Marijuana became popular among the younger population in the 1960’s, but
most of the marijuana available today is considerably more potent than the
"weed" of the Woodstock era. The average THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol)
levels rose from less than 1% in the mid 70’s to more than 6% in 2002.
Sinsemilla potency increased in the past two decades from 6% to more than 13%,
with some samples containing THC levels of up to 33%. Users tend to be younger
than those of past generations. Since the late 60’s, the average age of the
consistent marijuana users has dropped from around 19 to 17. People are also
lighting up at an earlier age. Fewer
than 1/2 of those using marijuana for the first time in the late 1960’s were
under 18. However, by 2001, the proportion of those under 18 first time users
had increased to about 67%.
It must also be acknowledged that today’s young people are living in a
world that is vastly different from the world of their parents and
grandparents. Kids these days are bombarded on a constant basis with drug
messages in print, on screen, and on CD. They also have easy access to the
Internet, which has endless sites promoting the wonders of marijuana, offering
kits for beating drug tests, and, in some cases, advertising pot for sale. Many
people who worry about the dangers of heroin or cocaine are far less concerned about
marijuana. They also tend to consider experimentation with pot an adolescent
rite of passage. These ignorant, uninformed attitudes are some of what has
given rise to a number of myths in our culture. Movies, magazines, and other
media commonly glamorize marijuana and demonstrate gratuitous use of it, completely
trivializing the risks and ignoring any negative consequences. At the same
time, special interest groups proclaim that smoked marijuana is not only
harmless, it’s actually good medicine.
The point of this article is to look at some of the grossly popular misconceptions/myths
about marijuana and explain why they are wrong. I also plan to describe the dangers
of marijuana and why it is important for society to send a clear, consistent,
and credible message to our young people about the seriousness of the threat.
MYTH: MARIJUANA IS NOT HARMFUL
Marijuana harms in many ways and kids are the MOST vulnerable to its
damaging effects. Use of the drug can lead to significant health, safety,
social, and learning or behavioral problems and the issues only intensify the
younger the user. Short term effects of
marijuana use include memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking/problem
solving, and anxiety. Students who use marijuana may find it hard to learn
which naturally jeopardizes their ability to achieve their full potential. Marijuana can cause problems with
concentration and thinking patterns. College students who used marijuana
regularly have shown to have impaired skills related to attention, memory, and
learning 24 hours after they last used the drug. A study conducted at the
University of Iowa, found that people who used marijuana frequently (7 or more times
weekly for an extended period) showed deficits in mathematical skills and
verbal expression as well as selective impairments in memory. Regular marijuana
use has also shown to affect the user long term causing poor academic
performance, poor job performance with increased absences from work/school,
cognitive deficits, and lung damage. Marijuana use is also associated with a
number of risky sexual behaviors, including having multiple sex partners, initiating
sex at an early age, and failing to consistently consider or use any type of
birth control
Particularly for young people, marijuana use can lead to increased
anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and other mental health problems. One study
linked social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, attention problems, and thoughts
of suicide in adolescents with marijuana use. Other research shows that kids
age 12 to 17 who smoke marijuana weekly are three times more likely than
nonusers to have thoughts about committing suicide. According to the American
Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction and psychiatric disorders often occur
together. One of the most recent surveys produced by the National Survey on
Drug Use and Health reported that adults who use illicit drugs were more than
twice as likely as non-users to suffer from a serious mental illness.
Marijuana also demonstrates harm when it contributes to auto crashes or
other incidents that injure or kill, another problem that is especially
prevalent among young people. In a study produced by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, even a moderate dose of marijuana was shown to
impair driving performance. The study measured reaction time and how often
drivers checked the rearview mirror, side streets, and the relative speed of
other vehicles. Another study looked at data concerning shock/trauma patients
who had been involved in traffic crashes. The researchers found 15% of the
trauma patients injured while driving a car or motorcycle had been smoking marijuana
and another 17% had both THC and alcohol in their blood. Statistics such as
these are particularly troubling in light of recent survey results indicating
that almost 36 MILLION people, age 12 or older, drove under the influence of
alcohol, marijuana, and/or another illicit drug in the past year.
