CANNABIS - A SOFT DRUG?

The legalization of cannabis is a regularly recurring topic. The
constant increase in consumption leads us to believe it is a fairly
harmless soft drug. Nonetheless, its effects are all too often
downplayed and can be unpleasant given that the percentage of THC (the
psychoactive ingredient in cannabis) has increased from 2% in the
1970s to between 15% and 25% today. Increasingly potent and widely
used, marijuana can wreak havoc in the lives of many people.

While certain effects are still not clearly understood and vary from
one individual to the next, the risks connected to marijuana
consumption are nonetheless very real. By affecting the capacity to
think and react, cannabis creates a state of confusion, a decrease in
judgement, short-term memory loss and difficulties in concentration
and coordination, which can put the smoker and the people he or she is
with in danger. In the long-term, there is a decline in motivation, a
tendency to become withdrawn, apathetic and anxious. This tends to
create a kind of dependence that leads to constant smoking, which is,
in its turn, detrimental to maintaining family relationships and
friendships, as well as the capacity to pursue personal dreams or
professional ambitions. Physically, the respiratory, cardiac, immune
and reproductive systems can be gravely affected.