by Jack Evans

Created on: April 05, 2009   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

The question of is smoking Marihuana dangerous will largely depend on who you ask, where they get their information, the reliability of the information, and whether or not the individual has actually partaken of the herb. Furthermore to what do we compare the alleged dangerousness of this plant; hashish, heroine, cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, tobacco, narcotics or physician prescribed FDA approved medication?

The idea that Marijuana is harmful to the health of an individual is based on studies done in the 1960s and 1970s. In the book "Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts", Dr. Lynn Zimmer and John Morgan address this issue:

"In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell cultures. None reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the National Commission in 1972. In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that "the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health."

Comparing the harmful effects of marijuana to approved medications prescribed by licensed physicians, the FDA reveals to Medical Marijuanaprocon.org in an FOIA request that the primary suspect of the deaths of individuals using marijuana is 0 compared to 10,008. This includes 196 deaths caused by taking anti emetics (Compazine, Reglan, Marinol, Zofran, Anzemet, Kytril, Tigan), 118 for taking anti-spasmodics (Baclofen, Zanaflex), 1539 deaths for taking anti-psychotics (Haldol, Lithium, Neurontin), and 8101 deaths for taking medications in the treatment of ADD, depression, narcolepsy, erectile dysfunction and pain (Ritalin, Wellbutrin, Adderall, Viagra, Vioxx). (See: http://www.medicalmarijuanaprocon.org/pop/deathrepor ts.htm)

Does Marijuana impare driving ability? No. "No increased risk for road trauma was found for drivers exposed to cannabis." ("Psychoactive Substance Use and the Risk of Motor Vehicle Accidents," by K.L.L. Movig et al. (Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 631-636, July 2004)

Can Marijuana cause death? No. "No acute lethal overdoses of cannabis are known, in contrast to several of its illegal (for example, cocaine) and legal (for example, alcohol, aspirin, acetaminophen) counterparts." (The British Medical Journal by Stephen Sidney M.D. Vol. 327, pp. 635-635)

Does Marijuana

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>