HOW 'A LITTLE' DOPE CAN HURT

Marijuana ... what harm can a little dope do? The short answer is:
Plenty.

First, is marijuana addictive? You bet it is. About one in eight
people exposed to marijuana will become dependent on it. This makes it
a little more addictive than alcohol. How do I define addiction?
There's a fancy medical definition or a more simple one: If you use
marijuana every day you are probably addicted to it, especially if you
have been doing this for a few months or more.

So, let's say you smoke marijuana every day. Isn't that your business?
Maybe yes, but most likely, no. When you are addicted to a substance
your relationships in life are with that substance -- not with other
people.

In addiction medicine we have found that it is often best to ask the
family members of the dependent individual how they feel. Frequently,
there is a deep resentment and embitterment about the lack of support
or the lack of emotional contact and empathy.

A patient of mine was once asked by his wife to stop smoking marijuana
for a few weeks, because her father was dying and she needed his support.

He managed to stop for a while, only to return to the addiction after
his father-in-law died. It is remarkable how strong the dependency on
marijuana can be.

Let's say you don't care about anyone else or that all your friends
smoke or your significant other is tired of you and just as happy to
have you stoned all the time. What's wrong with that?

There was an article in the Journal of the American Medical
Association a few years ago, that looked at patients who used
marijuana at least daily. The authors found that even 19 hours after
stopping marijuana, these chronic users were not able to think as well
(or memorize, or calculate, or analyze or perform other mental
functions). In other words, if you smoke marijuana daily, you are
always affected or "stoned" to a certain degree. You will not be
able to realize your full intellectual capacity.

This is especially important to high school and college students whose
futures are determined by how well they do during that critically
important eight-year window of academic opportunity.

Marijuana can also affect people in mid-career. A former patient of
mine who was a Honda mechanic told me that he would read the shop
manuals that came out every year seven or eight times. Despite the
repetitive reviews, he was still not able to master the material.
After stopping marijuana -- which he had been using since high school
-- he found he only needed to read the manuals once.

One further caveat: some people seem to function very well on
marijuana. They hold responsible positions and continue to perform
relatively well. These folks are probably very bright and are able to
accommodate the decrease in mental capacity. They may not, however, be
the people you want performing brain surgery or negotiating an
important contract.

Let's say you really don't care about any of the things that I've
mentioned above. All you want is to smoke a little dope. A recent
article, also in the Journal of the American Medical Association,
showed that people who were using cocaine and methamphetamine (nasty
stuff -- there is a lot of evidence suggesting that these stimulants
cause permanent brain injury) frequently followed a pattern of smoking
cigarettes at a young age, then drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana
and finally, progressing to harder drugs. The authors concluded that
marijuana was not only a "gateway drug," but seemed to actually
precipitate the progression to the stimulants (cocaine and
methamphetamine) and even to heroin, in certain individuals.

So, you still don't care. Well, I've saved the worst for last. The
following is a partial list of the complications associated with the
chronic use of marijuana: toxic psychosis (in susceptible
individuals), increased heart rate and pain, decreased lung function,
impaired fetal growth and development, decreased immune function
(important for fighting infections and cancers), weight gain,
bronchitis, and more.

Finally, a brief word about "medical marijuana." The medical
marijuana initiative passed by California voters, basically provides
for the legalization of marijuana.

This is because the initiative states that in addition to several
serious illnesses, marijuana may be prescribed for "any other illness
for which marijuana provides relief." There was also no restriction
on the age of the patient. Many physicians have no problem with the
administration of marijuana to a patient with a terminal illness --
but did the people of California really intend (as one United States
Supreme Court justice put it) that marijuana be used for "anyone with
a stomach ache" or for any reason at all?

I, for one, am not willing to sacrifice the one in eight individuals
who are now at increased risk for developing an addiction to this drug
due to its significantly increased availability.

I know that this article will raise deeply felt issues with some
people. It is not my intention to offend anyone. I have attempted to
provide factual information that can be reviewed, and hopefully, help
you formulate an opinion about the use of marijuana. If you think that
you have an addiction to marijuana, or you have further questions
about it, the folks at Marijuana Anonymous can be an excellent source
of information and assistance. You could also consult with a
specialist in chemical dependency or one of the many local chemical
dependency programs.