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If this usa took a hard line on pot and other drugs we could reduce all violent crime by half within five years. It works in other countries. I have bee repeatedly saying, Americans have too much civil freedom. This is not the 50's --tough times call for a no-nonsense approach. In Saudi Arabia you can get your hand cut off for some crimes.

I feel it's necessary to point out that the only addiction that is related to MJ is mental. In otherwords, "It's all in your head".

If one were to take your flawed logic. I would way, because poison ivy was created by God, I have no problem with eating it or rubbing it all over my face.

Not all things are lawful

Marijuana is a mind-destroying and altering hallucinogenic drug.

Scrippture says you are not to destroy your body, which is God's temple.

Opinions in the literature on the relationship between cannabis and aggression. violence and crime are varied and contradictory. Laboratory studies of the acute effects of cannabis on human beings indicate that aggression and violence, at least under controlled conditions, are rare. Most investigators report a quieting or tranquilizing effect, although significant changes in behaviour are ordinarily difficult to detect at normal doses. No tendency towards aggression or violence was seen in connection with cannabis in any of the Commission experiments or social research. In a recent study, cannabis was much less likely than alcohol to produce signs of aggressiveness in a group of regular users of both drugs.108 In addition. no signs of cannabis caused aggression were seen in the Addiction Research Foundation's sub-chronic experimental study of daily marijuana use.436

In Blum's survey of cannabis users, very few instances of aggression or fighting were noted, even though the subjects were willing to acknowledge other negative aspects of cannabis use.59 One exceptional report from South Africa in 1938, where cannabis was given to a group of psychotic patients, noted that some of these individuals became irritable, excited and assaultive.512

In rodents. cannabis usually decreases aggressiveness and fighting, even at doses which do not produce marked sedation, although under some unusual conditions (extreme cold, or starvation, for example) and severe chronic drug administration regimes some increase in fighting has been noted.112,541,559,605 Cannabis has also been shown to reduce aggressiveness in monkeys.246 Generalizations which can be made from these animal studies to humans are, of course, limited.

The short-term physiological effects of a typical cannabis dose on normal persons are generally quite benign, and are apparently of little clinical significance. Perhaps the most commonly reported physiological response to cannabis is a dose-related increase in heart pulse rate. In Commission experiments, a dose producing effects generally within the range of the subjects' past experience reliably increased pulse rate by more than one-third. A slight increase in systolic blood pressure was also seen at the higher dose. These cardiovascular effects disappeared within a few hours. Other studies in the literature have been inconsistent with respect to blood pressure effectssome investigators report an increase with cannabis, while others found no change or a slight decrease.284,296,301,407,564,670 Synthetic THC-like compounds have been shown to produce major reductions in blood pressure in some species.252 Changes in the electrocardiogram are reportedly minimal for normal subjects 284,301,436 Subjects with cardiac abnormalities have not been studied, however. Marijuana may reduce the typical heart rate response to breath inhalation or coughing. 519

Cannabis reliably induces a swelling of the minor conjunctival blood vessels in the membranes around the eye, producing a slight 'blood-shot' appearance (termed conjunctival congestion) similar to that seen with alcohol.399 This finding was confirmed in Commission studies. (This effect may be, at least in part, a secondary consequence of local irritation resulting from an inhibition of tear glands and subsequent drying of the eye, but is not caused by direct smoke irritation.) No corresponding retinal vascular change has been observed within the eye14,263 and the clinical significance of the conjunctival effect is probably minimal. A significant decrease in finger temperature in a Commission experiment suggests a slight constriction of minor blood vessels in the skin,440 although this latter vascular response has not been directly verified. Slight edema or puffing around the eyes sometimes occurs.16,155 Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence of pupil dilation with cannabis, and recent controlled studies have detected no change or a slight pupillary constriction. 155,265,297,661 A reduction in intraocular (within the eye) fluid pressure has been reported with marijuana and may have therapeutic significance. 264

Salivation was significantly decreased by cannabis in a Commission experiment, even with low doses.440 There are occasional reports by users of initially stimulated saliva secretion, followed by a drying of the mouth, throat and nasal passages, but this bi-phasic response has not been verified in the laboratory. Minor effects on skin conductance and sweat gland activity were inconsistent both in Commission experiments,251,440,518 and other studies. 204,431,522 Cannabis may stimulate urination16,407 but such an effect has not been clarified. No consistent changes in blood sugar functions have been reported.161,279,397,407,505,661 Appetite is usually stimulated, but perhaps not as universally as commonly believed,3,16,248,279,407 and changes in hunger with the drug seem unrelated to blood glucose. Cannabis has not been reported to produce any significant changes in general hormone or blood biochemistry in man, except indirectly by eliciting general signs of arousal or activation in some instances.283,397,407,670 Acute use of cannabis does not seem to affect kidney or liver function or alter basal metabolism.407 No substantial changes in respiration have been noted with acute use, 407,564,661,670 nor have significant alterations in deep tendon reflex and other simple nerve functions been observed in humans.284,297,527 High doses in rats may increase DNA content in brain tissues.112 THC may lower body temperature slightly in humans,655 and large doses produce significant temperature reduction in animals.225,252,489

The acute effects of cannabis administration on the electroencephalogram (EEG) are slight at "social" doses and are generally considered to be of little clinical significance.189,308,527,641 Changes in sleeping EEG's (including REM phases) have not been clearly established, and existing reports are contradictory.32,285,522,574 Cannabis slightly alters the electrocortical visual evoked response in a way which suggests some increased reactivity or arousal effect.611 in a Commission experiment, enhanced two-flash visual discrimination also suggests some neuro-physiological (perhaps cortical) activation with the drug.440 Much higher doses in monkeys, however, produce changes which seem to reflect an ultimate depressant action.76

The effects of cannabis on neurohumoral transmitters is unclear. Existing studies are conflicting, but it appears that there is some alteration in brain concentration of catecholamines, serotonin and other neurochernicals in most of the animals studied. 67,90,140,207,280,409,446,565,579,619 The significance of these changes is ambiguous, but information in this area is increasing at a considerable rate.

Ling and associates reported that daily administration of THC to rats (for four days) failed to produce significant effects on general adrenal and gonadal activity, except at very high doses. However, an involution of the thymus gland was observed, which was similar to that produced by stress.370

Muscle strength seems to decrease with higher doses of cannabis. In Commission research the upper dose produced no change in maximum momentary strength of hand grip, but a one-minute sustained finger grip task showed a decrement, even five hours after smoking.440 Similar effects have been observed by others at higher doses. 284,407,507 Singh recently found no effect on acute muscle strength. but reported some evidence of reduced efficiency of work on a bicycle ergometer after marijuana,564 thus supporting the results of a 1901 study.183 Paradoxically, the use of cannabis to reduce fatigue during hard physical labour has been noted in several non-industrial countries.16,38,73,124,125,295,534,651 The effects of the drug under normal labour conditions have not been systematically studied.

Recently declassified United States Army research (with synthetic forms of THC and related analogues) has shown that some cannabinoids possess significant hypnotic, anaesthetic, anti-convulsant, anti-hypertensive and temperature-reducing effects of possible therapeutic potential.16,249,259,284,407 Controlled clinical trials in humans have yet to be completed, however

In the following (admittedly over-simplified) hypothetical exercise, assume a city with a population of one million, with 150,000 persons between the ages 15-25, an incidence of ten per cent regular cannabis use in that age group, and an incidence of schizophrenia-like conditions in 0.5 per cent of that sub-population (0.05 per cent would be expected to show initial schizophrenic breakdown per year if reactions were evenly distributed throughout the ten-year period). By multiplying through the various probabilities, one can predict that seven to eight cases of schizophrenia per year would occur among cannabis-smoking young people, even if no interaction existed between the drug and the disorder, and any overlap being merely random coincidence. Such cases undoubtedly exist and must present a difficult and challenging diagnostic and therapeutic problem.

It should be pointed out that schizophrenia is only one of many serious psychological problems which commonly emerge in adolescence, and a variety of other forms of psychological disorder would also be expected to occur by chance in a cannabis-using population. Some observers estimate that 10-30% of adolescents experience temporary or long-lasting psychological disorders or adjustment problems. Consequently, one would expect to see on a chance basis alone, a significant number of young people who were psychologically disturbed and using cannabis at the same time. In a small number of these individuals, the onset of both acute psychological problems and cannabis use would be expected to coincide.

