Marijuana Facts
Marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the United
States and Europe. There were an estimated 2.6 million new users
in 2001.
Reproductive System:
Cannabis does not damage reproductive systems. This theory is based
on one study by Dr. Gabriel Nahas of tissue from animals near-leathaly
injected with cannabinoids. However generalizations from his petri
dishes to human beings have been rejected by the scientific community.
Studies of actual human populations have failed to demonstrate that
marijuana adversely affects the reproductive system.
Gateway Effect:
The Dutch partially legalized marijuana in the 1970s. Since then,
hard drug use-heroin and cocaine have declined substantially. This
"negative gateway" effect has also been observed in the
United States. A 1993 Rand Corporation study that compared drug
use in states that had decriminalized marijuana versus those that
had not, found that where marijuana was more available, the states
that had decriminalized, hard drug abuse as measured by emergency
room episodes decreased.
Stays In Your System:
Cannabis does linger in the body after you use it, so does Vitamin
A. Cannabinoids are fat soluble as are innumerable nutrients and,
yes, some poisons like DDT.
Memory Loss:
Any impairment of short-term memory disappears when one is no longer
under the influence of marijuana. Often, the short-term memory effect
is paired with a reference to Dr. Heath's poor rhesus monkeys to
imply that the condition is permanent.
10 Times Stronger:
The researchers who made the claim of increased potency used as
their baseline the THC content of marijuana seized by police in
the early 1970s. Poor storage of this marijuana in un-air conditioned
evidence rooms caused it to deteriorate and decline in potency before
any chemical assay was performed. Independent assays of unseized
"street" marijuana from the early 1970s showed a potency
equivalent to that of modern "street" marijuana. Actually,
the most potent form of this drug that was generally available was
sold legally in the 1920s and 1930s by the pharmaceutical company
Smith-Klein under the name, "American Cannabis".
Brian Damage:
The studies of human populations of marijuana users have shown no
evidence of brain damage. For example, two studies from 1977, published
in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed
no evidence of brain damage in heavy users of marijuana.
Immune System:
Marijuana has not been proven to suppress immune systems in humans.
Two studies done in 1978 and one done in 1988 showed that hashish
and marijuana may have actually stimulated the immune system in
the people studied.
Cannabis Vs. Tobacco:
Marijuana is not more dangerous than tobacco. Smoked tobacco, with
a 90% addiction rate, is the most addictive of all drugs while marijuana
is less addictive than caffeine. Cigarettes kill more then 450,000
people a year, there has never been a reported death from smoking
marijuana. One would have to consume 40,000 times as much marijuana
as you needed to get stoned. In contrast, the ratio for alcohol
varies between 1 to 4 and 1 to 10.
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