Podcast: Marijuana legalization—fool's errand or good policy? Two doctors weigh in

By Cameron English and Jeffrey Singer — Sep 15, 2026

As more states legalize recreational cannabis use, serious health risks linked to the drug appear to be increasing. Emergency rooms have seen more cases of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome—recurrent, uncontrollable vomiting and abdominal pain, sometimes so severe it has been dubbed “scromiting.” Other research points to longer-term harms, including worse educational outcomes among people who use cannabis in adolescence and young adulthood. The question is whether those trade-offs are a price worth paying to end marijuana prohibition. Two physicians, Drs. Liza Lockwood and Jeff Singer, join us with contrasting answers.

Image by ACSH using AI

Join us on the Science Dispatch podcast as we discuss:

'Slow erosion of human potential.' The trouble with today's high-potency marijuana

As the use of high-potency marijuana expands with America's liberalized drug laws, researchers are again asking whether frequent cannabis use dulls drive. The science isn't settled, but acute studies show less effort for reward while intoxicated, and a large 2024 analysis linked adolescent and young-adult use to worse school and work outcomes. Here’s what the evidence actually shows.

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Cameron English

Executive Vice President

Cameron English is a writer, editor and co-host of the Science Facts and Fallacies Podcast. Before joining ACSH, he was managing editor at the Genetic Literacy Project.