The The New York Times editorial board is urging policymakers and the public to “acknowledge reality” about marijuana legalization, arguing in a new opinion piece that widespread legalization has produced far more harm than many supporters anticipated.

In the editorial, the paper acknowledged that it had long backed legalization, including a major 2014 series that compared federal marijuana bans to alcohol prohibition. At the time, the board wrote that addiction and dependence were “relatively minor problems” and echoed claims that cannabis posed little risk and would not significantly increase usage.

More than a decade later, the Times said those predictions were wrong.

According to the editorial, legalization has led to sharply higher consumption, with an estimated 18 million Americans now using marijuana almost daily, up from about six million in 2012. The paper noted that daily marijuana use has now surpassed daily alcohol consumption. It linked the rise in use to growing rates of addiction, emergency room visits, severe vomiting disorders, paranoia, psychosis, and impaired driving.

Rather than calling for renewed criminalization, the Times advocated a policy of “grudging toleration,” combined with stronger regulation. It warned that large cannabis companies, which it labeled “Big Weed,” have financial incentives to downplay risks, particularly after marijuana was reclassified to a lower federal drug schedule.

The editorial concluded that lax regulation has produced worse outcomes than expected and called for a shift in policy.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)