Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts

[Grasshopperzen]

Hi all. Congrats on the new board

 

I just recently purchased a book from amazon.com called Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts; A Review of the Scientific Evidence by Lynn Zimmer PH.D. and John P Morgan M.D. It's a fantastic read, with endorsements from many directions; Journal of the American Medical Association, British Medical Journal, Science magazine, and National Review just to name a few. I'd love to dump a copy in the lap of every politition in this country. It's quite depressing really, the overwhelming body of scientific evidence from the last 30 years leads to the conclusion that there is very little harm done by even moderate use. Prohibition is a ridiculous injustice, and an enormous burden on taxpayers.

 

From the book; "More than seventy million Americans - 35 percent of those ages 26 and over - have now used marijuana; one fifth still smoke marijuana, at least occasionally. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in America. Indeed it is the only illicit drug that is used widely. It's use occurs in all regions of the country, among people of all social classes, all ethnicities, all occupations, all religions, and all political persuasions. In an important sense, marijuana use is already a "normal" part of culture. What makes marijuana deviant is it's continued criminalization."

 

Also; "Australia experiences more harm from maintaining cannabis prohibition policy than it experiences from the use of the drug. We conclude that cannabis reform is required in this country." Australian National Drug Strategy Commitee, 1994.

 

Ghz

[Cheech]

It's interesting how the powers that be manipulate information to make marijuana sound worse. I saw a thing on abc TV last night saying how marijuana makes you 15 times more likely to go schizo. I'd argue that a lot of schizo people use marijuana because they're schizo. Another thing I saw that I thought was very funny was a site (can't remember address) saying that children who drink alcohol are 55 times more likely to try cocaine. How many cocaine users would be non-drinkers. Things like these screw the figures. The government exploit this and use it to brainwash the ignorant. No wonder marijuana has such a bad name.

 

cheers

cheech

[Jim]

Sounds like a pretty good read... I'd like to know more facts about marijuana in AUSTRALIA rather than the states n holland n all the other countries.

I might try and get my hand on a copy of that book.

 

cheers

[Green Finned Demon]

....and we are stuck with Honest John Howard The Battlers Friend (who loves us so much he doesn't mind sending us to invade Iraq which is a long time trading partner and has done nothing bad to us) and his superbrain drug advisor Salvo Brian Watters. If only the average Aussie believing this creep as they sit at home sipping wine, drinking beer or being tres rockn' roll and sticking to Bourbon knew that Watters sees alcohol as evil and would ban the stuff. Watch the Primeminiature when he is offered alcohol, he blushes and pretends to take 1 sip then puts the glass down and leaves it there. These wowsers are the idiots behind our drug laws.

[sols]

g'day;

http://www.changetheclimate.org/

Marijuana: Myths & Facts

Myth 1: Marijuana has been scientifically proven to be really harmful to your health.

 

Myth 2: Marijuana has no medicinal value.

 

Myth 3: Marijuana use by kids is OK.

 

Myth 4: Marijuana is highly addictive.

 

Myth 5: Marijuana leads to harder drugs (the "gateway theory").

 

Myth 6: Marijuana impairs memory and cognition.

 

Myth 7: Marijuana causes crime. Under the influence of marijuana, people become irrational, aggressive, and violent.

 

Myth 8: Marijuana can cause infertility and retards sexual development in adolescents.

 

Myth 9: Marijuana is more damaging to the lungs than tobacco.

 

Myth 10: Marijuana use is a major cause of highway accidents.

 

Myth 11: Marijuana-related hospital emergencies are increasing, particularly among youth.

 

Myth 12: Marijuana is more potent today than in the past.

 

Myth 13: Marijuana use can be prevented.

 

 

 

 

Myth #1: Marijuana use has been scientifically proven to be really harmful.

 

 

Fact #1 In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana is not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated.

 

Fact #2 In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research, editors of the British journal Lancet (the British equivalent of New England Journal of Medicine) concluded that "the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health."

^ return to top

 

Myth #2: Marijuana has no medicinal value.

 

 

Fact #1 Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma.

^ return to top

 

Myth #3: Marijuana use by kids is OK.

 

 

Fact #1 Marijuana use by kids, like alcohol and tobacco, is not OK. Its use is illegal, and the effect of marijuana on kids in their developmental stage has not been studied. Common sense tells us that marijuana use by kids is not a good idea.

 

Fact #2 Marijuana use by kids, coupled with other drug use and behavioral problems, can be a sign that a child needs professional attention.

 

Fact #3 90% of kids who try marijuana don't go on to use other drugs, and do not continue to use marijuana.

^ return to top

 

Myth #4: Marijuana is highly addictive.

 

 

Fact #1 Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans --less than one percent - smoke marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis. An even smaller minority develops dependence on marijuana. Marijuana is not physically addictive.

^ return to top

 

Myth #5: Marijuana leads to harder drugs (the "gateway theory").

 

 

Fact #1 Over 70 million people have tried marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the vast majority of people, marijuana is the last drug they try, not a "gateway" to other drugs. If it were a gateway drug and if it were so addictive, we would have more than 3 million heroin and cocaine addicts in the U.S.

 

Fact #2 Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine and LSD are likely to have also tried marijuana.

^ return to top

 

Myth #6: Marijuana impairs memory and cognition.

