POP CULTURE CAN MAKE MARIJUANA'S DANGERS HARDER FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN

In 1938, the film "Reefer Madness" warned young people that marijuana
would make them violent, promiscuous and insane.

Today, the message is a tougher sell.

"Reefer Madness" has become a cult classic among the pro-marijuana
community and spurred a musical satire of the same title, which will
be performed by the Chattahoochee Shakespeare Company in January.

Harold and Kumar, the title characters of two modern "stoner" films,
smoke pot but also have skills for socially respectable occupations --
one's an investment banker, one has a knack for medicine.

"A general unspoken consensus among teenagers is that marijuana has
fewer bad side effects than other drugs and therefore isn't as
serious," says one 17-year-old male student from Columbus High School.
"It is also, in some cases, easier to obtain and therefore some might
think it to be less illegal."

Dan Rose is a psychologist who directs The Counseling Center at
Columbus State University. "In the court of public opinion," he says,
"marijuana has been judged and been found relatively innocent."

Then there's "Weeds." The Showtime series depicts a suburban soccer
mom who becomes a marijuana dealer to support her family in the
aftermath of her husband's death. She frequently must escape attempts
on her life, and others aren't so fortunate.

So while teens get mixed messages about marijuana, many parents and
teachers and anti-drug groups try to stress the dangers the drug poses
to young lives. Contrast Harold and Kumar movies to an ad from Above
the Influence that shows a young boy whose skin is burnt with fire
every time a teenager, presumably his sister, smokes weed. "Smoking
weed hurts more than just you," the ad concludes.

Dangers and risks

About 38 percent of the more than 14,000 high school students polled
in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2007 Youth Risk
Behavior Survey said they'd used marijuana once or more during their
lives.

What dangers do these young users face?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana hinders
the user's short-term memory, and can cause the user trouble handling
complex tasks. More potent varieties of marijuana can render even
simple tasks difficult.

Marijuana also impairs perceptions and reaction time, making driving a
vehicle dangerous. It can also cause the same respiratory problems
that tobacco does, such as chronic cough and more frequent chest colds.

Frequent, long-term marijuana users may show signs of a lack of
motivation, not caring about what happens in their lives, not desiring
to work regularly and a lack of concern about how they look. As a
result, some users tend to perform poorly in school or at work.

Of course, marijuana is also illegal. In Georgia, possession of less
than an ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year
in jail and a $1,000 fine. For first offenders, the charge may be
dismissed upon completion of probation. But possession of more than an
ounce is a felony punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and a
fine of up to $10,000. A person possessing marijuana within 1,000 feet
of a school faces the possibility of 20 years in prison and a $20,000
fine.

- - Staff writers Sara Pauff and Larry Gierer contributed to this report