Why Marijuana is bad

[Narrock]

Marijuana is physically addicting. Each year, 100,000 people in the United States alone are treated for marijuana dependence

No, not owned. Sorry, that statement is a load of crap. Find me <i>anywhere</i> the empirical evidence proving this? People are treated for Marijuana addiction because each year, at LEAST 100,000 idiots are born. There is not one chemical in marijuana that has been PROVEN beyond the shadow of a doubt to be physically addictive. None.

Statements, like the one in your quote are biased at best. That is like saying:
- People in Japan drink green tea an average of 3 times a day.
- People in Japan rarely get cancer.
= therefore: Drinking green tea will prevent you from getting cancer.

I just pulled it off a website. I cannot prove or disprove its truthfulness. I do know that it's bad for you though on so many different levels. The negatives of marijuana use FAR exceed any hint of positives.

[Drem]

I'll argue this legitimately since most of you seem to be grossly misinformed.


1. There are hardly any negative effects that are notable enough to bar medicinal use (it is also a dependance-forming substance, believe it or not).:

The effects of cannabis and THC
by
Grotenhermen F
nova-Institut,
Hurth, Germany.
FGrotenhermen@compuserve.com
Forsch Komplementarmed 1999 Oct; 6 Suppl 3:7-11

ABSTRACT
Cannabis and THC exert manifold actions on a number of organ systems. A lethal dose of THC in humans is unknown. Above the psychotropic threshold, ingestion of cannabis causes an enhanced well-being and relaxation with an intensification of ordinary sensory experiences. The most important unwanted acute psychical effects are anxiety and panic attacks. Acute somatic effects are increased heart rate, changes of blood pressure, conjunctival injection and dry mouth. Properties that might be used therapeutically comprise analgesia, muscle relaxation, sedation, increase of mood, stimulation of appetite, antiemesis, lowering of intraoccular pressure and bronchodilation. Chronic use may lead to dependency and to a mild withdrawal syndrome. The extent of possible long-term damage on psyche and cognition, immune system, fertility and pregnancy remains controversial. Marijuana can induce a schizophrenic psychosis in vulnerable persons presumably without increasing the incidence of the disease. Disturbance of immunological and hormonal functions and long-term impairment of memory, attention, and complex cognitive processes are low and do not preclude a legitimate therapeutic use.


2. There are no long-term cognitive effects that aren't reversable by abstinence:

Cognitive measures in long-term cannabis users
by
Harrison GP Jr, Gruber AJ, Hudson JI,
Huestis MA, Yurgelun-Todd D.
Biological Psychiatry Laboratory,
McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School,
Belmont, Massachusetts 02478, USA.
J Clin Pharmacol 2002 Nov;42(11 Suppl):41S-47S

ABSTRACT
The cognitive effects of long-term cannabis use are insufficiently understood. Most studies concur that cognitive deficits persist at least several days after stopping heavy cannabis use. But studies differ on whether such deficits persist long term or whether they are correlated with increasing duration of lifetime cannabis use. The authors administered neuropsychological tests to 77 current heavy cannabis users who had smoked cannabis at least 5000 times in their lives, and to 87 control subjects who had smoked no more than 50 times in their lives. The heavy smokers showed deficits on memory of word lists on Days 0, 1, and 7 of a supervised abstinence period. By Day 28, however, few significant differences were found between users and controls on the test measures, and there were few significant associations between total lifetime cannabis consumption and test performance. Although these findings may be affected by residual confounding, as in all retrospective studies, they suggest that cannabis-associated cognitive deficits are reversible and related to recent cannabis exposure rather than irreversible and related to cumulative lifetime use.



