POT BAD FOR BRAIN: EXPERTS

Heavy pot smokers are less likely to succeed academically and
professionally and face heightened health risks such as respiratory
illness and cognitive impairment, experts warn.

As an exclusive Leger Marketing poll for QMI Agency shows a majority
of Canadians want softer marijuana laws, others insist pot is less
harmful than alcohol and say fears about relaxing laws are overblown.

Amy Porath-Waller, senior research and policy analyst for the Canadian
Centre on Substance Abuse, said studies have shown a growing
prevalence of marijuana use -- especially among younger Canadians most
vulnerable to its negative effects.

"I think there's a real need to educate the Canadian public on the
harms associated with cannabis use -- particularly young people," she
said.

"There's this perception that it's this benign substance but there are
real consequences to its use."

Porath-Waller said chronic marijuana use can cause neuro-cognitive
impairment such as memory and retention loss as well as mental health
problems like psychosis, depression and anxiety. And because cannabis
is often smoked unfiltered in larger puffs with longer breath-holding,
it can also lead to respiratory problems and possibly lung cancer, she
said.

Studies have also found adverse effects on the development, behaviour
and mental health of offspring of women who use cannabis while
pregnant, and because of potential cognitive impairment, chronic users
could face limited educational and occupational achievements.

While many see marijuana as a "gateway" drug that leads to harder
drugs, Porath-Waller said scientific research is mixed.

But Eugene Oscapella, a criminal lawyer, researcher and lecturer with
expertise on marijuana, called it "utter nonsense" that pot leads to
other drugs and insists relaxed laws would not encourage more people
to use. He sees few perils but many benefits to legalizing pot.

"All of a sudden you would have quality control through regulation,"
he said, adding it would also remove the lucrative black market that
fuels violence and organized crime.