MYTH: MARIJUANA IS NOT ADDICTIVE
To say it was ONCE believed that consistent marijuana use could lead to
addiction would be false because that same mentality is still very much
prevalent today. However, all research shows the exact opposite to be true. Marijuana use is often associated with
behavior that meets the criteria for substance dependence established by the
American Psychiatric Association in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSMIV). The DSM states the criteria for substance dependence
includes tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, using a drug even in the presence of
adverse effects, and giving up social, occupational, or recreational activities
because of substance use. A survey conducted in 2002 by the National Survey on
Drug Use and Health stated 4.3 MILLION Americans were classified with
dependence on or abuse of marijuana. That figure represents 1.8% of the total
U.S. population and 60% of those classified who abuse or are dependent on
illicit drugs. As with any addiction, the physical need for marijuana brings a powerful pull on the user and this need, coupled with withdrawal symptoms, is naturally the disadvantage to ceasing consistent use. Those trying to quit may experience irritability, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping. Research also indicates the earlier kids start using, the more likely they are to become dependent on this and/or other illicit drugs later in life. It is also a fact that the number of teens entering treatment each year with their primary issue being consistent marijuana use is higher than all other illicit drugs combined. Of those admitted for treatment (all ages), 56% stated they had first use the drug by age 14 and 26% had begun by age 12.
MYTH: MARIJUANA IS NOT AS HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH AS TOBACCO
Although some people think that marijuana is a benign natural herb, it actually
contains many of the same cancer causing chemicals found in tobacco. Puff for
puff, the amount of tar inhaled and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed,
regardless of THC content, are 3 to 5 times greater than among tobacco smokers.
Consequently, regular marijuana users often have the same breathing problems as
tobacco users, such as chronic coughing/wheezing, more frequent acute chest
illnesses, and a tendency toward obstructed airways. Even at very young ages, marijuana smoking can
cause potentially serious/chronic respiratory system damage. There have also been
findings that show the daily smoking of even small amounts of marijuana (3 or 4 joints) have
comparable, if not greater effect on the respiratory system than the smoking of
a pack of cigarettes and regular use, even for less than six years, causes a
marked deterioration in lung function.
MYTH: MARIJUANA CALMS PEOPLE DOWN
Kids who use marijuana weekly are almost 4 times more likely to report
they engage in violent behavior. Another study showed, incidences of physically
attacking people, stealing, and/or destroying property increased in proportion
to the number of days marijuana was smoked in the past. Users were also twice
as likely to disobey at school and destroy their own things. Researchers examined
the relationship between 10 illicit drugs and 8 criminal offenses and found a greater
frequency of marijuana use associated with a greater likelihood to commit
weapons offenses. With the exception of alcohol, none of the other drugs showed
such a connection. This same study that was published in the Journal of
Addictive Diseases, also found a correlation between marijuana use and the
commission of attempted homicide and reckless endangerment offenses.
MYTH: MARIJUANA CAN TREAT CANCER AND OTHER DISEASES
Marijuana providing relief for people with certain medical conditions
is a subject of intense national debate.
Under the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970,
marijuana was established as a Schedule I controlled substance which in layman’s
terms means, it’s a dangerous drug that has no recognized medical value. THC
can be useful for treating some medical problems which is why Synthetic THC is
the main ingredient in Marinol, an FDA approved medication used to control
nausea in cancer chemotherapy patients and to stimulate appetite in people with
AIDS. Marinol, a legal and safe version
of medical marijuana, has been available by prescription since 1985. However,
marijuana as a smoked product has NEVER proven to be medically beneficial and, in
fact, is much more likely to harm one’s health. Marijuana smoke is a crude THC
delivery system that also sends many other harmful substances into the body.
The best available evidence points to the conclusion that the adverse effects
of marijuana smoke on the respiratory system would almost certainly offset any
possible benefit.Many organizations are pushing to make marijuana available for medicinal purposes, but this campaign is really nothing more than veiled efforts to legalize the drug. However, medicines in this country are not approved by popular vote anyway. Before any drug is given approval consideration for public consumption, let alone actually released, it must undergo extensive, intense clinical trials to demonstrate both safety and efficacy.
MYTH: BUYING MARIJUANA DOESN’T HURT ANYONE
Despite having a reputation of the “peace and love” herb and despite
claims that smoking pot is a “victimless” crime, there is much evidence to show
marijuana and violence go hand in hand. Marijuana trafficking is a huge,
violent business, whether the plants are grown on foreign soil or in the
basements, backyards, and farms of the United States. The trade in domestically
grown marijuana often turns violent when dealers conflict or when growers feel
crops are threatened, but drug criminals are not the only ones who are threatened
by the violence of this trade. A great
deal of the marijuana produced in America is done so on public lands, including
our national forests and park, areas that have been specifically set aside to
preserve wildlife habitats, provide playgrounds for our children, and serve as
natural refuges for recreation. Traffickers use these lands because they are
free and accessible, crop ownership is hard to document, and because growers
are immune to asset forfeiture laws. Officials report many growers looking to
protect their crops will surround their plots with booby traps, such as
fishhooks dangling at eye level, bear traps, punji sticks, and rat traps rigged
with shotgun shells.