3. More clarification on cannabis and schizophrenia.

Cannabis, vulnerability, and the onset of
schizophrenia: an epidemiological perspective
by
Hambrecht M, Hafner H
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy,
University of Cologne, Germany.
martin.hambrecht@medizin.uni-koeln.de
Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2000 Jun; 34(3):468-75

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Second to alcohol, cannabis is the most frequently misused substance among patients with schizophrenia. The aim of this paper is to examine at early onset of psychosis whether the high comorbidity of schizophrenia and cannabis abuse is due to a causal relationship between the two disorders. Previous studies have mostly included chronic patients or samples with mixed stages of the psychotic illness.
METHOD: In a German catchment area with a population of 1,500,000, a representative first-episode sample of 232 patients with schizophrenia was included in the Age, Beginning and Course of Schizophrenia Study. By means of a structured interview, the Retrospective Assessment of the Onset of Schizophrenia, the onset and course of schizophrenic symptoms and of substance abuse was systematically assessed retrospectively. Information given by relatives validated the patients' reports.
RESULTS: Thirteen per cent of the sample had a history of cannabis abuse, which was twice the rate of matched normal controls. Male sex and early symptom onset were major risk factors. While cannabis abuse almost always preceded the first positive symptoms of schizophrenia, the comparison of the onset of cannabis abuse and of the first (prodromal) symptoms of schizophrenia differentiated three approximately equal groups of patients: group 1 had been abusing cannabis for several years before the first signs of schizophrenia emerged, group 2 experienced the onset of both disorders within the same month, and group 3 had started to abuse cannabis after the onset of symptoms of schizophrenia.
CONCLUSIONS: The vulnerability-stress-coping model of schizophrenia suggests possible interpretations of these findings. Group 1 might suffer from the chronic deteriorating influence of cannabis reducing the vulnerability threshold and/or coping resources. Group 2 consists of individuals which are already vulnerable to schizophrenia. Cannabis misuse then is the (dopaminergic) stress factor precipitating the onset of psychosis. Group 3 uses cannabis for self-medication against (or for coping with) symptoms of schizophrenia, particularly negative and depressive symptoms. These patients probably learn to counterbalance a hypodopaminergic prefrontal state by the dopaminergic effects of cannabis. The implications of these very preliminary results include issues of treatment and prognosis, but replication studies are needed


4. Here's a pretty straight-forward analysis of the war on drugs:

"Just say know"
to teenagers and marijuana
by
Rosenbaum M
The Lindesmith Center,
San Francisco,
California 94123, USA.
J Psychoactive Drugs 1998 Apr-Jun; 30(2):197-203

ABSTRACT
Despite increasing expenditures on prevention, government survey after survey indicates that marijuana use--which comprises 90% of illicit drug use--has not been eradicated among teenagers. Today's adolescents have been exposed to the largest dose of prevention in our history. After three decades of such efforts, one must ask why young people continue to use marijuana, and why drug education has failed to bring about a marijuana-free teenage America. Drug education falls short because it is based on a "no-use" premise, scare tactics and top-down teaching. Such programs do not educate, and may even be counterproductive for those who choose to say "maybe" or "sometimes," or "yes." Moreover, drug education, as has been the case since its advent, is based on politics rather than science--an enormous taxpayer drain with few demonstrative results. A new strategy for drug education requires a pragmatic view that accepts the ability of teenagers, if educated honestly and in ways they trust, to make wise decisions leading, if not to abstinence, to moderate, controlled, and safe use.

[KILL]

1. There are hardly any negative effects that are notable enough to bar medicinal use (it is also a dependance-forming substance, believe it or not).:

I would use the term dependence forming very lightly.

Ever known someone addicted to something like cocaine, booze or pain killers?


Much, MUCH different.


I would say people predisposed to some sort of escapism may find it habbit forming, much in the same way people get hooked on MMORPGS.

It may be hard to get someone to WANT to quit, but give them enough negative consequences, or if they even just get bored, it cant be given up without even looking back.

Try getting a heroin addict to do that.

[Narrock]

Apparently you don't understand the concept of INHALATION OF SMOKE INTO THE LUNGS can cause a variety of health issues. Period.

[araby]

We inhale about 49000 times a day of our shit we put into the air, wtf does it matter is someone DECIDES to smoke anything at this point. You're not dying any sooner than anyone else because you don't smoke something. You just breathe it in.

