LEGALIZE CANNABIS? NOT SO FAST, SAY MEDICS

Medical experts have strongly warned against making cannabis
legal.

A psychiatrist with specialist qualifications and a neurologist both
said cannabis use could lead to serious mental and physical problems -
especially in younger users.

This after National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief said penalties
for small amounts of cannabis might be disproportionate and that it
was time we followed the lead of countries like the UK and US, which
have eased up on people caught with small amounts of the drug.

Global report

Government Senator Marc Bean recently called for a debate on the
merits of decriminalising drugs in the wake of a report from the
Global Commission on Drug Policy. A distinguished panel that wrote the
report said the war on drugs had failed and recommended partial
legalization as a solution to the blight of the illegal drugs trade on
communities around the world.

Not so fast, warn medics.

Side effects of marijuana can include a heightened risk of psychotic
illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, damage to memory and
judgement and heart problems.

Neurologist Dr Keith Chiappa said: "The use of marijuana, especially
in younger age groups, should not be encouraged by any legalisation
and should continue to be discouraged by specific programmes."

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Chantelle Simmons said: "Cannabis use has
been shown to be associated with difficulties in thought processes in
15-20 year olds.

"When you have a young adult, whose brain is still developing, there
is a five times greater risk of schizophrenia."

"It particularly adversely affects the developing brain and it's also
closely associated with psychosis."

The Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute doctor added: "As a clinician, I
try to focus on medical implications only, but I would have concerns
that decriminalization would send a message that it was okay to
encourage marijuana use."

Dr Simmons added that studies had shown that marijuana use caused
higher rates of depressive illness in adult women - four times the
rate of depression found in non-users.

Teenage marijuana smokers have also been found to be less likely to
complete high school and more likely to make poor career and life choices.

Dr Simmons said: "People say 'it's only weed, it's natural'. It is a
natural substance, but it can have significant adverse effects. It can
not only cause psychosis, but exacerbate existing phychoses."

She added that smoking marijuana releases 'feel good' dopamine in the
brain - which some experts suggest could lead to the use of harder
drugs like cocaine in a bid to increase the amount of dopamine
released by a high.

Dr Simmons said: "There's not a direct correlation in the literature -
but all drugs activate that reward pathway in the brain and increases
the brain's desire for dopamine and people may progress to cocaine or
heroin.

"My medical advice is to err on the side of caution."

She added: "There is also an increased cardiac risk because smoking
marijuana increases the heart rate, particularly in the first hour
after someone smokes."

The report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy - whose members
include various former presidents and ex-UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan and former US Secretary of State George Schultz - said the war
on drugs had failed.

But Dr Chiappa, a neurologist at the King Edward VII Memorial
Hospital, said: "Those who accept or promote any legalization of
marijuana should take heed of recently published scientific studies
which have found that exposure to marijuana has far-reaching and
serious effects on the brain, especially memory functions, judgment
and mental health."

He added that a recent study by Harvard Medical School carried out a
survey to test planning, abstract thinking and moderating social
behaviour in people who had started smoking marijuana at a young age,
those who had started later and those who did not smoke marijuana at
all.

He said: "The non-smokers performed better than the smokers and the
early onset smokers did worse than the late onset smokers, in some
areas making twice as many errors.

"These functions are performed in the last area of the brain to
develop in adolescents, the prefrontal cortex and the
marijuana-induced damage appears to be irreversible."

Dr Chiappa added smoking marijuana also exposed users to the same
health risks as cigarette smokers, including lung diseases like cancer.