Researchers know that inhaling marijuana smoke—by smoking a joint, a bong or vaping—is definitely dangerous.  Marijuana smoke—you won’t learn this from Brotherton’s budtenders—contains more carcinogens, and higher levels of tar and toxins than the cigarettes that have sickened and killed hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Marijuana use causes young men to have a 250% higher risk of testicular cancer.  Marijuana use increases the incidence ofschizophrenia and respiratory problems. Mothers who use marijuana pass THC to their babies through the placenta and breast milk. And contrary to everything you will hear from budtenders about this “gentle herb,” marijuana is addictive.

Like the tobacco industry, marijuana dealers don’t put out the bad news about their product.  So where can parents, teens and others go for accurate, scientific information on the dangers of marijuana?  The Jefferson County Public Health Department and associated public-private programs.

Brotherton wants a commissioner’s job and the power that comes with it.  If he is elected, a dope dealer will have control over anti-marijuana programs intended to cost him customers.

Every County Commissioner also serves on the Jefferson County Board of Health.  This body, composed of the commissioners, a representative form the hospital board, Port Townsend City Council, and “concerned citizens,” according to RCW 70.05.060 supervises “the maintenance of all health and sanitary measures for the protection of the public health within its jurisdiction” and enacts rules and regulations “as are necessary for the protection of the public health.”

The use of marijuana, alcohol and other drugs is a cause of growing concern for county health boards.  The Jefferson County Substance Abuse Advisory Board, a program under the Board of Health’s supervision, has concluded that the costs of substance abuse for our county are “staggering.”  A comprehensive review conducted in 2010 calculated that public sector costs exceeded $17 million.  Those numbers understated the problem because they did not include Fire/Emergency Medical services, coroner’s expenses and certain medical assistance costs.  That figure also does not include the costs of domestic violence, personal medical costs, costs to insurance providers, lost productivity and wage loss, and “the financial strain of pain and suffering and stress of individuals or families.”

The Board of Health has been concerned with growing norms of acceptance of marijuana because Jefferson County youth use marijuana at higher rates than in neighboring Clallam and Kitsap Counties, as found by the 2016 Healthy Youth Survey Report.  Sadly, our county also suffers higher youth suicide and alcohol use.

The growing acceptance of marijuana is a major concern of  the Chimacum Prevention Coalition, of which the Department of Health is a part.  This advocacy organization brings parents, schools, agencies, community groups, and community members together to work on preventing youth marijuana and alcohol abuse in the Chimacum School District.  It identified the easy availability of marijuana, low perception of harm, and use acceptance as three of the top four risk factors for youth.  The acceptance of marijuana use and a decreasing perception of the harm from its use are rising among youth, in part because marijuana outlets are so plentiful and promote their product so effectively.  Youth perception of adult tolerance for marijuana use is making the problem worse, the coalition concluded.

Greg Brotherton is one of the most visible forces in the community promoting increasing acceptance of marijuana while also minimizing the perception of its harm.

Brotherton’s business promotes marijuana through testimonials of users, including the following.

“The more I learn about weed, the more I appreciate it. It is a gentle and kind herb that makes me feel more connected to nature and myself. I am really grateful that it exists…”

“Just always been a comfort to me, helped me through the tough times as well as the good times.”

“It gets you closer to God.”

Brotherton’s business also provides an employees’ testimonial relating his marijuana use going back to his high school days.

It is a stoner film portraying marijuana use in a comic and positive fashion.  It was produced during the time Brotherton sat on the Quilcene School Board and published on the eve of his decision to run for Jefferson County Commission.  The movie may be viewed off his website, at www.verdenoir.com, or on YouTube.

What’s the point of this film?  Brotherton explains at his Sea Change Cannabis website:

This should be a big help to parents, teachers, drug prevention programs and health professionals trying to persuade kids that using marijuana is a very bad, uncool, stupid idea.

Inside his Sea Change Cannabis store, one is met with colorful displays and glass cases of bright, attractive pipes and bongs making marijuana use look like a lot of fun.  When I dropped in for a look-see a couple of tourists from a state where recreational marijuana is illegal were at the counter telling the clerk they wanted to take pot with them back home to friends and for themselves.  He made some product recommendations then—wink,wink—told them his job was to say “enjoy your pot in Washington State.”  He never told them that what they were planning to do was illegal.

When it was my turn I asked what information the store had on the dangers of marijuana use.  A dumbfounded look crossed the clerk’s face.  He said he had never heard of any health problems.  “It might make you giggle,” he quipped. As far as he knew, all of marijuana’s effects are good.  I asked, did they have any information I could take and read?  We had something here, I think, he said. He came from behind the counter and searched racks on a wall.  He found nothing.  But I had found something while I waited and pointed it out to him.  You have to turn around and face away from the eye-popping displays and look behind the door.  In an unmarked slot, with the text facing the wall, I found slips of paper with a few, bland cautionary words.  There was also a strip of curled paper on the door jamb you would never see unless you looked hard because it was blocked by the door when you came in and when you left.  The print was quite small.  You had to get up close to learn that marijuana “may be habit forming.”

I asked the clerk, Is there any harm in smoking marijuana?  As long as people have been smoking it, he answered, they have never proven that it causes cancer.  Does it contain any carcinogens?  I asked.  Nope, maybe some tar, he answered.  It helps you sleep, relaxes you and is good for lots of things so you don’t need medicine.  A customer chimed in: “I smoked tobacco for thirty years and marijuana helps me get up all that stuff in my lungs.  It is a better expectorant than tobacco.  After I smoke marijuana, I can actually taste tobacco.”  The Sea Change clerk agreed.  Between them, they tried to persuade me that smoking marijuana helps you breathe easier.