[Narrock]

Bah. The air we breathe is bad, yes, because of pullution but we're talking about inhaling a concentration of smoke and resin into the lungs all at once. That can cause a number of problems for you including lung cancer, emphysema and other COPD's. If you really think you need THC that bad, make the old classic marijuana brownies or ingest it some other way.

[Narrock]

But it's a well-known fact that THC is a stepping stone to other drugs. So why even bother using it?

THC = Gateway drug

[araby]

A gateway drug is anything that can be related to social activity, that is the idea behind that explanation of why "drugs are so bad." And indeed, most of them are. Coffee is a social drink, and it's caffeinated, which is a drug. Caffeine, is a drug and people are addicted to this. They know they become dependent upon that caffeine. Alcohol actually alters the way thought process works. This is a gateway for other things. And so is marijuana, etc...I agree.

I just hate this argument.

[Lyion]

if you are using pot, you're consistently using a drug that effects your brain. If you are trying to say it won't have any future negative effects, then I'm sorry, but you need to use a bit of common sense.

Hey, it's your brain. If you want to possibly be one of those people who has less memory retention than a TRS-80, feel free.

Long term users will most likely have health issues. At a minimum you'll get old before your time.

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/marijuana.html

The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate.

THC impairs the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases

Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances have been associated with marijuana use.

Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate, compared with their non-smoking peers

A study of 129 college students found that, for heavy users of marijuana (those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the preceding 30 days), critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired even after they had not used the drug for at least 24 hours

[Yamori]

As I think I said before, the fact that THC is a gateway drug is of no relation to the drug itself: it's entirely a social construction that has made it so. Seperate it from illegal drugs and it will no longer lead people to the harder stuff. You don't hear about many people trying alchol and wanting to get into other depressants, like tranquilizers, as a result, do you?

Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances have been associated with marijuana use.

So true. Most advocates of pot either don't know or don't want to admit that the drug can indeed do psychological damage to a person.

Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate, compared with their non-smoking peers

Thats a very big generalization. I indulged in the doobie every weekend, but maintained straight A's in my senior year of high school.

[Drem]

A study of 129 college students found that, for heavy users of marijuana (those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the preceding 30 days), critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired even after they had not used the drug for at least 24 hours
[/i]

"The heavy smokers showed deficits on memory of word lists on Days 0, 1, and 7 of a supervised abstinence period. By Day 28, however, few significant differences were found between users and controls on the test measures, and there were few significant associations between total lifetime cannabis consumption and test performance."

[Lyion]

someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level all of the time.

As I said, it's your brain. If you choose to bake it and roll the dice, feel free.

[Drem]

Yeah, but it's only reduced while you're a chronic abuser. It doesn't last forever.

[Zanchief]

someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level all of the time.

As I said, it's your brain. If you choose to bake it and roll the dice, feel free.

So you should bring back alchool prohibition?

[Lyion]

apples and oranges.

[Zanchief]

Lets say grannysmith and macintosh.

[Lyion]

If people want it legalized, then put it on the ballot and vote for it. California has had several initiatives to legalize it.

Alcohol went through it's trial period, and is legal now. I doubt a few glasses of wine a night is comparable to smoking a bowl nightly.

Effects of Marijuana on the Brain. Researchers have found that THC changes the way in which sensory information gets into and is acted on by the hippocampus. This is a component of the brain's limbic system that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivations. Investigations have shown that THC suppresses neurons in the information-processing system of the hippocampus. In addition, researchers have discovered that learned behaviors, which depend on the hippocampus, also deteriorate.

[Arlos]

Actually, California has had *NO* initiatives to legalize pot for recreational use. We have had ONE initiative to allow it to be used for medical purposes, and it passed overwhelmingly. Not that the federal government has backed off, despite the will of the state, mind you. Federal agents continue to harass state-licensed growers and distributors, regardless of the fact that they only sell their product to people with legitimate prescriptions.

