On Saturday, thousands of students will continue the age-old tradition of flocking to the Main Green to celebrate one of Brown鈥檚 most renowned unofficial holidays: 4/20. This year, people may see more students participating in the festivities than in previous years.
A substantial majority of Brown students have used marijuana, with numbers increasing steadily over the four class years, according to data from the Herald鈥檚 . About three-quarters of seniors have used marijuana at least once in their lives. It鈥檚 a far cry from 2007, when just under one-third of poll respondents reported having used marijuana.
In light of proposed changes to marijuana鈥檚 federal legal status under the Controlled Substances Act, The Herald spoke to researchers at Brown to better understand the climate around marijuana use in Rhode Island.
Elizabeth Aston, an associate research professor in behavioral and social sciences, said there are a variety of reasons why marijuana might be perceived as more acceptable to use than it was in the past.
鈥淭hings are always perceived as being more safe when you make them legal,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople just assume that it鈥檚 okay to have several drinks around their kids, or it鈥檚 okay to have a , because it鈥檚 legal. The same thing happens with cannabis.鈥�
The ease with which marijuana can be obtained is also a factor, she added. 鈥淵ou must be 21 to purchase marijuana at a dispensary, but people can buy marijuana, turn around and sell it,鈥� said Aston. 鈥淎nother side of the matter is that people can grow cannabis themselves.鈥�
Aston arrived at Brown to study the co-use of marijuana and alcohol around the time marijuana was approaching state legalization, she said. According to poll data, about four-fifths of respondents who had used alcohol in the past three months reported having used marijuana at least once in their lives.
Aston studies the value of marijuana with a behavioral economics model using a . According to Aston, being able to purchase marijuana legally makes people believe that it鈥檚 safer than it is. This narrative encourages people to 鈥渄rive after using marijuana, and that can be very harmful,鈥� she added.
Unlike alcohol, there are no tests to measure cannabis in the bloodstream, Aston told The Herald. She added that while there is 鈥渃ertainly鈥� a narrative that 鈥渃annabis is less dangerous than alcohol,鈥� it isn鈥檛 entirely true or correct.
鈥淢any of my participants report driving after using, and they think they鈥檙e better drivers,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen we test them, they鈥檙e not better drivers.鈥�
Cities and states stand to reap powerful revenues when marijuana is legalized and use spreads, according to Aston. 鈥淒ispensaries are very, very heavily taxed,鈥� Aston said. 鈥淭he revenue that states make on marijuana sales is astronomically high.鈥�
Furthermore, dispensaries market 鈥渉igh-potency concentrates of THC鈥� with upwards of 90% THC, Aston said. 鈥淲hen people start using high-potency concentrates a lot, their tolerance goes very high very quickly,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his, in turn, can make people more quick to develop cannabis use disorders.鈥�
A severe side effect of marijuana use that Aston has seen is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), or cyclical vomiting caused by cannabis use. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 probably always been around, but now it鈥檚 happening a lot more,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 from using cannabis, for a long period of time like this, that鈥檚 very high potency.鈥�
It鈥檚 hard to identify CHS because sometimes patients are not aware of cannabis鈥� harm, Aston said. 鈥淧eople will present to the emergency department, thinking there鈥檚 something wrong with them that鈥檚 totally not related to their cannabis,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey often won鈥檛 even think about disclosing the fact that they鈥檙e using cannabis to the medical team, and that makes it really hard to figure out what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
Legal or illegal, it isn鈥檛 鈥渟afe鈥� to use marijuana, regardless of popular perception, she said, noting that any substance that 鈥渨ill potentially impact brain development may not be safe for people who are still maturing.鈥�
Marijuana鈥檚 potential move to schedule III could make it easier to study this 鈥渧ery complicated鈥� drug, according to Aston, who believes increased access may allow essential research on marijuana to continue.
Professor of Political Science Katherine Tate said that racial disparities in prosecution for marijuana-related offenses have partly shaped activism around the issue.
鈥淎 movement for full legalization persists and includes Black activists and politicians who feel that U.S. drug laws have significantly harmed Black Americans,鈥� Tate wrote in an email to The Herald. She added that Black people 鈥渦se marijuana at the same rate as whites based on polls, but are four times more likely to be arrested for possession of it. Black children are more likely to have a criminal arrest record than whites because of marijuana arrests.鈥�
Tate argued that tax revenue from marijuana sales 鈥渃an be used to empower minority communities through job creation and social programs,鈥� adding that minority communities see the legalization of marijuana as 鈥渁 racial justice initiative.鈥�
鈥淟egalization is not enough, but must be tied to social programs that address prior convictions, addiction, health and well-being, punitive policing and economic empowerment,鈥� she wrote.
Brown鈥檚 BWell Office of Health Promotion offers resources to help students note and address problems with cannabis use. 鈥溾�� and on campus are linked for students on the BWell Health Promotion website.
Ranjana 鈥淛aanu鈥� Ramesh is a Bruno Brief-er, photographer and Senior Staff Writer covering science & research. She loves service, empathetic medicine and working with kids. When not writing or studying comp neuro, Jaanu is outside, reading, skiing, or observing Providence wildlife (ie: squirrels).
