Legalized marijuana in nearby states impacting Idaho youth

Over the past few years, several western states have legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana. Now law enforcement agencies are seeing an increase in possession and use of marijuana here in Idaho.

“I’m concerned that the youth are getting the incorrect message that marijuana is an absolutely harmless substance,” said Darin Burrell, a juvenile parole officer for Clark and Fremont counties. “There are issues connected with using it, especially the younger you are.”

Burrell said there have been several studies linking marijuana use with lower IQs in both youth and adults. He also said the idea that marijuana isn’t addictive is a myth.

“We’ve seen rates of addiction go up,” said Burrell. “Kids that are specifically being treated for marijuana use and addiction are going up. In the adult population, it’s the same thing. That’s frankly related to the availability.”

Idaho is one of the few remaining western states that doesn’t allow the use of marijuana for either medical or recreational purposes. That’s why the Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce asked Burrell to be a guest speaker at a public forum discussing the challenges that come with legalized marijuana, especially recreational marijuana.

“I’ve had lots of people say, ‘Oh I wish I knew more about that,'” said Donna Benfield of the Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce. “They’ll say, ‘My daughter asked me about that and I didn’t know what to tell her.’ Questions like that are what we want to answer.”

Burrell said the challenge for a lot of people right now is that marijuana is a politically and culturally charged topic. “There’s a lot of information out there, a lot of emotional information,” said Burrell. “I would like to focus on facts, science, and appeal to reason over politics and emotion.”