DID HOMER GO TO POT?

We often hear the bad things that drugs do, and messages aimed at deterring
drug use are the norm. Rarely do we see messages that drug use has benefits.

We believe there are good reasons for a more honest dialogue about the
positive and negative effects of marijuana use. A recent episode of the
popular TV show "The Simpsons" highlighted the pros and cons of marijuana
use, and Homer Simpson's experiences with marijuana provide an example of
what we mean.

After a run-in with some angry crows, Homer was prescribed medicinal
marijuana for the pain from eye injuries. In addition to the pain relief,
Homer found himself having an enhanced appreciation for music, food and a
variety of sensory experiences as a result of his marijuana use. He became
more relaxed and enjoyed life in ways he hadn't before.

These are real effects reported by many marijuana users, and we would be
hard pressed to call them anything other than benefits.

Homer became preoccupied with smoking marijuana and some not-so-positive
effects showed up. He spent more time with other users and less with his
family. His friends thought that he was too "spacey" and noticed a change
in his personality. Yet, Homer continued to function reasonably well at
work and was actually liked better by some people.

Eventually, problems with memory and attention became evident when Homer
and other marijuana users lost track of the date and scheduled a
pro-marijuana rally the day after an important vote was taken on whether
medicinal marijuana should be legal. Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but clearly
there are costs of marijuana use similar to these that are experienced by
real-life users.

It shouldn't surprise us that there is a positive side to marijuana use.
After all, why else would people smoke it? It's also not surprising that
drug education usually emphasizes the negative effects. Some believe that
talking too much about the positive effects might encourage more people to
start using and lead to more negative effects in the long run.

But there are over 10 million people in the United States who currently use
marijuana, and they already know about the positive effects.

Might some of them have noticed some of the not-so-positive effects? Like
Homer, they may be wondering if the costs of using outweigh the benefits,
or vice versa.

Depending upon our own personal experiences, either answer may seem
obvious. But it's not always that easy. Even Homer's intelligent, sensitive
and thoughtful daughter cannot clearly decide which Homer she prefers: the
mellow, spacey and less-available Homer or her newly abstinent and
increasingly ornery father.

Could Homer approach most drug-treatment providers and expect to get a fair
assessment of the pros and cons of continuing use? Probably not. The
business of drug-abuse treatment is to help people to overcome dependence.
Therefore, most drug users do not approach treatment unless the problems
resulting from their use are so great that they know they want to quit. But
this is a small fraction of drug users and many more are conflicted about
whether to stop using.

We see many adult marijuana users who are conflicted about the costs and
benefits of marijuana use and the pros and cons of quitting or reducing
use. We see them as participants in a research project at the University of
Washington financed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. To date, 129
people have joined the project, called The Marijuana Check-Up.

The program is free and confidential. It's an opportunity to openly and
honestly discuss personal experiences with marijuana use and to weigh the
costs and benefits without pressure to quit.

Our research shows that some people make changes and some do not after
going through the program. Almost all are appreciative of the respect they
are shown, the fact that marijuana is not demonized, and the opportunity
they've gotten to take an honest and unbiased look at their marijuana use.

If this type of service were readily available in our nation's
drug-abuse-services system, we predict we would see many more users coming
forward, and they would be a little more ready to ask for help in the
future should the cost-benefit scales tip in favor of change.