Bert Dirschell
Centertown
Dear Editor:
The vast majority of Missouri drug overdose deaths occur in the St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield areas. During the 5 year period 2013-17 there were 3,830 overdose deaths in Missouri. 77 percent, of them occurred in 7 counties and the city of St. Louis.
Over this same 5 year period 15 counties reported no overdose deaths, 20 reported 1 death, 9 reported 2 deaths & 8 reported 3 deaths. 81 of Missouri’s 114 counties reported a total of 236 overdose deaths during the 5 years. Household incomes for every one of the 15 counties reporting no overdose deaths were below Missouri’s average. An interesting side note, the percentage of families headed by married couples exceeded Missouri’s average in 12 of the 15 counties with no overdose deaths.
What is so different about those 81 counties that they account for only 6.2 percent of overdose deaths, even though they account for 22 percent of our population?
The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, the same class as heroin, which is insane. I have never used marijuana but I have used alcohol and tobacco products. A 2017 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said that, after analyzing 10,000 studies, there’s evidence that patients who are treated with cannabis or cannabinoids are more likely to experience a significant reduction in pain symptoms. It also stated that for adults with muscle spasms related to multiple sclerosis, there is substantial evidence that short-term use of certain oral cannabinoids can improve symptoms, and that certain cannabinoids are effective in preventing and treating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. It found no evidence that smoking marijuana increases the risk of cancers often associated with tobacco use.
Canada has now legalized marijuana, it will be interesting to see the results. Oregon decriminalized marijuana in 1973, their drug overdose death rate is 15.0, below the US average of 20.8 and below Missouri’s 23.3. Alaska, Maine, Colorado, California and Ohio decriminalized marijuana use in 1975. Three of those five states have overdose death rates below the national average. Thirty states allow medical use of marijuana while nine states and DC allow recreational use. In 2017 Colorado’s total revenue from marijuana taxes and licenses was $247 million. Missouri should, as a minimum, approve the use of medical marijuana.