent marijuana use appears to have a physical impact on the developing brain, and the brain develops rapidly until age 25. Research has now shown that frequent and persistent marijuana use during youth has negative cognitive and academic outcomes.

"Research over several years (prospective longitudinal studies) has shown that marijuana has negative health outcomes:

• decrease in cognitive function and memory loss
• increased risk of becoming addicted to marijuana and other illicit drugs
• decrease in educational/occupational attainment
• increased risk of serious mental health problems."

DRIIVING

"It is not safe to drive while under the influence of marijuana. Research has now clearly shown that motor vehicle crash risks – both fatal and nonfatal – increase significantly if the driver is under the influence of marijuana. We do not yet know the minimum blood level of THC that will result in an increased risk. This means that there is no currently identified safe blood level of THC for operating a motor vehicle."

BEHAVIOR

"While marijuana use does not normally lead to aggressive behavior, it is associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression for some people, and serious mental health symptoms for others. It can lead to a marijuana substance use disorder for one out of 10 users, and one out of six adolescent and young adult users. Use of marijuana is also associated with use of and dependence on other illicit drugs. Marijuana use poses significant health risks compared to not using marijuana."

Stakeholders & Participants

Facilitator: Shayla Livingston, Department of Health, Division of Health Surveillance

Sources: 1.12.2016 http://healthvermont.gov/pubs/healthassessments/documents/HIA_marijuana_regulation_in_vermont_201601.pdf

http://www.uvm.edu/~vlrs/Agriculture/marijuanatax.pdf

http://vermontbiz.com/news/july/vermont-tax-revenues-end-fiscal-year-21-million