Pubdate: Wed, 28 May 2014
Source: Edmond Sun, The (OK)
Copyright: 2014 The Edmond Sun
Contact:  http://edmondsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1591
Author: Mark Schlachtenhaufen

DEA RELEASES REPORT ON MARIJUANA MISCONCEPTIONS

EDMOND - Medical marijuana lacks standardized composition or dosage, 
appropriate prescribing information, quality control, safety 
regulation and a way to measure its effectiveness, according to the DEA.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration released 
"The Dangers and Consequences of Marijuana Abuse," an effort to 
educate the public about marijuana use and its consequences for youth 
and society.

The report acknowledged the development of several FDA-approved drugs 
related to the study of cannabinoids, the active chemicals in 
marijuana. Dronabinol and Nabilone treat nausea. Others include an 
oromuscosal spray for treatment of spasticity (tight muscles) due to 
multiple sclerosis.

The DEA states it supports ongoing research into potential medicinal 
uses of marijuana's active ingredients. However, the benefits of the 
cannabinoid cannabidiol are anecdotal, the report states.

"Legalization of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the 
expense of our children and public safety," the report states. "It 
will create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use 
of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers."

The report lists what the DEA calls the "dangers of marijuana." They include:

* National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow has said 
marijuana use that begins in adolescence increases the risk they will 
become addicted to the drug, The risk of addiction goes from about 1 
in 11 overall to 1 in 6 for those who start using in their teens, 
higher among daily smokers.

* An estimated 17 percent of past year marijuana users aged 12 and 
older used marijuana on 300 or more days within the past 12 months. 
This means that almost 5.4 million persons used marijuana on a daily 
or almost daily basis over a 12 month period.

* An estimated 40.3 percent (7.6 million) of current marijuana users 
aged 12 and older used marijuana on 20 or more days in the past 
month, according to the 2012 federal government National Survey on 
Drug Use and Health.

* The survey found an estimated 2.9 million persons aged 12 and older 
used an illicit drug for the first time within the past 12 months. 
That equals about 7,900 initiates per day. The largest number of new 
initiates used marijuana (2.4 million).

* One in every 15 high school seniors (6.5 percent) is a daily or 
near-daily marijuana user, according to the 2013 Monitoring the 
Future Survey. Nearly 23 percent of high school seniors say they 
smoked marijuana in the month prior to the survey, and just over 36 
percent say they smoked within the previous year. More than 12 
percent of eighth graders said they used marijuana during the past year.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom