By Bruce Shapiro
By the end of April, marijuana will be legalized or least decriminalized in 18 states. More than 20 states allow “medical marijuana” use. The momentum allowing the use of marijuana is increasing steadily as states see the attractive tax revenue. A recent editorial in Business Week magazine, however, opined that the increased use of marijuana is creating a serious health problem, especially in young people. The magazine stated that the potential health concerns, such as depression, anxiety and psychosis, are being ignored because of the vast potential of income marijuana provides. Many investing in marijuana also seem to forget that under federal law the drug is illegal. While the federal government has relaxed enforcement against the drug, the status of marijuana as a drug presents many risks for those in the marijuana industry. The law and enforcement of the law are unsettled and presents numerous risks. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article that businesses involved in the marijuana industry are having a difficult time opening a bank account a major banks, let alone obtaining credit.
Parents using marijuana, medical or otherwise, may also have a false sense of security. Legalized marijuana or having a prescription for medical marijuana does not give a parent a “free pass” to use the drug. This warning is nothing new. The fact that marijuana has been made “legal” does not change the fact that it is a drug, just like alcohol or prescribed medication. If marijuana affects a person’s parenting or negatively impacts the best interests of a child, it could have adverse consequences in family court. Some family court judges have not considered marijuana use as serious as meth or cocaine, even before the states started liberalizing its use. Marijuana may be used responsibly, or abused, like any other drug. The bottom line, however, is that as far as custody litigation, the only difference in the use of marijuana is that the use itself is not “illegal.” As far as determining whether or not the use hinders a parent’s ability to care for a child, however, does not hinge on whether the drug is legal or illegal. That issue is, and has always been, the same.