TREMENDOUS DANGERS OF MARIJUANA

LOU DOBBS, HOST: And disturbing evidence tonight of the tremendous
dangers of marijuana. Researchers now say marijuana may cause serious
long-term brain damage to addicts.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You run the risk that the alterations that you
produce today will manifest themselves in 10 years or 20 years.

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ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, news, debate and opinion for
Wednesday, February 21st.

Live in New York, Lou Dobbs.

DOBBS: Good evening, everybody.

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DOBBS: Let's take a look now at some of your thoughts.

Ann in Florida said, "Lou, I am most definitely against legalizing
marijuana. I'm a nurse who worked for many years in the substance
abuse field. Pot, as a mind-altering drug, has long lasting effects
on young people, from lack of interest in school or jobs, to use of
harder substances."

Joseph in New York, "Lou, let me get this right. The guidelines for
prescription drug disposal require that we not dispose of them down
the toilet, but yet we can dispose of them in our bodies?"

Send us your that you at loudobbs.com. More of your thoughts coming
up here later in the broadcast.

Each of you whose e-mail is read here receives a copy of my book,
"War on the Middle Class."

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DOBBS: And our special report, "The War Within," the detrimental
effects, the dangerous effects of marijuana. Researchers now say
marijuana may cause long-term brain damage and cancer. That special
report and an interview upcoming.

[snip]

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DOBBS: Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in this
country. But in ten states it's legal for medical purposes and
another ten may soon follow suit. Political maneuvering has
intensified the debate over medical marijuana and the growing
evidence about its detrimental and dangerous effects.

Bill Tucker reports.

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BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty percent of
Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana, according to the
National Survey on Drug Use and Health. One-third of all 10th graders
say they have tried marijuana at least once. And it's becoming an
increasingly familiar ballot initiative. Minnesota, New Mexico,
Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, New
Hampshire, New Jersey and Connecticut are all considering some form
of legislation to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. It is a
drive that opponents say has no merit.

STEVEN STEINER, AMERICANS FOR DRUG FREE YOUTH: You've got to remember
something. This whole legalization movement isn't just about
marijuana. These people want to legalize heroin, meth, cocaine for
recreational use. Make no mistake about it.

TUCKER: Proponents of medical marijuana point to its pain-relieving
qualities. And a recently-published study conducted with HIV patients
at the University of California San Francisco found benefits.

But researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have been
conducting research on a different topic: the impact of long-term
marijuana use and dependency on the brain.

STEPHEN DEWEY, BROOKHAVEN NAT'L. LABORATORY: Not only does it alter
the structure, the brain's chemistry, but you run the risk that the
alterations that you produce today will manifest themselves in ten
years or 20 years.

TUCKER: Impaired memory and feelings of anxiety are more than just
jokes. They are reality. So, too, are frequent respiratory infections
and there is concern that the cancer risk of marijuana users is
higher, which is why the American Cancer Society does not endorse,
smoke marijuana, nor its legalization.

(on camera): But the American Cancer Society has awarded a grant to
work on a patch by use by chemotherapy patients to help combat their
nausea and restore their appetite -- Lou.

DOBBS: Bill, thank you very much.

Bill Tucker.

Well, marijuana, thought to be harmless by many, particularly baby
boomers, who have been associated with drug for decades. It's now
known to be a dangerously addictive drug and it's long-term effects
are still being studied.

Joining me now is Dr. Stephen Dewey. He's senior scientist at the
Brookhaven National Laboratory and has done some interesting research
on this very subject.

Good to have you with us.

DEWEY: Thank you.

DOBBS: Let's talk about, first, the issue, and that is the evidence
that this is a mind-altering drug that does carry with it long-term effects.

DEWEY: Absolutely. There's some very compelling issues -- very
compelling data using some of the state of the art imaging techniques
called positron emission tomography (ph) or functional magnetic
resonance imaging. These are new imaging techniques that actually let
us look inside the brain in a human abuser.

And we see marked changes in the way the brain produces or uses
glucose or the way the brain functions in response to different challenges.

DOBBS: In terms of addictiveness, a great debate surrounds that.

DEWEY: Right.

DOBBS: The idea that it is not addictive. I've -- the debate can be
framed a lot of ways. But are there those who are actually calling
for its legalization, saying it's not addictive and it's absolutely
harmless. How do you respond to that?