 

 

Fact #1 Marijuana produces immediate, temporary changes in thoughts, perceptions, and information processing. The cognitive process most clearly affected by marijuana is short-term memory. In laboratory studies, subjects under the influence of marijuana have no trouble remembering things they learned previously. However, they display diminished capacity to learn and recall new information. This diminishment only lasts for the duration of intoxication.

^ return to top

 

Myth #7: Marijuana causes crime. Under the influence of marijuana, people become irrational, aggressive, and violent.

 

 

Fact #1 Every serious scholar and government commission examining the relationship between marijuana use and crime has reached the same conclusion: Marijuana does not cause crime. The vast majority of marijuana users do not commit crimes. Almost all human and animal studies show that marijuana decreases aggression.

^ return to top

 

Myth #8: Marijuana can cause infertility and retards sexual development in adolescents.

 

 

Fact #1 There is NO evidence that marijuana causes infertility in men or women. Most studies of humans have found that marijuana has no impact on sex hormones. In those studies showing an impact, it is modest, temporary, and of no apparent consequence for reproduction.

 

Fact #2 There is NO scientific evidence that marijuana delays adolescent sexual development, has a feminizing effect on males, or a masculinizing effect on females.

^ return to top

 

Myth #9: Marijuana is more damaging to the lungs than tobacco.

 

 

Fact #1 Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs.

^ return to top

 

Myth #10: Marijuana use is a major cause of highway accidents.

 

 

Fact #1 There is no compelling evidence that marijuana contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities. In driving studies, marijuana produces little or no car-handling impairment - consistently less than that produced by low to moderate doses of alcohol and many legal medications.

 

Fact #2 People should not drive while under the influence of marijuana. At some doses, marijuana affects perceptions and psychomotor performance.

^ return to top

 

Myth #11: Marijuana-related hospital emergencies are increasing, particularly among youth.

 

 

Fact #1 There is no lethal dose of marijuana. You cannot die from "binge smoking" like you can from binge drinking.

 

Fact #2 The number of people in hospital emergency rooms who say they have used marijuana has increased. This does not mean that people come to the emergency room because of marijuana. Many more teenagers use marijuana than hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. As a result, when teenagers visit hospital emergency rooms, they report marijuana much more frequently than they report heroin or cocaine.

 

Fact #3 In 1994, fewer than 2 percent of drug-related emergency room visits involved the use of marijuana alone.

^ return to top

 

Myth #12: Marijuana is more potent today than in the past.

 

 

Fact #1 Marijuana is the same drug it has always been.

 

Fact #2 Potency data from the early 1980s do not show an increase in the average THC content of marijuana.

^ return to top

 

Myth #13: Marijuana use can be prevented.

 

 

Fact #1 There is no evidence that spending billions of dollars over the past 20 years for anti-drug messages has diminished young people's interest in trying marijuana.

 

Fact #2 For most age groups, rates of marijuana use in the Netherlands are similar to those in the United States. However, for young adolescents, rates of marijuana use are LOWER in the Netherlands than in the United States.

For more information about "Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts" by Lynn Zimmer and John P. Morgan, published by the Lindesmith Center, please click here. To order the book from their web site for $12.95, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

US CA: Marijuana Authority Says Government Singled Him Out

 

CN ON: Pot Growers Ducking Detection In Boonies, Drug

 

CN AB: Taxes Trip Up Dope Dealer

 

US CA: Motions Made In Oakland Man's Medical Pot Case

 

US CA: Marijuana Activist Singled Out By Feds, Lawyers Say

 

 

Visit our campaigns page to read about past and upcoming ad campaigns, see pictures, and more. . .

 

More News »

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Email your state and federal elected officials and let them know how you feel about several marijuana-related issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Become a Change Partner and support Change the Climate with a donation of $10, $15, $25, or more!

 

Join our mailing list and receive updates on our ad campaigns and other exciting news!

 

Display our banners on your website!

 

Want to see our ads where you live? Let us know!

 

Need to contact us? Click here.

 

 

 

 

 

Suggestions? Email info@changetheclimate.org

 

read our privacy policy

© 2002 Change the Climate, Inc

[aussie1]

Hey everyone

We have seen a slight increase in the potency of pot over the years, this would be due to a better

understanding of the plant, better gardening practices, better access to equipment and supplies,

and more hydro setups as opposed to outdoor growing because of the ridiculous laws driving it underground.

So the fuckers only have themselves to blame

 

This is from Drug War Facts:

 

# According to the federal Potency Monitoring Project, the average potency of marijuana has increased very little since the 1980s. The Project reports that in 1985, the average THC content of commercial-grade marijuana was 2.84%, and the average for high-grade sinsemilla in 1985 was 7.17%. In 1995, the potency of commercial-grade marijuana averaged 3.73%, while the potency of sinsemilla in 1995 averaged 7.51%. In 2001, commercial-grade marijuana averaged 4.72% THC, and the potency of sinsemilla in 2001 averaged 9.03%.

 

Source: Quarterly Report #76, Nov. 9, 2001-Feb. 8, 2002, Table 3, p. 8, University of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project (Oxford, MS: National Center for the Development of Natural Products, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2002), Mahmoud A. ElSohly, PhD, Director, NIDA Marijuana Project (NIDA Contract #N01DA-0-7707).

 

aussie