The Law of Unintended Consequences
Sgt. Bruce R. Talbot (Ret)
The late Columbia University sociology professor Robert Merton (1910-2003) is credited with popularizing the law of unintended consequences.[1] Merton’s theory states that almost all human actions have at least one unintended consequence that may make the social situation worse. Medical marijuana laws are good examples of Merton’s social theory.
In 1996, California became the first state to legalize marijuana for certain medical conditions.[2] The intended outcome was removal of criminal penalties for marijuana use by the “seriously ill” (such as cancer patients suffering from nausea) upon the recommendation of a licensed doctor. Cancer is a condition that can be tested and documented independently. However, the proposition also added aliments that can not be independently verified, such as headaches, pain, and “any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.” The proposition gave immunity to doctors for recommending marijuana and specifically stated no written record was required by the doctor or patient. The legislative analysis of the proposal stated “this measure would probably have no significant state or local fiscal effect.”[3]
The intent of removing the possibility of arrest for seriously ill cancer patients who want to use marijuana had the unintended consequence of de facto marijuana legalization. Hundreds of marijuana dispensaries suddenly appeared in Los Angeles alone, four in just one block on Santa Monica Boulevard. The marijuana stores operated outside of city zoning laws and the marijuana was unregulated for purity or potency. Local television reporters filmed patients selling the marijuana they had just purchased to teenagers right in front of the store. The amount of money produced was staggering, with one store alone demanding a $400 “donation” for one ounce of high potency marijuana, which generated $45,000 of marijuana income per day.[4] Armed robberies, shooting deaths, burglaries, drug trafficking, illegal indoor marijuana grow operations (with chemical spills, mold, and fires), and funding of street gangs, all were tied to medical marijuana dispensaries.[5]
Another unintended consequence of medical marijuana laws is increased drug use. After a decade of decreasing marijuana use among adolescents, marijuana abuse jumped 19 percent in 2009.[6] Researchers theorize the recent increase is the result in the change of attitude among adolescents about the inherent risk of harm and decreasing social scorn associated with marijuana use.[7] It becomes increasingly difficult for substance abuse prevention professionals and parents to talk about marijuana’s potential risk of harm when constant claims of the health benefits of marijuana are touted by those seeking other states to approve medical marijuana in the media. In California, local police report increased adolescent use of marijuana is associated with close proximity to medical marijuana dispensaries.[8]
The most surprising unintended consequence of medical marijuana may be the exact opposite of the expected outcome: serious medical illness. Scientific, peer-reviewed, research studies have shown a link between marijuana use and mental illness.[9] A new research study of over 3,000 sibling pairs tracked during a 21-year period found marijuana use for 6 years or longer produced schizophrenia and other serious delusional disorders at twice the rate of the non-marijuana using sibling. The marijuana abusing sibling was four times more likely to have experienced psychotic experiences, such as hallucinations and flashbacks than a non-using sibling.[10]
It is rare for someone suffering schizophrenia to act-out violently—unless there is substance abuse. There is a three-fold increase in violent crimes committed by schizophrenia suffers who are substance abusers compared to non-abusers.[11] So is one of the unintended consequences of medical marijuana laws an increase in crime and violence?
Former Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and current Director of the Columbia University National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Joseph A. Califano, recently drew a connection between the Tucson, Arizona mass shootings by Jared Loughner and his well-documented chronic marijuana use:
“So as we continue to think about this killer and his deranged mind, we should be asking this question: Is Jared Loughner an individual whose psychosis was prompted or exacerbated by the use of marijuana?[12]
Secretary Califano is not alone in questioning the role of marijuana and mental illness in Jared Loughner. The founder of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Robert L. DuPont, M.D., has weighed-in on the issue:
“The combination of serious mental illness and substance abuse worsens both disorders. This combination plays a major role in the violence that is sometimes associated with schizophrenia. Jared Lee Loughner’s marijuana use was not an incidental part of this tragic story; it was central to the tragedy in Tucson on January 8, 2011.”[13]
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Sergeant Bruce R. Talbot retired from the Woodridge police department after 23 years of service. He teaches drug/alcohol police training classes for Illinois MTU units and for police agencies across America. He holds a Masters degree from Roosevelt University and has been qualified as an expert witness in criminal courts in Illinois and Texas. He has twice been called to testify as an expert witness before two Congressional committees considering drug control legislation.
[1] New World Encyclopedia entry for Merton, Robert King available at http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Robert_K_Merton
[2] California Proposition 215 “Compassionate Use Act of 1996” passed November 5, 1996. Two years later Oregon, Washington and Alaska also enacted medical marijuana legislation.
[3] The text of the legislative analysis is available at http://vote96.sos.ca.gov/bp/215analysis.htm
[4] “White Paper on Marijuana Dispensaries” April 22, 2009, Page 7, California Chiefs of Police Association
[5] Ibid page 1-10.
[6] “Key Findings of the 2009 Partnership/MetLife Foundation Attitude Tracking Study” March 2, 2010 Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
[7] Ibid. Adolescents who agreed with the statement “I don’t want to hang around anybody who uses marijuana” dropped from 28 percent to only 24 percent, and 51 percent of adolescents agreed with the statement “being high feels good”, up from 45 percent.
[8] “White Paper on Marijuana Dispensaries” Page 29
[9] “Cannabis Use and Mental Health in Young People: A Cohort Study” British Medical Journal, 2006, vol. 325, Pp. 1195-1198.
[10] “Association Between Cannabis Use and Psychosis-Related Outcomes Using Sibling Pair Analysis in a Cohort of Young Adults” March 1, 2010, Archives of General Psychiatry.
[11] “Schizophrenia, Substance Abuse, and Violent Crime” Journal of the American Medical Association, 2009, vol. 301, page 2016.
[12] “Tragedy in Tucson: Did Marijuana Play a Part?” Columbia University, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, January 18, 2011, commentary by Robert A. Califano.
[13] “Marijuana, Schizophrenia, and Jared Loughner” Institute for Behavior and Health, January 20, 2011, commentary by Robert L. DuPont, M.D., and Bertha K. Madras, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School.