To get started using marijuana, the helpful clerk recommended, just try a little puff, or a little snack.  See how you feel. Then do more and more and keep building up each time.  You’ll get to where I am.

Here is the little bit of cautionary information offered by Brotherton about the dangers of marijuana—that even his store clerk could not find—found on those small slips of paper:

“There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product.  Should not be used by women that are pregnant or breastfeeding.  For use only by adults twenty-one and older.  Keep out of reach of children.  Products containing marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment.  Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. CAUTION:  When eaten or swallowed, the intoxicating effects of this drug may be delayed by two or more hours.”

This warning or other warning may be on some of the products sold by Brotherton.  I couldn’t find it on what I could see.  Even so, this feeble warning omits much of the known dangers of marijuana use and understates those it mentions.

In his stoner movie, Brotherton says he brings “a social conscience” to dealing in marijuana.  If he truly meant that, if he did not put profits before people, he would have warnings about the scientifically established dangers of marijuana not hidden behind a door but front and center greeting and educating every customer as they entered and before they made their purchase.

The Jefferson County Health Department provides tons of science-based information about the dangers of marijuana use.  Their website links to concise, exaggeration-free papers from the National Institute of Health and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute of the University of Washington.  The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board also provides a summary of the known health consequences of marijuana use.

Al the following statements on the adverse health consequences of marijuana use come from those sources.

They make it clear “There is no ‘safe’ way to use marijuana,” whether smoked or ingested.  That is not something you will ever hear from Brotherton, his employees or any one else who wants more people to buy and use their dope.

Among other scientifically-established dangers of marijuana the Health Department wants people to know about, in addition to those mentioned at the start of this article, are:

–It is more than possibly “habit forming.”  It is addictive.

–Marijuana use can damage brain development, in babies taking in THC through their mother’s placenta or breast milk to teenagers to anyone up to age 25.  (Brotherton, as do all pot dealers, gladly sells to anyone over 21).  It can cause long term damage and a permanent drop in IQ and loss of verbal ability and memory.

–Pregnant women who use marijuana have 2.3 times greater incidence of still birth.  Marijuana-exposed children are more likely to show gaps in problem-solving skills, memory and the ability to remain attentive. Parental marijuana use is associated with a greater likelihood of using marijuana at an early age.

–Contrary to what Brotherton’s employee said, to quote directly from UW’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, “Marijuana smoke contains carcinogenic combustion products, including about 50 percent more benzoprene and 75 percent more benzanthracene (and more phenols, vinyl chlorides, nitrosamines, reactive oxygen species) than cigarette smoke.⁶⁸ Because of how it is typically smoked (deeper inhale, held for longer), marijuana smoking leads to four times the deposition of tar compared to cigarette smoking.”

–Marijuana smoking is associated with large airway inflammation, increased airway resistance, and lung hyperinflation, and those who smoke marijuana regularly report more symptoms of chronic bronchitis than those who do not smoke.

–Marijuana has been linked to increased psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.  It is particularly dangerous for individuals with a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia and psychosis.  The high THC content of today’s marijuana products increases the risks of psychiatric problems.

–Research has shown that marijuana’s negative effects on attention, memory, and learning can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off, depending on the person’s history with the drug.  Consequently, someone who smokes marijuana daily may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level most or all of the time.

–Chronic use of marijuana can lead to Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome—a condition marked by recurrent bouts of severe nausea, vomiting, and dehydration. This syndrome has been found to occur in persons under 50 years of age and with a long history of marijuana use. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome can lead sufferers to make frequent trips to the emergency room.

Researchers are finding more links between marijuana use and an array of physical and psychiatric problems.  The symposiums held by UW’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute are taking a close look at marijuana as it is somewhat easier now to study following legalization in Washington, though it remains listed as a Schedule I drug by the DEA.  Because many long-term marijuana users also use other drugs, particularly tobacco (70% of marijuana smokers also smoke tobacco) it is taking time to isolate all the adverse effects of marijuana. Research has established, though, that the adverse health effects of inhaling marijuana persist even with the use of bongs or vaping.

Brotherton had agreed to an in-person interview to discuss how his marijuana business could conflict with his obligations as a county commissioner.  We set a date and time.  Shortly before the interview was to take place, he cancelled.  He said he was now too busy and sent us a brief statement in lieu of the interview:  “As a commissioner, I would always put the public’s interest before my own. I support the ‘appearance of fairness’ doctrine. If the BoCC we’re considering something that could benefit me personally, I would be transparent and take the advice and err on the side of caution, recusing myself.”

That was not the point of the interview.  So I sent three questions he could answer whenever he found time:

Those questions were:

1.  How can you be on the Board of Health (a duty of being a county commissioner) which works to educate people about the dangers of marijuana use and deter its expanded consumption, when you are in the business of promoting marijuana use and its broader acceptance?

2.  Would you personally participate in campaigns to spread the word on the dangers of marijuana use in order to reduce its acceptance and consumption?

3.  Do you inform your customers of the dangers of smoking and ingesting marijuana and, if so, how and what information do you give them?

We are still waiting for Mr. Brotherton’s answers.