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While I am in favor of legalizing Marijuana, there is great danger for those who feel chronic use is harmless.
I am an advocate for legalizing marijuana and waiving the hundreds of thousands of minor possession charges against people sitting in prison for getting caught with under 30 grams of weed.
Nevertheless I am also an addict who has had alot of experience with recovery and counseling the hundreds of addicts that stayed at my sober living houses over the years, and there is a serious downside to pot that is often “blown off” by chronic users.
In reading an article in the Leduc News, a Canadian publication, I came across several paragraphs which I thought stated the problems associated with smoking weed very well. Here they are:
While LeBlanc feels marijuana use can be harmful, at least for youth, he feels the best approach is to moderate drug use through harm reduction strategies rather than using scare tactics.
“They had that commercial in the States with the frying pan that said ‘this is your brain, this is your brain on drugs.’ Sometimes I think there’s misinformation presented in our attempt to show how bad it is. Scare tactics don’t work.”
Marijuana, also referred to as cannabis, weed or pot, can be smoked via pipes, bongs, joints or consumed in food. According to Alberta Health Services (AHS), cannabis can damage the lungs if smoked and, if used with tobacco, may cause individuals to develop cancers earlier then exclusive tobacco smokers. AHS ties heavy use of cannabis as leading to anxiety, depression and personality disturbances along with schizophrenia for “people vulnerable to it.”
“Long-term users are less able to focus attention and filter out irrelevant information. These problems are subtle, but may last for years after use has stopped,” explains AHS in Beyond the ABC’s: Cannabis (Marijuana). “Long-term use is sometimes associated with lack of ambition and motivation, and reduced communication and social skills. Apathetic individuals may be attracted to cannabis use, and chronic intoxication can reinforce these tendencies.”
The site also states, “People who use drugs to avoid dealing with difficulties generally make their problems worse. When young people frequently use mood-altering substances, they often fail to learn many of the normal lessons of maturing. They may not learn how to handle their own emotions, how to take on responsibilities, and how to make thoughtful and considered decisions. The substance becomes an emotional crutch, even if it is not physically addicting.”
According to the summary report of the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, a number of theories regarding marijuana use lack scientific validation. The report calls the “Gateway Theory” that marijuana use is a “gateway” to harder drugs an “outdated” theory, and stated it found “most experimenters stop using cannabis” and that “cannabis itself is not a cause of delinquency and crime.”
