Marijuana has been legal in Washington for nearly five years, and the impacts may surprise you. The energy used for marijuana growing operations in Washington alone could power 2 million homes and equals the carbon dioxide emissions of 3 million cars. Tenth graders now drive after using marijuana twice as often as driving after drinking alcohol (10% vs 5.4%). As of February, there are 1,674 individual businesses involved in the industry. These and other findings from the Washington State Marijuana Impact Report will be shared at the Prevent Coalition Quarterly Meeting on September 20th at ESD 112 in Vancouver.
The 122-page report was released in August from the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NW HIDTA). The NW HIDTA is a region of 14 counties in the state of Washington that have been designated by the White House for special law enforcement and chemical dependency initiatives. Dr. Steven Freng, Prevention/Treatment Manager for the organization will share data from the report on:
- consumption rates of youth and adults
- abuse rate
- treatment admission rates
- effect on schools
- impaired driving
- criminal activities such a robberies, burglaries, and assaults
The public is invited to the Coalition Meeting on Wednesday, September 20th, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. at ESD 112 (2500 NE 65th Ave, Vancouver, WA 98661) in the Skamania and Klickitat Rooms.
