MARIJUANA HARMLESS? HARDLY

We are in the midst of a major national debate on the legalization of
marijuana. The outcome of this debate is likely to have profound
implications for our society. To make an informed choice on this
issue, we need accurate information about these implications.

There has never been a greater need for unbiased scientific data on
the physical and psychological effects of marijuana use.
Unfortunately, there has been more heat than light shed on this issue
in the mainstream media.

Perhaps with this in mind, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has
just issued a major research report on the effects of marijuana. The
report may be surprising to most people who regard marijuana as a
benign or harmless drug.

According to NIDA, marijuana is a drug that can and does cause
addiction. THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, activates the
brain's reward system in the same way as other drugs of abuse -- by
triggering the release of dopamine.

Dopamine, a chemical found in the brain, is associated with a sense of
euphoria. Like other drugs of abuse, chronic administration of
marijuana depletes dopamine supplies and causes other brain changes,
which creates a craving for the drug. After a certain period of time,
cessation of use results in a defined marijuana withdrawal syndrome as
demonstrated in both animal and human studies. These factors combined
with other functional impairments define drug dependence or addiction.
According to NIDA, more than 2 million people met the criteria for
marijuana dependence in 1999 alone.

Marijuana also causes major problems with learning, memory,
concentration and judgment. Individuals who smoke marijuana have an
impaired ability to learn for at least 24 hours. Long-term users have
been shown to be impaired for up to four weeks after cessation of use.
In animal studies, rats treated with THC showed nerve cell loss
resulting in memory loss. The nerve cell loss was "equivalent to that
of unexposed animals twice their age," according to the report.

Marijuana also contains more carcinogenic material than cigarettes and
has been statistically linked to cancer. It also impairs the immune
system's ability to fight off diseases and infections. It increases
the risk of a heart attack fourfold for the first hour after smoking
it.

Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to
graduate from high school than their nonsmoking peers. Workers who
smoke marijuana experience a variety of problems, absences, tardiness,
accidents, etc., when compared with workers who do not smoke marijuana.

The fact that marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug is not in and
of itself a definitive reason for it to be illegal. Alcohol is
certainly a dangerous, addictive drug that is legal. It is, however, a
reason to have a careful, reasoned debate before we make decisions
about legalization.

Some hard questions need to be asked. How does this affect
productivity in society? How will the health of individuals be
affected? Perhaps, most importantly, what impact will legalization
have on our children?

As someone who has worked for more than 20 years with teenagers who
smoke marijuana, I am aware that it becomes difficult to tell kids not
to smoke marijuana when society is actively moving toward
legalization. These questions deserve more debate and discussion
before we move forward with a decision that can have powerful negative
implications and may be almost impossible to undo.