To the editor:

The estimated tax revenue from the proposed sale of recreational marijuana in Rhode Island ranges from $50 to $80 million. For the sake of argument, let’s set the estimate at $65 million.

According to data on InfoWorks, the Rhode Island education data reporting system, the Town of Portsmouth has approximately 1,113 children currently enrolled in grades 8 through 12. 

A study conducted in 2014 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse indicates 6.5 percent of 8th-graders, 16.6 percent of 10th-graders and 44.4 percent of 12th-graders have used marijuana/hashish during the last month. Research provided by the American Lung Association states that 9 percent who try marijuana will become addicted. 

Those numbers, as they apply to Portsmouth, indicate that approximately 21.5 percent of the students in grades 8 through 12 will try marijuana and according to national averages, 237 (9 percent), will become addicted. 

If recreational marijuana is legalized the bottom line becomes that in exchange for $65 million, our elected legislators are willing to turn 237 Portsmouth children into marijuana addicts. The numbers for the state are even more alarming. 

Narcotics in any form are harmful to our community. Ignoring the physical and mental issues of those who become addicted, the dilatory effect on our families, community, schools, health and economy are indisputable. Other states — Oregon, Alaska, Colorado and Washington, D.C. — have legalized recreational marijuana and are experiencing unanticipated problems (http://calmca.org). Medical use of marijuana in Rhode Island is now legal, and has in itself created unexpected problems dealing with control, sale and distribution. 

Rhode Island has the highest per-capita illegal use of marijuana in the nation. Many Portsmouth parents may take comfort by believing that their children will not be among the 237 children that will become addicted. For the sake of all 237 children, I sincerely hope they are right. 

It is the responsibility of every adult in Portsmouth to set an example for our children. If our children see adults using marijuana, it will certainly affect their personal decision as whether to use it or not. 

Robert Bledsoe

348 Windstone Drive

Portsmouth