Pubdate: Sat, 05 Jan 2013 Source: Great Falls Tribune (MT) Copyright: 2013 Great Falls Tribune Contact: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/customerservice/contactus.html Website: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2502 Author: Ben Forsyth Note: Activist Ben Forsyth lives in Great Falls. DON'T TRUST STREET LOGIC ON MARIJUANA In the Tribune (Dec. 31) a short-sighted article stated that legalized recreational marijuana is beneficial to our society and government. If we believe the article's street-based rationale, we must ignore the quality research, professional medical experience, and obvious facts that prove cannabis is subtly harmful. As is obvious in the Tribune article, cannabis users often cannot grasp the depth of many hard-to-identify cannabis harms. Neurological research has found that some people using brain functions influenced by the drug, often experience a degradation of logic on the subject. Thus, users have trouble recognizing pot's harmful effects and, prompted by its euphoria, become vociferous supporters. The article ignored the fact that cannabis can be addicting. Recent research cited by Harvard University's School of Medicine shows that across North America, cities with legalized medical pot have much higher rates of marijuana addiction than those that do not. This was exemplified locally when the Benefis Addiction Clinic saw a flood of cannabis dependence a few years ago because the loose use of medical marijuana surged legally. The Tribune article does not recognize the established fact that easier availability increases the drug's rate of misuse and dependence even when that availability is protected by law. International studies prove that even short-term use of marijuana can cause subtle harm to a person's intelligence because it reduces attention span and memory that are vital to learning. In a Duke University study, the average youthful persistent cannabis user suffered an eight-point reduction in IQ. Such loss can last for years and affect the user's education, income, health and length of life. That study found that youth who had used cannabis persistently by the age of 18, scored significantly worse on most relevant mental tests up through the age of 38 even though they had stopped using marijuana years earlier. The article did not recognize one of marijuana's most proven harms - its effect on the human immune system. In many people, cannabis reduces the body's capability to resist infection, colds, flu and various immune deficient diseases. The results can be deadly. The respected Institute of Medicine quotes a study which found that AIDS patients who persistently use marijuana have a 50 percent higher death rate than those that do not. Street mythology cannot seem to wrap the average user's mind around these proven medical facts. The Tribune article is uninformed about the financial burden of marijuana borne by society. Most addictions cost the government more than they pay even when highly taxed. The article only considered the expense of incarceration-for-possession in evaluating cannabis criminal costs. It ignored facts showing that pot addiction creates greater costs for related crimes (theft, larceny, robbery, etc.), and also the follow-on need for more law enforcement, prosecution, probation, welfare, and a long list of social support programs. That list does not include the associated but impossible-to-monetarily quantify harms such as increased child neglect, lower job performance, broken families, and traffic deaths... problems that are often connected to heavy pot users who cannot function well in our society. Much of this evidence for truly understanding marijuana and its harms is based upon scientifically established fact, detailed analytical study, and professional treatment experience. Much of the street mythology supporting pot seems founded in emotion, and euphoria, and is facilitated by the user's lack of efficient brain function. When making decisions about the viability of legal drug use, people should not rely on the drug-user mythology found in the Tribune article. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom