Facts

No other legal or illegal drug has achieved the cult-like status of marijuana, a factor that makes it especially dangerous for young users.  Now, it’s not just cartels, but everyone is trying to make a profit and our young are most vulnerable.  On the left sidebar, are more articles by leading voices in the field.

Summary of the Facts:

* Today’s marijuana is 3 to 10 times stronger than it was 20 years ago.  Those who begin using pot today are starting with the equivalent of learning to drink with grain alcohol rather than beer.

* 12-17 year-olds and 18-25 year-olds are the two age groups who use marijuana most often.

* Medical marijuana is high in THC and low in CBD, the opposite of what can be used for treating epilepsy.  The media has failed to note the difference when discussing medical pot, a reason its better if CBD is pharmaceutically isolated from medical marijuana.

*  The US has approximately 450,000 hospital emergency room visits for psychosis, paranoia or other symptoms caused by marijuana, a number that has been rising during the last decade.

* Marijuana can trigger psychotic symptoms and/or mental illness, and cognitive decline in youth, more quickly than alcohol and in ways that tobacco does not.

* About 40% of Americans will have a mental health issue sometime in their life, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, addiction, schizophrenia.  Marijuana usage increases the odds of developing a mental illness and expansion of pot will increase the need for mental health treatment.

* Efforts to expand medical marijuana hide the marijuana lobby’s true agenda which is legalization.

* Efforts to legalize for those over age 21 hide the real motivation which is to attract young users and build big profits.  Legal pot  will mean more young users.

* Marijuana usage causes traffic deaths and it is not safe to combine with driving.

* Marijuana is a gateway drug for those who go onto harder drugs. Not all people respond to marijuana the same way, a fact omitted in the pot propaganda.

* Marijuana is addictive, and the major drug involved when teens go into rehab and addiction treatment.

* Marijuana usage is associated with greater risk for testicular cancer in males.

* The only reason users can compare problems caused by pot to the problems of alcohol is that marijuana is not as widely used as alcohol, 6-7 % of the adult population before legalization, vs.  66% who drink.  Now that 10-15% of the adult population is using marijuana, the damage is becoming obvious.


 

Bursting the Bubble of Marijuana Hype