DEWEY: You know, I think you have a broad spectrum. You have
individuals who just, as you have in smokers, chippers, people who
can smoke a hundred cigarettes a year. You have people who can smoke
a joint every now and then. And you have people who are absolutely
dependent on it. So you have the full range. You have people who
actually meet DSM-4 criteria for dependence on marijuana. So there
really is a range.

DOBBS: The idea that this could cause cancer, is that a result of the
qualities of marijuana, or of the inhalation of the smoke? Or can you tell?

DEWEY: You know, that's a good question. I believe it's more related
to the inhalation of what's in the marijuana itself, as opposed to
the THC, the psychoactive component.

DOBBS: Let's look at something here. Marijuana, as we've reported, is
the most common illicit drug in use in this country. More than 40
percent of Americans over the age of 12 have reported trying the drug
at least once in their lives.

Let's put that up.

The extent of marijuana use in Americans over 12: 40.1 percent have
used marijuana at least once. 10.4 percent have used marijuana in the
last year. What is the significance of such prevalent use?

DEWEY: I think one of the biggest concerns is that there's very
strong evidence that adolescent use, or use of marijuana early on,
predisposes people three or five times higher likelihood of using
harder drugs, if you will.

So, I think that we really need to be aware that we don't fully
understand the biochemistry that's involved. We don't fully
understand the potential ramifications of using the drug today and
what it can do 20 years down the road.

But I think the data is quite compelling that people who use
marijuana, or a majority of people who use marijuana early on are
likely to use the more illicit drugs, if you will, later on.

DOBBS: Marijuana use if students -- and this is from 2005 -- who used
it over the past year. And these numbers to me are remarkable. In the
eighth grade, almost 12 percent. In the 10th grade, over 25 percent.
By their senior year, more than 31 percent of students using
marijuana. If this is not a reason for concern among educators,
public health officials and all of us, I don't know what would be required.

DEWEY: I agree with you. In fact, I spend a lot of time going to
school districts and talking to kids about this. And I am struck, I'm
absolutely struck by how common it is. In fact, it's almost -- it
almost comes off as a badge of honor. They're very open to talk to
you about how they use pot, how they smoke pot. You talk about the
other drugs, they're much more reticent to discuss that.

But it's absolutely boggles my mind when I go to school districts,
even elementary schools, where you see marijuana use.

DOBBS: Last week the White House reported marijuana use among teens
has declined. Are you heartened by that fact?

DEWEY: I am heartened by that fact. I think that it's -- a lot of it
is related to education. I think a lot of it is related to our better
understanding of the potential consequences. And we're really getting
a much better handle on the biochemical changes in the brain that occur.

DOBBS: The research on marijuana for 30 years has been -- I think the
research has been -- I think the best way to say it is mixed. Why is
there such an ambiguity? And I'm not talking about in terms of
weight, but an ambiguity among all the research conclusions on
marijuana in the country over the last 30 years?

DEWEY: I think one of the biggest...

DOBBS: I mean, what do have -- my God, this is a substance that's
been in broad use now for 30 or 40 years in this country. We should
know what we're talking about.

DEWEY: I think there are actually two things here that speak directly
to your question. One is it's very difficult to find people who just
use marijuana. You know, you have to tease apart marijuana use with
alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD. You have situations where
it's not straight forward looking at just a marijuana user because
they're poly-drug-abusers.

The second -- the second this we've made huge advances in technology.
We now can use imaging techniques that allow us to really look at
brain chemistry, to look the at direct effects of drugs like
marijuana on the brain.

DOBBS: Which clearly demonstrate...

DEWEY: Which clearly demonstrate that there are profound changes in
the way the brain uses sugar for energy or brain glucose metabolism,
cognitive abilities, changes in blood flow. And these are long
lasting and persistent.

DOBBS: Dr. Stephen Dewey, good to you have here. Thank you.

DEWEY: Thank you very much.

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DOBBS: We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts to loudobbs.com.

And we thank you for being with us tonight. Please join us here
tomorrow, when among our guests will be the President of Third Way,
who says this country's middle class is shrinking, but not because
the bottom is dropping out, but because more people are better off.
We'll have something of a debate. You can count on that.

For all of us here, thanks for watching.

Good night from New York.