Is Marijuana Harmful?

The legalization of marijuana has been a hot topic of debate for decades.
I have written an article that takes a look at both sides of the debate as viewed by two prominent advocates on the issue, The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Paul Armentano, a senior policy analyst with NORMAL, a nonprofit lobbying organization that seeks to legalize marijuana.

The ONDCP is the main drug-fighting organization in the United States.  It was established by the federal government in 1988 to oversee the nation's anti-drug efforts and advise the president on drug control policies.

Since its founding in 1970, NORML has provided a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting marijuana smokers.

The Office of Drug Control Policy (ONDPC) states that marijuana's damaging effects are especially harmful to young people. They state that, marijuana impairs brain activity when teenage brains are still developing. As a result, kids who smoke marijuana have difficulty learning and are often depressed and anxious. Moreover, kids will keep using marijuana even when it interferes with school or family relationships, showing how powerful the pull and addictive nature of the drug is.

Paul Armentano, in the 2005 NORMAL Truth Report, July 21, 2005, argues against the official position of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) that marijuana is harmful. Saying that the ONDCP and other policy makers are lying to the public about marijuana. Armentano believes that marijuana cannot cause death by overdose, and cites studies to show it does not cause cancer and is not addictive. Armentano goes on to say that alcohol and tobacco, two legal drugs, are much more harmful and addictive than marijuana.

According to ONDCP, marijuana can cause problems with concentration and thinking, shown by research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the federal agency that provides scientific research on drug abuse and addiction. In a study of cognitive impairment among heavy marijuana users funded by NIDA at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, found that college students who used marijuana regularly had impaired skills related to attention, memory, and learning 24 hours after they last used the drug.

In a different study, conducted at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, they concluded that people who used marijuana frequently (7 or more time a week for an extended period) showed deficits in mathematical skills and verbal expression, as well as selective impairments in memory-retrieval processes.

Other impairments observed in frequent marijuana users involve sensory and time perception and coordinated movement, suggesting use of the drug can adversely affect driving and sports performance. These finding would mainly have the largest impact on students and young adults during their peak learning years.

Armentano makes many arguments against these claims of marijuana's affect on brain function. stating that those findings are reckless and scientifically unfounded. They site federally sponsored population studies conducted in Jamaica, Greece and Costa Rica that found no significant differences in brain function between long-term smokers and non-users. Similarly, a 1999 study of 1,300 volunteers published in The American Journal of Epidemiology reported "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and non-users of cannabis" over a fifteen year period. More recently, a meta-analysis of neurological studies of long-term marijuana smokers by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reaffirmed this conclusion. Additionally, a study published in the Canadian Medical Journal in April 2002 reported that even former heavy marijuana smokers experience no negative measurable effects on intelligence quotient.

A question of whether on not marijuana causes mental health problems is often backed by the following statement, that says, cannabinoid receptors are affected by THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and leads to changes in the brain.  Many of these sites are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. 

The ONDCP claims that, in particular regard to young people, marijuana use can lead to increased anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and other mental health problems.  One study linked social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, attention problems and thoughts of suicide in adolescents with marijuana use during the past year.  Other research shows that kids age 12 to 17 who smoke marijuana weekly are three times more likely to have thoughts of committing suicide, than non-smokers.  Another published study showed that use of cannabis increased the risk of major depression by 400%, and researchers in Sweden found a link between marijuana use and an increased risk of developing schizophrenia.

Paul Armento states, researchers at Harvard Medical School performed magnetic resonance imaging on the brains of 22 long -term cannabis users and 26 controls (subjects with no history of cannabis use).  Imaging displayed "no significant differences" between heavy cannabis smokers compared to control groups.  Authors concluded that "These findings are consistent with recent literature suggesting that cannabis use is not associated with structural changes within the brain as a whole or the hippocampus in particular."  Showing that he will also  use scientific data to back-up his view.

The fact that both of the advocates listed above contend that science is on their side, leads me to believe that the debate will continue for a long time.  But, no-one can deny that marijuana has an affect on the person's mood and behavior, while the drug is in effect shortly after using it.  People have various reasons for wanting to use marijuana, but the continued use of marijuana as a life coping mechanism will likely take away the users ability to deal with everyday problems on their own.  This will, more often than not, lead to compulsive drug seeking despite the harmful effects upon social functioning in the context of family, school, work and recreational activities.
 
Long-term marijuana users trying to use marijuana as a way of covering up another type of substance addiction, something considered a "worse" drug are really increasing their chances of relapsing to the other drug in question.  The relapse could be triggered by the recovering addicts affected judgement while under the influence or, because of the reported irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving in the absence of a supply of marijuana.  These symptoms are known to begin within about 1 day following abstinence, peak at 2-3 days, and subside within 1 or 2 weeks following drug cessation.

Whether you feel marijuana use is harmful or not is up to you, but rarely does it fit in with an active and heathy wellness lifestyle.  Many marijuana users voluntarily cease their smoking, often citing health or professional concerns that may occur.  And, who needs any more complications in life?