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OTHER VIEWS Other Views: Keeping marijuana away from minors Comment By Albany Democrat-Herald MailTribune.com By Albany Democrat-Herald Posted May. 16, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Albany Democrat-Herald Posted May. 16, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News While the Legislature continues to wrestle with crafting regulations regarding the use and sale of recreational marijuana, we expect that one of its primary concerns will be keeping marijuana out of the hands of minors. To that end, we were intrigued by a recent commentary that appeared in the May 4 edition of the journal Pediatrics. And we thought legislators might benefit from a quick summary of the commentary, which was written by three researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers noted that when marijuana use is legalized for adults, it normalizes the behavior and can make it easier for young people to use the drug. And both proponents and opponents of legalization agree that it's important to do what we can to discourage marijuana use among minors. Efforts to discourage minors from using alcohol and tobacco products offer some clues about how to proceed, the researchers said, pointing specifically to research that links weak monitoring efforts and low prices to underage use of alcohol and tobacco. But they said that marijuana offers some unique challenges as well. The researchers offered four overall suggestions to lawmakers working on these issues in Oregon and other states wrestling with how to implement legalization: First, they suggest that regulators should use tax policy to keep prices high. Research on cigarettes and minors shows minors are particularly price-sensitive: An increase in cigarette prices tends to reduce use more among minors than among adults. The tricky issue for regulators here is that if you set prices too high, that could encourage the black market, which would be counterproductive for the entire legalization effort. Second, retail availability of marijuana should be tightly regulated, the researchers say, including keeping a close eye on the location of retailers. Lawmakers have some time to work on this issue, since sales of recreational marijuana don't kick in until next year. Third, regulators need to pay special attention to issues involving marijuana edibles. The researchers said that regulators need to be aware of how appealing marijuana-laced cookies and candies can be to youths — and also suggested restrictions on the allowable amount of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) in edibles. Here's a clear case where policymakers must pay close attention to how this issue has unfolded in Washington and Colorado, the two states that legalized recreational use of marijuana before Oregon. The final point: The researchers advised that marketing of marijuana be limited. Studies have shown that exposure to tobacco and alcohol advertising is associated with increases in youth use. Overall, researchers urged regulators to be flexible and fast on their feet, noting that marijuana presents issues that aren't at play with tobacco and alcohol — for example, users have the ability to grow their own pot, which raises fresh headaches for regulators. But it makes sense to be thinking now about the best ways to discourage marijuana use among minors. By Albany Democrat-Herald MailTribune.com By Albany Democrat-Herald Posted May. 16, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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