Now, about alcohol:

People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for long periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. Damage may be a result of the direct effects of alcohol on the brain or may result indirectly, from a poor general health status or from severe liver disease.

some of these people will go on to develop serious brain disorders such as Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) (16). WKS is a disease that consists of two separate syndromes, a short–lived and severe condition called Wernicke’s encephalopathy and a long–lasting and debilitating condition known as Korsakoff’s psychosis.

The symptoms of Wernicke’s encephalopathy include mental confusion, paralysis of the nerves that move the eyes (i.e., oculomotor disturbances), and difficulty with muscle coordination. For example, patients with Wernicke’s encephalopathy may be too confused to find their way out of a room or may not even be able to walk.

Approximately 80 to 90 percent of alcoholics with Wernicke’s encephalopathy also develop Korsakoff’s psychosis, a chronic and debilitating syndrome characterized by persistent learning and memory problems. Patients with Korsakoff’s psychosis are forgetful and quickly frustrated and have difficulty with walking and coordination (17). Although these patients have problems remembering old information (i.e., retrograde amnesia), it is their difficulty in “laying down” new information (i.e., anterograde amnesia) that is the most striking. For example, these patients can discuss in detail an event in their lives, but an hour later might not remember ever having the conversation.

Most people realize that heavy, long–term drinking can damage the liver, the organ chiefly responsible for breaking down alcohol into harmless byproducts and clearing it from the body. But people may not be aware that prolonged liver dysfunction, such as liver cirrhosis resulting from excessive alcohol consumption, can harm the brain, leading to a serious and potentially fatal brain disorder known as hepatic encephalopathy (20).

Hepatic encephalopathy can cause changes in sleep patterns, mood, and personality; psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression; severe cognitive effects such as shortened attention span; and problems with coordination such as a flapping or shaking of the hands (called asterixis). In the most serious cases, patients may slip into a coma (i.e., hepatic coma), which can be fatal.

Long–term heavy drinking may lead to shrinking of the brain and deficiencies in the fibers (white matter) that carry information between brain cells (gray matter).

Results of autopsy show that patients with a history of chronic alcohol abuse have smaller, less massive, and more shrunken brains than nonalcoholic adults of the same age and gender.

Brain shrinking is especially extensive in the cortex of the frontal lobe - the location of higher cognitive faculties.
The vulnerability to this frontal lobe shrinkage increases with age. After 40 some of the changes my be irreversible.
Repeated imaging of a group of alcoholics who continued drinking over a 5-year period showed progressive brain shrinkage that significantly exceeded normal age-related shrinkage. Moreover, the rate of shrinkage correlated with the amount of alcohol consumed.

Drinkers vs. non-drinkers: research findings

Adolescent drinkers scored worse than non-users on vocabulary, general information, memory, memory retrieval and at least three other tests
Verbal and nonverbal information recall was most heavily affected, with a 10 percent performance decrease in alcohol users
Significant neuropsychological deficits exist in early to middle adolescents (ages 15 and 16) with histories of extensive alcohol use
Adolescent drinkers perform worse in school, are more likely to fall behind and have an increased risk of social problems, depression, suicidal thoughts and violence
Alcohol affects the sleep cycle, resulting in impaired learning and memory as well as disrupted release of hormones necessary for growth and maturation
Alcohol use increases risk of stroke among young drinkers

Youth who drink can have a significant reduction in learning and memory, and teen alcohol users are most susceptible to damaging two key brain areas that are undergoing dramatic changes in adolescence:

The hippocampus handles many types of memory and learning and suffers from the worst alcohol-related brain damage in teens. Those who had been drinking more and for longer had significantly smaller hippocampi (10 percent).

