MARIJUANA WARNINGS GROW

Those Who Still Toke Up Are Putting Themselves At Greater Risk,
Experts Say

Mark Jones and his buddies were passing marijuana joints back and
forth, inhaling deeply as they watched John Cougar Mellencamp perform
onstage at the Fox Theater on March 13, 1997. Suddenly, a lady in the
next row tapped Jones on the shoulder.

"Do you mind?," she asked. "All that smoke is making me sick. On top
of that, my kids shouldn't have to breathe that stuff at a public concert."

While his friends looked at him like he was crazy, Jones sheepishly
snuffed out the joint. He knew his days of smoking three to five
joints a day were coming to an end.

"At that point, it didn't matter if I lost friends or got ridiculed,"
says Jones, 46, of West Bloomfield Township. "All I knew is that I was
tired of being a marijuana addict, tired of being humiliated in public
and tired of shaking every time I saw a cop go by, thinking he'd
search my car and arrest me."

Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the United
States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Nearly 69
million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least
once and 5.2 million use it weekly. Medical professionals warn that
more people are becoming addicts and habitual users because the
marijuana sold today is much more powerful than previous
generations.

"The medical profession is increasingly aware that marijuana does bad
things to the lungs, to coordination and depth perception," says Dr.
Michael Boyle, medical director of Maplegrove, a Henry Ford Health
System treatment center in West Bloomfield Township.

"It impairs an ability to drive a car or operate machinery because it
could produce panic attacks, paranoia or visual distortion." Boyle
adds. "The hand-eye coordination definitely lapses.''

Marijuana use is complicated by its popular reputation as being a
safe, naturally grown herb.

Even its synonyms are affection -- including weed, pot, fatty and
doobie. Numerous individuals and lobbyists tout the substance for its
medicinal value, especially for AIDs and cancer victims.

The common reality is that it's a gateway drug that leads people into
smoking crack, using LSD or even selling drugs, says Reid Talley, who
counsels probationers and parolees with substance abuse problems for
the Neighborhood Services Organization in Detroit.

"People get sucked back into using from peer pressure, family exposure
or a sense of thrill. They forget that illegal substance abuse is a
sure path back to jail," he says. "We work in group to change the
individual self-defeating behaviors, to make sure they know marijuana
is harmful''

Many doctors worry the addictive aspect could have a long-term impact
on individual health and society, especially as baby boomers, who
started smoking in the late 1960s and early 1970s reach middle age.
Memory loss from aging, compounded by marijuana, could muddle their
brain and reduce productivity, says John Franklin. As one case in
point, a Chesterfield Township father who tried to sell his
10-month-old daughter for $60,000, told undercover officers he
couldn't hold a job or pay his bills because he smoked marijuana
habitually and it made him lazy.

A-motivation syndrome is a widespread problem among heavy users,
according to John Franklin, director of addiction studies at the
University of Detroit Mercy. "There is so much of the drug stored in
the fatty tissues of the brain it clouds the intellect, increases
fatigue and mutes the ability to see that it is creating a problem,"
Franklin says. "Denial is rampant among these individuals."

Current strains contain about 60 compounds called cannabinoids,
according to Franklin. The most psychoactive of these is
delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol (THC). Pot today can contain 10 to 20
times more THC than pot smoked in the 1960s and 1970s.

Once inhaled, the THC molecules travel quickly from the lungs, enter
the bloodstream and stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain,
producing feel-good endorphins that temporarily alter the perception
of time, color and sound.

"Any time you get a particular drug in higher concentrations, it gets
to the brain more quickly, creating a higher incidence of addictions.
You get more bounce to the ounce," he says.

"Because of drug prevention programs and general common sense fewer
people are using marijuana, but those that are using are using more
and they are worse off for the experience."

Among chronic users, continued bombardment of cells by THC may lead to
a heightened tolerance for the drug, according to Franklin. When this
happens, the user needs more pot to get high. Without it they suffer
restlessness, loss of appetite, trouble with sleeping and shaky hands.

