CRIMINAL JUSTICE

The 'myths' about marijuana are examined

The broadsides are everywhere. The president warns against those who are
"soft" on drugs. Steve Forbes writes of "an insidious effort ... to
legalize drugs.

Medical marijuana is the stealth legalizer's Trojan horse." It is
refreshing that State Sen. John Vasconcellos in California is determined to
authorize a simple examination of the factual question about the use of
marijuana. He had impressive sponsors for his bill to establish a Medical
Marijuana Research Center at the University of California.

Along comes a small book that is a miracle of intelligent concision. It is
called "Marijuana Myths/Marijuana Facts." Its authors are Lynn Zimmer, a
professor of sociology at Queens College, and Dr. John P. Morgan, a
physician and professor at the CCNY Medical School. The publisher is the
Lindesmith Center in New York, a research center outspokenly committed to
the legalization of marijuana. But hear this about a remarkable book:

It comprises 20 questions about marijuana, which the authors term "myths."
Each of the chapters, on the initial page, states the "myth," cites sources
for it, and gives the authors' conclusion in 100 words. That page is
followed by an essay extending their reasons for their judgment.

Let's recite the first page:

Myth. "Marijuana's harms have been proved scientifically. In the 1960s and
1970s, many people believed that marijuana was harmless. Today we know that
marijuana is much more dangerous than previously believed."

The authors then give sources for the judgment above. To wit:

"Every single scientific study that has been done in the last several years
shows alarming increases in the toxicity and the danger of using marijuana."

"New research tools, including sophisticated brain scanners and methods for
studying the brain's system of chemical messengers ... provide new insights
on the often subtle effects of marijuana."

"There are over 10,000 documented studies available that confirm the
harmful physical and psychological effects of smoking marijuana."

Then, under "Fact," comes the authors' evaluation of the above:

"In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission
on Marijuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely
safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have
conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals and cell cultures. None
reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the
national commission in 1972. In 1995, based on 30 years of scientific
research, editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded the
smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health." A 10page
essay on the point follows.

Among the "myths" examined are: marijuana and addiction; marijuana, hard
drugs and the gateway theory; Dutch marijuana policy; marijuana: motivation
and performance; marijuana: psychology and insanity; marijuana and the
immune system; marijuana and the immune system; marijuana's persistence in
the body; marijuana and highway safety; the potency of marijuana;
preventing marijuana use.

Now it's one thing to say (I say it) that people shouldn't consume
psychoactive drugs. It is entirely something else to condone marijuana laws
the application of which resulted, in 1995, in the arrest of 588,963
Americans. Why are we so afraid to inform ourselves on the question?

The ZimmerMorgan book is available for $17 (I refuse to write $16.95) from
Lindesmith, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, N.Y. 10106. Surely legislators who
write marijuana users should inform themselves on these questions? It is
terrifying and humiliating to remind ourselves that 10,000 people every
week are arrested for marijuana handling because legislators do not pause
ever evidence as readily obtainable as is now the case in a book that is
exemplary, research graphically presented, concisely rendered, on a large
public question.