MARIJUANA POSES FEWER HEALTH RISKS THAN ALCOHOL

Decriminalization Bill Raises Question Of Drug Hazards

Artists, songwriters and countless others involved in the entertainment
industry have indulged in drug use, both legal and illegal, for years.

A recent bill proposed to the Texas Legislature could decriminalize the use
of marijuana.

Field experts compare the side effects of the "wacky tobaccy" with that of
legal drugs such as alcohol in round one of the epic battle pitting beer
against bud.

"Alcohol affects more brain chemicals than any other psychoactive drug,"
said Dr. Jim Quinn, director of the Institute of Addictions and coordinator
of the Addiction and Substance Program within the NT Department of
Rehabilitation, Social Work and Addictions.

Quinn said most psychoactive drugs affect two or three neurotransmitters,
where as alcohol triples that number, causing more widespread distortion of
the mental process.

Because alcohol also produces tissue dependence, affecting every organ and
tissue in the body, Quinn said it is much more likely cause addiction than
marijuana.

"Physically, the addictive properties of alcohol are much worse [than
marijuana]," he said.

"If you've been a heavy drinker for months or years, you need some medical
supervision or de-toxing [to quit]. That is not true with marijuana."

However, "taking the ganja" does not come without its own set of consequences.

Frequent marijuana users usually suffer from a reduced short-term memory as
well as difficulties in learning and retaining information.

The effects, however, vary greatly from person to person, Quinn said.

By discontinuing use, marijuana users can regenerate most damaged cells.

Drugs such as alcohol and marijuana don't only affect the users. According
to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,900 people were
killed in alcohol-related crashes in Texas in the year 2000.

This number far surpasses the 1,400 alcohol-related deaths in the larger
populated California.

In fact, more than half of every fatal car accident in Texas this past year
involved a drunk driver.

Alcohol, a legal drug, can also kill users directly via overdose or alcohol
poisoning.

According to state hospital records, more than 1,000 children under the age
of 15 are rushed to emergency clinics to treat alcohol poisoning each year.

Nearly one-quarter of all those awaiting treatment don't make it off the
operating table.

"To this date, there has never been a reported death related to cannabis
use," said Rick D. Day, executive director of the Texas chapter of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

In fact, alcohol is the only drug recognized by the Justice Department as
causing aggression in humans, and it s a factor in at least 60 percent of
all homicides, according to Dorsey Zawitz and Middleton's book Drug and
Crime Facts.

"Alcohol makes you stupid," Quinn said.

"You're acting on impulses without evaluating, particularly sexually and
aggressive ones. Alcohol users act without thinking; people who use pot
tend to think without acting."