With increased dosage comes greater health risks. Pot hinders the
user's short-term memory, increases respiratory problems such as
bronchitis, and jolts the heart rate. The danger multiplies when pot
is combined with alcohol or other drugs.

Getting high stopped being fun three years ago for Dan Mahoney, 48, of
Ferndale, who smoked regularly for 25 years.

At first, it made him more creative, he says, but the more he inhaled,
the longer he lingered on the couch -- too lethargic to do anything
else. His marriage was so strained he wound up in therapy.

"You don't hit rock bottom on marijuana, you can still work, drive and
live a respectable life on the outside," Mahoney says. "It eats you up
on the inside, it withers your soul and destroys your dreams."

Mahoney and Jones, boyhood friends, decided two years ago to trade
rock concerts for 12-step meetings. They stumbled on Marijuana
Anonymous through an Internet connection, and discovered a group
dedicated to helping pot users separate themselves from their addiction.

Attendance at the Saturday meeting doubled and a Tuesday night meeting
was initiated after Mahoney took over the group a year ago. Attendance
is evenly divided between people under 20 who often come at the
initiation of the justice system and baby boomers over 40 who come
because of health or job challenges suffered from sustained smoking.

"Some people tell us they get laughed at when they go to Narcotics
Anonymous meetings; participants tell them that marijuana isn't a
serious drug," Mahoney says. "Here they realize they aren't alone.
People are struggling with the same addiction."

Once the struggle with pot ends, the possibilities for a new life open
up, Jones says.

"Quitting was the best step I ever made in my life," he explains.
"Today, I'm a trustee at my church and living with the woman of my
dreams. I'd never even approach a woman like her when I was high, I
suffered too much self-loathing."

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WHO IS AN ADDICT?

"An addict is someone who ought to stop using," says Dr. Mark
Menestrina, a medical advisor to Personalized Nursing LIGHT House in
Plymouth, an outpatient substance abuse counseling center.

"When you start having medical, financial, relationship, emotional and
mental problems because of a substance, you probably out to quit," he
says. "Addicts are people who continue to use a substance despite
adverse consequences."

For certain marijuana users whose lives have become unmanageable, the
notion of quitting on their own is impossible. They may need help from
a treatment center such as Maplegrove in West BloomfieldTownship.

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DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM?

Here is a list of questions to determine whether marijuana has become
a problem in your life:

* Has pot smoking stopped being fun?

* Do you ever get high alone?

* Is it hard for you to imagine a life without marijuana?

* Do you find that your friends are determined by your marijuana
use?

* Do you smoke marijuana to avoid dealing with your
problems?

* Do you smoke pot to cope with your feelings?

* Does your marijuana use let you live in a privately defined
world?

* Have you ever failed to keep promises you made about cutting down or
controlling your dope smoking?

* Has your use of marijuana caused problems with memory, concentration
or motivation?

* When your stash is nearly empty, do you feel anxious or worried
about how to get more?

* Do you plan your life around your marijuana use?

* Have friends or relatives ever complained that your pot smoking is
damaging your relationship with them?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may have a
problem with marijuana.

Source - Marijuana Anonymous

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RESOURCES

* Marijuana Anonymous holds three meetings a week on America Online,
taking place in the private room called MAOL. Click on "Find a Chat,"
then "Private Room," then type "MAOL."

* Regular meetings of Marijuana Anonymous occur at 11 a.m. Saturdays
and 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Catholic Social Services, 1424 E. 11 Mile,
Royal Oak. (800) 766-6779; www.marijuana-anonymous.org online.

* Maplegrove, Henry Ford Health System, in West Bloomfield, offers
inpatient and outpatient treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. (248)
661-6100.

* Personalized Nursing LIGHT House in Plymouth, offers month-long,
outpatient treatment for substance abuse and individual counseling
programs. (734) 451-7800.

* Pathway Family Center in Southfield offers outpatient programs for
teen-agers with substance abuse problems. (248) 443-0105.