A come-down from the high

QUESTION 2 CONUNDRUMS

THE SO-CALLED Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative, or Question 2, was not sensible at all. Health and science were largely ignored, and the pernicious impact of this substance was barely acknowledged.

According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, today's marijuana is 175 percent more potent than in 1992 and 300 percent more potent than in the 1970s, and for some it is physically and psychologically addictive and a gateway drug. Potency is a function of THC, marijuana's primary psychoactive ingredient, and THC concentrations have risen. Marijuana is associated with impaired driving, problems with memory and learning, and poor mental health. Among college students use is widespread. Because THC reduces nausea, marijuana contributes to increased alcohol consumption and alcohol poisoning.

Jeopardizing one's future with a criminal record is certainly not helpful. But downplaying facts about health and mental health isn't either. Why didn't the supporters of this initiative, including some politicians, educate the electorate about science and health?

We can't improve policy without open debate and with half truths.

JANIE L. KRITZMAN, Brookline