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position paper

marijuana fact sheet

Chautauqua Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Council (CASAC) is opposed to the use of marijuana as a recreational drug. Research on the health and safety effects of marijuana strongly correlates with many mental, emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual problems. In addition, many crimes, accidents, job and school performance problems have been associated with the use of marijuana. While not everyone who uses marijuana becomes drug dependent, the reality is that as with alcohol and other drugs marijuana use certainly can lead to profound, chronic and progressive chemical dependency.

• In 2001, according to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, there were over 110,512 marijuana related admissions into hospital emergency rooms in the United States.

• According to the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, in 2000 there were an estimated 2.4 million Americans who used marijuana for the first time compared to 1.4 million in 1990.

• According to the 2001 Monitoring the Future Study 49% of 12th , 40% of 10th, and 20%of 8th graders had used marijuana in their lifetime.

Marijuana is a powerful, mind and mood altering drug. A very small amount of cannabis (i.e. 2-3 mg of THC) can produce a high for the occasional user; but the psychoactive effects are remarkably varied. At moderate to high doses mood varies considerably with anxiety and panic sometimes reported, and depression may be enhanced. Impairment of short term memory, disturbances in thought patterns, lapses in attention, depersonalization, and sensory distraction also occur. Larger doses can bring on stronger distortions of time and space, and illusions. Large doses can result in mental confusion and panic reactions. Extremely large doses can cause hallucinations and marijuana flashbacks have been reported by some users.

Research has consistently demonstrated that there are potentially serious and damaging physical effects from marijuana use and abuse to the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, in causing precancerous and cancerous growths, to the endocrine system, and the immune system. Cannabis can also inhibit the intracellular synthesis of proteins DNA and RNA, and inhibit cell division, similar to alcohol and the opioids.

Smoking marijuana can lead to worse results for the lungs than smoking tobacco. There is nearly five times more carbon monxide and three times as much tar inhaled into the lungs when one smokes a marijuana cigarette as opposed to a tobacco cigarette.

Research has long implicated cannabis as both a causative factor in the development of mental illness and personality problems as well as an exacerbating factor where mental illness is a pre-existing or concurrent condition. Recent research has largely supported these earlier findings, especially in noting a relationship between marijuana use and schizophrenia, depression, borderline personality, suicide attempt and self-injury histories, panic reactions, and anti-social personality characteristics.

Marijuana has been found to be directly related to poor job and school performance, impaired cognitive skills and learning at school, academic underachievement and dropping out; impaired driving and an increased risk for auto accidents; and marijuana has been found definitely related to crime.

There are scores of scientific studies that prove that marijuana is a harmful, addictive drug. As with alcohol and all drugs, marijuana can certainly lead to profound, chronic and progressive chemical dependency. Marijuana is currently up to 25 times more potent than it was in the sixties making the drug even more addictive, and many say that quitting marijuana is much more difficult than they thought (even than quitting cocaine).

Studies show that marijuana may cause Fetal Marijuana Related Birth Defects. This includes lower birth weights, a shorter gestation period, major malformations, and an increase in the occurrence of miscarriages.