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Exposing
the Myth of Smoked Medical Marijuana
Marijuana:
The Facts
Q: Does marijuana
pose health risks to users?
- Marijuana is an
addictive drug1 with significant health
consequences to its users and others. Many harmful short-term and long-term
problems have been documented with its use:
- The short term
effects of marijuana use include: memory loss, distorted perception,
trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor skills, decrease
in muscle strength, increased heart rate, and anxiety2.
- In recent years
there has been a dramatic increase in the number of emergency room mentions
of marijuana use. From 1993-2000, the number of emergency room marijuana
mentions more than tripled.
- There are also
many long-term health consequences of marijuana use. According to the
National Institutes of Health, studies show that someone who smokes
five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals
as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.
- Marijuana contains
more than 400 chemicals, including most of the harmful substances found
in tobacco smoke. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four
times more tar into the lungs than a filtered tobacco cigarette.
- Harvard University
researchers report that the risk of a heart attack is five times higher
than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana.3
- Smoking marijuana
also weakens the immune system4 and raises
the risk of lung infections.5 A Columbia
University study found that a control group smoking a single marijuana
cigarette every other day for a year had a white-blood-cell count that
was 39 percent lower than normal, thus damaging the immune system and
making the user far more susceptible to infection and sickness.6
- Users can become
dependent on marijuana to the point they must seek treatment to stop
abusing it. In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse
treatment primarily for marijuana abuse and dependence.
- More teens are
in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug or for alcohol.
Adolescent admissions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew
from 43 percent of all adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in
1999.
- Marijuana is much
stronger now than it was decades ago. According to data from the Potency
Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi, the tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) content of commercial-grade marijuana rose from an average of
3.71 percent in 1985 to an average of 5.57 percent in 1998. The average
THC content of U.S. produced sinsemilla increased from 3.2 percent in
1977 to 12.8 percent in 1997.7
Q. Does marijuana
have any medical value?
- Any determination
of a drug's valid medical use must be based on the best available science
undertaken by medical professionals. The Institute of Medicine conducted
a comprehensive study in 1999 to assess the potential health benefits
of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. The study concluded that
smoking marijuana is not recommended for the treatment of any
disease condition. In addition, there are more effective medications
currently available. For those reasons, the Institute of Medicine
concluded that there is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically
approved medication.8
- Advocates have
promoted the use of marijuana to treat medical conditions such as glaucoma.
However, this is a good example of more effective medicines already
available. According to the Institute of Medicine, there are six classes
of drugs and multiple surgical techniques that are available to treat
glaucoma that effectively slow the progression of this disease by reducing
high intraocular pressure.
- In other studies,
smoked marijuana has been shown to cause a variety of health problems,
including cancer, respiratory problems, increased heart rate, loss of
motor skills, and increased heart rate. Furthermore, marijuana can affect
the immune system by impairing the ability of T-cells to fight off infections,
demonstrating that marijuana can do more harm than good in people with
already compromised immune systems.9
- In addition, in
a recent study by the Mayo Clinic, THC was shown to be less effective
than standard treatments in helping cancer patients regain lost appetites.10
- The American Medical
Association recommends that marijuana remain a Schedule I controlled
substance.
- The DEA supports
research into the safety and efficacy of THC (the major psychoactive
component of marijuana), and such studies are ongoing, supported by
grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
- As a result of
such research, a synthetic THC drug, Marinol, has been available to
the public since 1985. The Food and Drug Administration has determined
that Marinol is safe, effective, and has therapeutic benefits for use
as a treatment for nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy,
and as a treatment of weight loss in patients with AIDS. However, it
does not produce the harmful health effects associated with smoking
marijuana.
- Furthermore, the
DEA recently approved the University of California San Diego to undertake
rigorous scientific studies to assess the safety and efficacy of cannabis
compounds for treating certain debilitating medical conditions.
- It's also important
to realize that the campaign to allow marijuana to be used as medicine
is a tactical maneuver in an overall strategy to completely legalize
all drugs. Pro-legalization groups have transformed the debate from
decriminalizing drug use to one of compassion and care for people with
serious diseases. The New York Times interviewed Ethan Nadelman, Director
of the Lindesmith Center, in January 2000. Responding to criticism from
former Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey that the medical marijuana issue is
a stalking-horse for drug legalization, Mr. Nadelman did not contradict
General McCaffrey. "Will it help lead toward marijuana legaization?"
Mr. Nadelman said: "I hope so."
Q. Does marijuana
harm anyone besides the individual who smokes it?
- Consider the public
safety of others when confronted with intoxicated drug users:
- Marijuana affects
many skills required for safe driving: alertness, the ability to concentrate,
coordination, and reaction time. These effects can last up to 24 hours
after smoking marijuana. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge
distances and react to signals and signs on the road.11
- In a 1990 report,
the National Transportation Safety Board studied 182 fatal truck accidents.
It found that just as many of the accidents were caused by drivers using
marijuana as were caused by alcohol -- 12.5 percent in each case.
- Consider also
that drug use, including marijuana, contributes to crime. A large percentage
of those arrested for crimes test positive for marijuana. Nationwide,
40 percent of adult males tested positive for marijuana at the time
of their arrest.
Q. Is marijuana
a gateway drug?
- Yes. Among marijuana's
most harmful consequences is its role in leading to the use of other
illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine. Long-term studies of students
who use drugs show that very few young people use other illegal drugs
without first trying marijuana. While not all people who use marijuana
go on to use other drugs, using marijuana sometimes lowers inhibitions
about drug use and exposes users to a culture that encourages use of
other drugs.
- The risk of using
cocaine has been estimated to be more than 104 times greater for those
who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it.12
In Summary:
- Marijuana is a
dangerous, addictive drug that poses significant health threats to users.
- Marijuana has
no medical value that can't be met more effectively by legal drugs.
- Marijuana users
are far more likely to use other drugs like cocaine and heroin than
non-marijuana users.
- Drug legalizers
use "medical marijuana" as red herring in effort to advocate
broader legalization of drug use.
1Herbert
Kleber, Mitchell Rosenthal, "Drug Myths from Abroad: Leniency is
Dangerous, not Compassionate" Foreign Affairs Magazine, September/October
1998. Drug Watch International "NIDA Director cites Studies that
Marijuana is Addictive." "Research Finds Marijuana is Addictive,"
Washington Times, July 24, 1995.
2National Institue of Drug Abuse, Journal of
the American Medical Association, Journal of Clinical Phamacology, International
Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Pharmacology Review.
3"Marijuana and Heart Attacks" Washington
Post, March 3, 2000
4I. B. Adams and BR Martin, "Cannabis:
Pharmacology and Toxicology in Animals and Humans" Addiction
91: 1585-1614. 1996.
5National Institute of Drug Abuse, "Smoking
Any Substance Raises Risk of Lung Infections" NIDA Notes, Volume
12, Number 1, January/February 1997.
6Dr. James Dobson, "Marijuana Can Cause
Great Harm" Washington Times, February 23, 1999.
72000 National Drug Control Strategy Annual
Report, page 13.
8"Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the
Science Base," Institute of Medicine, 1999.
9See footnotes in response to question 4 regarding
marijuana's short and long term health effects.
10"Marijuana Appetite Boost Lacking in
Cancer Study" The New York Times, May 13, 2001.
11Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know,
National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.
12Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know,
National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.
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