The prefrontal area (behind the forehead) undergoes the most change during adolescence. Researchers found that adolescent drinking could cause severe changes in this area

There's a whole lot more out there. Face it, alcohol use significantly effects the brain as well. Trying to claim it is harmless and pot is horrible is completely baseless and untrue. Abuse of ANY drug will lead to health problems, but the plain fact is that there are a lot more issues associated with drinking to the point of intoxication than there are with smoking to the point of getting high. Simply look at behavioral issues for one example: how many pot smokers do you know that get high and then start a fight in a bar or beat the crap out of their family? How many people do you know that get aggressive when drunk? Also, it is physically impossible to Overdose on pot, whereas every year how many people, most of them non-alcoholics, die due to alcohol poisoning? Also, alcohol is physically addictive, pot is not. Yes, pot can be psychologically addictive, but so can activities with no ingestion of any drug, such as shopping and gambling.

Yes, responsible use of alcohol is fine. But so is responsible use of pot, especially if ingested or obtained via a vaporiser (no smoke in lungs). Given that the potential for abuse of pot is, at worst, no higher than that of alcohol, and especially given the numerous medical uses of pot, there is NO reason besides socio-political for pot to be banned.

-Arlos

[araby]

People are scared of the effects things have on the body, and the way marijuana causes paranoia a lot of people can't control what happens and they wig out. Which is probably a big reason it's illegal. but-

Get this- last night I went to an alcoholic's house for a dinner party. We had steak, potatoes, salad, liquor, wine or beer and it was great. Good music and family. Then, the alcoholic suddenly lost awareness of reality because he was wasted out of his mind, and the entire night turned to shit.

I think sanity is lost when you can no longer take yourself out of the depth of your mind. When you've lost touch with reality, and I think addicts do this all of the time. Schizophrenias and other types of mental disorders work in the same way. Marijuana, if smoked in large quanitities like that will either make you pass out or just be as quiet and stoned as you've ever been. Arlos is right, there, you don't really go out and "start some shit." I've been really stoned a few times and I usually just enjoying hearing good music or having sex. It's the most amiable drug you can do. It is easy, however, to lose control of your mind and it's different for everybody.

It's just as easy to get addicted to food, pornography, chewing gum, biting your nails, grinding your teeth, smoking a cigarette, etc...most addictions just replace another one. There is something about people that either gives them or does not give them the will power to create rules for themselves, and usually it's the need to escape reality.

Your every day happy person raising a few kids and working a great job probably smokes to chill his mind on the weekends after the kids are in bed, and everything is okay. Then there is raging bull down the street who gets drunk every night by 7pm and makes a complete ass of himself before going to bed, leaving his kids to need attention no matter how they get it.

It is all so situational.

Anyway, I hate the gateway drug argument. I hate the "look at the horrible things you're doing to yourself" argument. I agree with most people that the government absolutely should help us determine what is too harsh to allow access to. But hell, the things they actually do give us access to are the things that kill us at the highest rate right now. Cigarettes are legal and they kill everybody pretty much every year.
Cancer!

And I'm not saying everyone should smoke weed every day. too much time being spent on it though...

[Lyion]

Yes, responsible use of alcohol is fine. But so is responsible use of pot, especially if ingested or obtained via a vaporiser (no smoke in lungs). Given that the potential for abuse of pot is, at worst, no higher than that of alcohol, and especially given the numerous medical uses of pot, there is NO reason besides socio-political for pot to be banned.

There is no 'responsible' pot use, as it's an illegal substance. One's use of it is an indicator of irresponsibility as a whole. Thus, there is no basis for comparison.

The medical reasoning behind marijuana is not agreed upon. Its federally illegal to use for a reason despite many druggies wishing to legalize it,

Pot has immediate effects on your brain. Sure, if you get 'hammer'ed then so does alcohol. However 'hammer'ed' denotes a problem.

Saying because we have a lot of fucked up alchies that pot should be legalized so we have a bunch of worthless fucked up potheads does not a good argument make.

[brinstar]

yeah lyion, and saying pot's illegality is a basis for your unwillingness to compare it to alcohol on even terms totally undermines the hypothetical nature of the whole discussion

you're saying pot is bad because it's illegal, and the rest of us are discussing whether we think pot is bad enough to BE illegal.

you're using the same argument here as you did in the gay marriage thread-- you're saying "that's just the way things are" instead of "why are things this way and should they be otherwise" and i think your attitudes on both of these subjects come from some deeper need to maintain the status quo at whatever cost

[Arlos]

There is no 'responsible' pot use, as it's an illegal substance. One's use of it is an indicator of irresponsibility as a whole. Thus, there is no basis for comparison.

