CALIFORNIA DOPING OUR YOUTHS

I was horrified to read recently that it is increasingly common in
California to treat children diagnosed with Attention - Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with marijuana. California voters
passed a law allowing doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their
patients, including those under the age of 18. The law allows doctors
to recommend marijuana "for any ... illness for which marijuana
provides relief." Under that broad umbrella, doctors are pushing pot
to treat all kinds of maladies, including ADHD.

Truly, this is horrifying. ADHD is described as a neurological
disorder that prevents children from focusing on a specific task. In
essence, people with ADHD have difficulty with self-regulation and
self-motivation, owing to problems with distractibility, organization
and prioritization.

Notably, these are the same functions that are most impaired by
marijuana use. Get it? Pot actually exacerbates the problems with
attention, memory and concentration that you want a treatment for
ADHD to alleviate. That's why Stephen Hinshaw, psychology department
chairman at the University of California at Berkeley, called
prescribing marijuana to treat ADHD "one of the worst ideas of all
time."

At the very least, using marijuana to treat adolescents with ADHD is
wildly irresponsible. First of all, the FDA has never conducted an
approval process on marijuana, and few institutions are willing to
fund studies to show the effects of using marijuana as a remedy for
ADHD. Consequently, there are no reliable studies to show how the
drug may affect ADHD. All the so-called "evidence" in support of
prescribing marijuana to children is anecdotal, based completely on
self-selecting self-reports. There is no reliable scientific basis
for drugging these children into complacency. Nonetheless, doctors,
school counselors and misinformed parents are increasingly pushing
marijuana to kids.

Even the validity of the ADHD diagnosis is questionable. It is worth
noting that there exists no scientific method for diagnosing this
ailment. Simply, if a child is observed to be acting bored,
distracted and/or boisterous in the classroom, he is often thought
to be suffering from ADHD. Notably, these are the same symptoms of
another condition that afflicts millions of children -- childhood.

Currently, every child in public school is required to undergo
testing for attention-deficit disorder. The most recent analysis from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1.6
million elementary-school children were diagnosed with ADHD between
1997 and 1998. By drugging these children into complacency, a
consortium of psychiatrists and marijuana dispensaries are making
money off children acting like children. They try to rationalize this
child-drugging industry by arguing that marijuana is harmless and
non-addictive. Some baby-boomer parents go along, saying to
themselves, "It's only marijuana."

What they don't realize is that marijuana use during childhood and
the early-teen years produces significantly different effects than
marijuana use later in life. The behaviors exhibited by introducing
tetrahydrocannabinol -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- to the
brain are similar to those demonstrated by alcohol consumption.
Obvious side effects include mental clouding and sluggishness. There
is now conclusive evidence that chronic marijuana use during
adolescence tends to retard the users' emotional, academic and
vocational development. This, in turn, can lead to poor school/work
performance, poor social relationships and a general feeling of low
self-esteem. Obviously, if the drug is being prescribed, it is being
used chronically. People who use marijuana at a young age are also at
significantly higher risk for the development of a mental disorder.
Get it? Marijuana use at a young age can cause adverse effects that
plague the user for the rest of ! their lives.

Moreover, there are serious physical side effects that every
marijuana user should be aware of. First of all, marijuana is
physically addictive. As the potency of the drug continues to get
more powerful, admission to rehabilitation facilities has doubled for
marijuana addiction. Each year, 100,000 teens are treated for
marijuana dependence. In addition, marijuana smoke contains three to
five times the tar and carbon monoxide that tobacco smoke does,
placing users at increased risk for lung cancer and other respiratory
illnesses.

Amazingly, psychiatrists, pot dispensaries and misinformed parents
continue to push the stuff to kids. Instead of doping our children
when they act, you know, childlike, maybe we should consider a return
to parenting. My father was confronted with several boisterous
children. His solution? A few stern words and the loud snap of a
belt. Believe me, we paid attention.

Of course, nowadays parents are made to feel guilty for disciplining
their children. So we opt instead to medicate. Medicate the child
whose eyes glaze during science class. Medicate the child who
displays a little too much childlike exuberance. Medicate him.
Medicate her. Medicate everyone.

Very simply, children simply do not have the maturity and knowledge
to make major decisions regarding their health. The state has a
compelling interest to step in and shield minors from harmful and
addictive substances. It is imperative that our state legislators
invoke this power and legally prevent psychiatrists from prescribing
pot to children.

While they're at it, lawmakers also need to ensure that children
diagnosed with ADHD receive thorough medical examinations to rule out
other possible causes of the symptoms associated with the disorder.
Equally important is that parents receive full disclosure of the
dangerous side effects of using marijuana during a child's peak
emotional, social and vocational learning years. Very simply, our
youth should not be drugged into complacency. This is an abomination.