Homeless in Arizona

If I tried to convince you that 62 children died from marijuana overdoses by intentionally using misleading information you would call me a liar.

Why doesn't the Arizona Republic call Sheila Polk a liar???

Sheila Polk correct, but misleading on ‘marijuana associated’ deaths

Travis Arbon, The Republicazcentral.com 8:15 a.m. MST August 10, 2015

THE MEDIA: Internet

WHO SAID IT: Sheila Polk

TITLE: Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, vice chairman

OFFICE: Yavapai County Attorney

THE COMMENT: “In 2013, marijuana use was associated with the tragic and needless deaths of 62 children in Arizona.”

THE FORUM: A June 15 editorial in the Arizona Republic on marijuana use.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT: Whether there were 62 child deaths associated with marijuana use in Arizona in 2013.

ANALYSIS: With proponents of legalizing recreational marijuana working to put that issue on the Arizona ballot in November 2016, opponents, including Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, have begun their counter campaign.

In a June 15 op-ed in The Arizona Republic, Polk said the deaths of 62 children were associated with marijuana. She further stated that “a disturbing number of child deaths resulted from substance use” of any kind.

The figure comes directly from the “Arizona Childhood Fatality Review Program” annual report, which examines the causes of death for children under age 18.

The most recent study, which covers 2013, did find 62 of the deaths of children under 18 were associated with marijuana. Substance use, including marijuana, alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine, was associated with a total of 128 deaths.

The study says it uses the word “associated” because “it is not always clear if or how the substance use had a direct or contributing effect on the fatality incident.” That means the drug could have played a major or minor role in a child’s death, or have been irrelevant.

In addition, while the report found 62 deaths associated with marijuana, it states that each death could be associated with more than one drug. The study does not detail how many fatalities involved multiple substances.

Most of the children who died were not using drugs. In all 128 substance-use cases, the child was the user only 14 times. A parent was the user in 48 cases.

About 77 percent of the total substance-associated deaths were accidents, suicides or homicides. Only 14 deaths were the result of poisoning.

BOTTOM LINE: Polk’s statement that 62 child deaths in 2013 were “associated” with marijuana is true.

However, it’s unknown what factor marijuana played in those deaths. The report Polk cites does not categorize the deaths based on the impact of the substance. Therefore, all deaths where marijuana is involved are counted, regardless of whether the drug played a crucial or irrelevant role.

The report also shows that most substance-associated deaths were accidents, suicides or homicides, and many involved the use of multiple drugs.

It would be wrong to say that marijuana itself killed 62 children in 2013, or even that 62 children died of marijuana use, but the study confirms that marijuana was involved in some unknown way. While the study validates the literal language of Polk’s statement, her op-ed implies this demonstrates that marijuana itself is causing child fatalities, a position not supported by the report.

THE FINDING: No stars: Misleading

Source

Safe pot? Tell that to the 62 kids who died

Sheila Polk, AZ I See It 2:29 p.m. MST June 15, 2015

My Turn: More youth deaths are linked to marijuana than alcohol or methamphetamine.

Marijuana is an addictive and hazardous drug. But lately, some have taken to proclaiming that "marijuana is safer than alcohol," a message that is not only wrong but dangerous.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, in a study that examines all deaths in Arizona of children under the age of 18, a disturbing number of child deaths resulted from substance use. It was linked to the deaths of 128 of Arizona's children in 2013.

Guess which substance was the most prevalent? Not alcohol, not methamphetamine (although they were close seconds), but marijuana. In 2013, marijuana use was associated with the tragic and needless deaths of 62 children in Arizona.

The point is this: Prevention, not legalization, remains the best model for addressing drug abuse. Approximately 7.5 percent of Americans regularly use marijuana while 52 percent use alcohol, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Why raise the first number to the second?

Marijuana today is far more potent than decades past. It poses significant and real threats to the development of the adolescent brain, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

It negatively impacts memory, learning, attention and reaction time — basic skills for our students — and its effects linger even after the intoxication is gone. Research concludes that marijuana use causes a loss of up to eight IQ points in those who start young and use it over the long term.

Legalization of marijuana means more kids will use it. Colorado, where the reckless experiment with legal retail marijuana is unfolding, has seen its youth use rate skyrocket. Colorado students ages 12 to 17 use marijuana at a rate that is 38 percent higher than the national average. While the rest of the country saw a slight increase (less than half a percent) in use of marijuana by folks ages 12 and older from 2012-13, Colorado's rate jumped 22 percent.

Increased availability of a mind-altering drug plays an extremely important role in addiction and poor academic outcomes. Teens who use marijuana are significantly less likely to graduate from high school, are much more likely to use other illicit drugs, and sadly, face increased odds of suicide attempts, according to a September 2014 article in The Lancet Psychiatry. Sheila Polk is the Yavapai County Attorney and vice

The marijuana lobby argues that their plan is to legalize marijuana only for adults, just like alcohol. But consider how that has worked out for our youth and society. Arizona teens regularly use alcohol at almost twice the rate of marijuana. Legalization of a substance generates availability, acceptability and increased use.

To argue that marijuana should be treated more like alcohol is a failure of logic. According to one recent study, the annual cost to taxpayers for health care and crime based on excessive alcohol consumption was $94.2 billion. These billions of dollars do not include the intangible costs of the turmoil inflicted by the user on children, families and neighborhoods.

Legalizing an addictive drug that is linked to child abuse and neglect, increased psychosis and suicidal ideations, lowered IQ, memory loss, impaired learning, poor attention, and academic failure means more damaged lives and lost opportunities for our youth.

Arizona need be in no rush to go down this hole. Four other states have embarked on this experiment; let's watch them and examine their data.

It is unconscionable to experiment with legalization on Arizona's youth. Those 62 children whose lives were snuffed out in 2013 would certainly agree.

Sheila Polk is the Yavapai County Attorney and vice chair of Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy.