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COLORADO’S GRAND EXPERIMENT
Bob Troyer
Former United States Attorney, Colorado
THE EXPERIMENT
What will happen if we commercialize an addictive substance without federal health and safety regulation?
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COLORADOS GRAND EXPERIMENT Bob Troyer Former United States - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
COLORADOS GRAND EXPERIMENT Bob Troyer Former United States - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
COLORADOS GRAND EXPERIMENT Bob Troyer Former United States Attorney, Colorado THE EXPERIMENT What will happen if we commercialize an addictive substance without federal health and safety regulation? 2 THE LAB RATS 3 WHATS IT LIKE IN
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THE LAB RATS
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WHAT’S IT LIKE IN COLORADO NOW?
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EXPERIMENT RESULTS
Youth
- Decreased IQ, decreased school achievement, increased depression
- 200 more suicides by 10-24 year olds
- 21% of youth suicides involve pot
- Youth poison control center admissions up 500%
- Up to a 9-fold increased risk of schizophrenia/psychosis
- More than 1 in 5 high schoolers is a regular drug user
- Highest youth vaping rate in US – 2x the national average
- 50% of newborns in Pueblo hospital test positive for pot
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EXPERIMENT RESULTS
Public Health
- Traffic fatalities 151%
- 56% of drugged-driving cases involve pot
- Pot ER visits 52%
- Pot hospitalizations 148%
- 70% of licensed stores recommend pot to treat morning sickness
- 60+ recalls, 93% of samples contain banned pesticides
- Increased alcohol use
- Increased opioid deaths each year
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EXPERIMENT RESULTS
Environment
- Nerve-agent pesticides in mammal food chain
- Water diversion and contamination
- 2.7 liters of water per day per plant
- 17x more electricity than a residence
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EXPERIMENT RESULTS
Communities
- Degraded houses, neighborhoods, parks, property values
- Greatest impact on blacks and Latinos
- Daily life impacts (homelessness, pet poisoning, sanitation, odor,
fencing, hostility)
- Theater of operation for international drug trafficking organizations
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CRIME AND THE 2 BLACK MARKETS
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El Paso County Over 650 Cuban grow properties identified in DEA Colorado Springs cases
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They produce 3 lbs. per plant per 60-90 day growing cycle. For 100 plants, that’s about 1,500 lbs. per year. Sold out-of-state, that’s
$5 to 7 million per year.
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WHY?
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BUT WHY COLORADO?
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“It’s just business. Minimize risk, maximize profit.”
Obtain Site Plant Crop
Cultivate
Crop Harvest Crop
Transport Crop to Market
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OTHER CRIME
- Murders, armed robberies, aggravated assaults
- Investment fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud, public
corruption
- Deputy Zach Parish
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BUT THE BENEFITS!
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- For each $1 it gets, State spends $4.57 to mitigate
- Pot tax money does not go to education
- Pot taxes add less than 1% to State budget
- About 16,000 jobs added statewide, $15/hour
- Employee positive drug tests tripled; employer losses
increased
- Does not cure opioid addiction
- Does not reduce crime
- Does not reduce alcohol abuse
- Does not elevate the disadvantaged
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INDUSTRY’S MINDSET
- “Concentrates are wildly popular. This is an exciting age of
development of the big concentrate companies that will become household names.”
- “I think the industry would very much like to figure out the
potential impacts of regular consumption of high-potency products on an adult brain. Right now, the truth is we don’t know.”
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BEND THIS ARC
- “It takes people applying knowledge, reason, and
science to reduce suffering. ‘The arc’ does not bend itself.”
- “Coalitions and networks of people who know the
impacts of a bad practice are the ones who can best change that practice.”
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QUESTIONS?
Bob Troyer
Former U.S. Attorney, Colorado troyergsp@gmail.com (303) 507-4075
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