10 Things Every Parent, Teenager & Teacher Should Know About Marijuana

[RealGanjaMan]

"Prohibition...goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

-- Abraham Lincoln, December, 1840

This pamphlet was researched and produced as a public service by the Family Council on Drug Awareness, P.O. Box 71093, LA CA 90071-0093

1 Q. What is Marijuana?

A. "Marijuana" refers to the dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant [1], which contain the non-narcotic chemical THC at various potencies. It is smoked or eaten to produce the feeling of being "high." The different strains of this herb produce different sensual effects, ranging from sedative to stimulant.

2 Q. Who Uses Marijuana?

A. There is no simple profile of a typical marijuana user. It has been used for 1000s of years for medical, social, and religious reasons and for relaxation [2]. Several of our Presidents [3] are believed to have smoked it. One out of every five Americans say they have tried it. And it is still popular among artists, writers, musicians, activists, lawyers, inventors, working people, etc.

3 Q. How Long Have People Been Using Marijuana?

A. Marijuana has been used since ancient times [4]. While field hands and working people have often smoked the raw plant, aristocrats historically prefer hashish [5] made from the cured flowers of the plant. It was not seen as a problem until a calculated disinformation [sic] campaign was launched in the 1930s [6], and the first American laws against using it were passed [7].

4 Q. Is Marijuana Addictive?

A. No, it is not [8]. Most users are moderate consumers who smoke it socially to relax. We now know that 10% of our population have "addictive personalities" and they are neither more nor less likely to overindulge in cannabis than in anything else. On a relative scale, marijuana is less habit forming than either sugar or chocolate but more so than anchovies. Sociologists report a general pattern of marijuana use that peaks in the early adult years, followed by a period of levelling off and then a gradual reduction in use [9].

5 Q. Has Anyone Ever Died From Smoking Marijuana?

A. No; not one single case, not ever. THC is one of the few chemicals for which there is no known toxic amount [10]. The federal agency NIDA says that autopsies reveal that 75 people per year are high on marijuana when they die: this does not mean that marijuana caused or was even a factor in their deaths. The chart below compares the number of deaths attributable to selected substances in a typical year:
Tobacco----------------------------- 340,000 - 395,000
Alcohol (excluding crime/accidents)---- 125,000+
Drug Overdose (prescription)---------- 24,000 - 27,000
Drug Overdose (illegal)---------------- 3,800 - 5,200
Marijuana---------------------------- 0

*Source: U.S. Government Bureau of Mortality Statistics, 1987

6 Q. Does Marijuana Lead to Crime and/or Hard Drugs?

A. No [11]. The only crime most marijuana users commit is that they use marijuana. And, while many people who abuse dangerous drugs also smoke marijuana, the old "stepping stone" theory is now discredited, since virtually all of them started out "using" legal drugs like sugar, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, etc.

7 Q. Does Marijuana Make People Violent?

A. No. In fact, Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry Anslinger once told Congress just the opposite - that it leads to non-violence and pacifism [12]. If he was telling the truth (which he and key federal agencies have not often done regarding marijuana), then re-legalizing marijuana should be considered as one way to curb violence in our cities. The simple fact is that marijuana does not change your basic personality. The government says that over 20 million Americans still smoke it, probably including some of the nicest people you know.

8 Q. How Does Marijuana Affect Your Health?

A. Smoking anything is not healthy, but marijuana is less dangerous than tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time. This health risk can be avoided by eating the plant instead of smoking it [13], or can be reduced by smoking smaller amounts of stronger marijuana. There is no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual problems [14] but, like alcohol, its use by children or adolescents is discouraged. Cannabis is a medicinal herb that has hundreds of proven, valuable theraputic uses - from stress reduction to glaucoma to asthma to cancer therapy, etc. [15].

9 Q. What About All Those Scary Statistics and Studies?

A. Most were prepared as scare tactics for the government by Dr. Gabriel Nahas, and were so biased and unscientific that Nahas was fired by the National Institute of Health [16] and finally renounced his own studies as meaningless [17]. For one experiment, he suffocated monkeys for five minutes at a time, using proportionately more smoke than the average user inhales in an entire lifetime [18]. The other studies that claim sensational health risks are also suspect, since they lack controls and produce results which cannot be replicated or independently verified [19].

