Pubdate: Fri, 04 Dec 1998
Source: Daily Herald (IL)
Contact:  http://www.dailyherald.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Daily Herald Company
Author: Daniel John Sobieski, Chicago
Section: Fence Post

MARIJUANA IS DANGEROUS

Behind a smoke screen of alleged benefits, medical marijuana proponents
succeeded in getting measures passed Nov. 3 in Washington state, Alaska,
Arizona and Nevada.

The American Medical Society considers marijuana a dangerous drug and a
public health concern. Among the organizations that believe smoking it has
no safe or scientifically proven medical use are the Glaucoma Research
Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug
Administration and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

A recent study by doctors of the International Drug Study Institute says
that smoking marijuana has less medical benefit than taking the drug's
active ingredient in its pure form, and neither is of much use when
potential side effects are considered. They warned that patients with
impaired immune systems risk exposure to carcinogens and infections.

According to doctors at New York University and Columbia University,
marijuana smoke contains carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, napthalene and a
carcinogen, and is a questionable treatment of AIDS or cancer symptoms and
that safer and more effective medications are available.

According to the journal Marijuana Research Review, smoking marijuana can
hurt the immune system and lower blood pressure significantly. Such problems
can make certain conditions worse - especially for people with AIDS. Other
drugs and treatments are available, including 24 FDA-approved drugs for
glaucoma and many for nausea associated with chemotherapy and chronic pain,
all free of the contaminants found in smoked marijuana that harm the body.

A study by a team of researchers at the University of South Florida and
published in the journal DNA and Cell Biology shows that marijuana alters
the immune system and brain, and in those whose immune systems are impaired
marijuana may aggravate deteriorating health. For AIDS sufferers, the bad
news is that marijuana may accelerate AIDS development by increasing NF- kb,
which is known to rev up replications of the AIDS virus.

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Checked-by: Don Beck