Part 6

Popular Myths About Marijuana

MYTH #1 “Marijuana is not as popular with young people as it was back in the 60’s.”

FACT Marijuana use has been steadily increasing since the 60’s. Kids today may not talk as much about it, but that is because they take it for granted.

In 1962 only 4 percent of Americans 18 to 25 years old had tried “pot.” Today the figure is 68 percent! One out of every six high school students in Maine and Maryland gets “high” on a daily basis.​—National Institute of Drug Abuse.

MYTH #2 “Marijuana smoke is not worse for you than tobacco smoke.”

FACT Tobacco smoke is very bad for you, but marijuana smoke is worse in many ways. The University of California found that marijuana smokers developed a 25-percent increase in airway resistance after only two months of heavy smoking. “Among tobacco smokers, evidence of chronic bronchitis with significant increase in airway resistance rarely occurs until after 15-20 years of smoking.”​—“Patient Care” magazine.

“One study among marijuana smokers showed that five marijuana cigarettes a week were more damaging to the lungs than six packs of cigarettes smoked over the same period.”​—New York “Times.”

“From accumulated clinical observation and research, there appears to be a growing probability that the respiratory damage from chronic marijuana use is greater than that from tobacco smoking.”​—“Patient Care” magazine.

MYTH #3 “Marijuana doesn’t give you a hangover, so that indicates it doesn’t have any long-term effects.”

FACT “Unlike alcohol, which is soluble in water and rapidly washed out of the body, THC and related cannabinoids in marijuana are fat-soluble and can remain and accumulate in the body for a week or longer after marijuana is smoked.”​—NY “Times.”

“A recent controlled study with rhesus monkeys has demonstrated lasting structural changes in the brain” waves (EEG) after marijuana use.​—“Patient Care” magazine.

MYTH #4 “Marijuana makes a person more alert, better able to drive a car.”

“I would never drive while I was drunk, but I always drive while I’m high . . . In fact, I sometimes think I even drive better after I’ve smoked.”​—17-year-old marijuana user.

FACT Marijuana smokers are especially dangerous on the road because they often don’t believe that their driving ability is impaired. They don’t realize how dangerous they are, and sometimes they think their driving ability is actually improved.

“Harry Klonoff of the University of British Columbia tested 64 men and women and found that in most cases marijuana interfered with their ability to drive.”​—“Newsweek.”

“A study of drivers involved in fatal accidents, conducted for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, indicated that marijuana use was a significant factor.”​—“Medical Tribune.”

MYTH #5 “Marijuana is a simple, relatively mild drug, comparable to alcohol.”

FACT Alcohol is a “simple” drug in the sense that it contains a single active substance, ethyl alcohol. Marijuana contains, at latest count, over 400 different chemicals. Scientists have no idea what some of them do, but others are known to be dangerous.

Benzanthracene and Benzopyrene are two known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) present in marijuana smoke in amounts 50 to 70 percent greater than in cigarette smoke.

MYTH #6 “The marijuana that kids are smoking is the same stuff they smoked when I was a kid.”

FACT Today’s marijuana is much stronger than it was only a few years ago. “In 1975 the average sample of confiscated marijuana contained only 0.4 percent of the mind-altering chemical THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). By last year, because of improved cultivation practices, the average was 4 percent . . . a tenfold increase in potency.”​—NY “Times.”

“How can I tell if my child is using drugs?” Here are clues given by the Health Insurance Institute of New York—

□ Laughing excessively at things no one else thinks are funny.

□ Apparent intoxication with no alcohol smell.

□ A tendency to sit looking off into space.

□ Appetite loss with rapid weight loss.

□ The reverse​—wild forays on the icebox.

□ Staying out later than usual and giving evasive answers when questioned about it.

□ Avid reading of books and articles dealing with the drug culture.

[Graphs on page 8]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Marijuana use among U.S. high school seniors

60%

50-

40-

30-

20-

10-

0-

1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

Used within past month

Ever used

[Graph]

Abnormal EEG readings

Normal

Four months after six-month exposure

[Picture on page 9]

“. . . a tenfold increase in potency”

1975

1979

Mind-altering chemical THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)