While the above hypothetical exercise was focussed primarily on schizophrenia as an example, a similar analysis could be made for a variety of other personality and behavioural patterns which have been associated with cannabis use at different times in the literature

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There a tendency in much of the Eastern literature to differentiate between the effects of marijuana or bhang and the more potent, concentrated forms of cannabis such as hashish or charas. It would appear that chronic heavy cannabis users prefer the more potent compounds and are also more likely to be mentioned in studies of adverse effects. It is not clear. however, if the more potent preparations are per se any more or less likely to produce adverse effects in the long run than are the milder materials. A similar distinction. based on potency, has traditionally been made in the alcohol literature. with more serious consequences often attributed to the use of distilled liquor than to the consumption of weaker drinks such as beer or wine. 450 Recent studies299,508,596' have shown, however, that even though acute poisoning with alcohol may occur more frequently with distilled spirits, longterm effects of chronic alcoholism are related to total alcohol consumed and not to the form or potency of the individual drinks. An analogy might exist between the alcohol and marijuana experience. While it is generally much easier to consume massive quantities of cannabinoids in the form of hashish rather than marijuana (and this might make acute adverse reactions more likely with hashish), until further pharmacological studies are done, it would be premature to assume that one cannabis preparation is more likely than another to produce chronic adverse effects in the long run. It should be noted, however, that marijuana and hashish generally differ in relative cannabinoid proportions as well as overall THC concentration (in that the ratio of CBD and CBN to THC is usually significantly higher in hashish see Table 2).

If attention is focussed on the North American literature alone, one is still left with an apparently paradoxical situation. If concern is directed to isolated (and, more recently, grouped) clinical case reports only, the impression is gained that there is, or soon will be, an epidemic of serious cannabis-induced psychopathology on this continent. On the other hand, attempts to locate severe chronic cases, starting from a broad population of users, or even a narrower population of general psychiatric patients and hospital admissions, have met with little success. This would strongly suggest that "cannabis psychosis" or other severe cannabis-related disorders requiring in-patient treatment are statistically rare in North America. This does not mean that isolated case reports are not clinically valid, however

The effects of cannabis on psychomotor skills depends upon dose, the subject's past history of use (and probably his experience with the task while 'high') and the nature of the sensory, cognitive and muscular components involved in the task studied. The "set and setting" are also undoubtedly important, as well, but have not been adequately studied in this context.

Mayor La Guardia's Committee found that apparently large doses of oral or smoked cannabis impaired hand and body steadiness and choice reaction time. Simple reaction time and maximum tapping speed were little affected. The decrements were generally dose-related, and persons with past cannabis experience showed less impairment in performance than did those who had not taken cannabis before.407' The findings of decreased hand and body steadiness and impaired complex reaction time have been recently confirmed, as well as the observation that experience with the drug may reduce or eliminate the impairment.133,305,337 There is some suggestion that cannabis may slightly alter ocular-motor (eye movement) function,455 although the general significance of such an effect is unclear.

More complicated psychomotor skills, requiring an integration of continuously changing visual and muscular feedback and motor control have recently been studied. Weil and co-workers tested cannabis-naive subjects with two different doses of smoked marijuana and an inactive placebo. Performance on a task requiring muscular co-ordination and attention (Pursuit Rotor Test) declined as dose increased. No effect was seen with the high dose in a small group of experienced cannabis users.661' Carlin and associates found no significant cannabis effects in experienced cannabis smokers on pursuit rotor performance, either while the task was being learned, or after the subjects' tracking abilities had improved and stabilized with practice.111 Manno and associates found a dose-dependent impairment of pursuit tracking performance in a group which included both experienced and cannabis-naive individuals. A tracking impairment due to cannabis was demonstrated in three separate studies, although a dose-dependent relationship was evident only when the drug was administered on a body weight basis. Marijuana and alcohol together produced significantly greater impairment of tracking performance on one of the four stimulus patterns tested than did either drug alone. There is some suggestion that boredom and attentional factors played a significant role in these deficits.337,397,398,399,400

