Pubdate: Feb 2000
Source: Mother Jones (US)
Page: 86
Contact:  731 Market Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94103
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Note: This advertisement appears in the current issue of Mother Jones. It 
is part of a continuing series of ads published by the Common Sense for 
Drug Policy Foundation. The full page ads are easily copied - thus making 
excellent handouts. This text version does not do the ad justice. A better 
representation of this ad, and the others in the series, may be found at: 
http://www.csdp.org/ads/

CAN WE HANDLE THE TRUTH ABOUT MARIJUANA?

MYTH: Marijuana is a gateway drug.

FACT: For every 104 people who have used marijuana, there is only one 
regular user of cocaine and less than one heroin addict. (1)

MYTH: Marijuana is addictive.

FACT: Less than one percent of people who consume marijuana do so on a 
daily or near daily basis. An even smaller minority develop dependence on 
marijuana. Withdrawal symptoms, if experienced at all, are mild. (2)

MYTH: Marijuana lowers motivation.

FACT: For twenty five years, researchers have searched for a marijuana- 
induced amotivational syndrome and have failed to find it. Of course, 
people who are constantly intoxicated, no matter what the drug, are not 
likely to be productive. (3)

MYTH: Higher concentrations of THC make marijuana more dangerous.

FACT: There is no possibility of a fatal overdose from smoking marijuana, 
regardless of potency. High potency marijuana may be less harmful to the 
lungs because people can use less to achieve the desired effects. (4)

MYTH: Marijuana causes brain damage

FACT: No medical test used to determine brain damage has indicated brain 
damage in humans who use marijuana - even after long-term use. (5)

SO, WHY DID WE ARREST 642,000 AMERICANS LAST YEAR FOR MARIJUANA OFFENCES?

SOURCES: (1) Department of HHS, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 
1997. (2) Department of HHS, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997; 
Jones, r.t. et al, "Clinical Relevance of Cannabis Tolerance and 
Dependence," Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 21:143-526 (1981). (3) Pope, 
H.G. et al, "Drug Use and Life Style Among College Undergraduates in 1989: 
A Comparison With 1969 and 1978,: American Journal of Psychiatry 
147:998-001 (1990); Kandel, D. et al, "The Impact of Drug Use on Earnings; 
A Life-Span Perspective," Social Forces 74:243-270 (1995). (4) Department 
of Health and Human Services, "Marijuana and the Cannabinoids," pp., 131-44 
in Drug Abuse and Drug Abuse Research, third Triennial Report to Congress 
from the Secretary (1991). (5) Hannerz, l and Hindmarsh, T. "Neurological 
and Neuroradiological Examination of Chronic Cannabis Smokers," Annals of 
Neurology 13:207-10 (1983); Stuve, F.A. and Straumania, J.J., 
"Electroencephalographic and Evoked Potential Methods in Human Marijuana 
Research Historical Review and Future Trends," Drug Development Research 
20: 369-88 (1990).

A complete discussion of the effects of marijuana is available from 
Marijuana Myths / Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence by 
Lynn Zimmer, Ph.D. and John Morgan, M.D. available from Bookworld Services 
1-800-444-2524.

Visit Drug War Facts at: www.drugsense.org

Common Sense for Drug Policy, Kevin B. Zeese President, 703-354-5694, 
703-354-5695 (fax),  ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake