Dealing with Addiction

Soon, Ohio voters will decide whether or not to legalize marijuana.

ResponsibleOhio’s proposed constitutional amendment would create ten grow sites around the state. But now, health boards around Ohio take a look into the addictive properties in marijuana, and how problems could increase if the amendment passes.

“If you’re prone to addiction you’re not going to get around it if you start using,” said Steve Carrel, Muskingum Behavioral Health’s Executive Director. “You’re going to go the route, so addiction is always going to be there if it’s legal or if it remains illegal.”

Still, Carrel said that if marijuana becomes legal, he could see increased business as marijuana is the number one drug that clients at Muskingum Behavioral Health test positive for.

“Marijuana has always been one of the biggest drug problems we’ve had,” Carrel said. “Alcohol number one to marijuana second. I always say marijuana is running a race right now with opioids and heroin as far as the amount used — or the number of users I should say.”

Carrel said his major concerns are with the addictive nature of marijuana and how to defend against the possibility of it being a gateway drug for some. He mentioned, after an interview, that he wishes to see more testing done on the medical benefits of marijuana, and also, how to have a scale similar to the one set up for blood alcohol levels.