As Brin said, we're not discussing this based on current legalities. We're discussing it based on the basic nature of the substance. Looking at it from that point of view, responsible use (not abuse) of pot, especially if you ingest it or use a vaporizer, is less harmful to you than continued use of alcohol, at least if you have more than 1 glass of wine a day. Both do effect the brain, yes, but how alcohol works is it dissolves the lipid layers of cells, which then need to regenerate. As this continues, the regenerative abilities of the cells start to lessen, which is what causes the permanent damage associated with long-term moderate to heavy alcohol use.

The medical reasoning behind marijuana is not agreed upon.

Oh? Then why is synthetic THC freely available for prescription by doctors? If the active ingredient of pot has medical benefits, then why does pot supposedly have none? Obviously, there ARE beneficial effects of THC, especially in the cases of glaucoma, migraines and appetite generation for people with severe diseases, such as AIDS or cancer while undergoing radiation or chemo-therapy. Especially in the appetite role, getting the THC into the system via another vector besides ingestion is essential, as people in that condition cannot keep down the pill intended to let them keep stuff down, plus it is far easier to get exactly the necessary dose if you can adjust it puff by puff, as opposed to trying to fragment a tablet to the exact miligram dosage, which may change day by day.

Its federally illegal to use for a reason

Oh? And what reason is this? Do you have access to some medical report showing it is vastly more harmful with moderated use over the long term compared to tobacco and alcohol? That'll be difficult, given that you can die from drinking too much, and the nicotene in tobacco is seriously physically addictive, neither of which charictaristics you can find with pot.

Pot has immediate effects on your brain. Sure, if you get 'hammer'ed then so does alcohol. However 'hammer'ed' denotes a problem.

Yes, your brain will often be less sharp immediately after smoking. Guess what, it will immediately after having a couple beers, too, especially for people with little to no alcohol tolerance. I know people (mostly women) who get incapacitatedly drunk after 1 beer. You're saying that that is NOT effecting her brain? Does someone who gets "hammered" after 1 beer have a drinking problem? Face it, any amount of alcohol has an effect on your brain, THAT'S WHY YOU FEEL SOMETHING.

So far the only argument you've offered is something to the effect of "Pot is illegal so it should stay illegal. It's bad because it's illegal, and it should be illegal because it's bad." Sorry, that's a facetious attempt at a syllogism, and isn't even remotely a valid argument. No one is trying to force you to take pot if you don't want to. The sole argument is that pot, which we know at worst is no more harmful than alcohol or tobacco, and which DOES have medical benefits, should not be any more illegal than those two drugs.

-Arlos

[Lyion]

No, my point is pot is illegal for a reason, and it's not a 'conspiracy' theory. Making wild claims is not cool based on biased sites. We need to study the effects longer, but the immediate side effects and some of the problems noted are an issue. No, we do not know if it is no worse than tobacco or alcohol.

Your point is 'people get fucked up with alcohol, so we should be able to get fucked up via pot'.
Sorry if I do not subscribe to it. Given we have synthetic substitutes, there is no need for medicinal marijuana save for the ones promoting a drug legalization agenda.

In regards to what doctors can prescribe, I don't claim to be an expert, but there's a difference in what is prescribed for 'medicinal' purposes, and something people are putting into their bodies daily.

As I said, if you want it legalized put it on the ballot.

But before you do, try getting information from a non biased site, or at least one that isn't pro stoner.

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ongoing/marijuana.html

* Marijuana is an addictive drug1 with significant health consequences to its users and others. Many harmful short-term and long-term problems have been documented with its use:

* The short term effects of marijuana use include: memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor skills, decrease in muscle strength, increased heart rate, and anxiety2.