10 Q. What Can I Do About Marijuana?

A. No independent government panel that has studied marijuana has ever recommended jail for users [20]. Concerned persons should therefore ask their legislators to re-legalize and tax this plant, subject to age limits and regulations similar to those on alcohol and tobacco.

-RGM

Reputation Comments on this post:

	Thanks for the post, good read.
	not bad
	Very good info.

[old hippie 56]

Someone ought to send one to every member of the Senate for the upcoming amendment vote for medicial marijuana.

[RealGanjaMan]

Originally Posted by old hippie 56

Someone ought to send one to every member of the Senate for the upcoming amendment vote for medicial marijuana.

Hehe, good idea!

But really, I think alot of (ignorant) people could benefit from reading this simple article.

-RGM

[gitst0opid]

Hey Realgangjaman! Nice post! I would appreciate it if you can post the footnotes too, so that if any reads it, they will know it is credited. Thanks!

[TOURIZT]

"For one experiment, he suffocated monkeys for five minutes at a time, using proportionately more smoke than the average user inhales in an entire lifetime"



OH SHIT!! them monkeys mustve been FUCKED up!

"Someone ought to send one to every member of the Senate for the upcoming amendment vote for medicial marijuana."

even better. how bout this, everymember of this forum prints 100 copies and puts them up every where they can?

[gitst0opid]

Useless without footnotes.

[powderhead55]

Originally Posted by RealGanjaMan

A. No; not one single case, not ever. THC is one of the few chemicals for which there is no known toxic amount -RGM

i'd kinda have to disagree, check this out http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabi...ritings5.shtml

i agree that there have been no reported cases, but if its possible to OD than it's def possible to die from it

[Sky Walker]

Originally Posted by powderhead55

i agree that there have been no reported cases, but if its possible to OD than it's def possible to die from it

What makes you say this?

An overdose can be lethal or non-lethal, just because you can consume an undesirable amount does not mean that it can or will definitely kill you, that's just silly.

check this out;

"Overdose Deaths
Another consideration is the acute risk to life and health from use of the drug, especially if it is used in a higher than normal dose. Even a non-addictive drug can be harmful if it is relatively poisonous. A measure for the risk of a dangerous level of intoxication is LD50.

That's the amount of the drug that administered to animals or humans would kill half the subjects. The greater the ratio between the normal dose and LD50 the lower the risk of a fatal overdose. Here are these ratios for three of the most popular recreational drugs:


Substance Safety Margin

Alcohol 1:4 - 1:20
Caffeine 1:100
Marijuana 1:40,000




The nicotine contained in a single cigarette, when eaten, can kill a baby.
Two or three cigarettes, when eaten, can kill a healthy adult.
Drinking a large bottle of whisky in one night can kill an adult.
Swallowing about fifty aspirin can be fatal.
A tube of sleeping pills and you lose your liver... or your life!
The caffeine in about 100 cups of coffee, taken in pill form, is lethal.
All these substances are legal.


By comparison, according to tests on rats and monkeys,[2] an adult would have to eat between 1 and 2 kg (2 to 4.5 pounds) of marijuana, enough for rolling several thousand joints, all in a single day to run a risk of a fatal overdose. It is simply impossible to kill oneself by smoking or eating too much marijuana.

In 5,000 years of recorded marijuana history not a single person is known to ever have died from a marijuana overdose. After hearing extensive evidence Judge Young of the US Drug Enforcement Agency concluded in 1988 in his ruling on the legal status of marijuana as a medicine: Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."

http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/gen007.htm

[powderhead55]

i think i was misunderstood, i didnt mean that an overdose will kill you, junkies overdose all the time and dont die, what i meant was that if it is possible to overdose, than its definitely possible to die from it, correct?

and ur talking plain plant-material when you say marijuana right? top grade hash is ALOT more potent, and what i was commenting on was the that he said THC. I also didnt mean smoked, i agree anyone would pass out or be unable to grip a joint before an overdose was reached.

Pure THC wouldnt take 1-2kilos. Im not saying that it wouldnt be hard, im just saying that it's possible to die from "THC".

[hh339]

Cmon now powderhead55, it is possible to die from anything in too large amounts in a too short period of time. A ton of cheese IV, a million chili nuts crushed and insufflated, a thousand bananas rectally... You will not die from cannabis in reality, thats just the way it is.