Homeless in Arizona

State Rep. Paul Boyer is a drug war tyrant that needs to be booted out of office!!!!

On the other hand State Rep. Paul Boyer has stated some facts that the folks at RAD or Relegalize All Drugs agrees with

marijuana is 114 times safer than alcohol. [Actually I suspect it's a lot safer then 114 times, maybe 114 million times safer]

meth is ten times safer than alcohol [I am not a meth fan, but it should be legalized]

while heroin and cocaine are twice as safe. [Agreed heroin and coke are safer the liquor]

why not make meth, heroin, and cocaine like alcohol, as well? [Damn right, lets legalize them all!!!]

Do any of you folks at Safer Arizona, AZFRM or Arizonans For Mindful Regulation know about this study drug war nut job State Rep. Paul Boyer is talking about???

I have heard the "marijuana is safer then xxx" a number of times from AZFMR, but I have never heard any of the lines about meth, heroin or cocaine being safer then marijuana. I suspect that State Rep. Paul Boyer is making that up.

My Turn: Marijuana is the enemy of education

Paul Boyer, AZ I See It 8:16 a.m. MST November 30, 2015

Lawmaker: Why legalize a substance that would wipe out all the progress we've made to improve education?

The marijuana legalization movement in Arizona is relying on a specious study to make the case for recreational marijuana at the ballot next year. Their study says marijuana is 114 times safer than alcohol. Interestingly, it also says meth is ten times safer than alcohol, while heroin and cocaine are twice as safe. On that logic, why not make meth, heroin, and cocaine like alcohol, as well?

Meanwhile, serious peer reviewed research regarding the effects of marijuana has been shown to increase high school drop outs, lower IQ, induce memory loss, and in some cases cause paranoia and psychosis – especially among adolescents. [Just because a few pot smoking kids drop out of high school doesn't mean we should make pot illegal for everybody]

For those of us concerned with the state of education in Arizona, this is extremely alarming. With considerable discussion about Arizona’s education funding, along with high school and college graduation rates, we should be working to improve our state of education, not exacerbate an already bad situation by legalizing a substance detrimental to every outcome we want for our children. And make no mistake, legalizing this dangerous drug [marijuana is NOT a dangerous drug Paul Boyer!!!] for adults will lead to more use by children, just as we see with alcohol.

States that have marijuana-friendly legislation have seen a dramatic spike in marijuana exposure to children. The Journal Clinical Pediatrics found an over 600 percent increase in the amount of marijuana exposure to children six and under in such states. That study suggests, “the rate of marijuana exposure among children is associated with the number of marijuana users.” We don’t need that here in Arizona.

Nor can the toxic health, educational, and behavioral impacts to children be overstated. A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study lists the damaging health effects of just short term marijuana use, including: impaired short term memory and motor coordination, altered judgment with an increased risk of catching and transmitting sexually transmitted diseases, and paranoia and psychosis in high doses. And let’s not forget that today’s marijuana is much more potent than that of previous decades. We are not talking about Woodstock and commonly grown marijuana anymore, we are talking about a high potency drug.

Similarly, long term or heavy use effects of marijuana include: addiction, altered brain development, poor educational outcomes with an increased risk of dropping out of school, cognitive impairment with lower IQs among frequent users during adolescence, and diminished life satisfaction and achievement. [Paul Boyer most of that is just a bold faced lies!!!]

And who will have to address the consequences of legalization? All of us, including parents, teachers, and an already over-burdened healthcare system will have to pick up the pieces left in the wake of legalization’s destruction. [Paul Boyer, so you are trying to tell us that Western Civilization as we know it has ended in Colorado and Washington??? That's another bold faced lie]

Given all our debates about funding education in Arizona, one is left asking what the point of all this would be if we introduce a substance into our society that will nullify, if not reverse, everything we have worked so hard to improve when it comes to our children’s education. Whatever plan we settle on with education, adding marijuana into the mix will render this debate, and its result, essentially pointless.

State Rep. Paul Boyer represents Legislative District 20, which includes Glendale and North Phoenix. He is the chair of the House Education Committee, a member of the House Health Committee and teaches 10th grade Humane Letters.