Crancer's group found no cannabis effects on a laboratory-simulated driving task.145 This study will be discussed in more detail below. Similarly, a recent study in Alberta found no marijuana-related impairment on a "pilot simulator" laboratory apparatus designed to assess "muscular complex coordination" skills."' Rafaelsen and associates, in a preliminary report of their cannabis and alcohol driving simulator research, noted no drug effects on "start time". but both drugs increased "brake time".515 Again, attention problems were implicated in the brake time delays. Binder reported that marijuana increased response latency in a laboratory tracking task.55

The Commission has investigated the effects of various doses of high purity THC, marijuana and alcohol on several psychomotor abilities in experienced users of these drugs.251,440,518 Both the upper cannabis and alcohol (.07% blood alcohol level - b.a.l.) doses produced subjective effects reported to be generally comparable to those typically experienced when 'high' or 'stoned'. (Although most subjects felt that the dose produced effects that were at least as intensive as their normal experience with the drug, others reported that they felt less 'high' than usual.) Simple tracking and complex tracking (involving the addition of a foot choice-reaction task and occassional polarity reversals if, the control device), tapping speed, and some automobile driving tasks were studied. The driving data will be discussed separately below.

Maximum tapping speed was unaffected by cannabis.440 In the first hour after drug administration, alcohol and, less consistently, the upper marijuana dose resulted in a decrease in simple and complex compensatory tracking performance. 518 The interaction of low marijuana and low alcohol (.03% b.a.l.) in combination typically resulted in more error in complex tracking than either low dose treatment alone. An additive drug effect was not as evident in simple tracking. A more detailed analysis of the various components of tracking error (discussed in Annex A of this chapter) suggests that the mechanisms of the effects of marijuana and alcohol on this task are somewhat distinct. Speed of reaction to tracking control polarity change tended to be slower with the higher dose of alcohol, but not with the other drug conditions. During complex tracking, whenever a number appeared on an electronic tube positioned above the tracking screen, the subject was required to push either a left or right pedal, or continue pushing a middle pedal with his foot, depending on which of three numbers was presented. No warning signal was given. This task was designed to assess both secondary attention and response time. Marijuana did not significantly change choice reaction time, but alcohol reliably decreased response speed. The drugs did not cause subjects to miss signals or respond at the wrong time any more often than with placebo, suggesting no drug effects on the level of attention required to perform this task. The effects of low alcohol and marijuana in combination on choice-reaction were not significantly different from the effects of alcohol alone. No reliable drug effects were seen on psychomotor performance when the subjects were retested four hours after smoking. The additive clecremental effects of alcohol and cannabis on psychomotor performance suggested in this study and by Manno and associates399 may be of social importance because of the increased use of these drugs in combination

Weed is harmless

If the effects of caffein were the same as smoking pot then why don't they make funny movies about people on "coffee"?

Everyone knows a pot head or two...to say their lives are less than productive and living in a permanent state of oblivion is not in the least harmful to themselves and those who surround them is like saying mental illness is freedom! They are the parasites of society. And you know it.

Why live life when you can just coast from your couch getting fat on chips and junk food stoned out or your fuuuucking mind??? How attractive!!! Not to mention the mood swings and altered personalities, they get to such a point they have better personalities when they are high then when they are straight.

The argument that there are functioning pot heads living amongst us can also be used about heorine and crack. I have known heroin using lawyers and cocaine addicted doctors who are well and "functioning"... should we also legalize heroine and crack?

Chronic pot smokers not only put their mental health at risk, they are at very high risk of heart attacks and lung desease. Not to mention what useless members of society they make.

Shiiit if we were intended to live in a ZOMBIE NATION drugs would have be an accepted part of society by now

Visit a drug rehab center any time soon? Talked to people who developed paranoid schitzofrenia and heart probblems because of pot?

No one seems to talk about those people because who needs the downer?

The effects of THC and Caffein are totally different, but there both depressents. The point I was making was regarding the classification of the two drugs, which do fall into the same catergory. Unless you want to put weed in a case of it's own, which would then be considered Cannibis.

I don't recomend people start doing any drugs, but for those that make the choice, it's not fair to demonize the.

If they can handle it without killing or hurting anyone....

You need to start putting 'IMO' infront of some of your statements. No member of society is usless... It's just the high and mighty throwing there weight around that gets people perceived as usless.

You think people sit on the coach watching TV because of weed? From my point of view weed makes this tolerable.