{"id":53182,"date":"2021-03-16T17:23:17","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T17:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/nebraska-governor-if-you-legalize-marijuana-youre-gonna-kill-your-kids\/"},"modified":"2021-03-16T17:23:17","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T17:23:17","slug":"nebraska-governor-if-you-legalize-marijuana-youre-gonna-kill-your-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/news\/nebraska-governor-if-you-legalize-marijuana-youre-gonna-kill-your-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska Governor: \u201cIf You Legalize Marijuana, You\u2019re Gonna Kill Your Kids\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Image <\/em>via<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

You may know him by his outlandish statements such as \u201cmarijuana causes psychosis<\/u><\/a>\u201d and \u201cthere is no such thing as medical marijuana<\/u><\/a>,\u201d but Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts has taken his advocacy for prohibition to a new level. And this time, it\u2019s to protect the children. <\/p>\n

“This is a dangerous drug that will impact our kids,” Ricketts told the press<\/u><\/a> last week. “If you legalize marijuana, you’re gonna kill your kids. That’s what the data shows from around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cites studies<\/u><\/a> that show an elevated incidence of cannabis in the system of kids who committed suicide as proof. <\/p>\n

Perhaps now would be a good time for a brief review of how science works. Statistical association does not prove causation. In other words, the fact that kids who took their lives had cannabis in their systems may actually indicate that they were attempting to medicate (consciously or not) with the drug to feel better, rather than the plant motivating their decision to die. <\/p>\n