The majority of this drug that is grown on public land is done so in
the national forests of California, where more than 540,000 plants were seized
or eradicated in 2003 alone. This figure does not include the 309,000 plants
taken from land in other states or the hundreds of thousands of plants removed
from land managed by other government agencies. The description of those
controlling any of California’s illegal marijuana fields is “peace loving
flower children carrying high powered assault weapons”. During the growing season,
Mexican cartels smuggle hundreds of undocumented nationals into the U.S. to work
the fields. They also bring with them pesticides, equipment, and guns. Hunters,
campers, and others have been threatened at gunpoint or fired upon after
stumbling into these illegal gardens.
Another misconception is marijuana smoked in the U.S. is grown in the
U.S. In reality, smuggled marijuana,
whether from Mexico, other Latin America areas, or Canada, accounts for most of
the pot available in America. Drug traffickers also often use violence to get
their product to our market and have been doing so since the 70’s.
Let us not forget what marijuana use by pregnant women does to their
unborn children, it hurts teen users who betray the trust of their parents, and
it hurts the parents who are confused and dismayed by their kids’ use. It hurts
communities when users commit crimes or cause crashes on roadways. Marijuana also creates harm by causing lost
productivity in business, limiting educational attainment, and by contributing
to illnesses and injuries that put additional strain on the health care system.
Completely harmless???
MYTH: GOOD PARENTS CAN KEEP THEIR CHILDREN FROM BEING EXPOSED TO MARIJUANA
It’s an unfortunate fact that if kids want marijuana, they will find it.
About 55% of youths, ages 12 to 17, reported that marijuana would be easy to
obtain, whether it was from a friend, at school, and someone selling drugs on
the street. Kids are also exposed to a relentless
barrage of marijuana messages in music, movies, magazines, and the Internet. Certain aspects of our culture also glamorize
marijuana use while trivializing, failing, or refusing to show the serious harm
it can cause. In 2001, a survey found 42%
of all high school students nationwide had used marijuana at some time in their
lives. A report based on that survey revealed that from 1990 to 2001, the
number of 9th graders reporting current marijuana use had more than doubled
from 9.5% to 19.4%. Marijuana use is in some ways like a contagious disease,
spreading from “infected” individuals to the others around them. Kids with
friends who use marijuana are themselves more than 30 times as likely to
marijuana. An extremely interesting fact for a number of the kids I have worked
with is kids who know their parents consistently used or are using the drug are
NINE TIMES more likely to also use!
We must accept that it’s out there and unless you are home schooling
your child, living in a house with no technology, never allowing them to leave
the home, and never allowing them to have people in (which is borderline child
abuse), your child is going to be aware of/exposed to drugs. It’s your
connection with them and their education that is going help avoid a drug habit/experimentation.
Obviously that is not a guarantee. I am aware children have their own minds
eventually doing what they are going to do. They are like people that way. I
can tell you, you stand a far better chance than doing nothing!
MYTH: PARENTS CANNOT DO ANYTHING TO STOP THEIR KIDS FROM
EXPERIMENTING
It should not have to be said that parents hold the most powerful
influence over their children when it comes to drugs, but unfortunately it does.
When we get involved, stay involved, know what our kids are doing, set limits,
and give clear rules and consequences, we increase the chances our kids will
stay drug free. Research has shown appropriate parental monitoring can reduce
future drug use even among adolescents who may be prone to use, such as
rebellious children, those who cannot control their emotions, and ones who experience
internal distress. In a survey conducted
in 2000, 27% of young people who believed that their parents did not strongly
disapprove of marijuana use reported illicit drug use within the past month.
For kids who thought their parents did disapprove, the rate of use was only 4%.
Another interesting fact is that kids
who learn about the risks of drugs from their parents or caregivers are less
likely to use drugs than kids who do not.
Experts do suggest that it is best for parents to try and be home when
their kids come home from school because evidence indicates the riskiest time
for kids to involve themselves with drugs is 3-6p.m. Those parents who can’t be
home at that time should consider enrollment in after school programs, sports, or
other activities, or arrange for a trusted adult to oversee them. It’s also
important for families to participate in family oriented activities such as
eating meals together, talk and connect on a regular basis, and establish regular
routines of doing something special (like taking a walk) that allow parents to
talk to their kids. Open channels of communication between parents and children
gives young people greater confidence and helps them make healthy choices.
CONCLUSION
The clutter of messages about marijuana in our current atmosphere is
creating great confusion and worse is sending our children mixed signals about
drugs in general. What should be clear
is that no responsible person thinks young people should use marijuana! Parents need to educate themselves on the dangers so they can in turn educate their children. They need to monitor their activities and staying actively involved in their lives. Schools and communities can provide activities that keep kids interested and involved in healthy, drug free programs.
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