* In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of emergency room mentions of marijuana use. From 1993-2000, the number of emergency room marijuana mentions more than tripled.

* There are also many long-term health consequences of marijuana use. According to the National Institutes of Health, studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.

* Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, including most of the harmful substances found in tobacco smoke. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times more tar into the lungs than a filtered tobacco cigarette.

* Harvard University researchers report that the risk of a heart attack is five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana.3

* Smoking marijuana also weakens the immune system4 and raises the risk of lung infections.5 A Columbia University study found that a control group smoking a single marijuana cigarette every other day for a year had a white-blood-cell count that was 39 percent lower than normal, thus damaging the immune system and making the user far more susceptible to infection and sickness.6

* Users can become dependent on marijuana to the point they must seek treatment to stop abusing it. In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse treatment primarily for marijuana abuse and dependence.

* More teens are in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug or for alcohol. Adolescent admissions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew from 43 percent of all adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in 1999.

* Marijuana is much stronger now than it was decades ago. According to data from the Potency Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of commercial-grade marijuana rose from an average of 3.71 percent in 1985 to an average of 5.57 percent in 1998. The average THC content of U.S. produced sinsemilla increased from 3.2 percent in 1977 to 12.8 percent in 1997.7

Q. Does marijuana have any medical value?

* Any determination of a drug's valid medical use must be based on the best available science undertaken by medical professionals. The Institute of Medicine conducted a comprehensive study in 1999 to assess the potential health benefits of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. The study concluded that smoking marijuana is not recommended for the treatment of any disease condition. In addition, there are more effective medications currently available. For those reasons, the Institute of Medicine concluded that there is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved medication.8

* Advocates have promoted the use of marijuana to treat medical conditions such as glaucoma. However, this is a good example of more effective medicines already available. According to the Institute of Medicine, there are six classes of drugs and multiple surgical techniques that are available to treat glaucoma that effectively slow the progression of this disease by reducing high intraocular pressure.

* In other studies, smoked marijuana has been shown to cause a variety of health problems, including cancer, respiratory problems, increased heart rate, loss of motor skills, and increased heart rate. Furthermore, marijuana can affect the immune system by impairing the ability of T-cells to fight off infections, demonstrating that marijuana can do more harm than good in people with already compromised immune systems.9

* In addition, in a recent study by the Mayo Clinic, THC was shown to be less effective than standard treatments in helping cancer patients regain lost appetites.

* The American Medical Association recommends that marijuana remain a Schedule I controlled substance.

* The DEA supports research into the safety and efficacy of THC (the major psychoactive component of marijuana), and such studies are ongoing, supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

* As a result of such research, a synthetic THC drug, Marinol, has been available to the public since 1985. The Food and Drug Administration has determined that Marinol is safe, effective, and has therapeutic benefits for use as a treatment for nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, and as a treatment of weight loss in patients with AIDS. However, it does not produce the harmful health effects associated with smoking marijuana.

* Furthermore, the DEA recently approved the University of California San Diego to undertake rigorous scientific studies to assess the safety and efficacy of cannabis compounds for treating certain debilitating medical conditions.

* It's also important to realize that the campaign to allow marijuana to be used as medicine is a tactical maneuver in an overall strategy to completely legalize all drugs. Pro-legalization groups have transformed the debate from decriminalizing drug use to one of compassion and care for people with serious diseases. The New York Times interviewed Ethan Nadelman, Director of the Lindesmith Center, in January 2000. Responding to criticism from former Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey that the medical marijuana issue is a stalking-horse for drug legalization, Mr. Nadelman did not contradict General McCaffrey. "Will it help lead toward marijuana legaization?" Mr. Nadelman said: "I hope so."

[KILL]

But before you do, try getting information from a non biased site, or at least one that isn't pro stoner.

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ongoing/marijuana.html

L M F A O

[Lyion]

Hey, it must just be the US.
[url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0505/S00342.htm]
Feel free to take that pot and head to Indonesia[/url]