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"Marijuana Myths/Marijuana Facts" appeared in The New Republic in 1998 and in the National Review in 1999. The ad repeats five common marijuana myths and rebuts them with the facts.
Can we handle the
Truth about Marijuana?
MYTH: Marijuana is a gateway drug.
FACT: For every 104 people who have used marijuana, there is only
one regular user of cocaine and less than one heroin addict.
(1)
MYTH: Marijuana is addictive.
FACT: Less than one percent of people who consume marijuana do so on
a daily or near daily basis. An even smaller minority develop dependence
on marijuana. Withdrawal symptoms, if experienced at all, are mild.
(2)
MYTH: Marijuana lowers motivation.
FACT: For twenty five years, researchers have searched for a marijuana-
induced amotivational syndrome and have failed to find it. Of course,
people who are constantly intoxicated, no matter what the drug, are
not likely to be productive.
(3)
MYTH: Higher concentrations of THC make marijuana
more dangerous.
FACT: There is no possibility of a fatal overdose from smoking marijuana,
regardless of potency. High potency marijuana may be less harmful to
the lungs because people can use less to achieve the desired effects.
(4)
MYTH: Marijuana causes brain damage
FACT: No medical test used to determine brain damage has indicated brain
damage in humans who use marijuana - even after long-term use.
(5)
So, why did we arrest 642,000 Americans
last year for marijuana offences?
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SOURCES:
(1) Department of HHS, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.
(2) Department of HHS, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997; Jones, r.t. et al, "Clinical Relevance of Cannabis Tolerance and Dependence,"
Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 21:143-526 (1981).
(3) Pope, H.G. et al, "Drug Use and Life Style Among College Undergraduates
in 1989: A Comparison With 1969 and 1978,: American Journal of
Psychiatry 147:998-001 (1990); Kandel, D. et al, "The Impact of Drug Use
on Earnings; A Life-Span Perspective," Social Forces 74:243-270 (1995).
(4) Department of Health and Human Services, "Marijuana and the Cannabinoids," pp., 131-44 in Drug Abuse and Drug Abuse Research, third Triennial Report to Congress from the Secretary (1991).
(5) Hannerz, l and Hindmarsh, T. "Neurological and Neuroradiological
Examination of Chronic Cannabis Smokers," Annals of Neurology 13:207-10
(1983); Stuve, F.A. and Straumania, J.J., "Electroencephalographic and
Evoked Potential Methods in Human Marijuana Research Historical Review and
Future Trends," Drug Development Research 20: 369-88 (1990).
A complete discussion of the effects of marijuana is available from
Marijuana Myths / Marijuana Facts:
A Review of the Scientific Evidence by Lynn Zimmer, Ph.D. and John Morgan, M.D. available from Bookworld
Services 1-800-444-2524.
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Visit Drug War Facts at: www.drugwarfacts.org
Common Sense for Drug Policy, Kevin B. Zeese President, 703-354-5694,
703-354-5695 (fax), csdp@csdp.org
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