WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING, CANADA?

The issue of decriminalizing marijuana is first and foremost about
safeguarding kids and Canada should be attentive to the threat that
marijuana poses to youth.

We know that neither Canada nor the United States has been able to keep its
two legal drugs -- alcohol and tobacco -- out of the hands of teenagers and
children. Members of Canada's Parliament should keep this in mind as they
consider any proposal to decriminalize marijuana, because the drug's sharp
edges undercut claims that smoking pot is a harmless recreation.

Research at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) has
established a statistical relationship between the use of tobacco, alcohol
and marijuana and the use of harder drugs such as cocaine, heroin and acid.

Examining data from a U.S. Centers for Disease Control survey of 11,000
ninth- through 12th-graders, CASA isolated teen use of these "gateway" drugs
from other problem behaviours. The conclusion: Among teens with no other
problem behaviours, those who drank, smoked cigarettes and used marijuana at
least once in the past month are almost 17 times likelier to use another
drug such as cocaine, heroin or LSD.

Most people who smoke marijuana do not move on to other drugs, just as most
who smoke cigarettes don't get lung cancer, but both kinds of smokers hugely
increase their risks. These risks rise with teen use: The earlier and more
often an individual uses marijuana, the more likely that person is to use
cocaine.

Biomedical research tells us why. Studies in Italy, Spain and the U.S.
reveal that marijuana affects levels of dopamine (the pleasure chemical) in
the brain in a manner similar to heroin, cocaine and nicotine. The research
indicates that marijuana may prime the brain to seek substances such as
heroin and cocaine that act in a similar way.

While psychological dependence on marijuana is widely recognized, the drug's
potential for physical addiction is only recently becoming clear. Studies
show that rats subjected to immediate cannabis withdrawal exhibit behaviour
changes similar to those after withdrawal from cocaine, alcohol and opiates.
Science magazine calls this "the first neurological basis for marijuana
withdrawal."

Canada's politicians should not underestimate the dangers of marijuana. In
the U.S., more teens and children under 19 enter treatment for marijuana
abuse and dependence than for abuse and dependence involving any other drug
- -- including alcohol. Research shows marijuana use can cause respiratory
infections, increased heart rate, anxiety and panic attacks. A 2002 study
associated marijuana smoking with an increased risk of head and neck cancer.
There is also evidence of a relationship between the use of marijuana and
psychiatric illness; studies have shown that marijuana use increases the
risk of depression and may trigger the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in
predisposed individuals. We have known for some time that marijuana harms
short-term memory, motor skills and the ability to concentrate.

Decriminalization of marijuana would send a signal to Canadian teens that
smoking pot can be seen as a rite of passage. It is not. Smoking pot is a
dangerous game of Russian roulette that can ruin young lives and devastate
parents. That's why Canadians should reject any proposals to decriminalize
this dangerous drug.