I get so sick o people like this. Just, please, go mind your own business.
This is a public thread for discussion of Dank's Bank, if the owner engages in activity that endangers the investment he has been trusted with he is opening himself up to public criticism in this public forum.
a mentally unbalanced person such as Rarity
Please refrain from personal attacks.
Jesus christ, you're an idiot, smoking weed is not bad for you. End of convo. I don't see anyone else here with a logical mind backing you up.
I have posted multiple expert determinations of the dangers from scientists and medical experts. Your rejection of the truth does not change that.
Marijuana harms in many ways, and kids are the most vulnerable to
its damaging effects. Use of the drug can lead to significant health,
safety, social, and learning or behavioral problems, especially for young
users. Making matters worse is the fact that the marijuana available
today is more potent than ever.
Shortterm effects of marijuana use include memory loss, distorted
perception, trouble with thinking and problemsolving, and anxiety.
Students who use marijuana may find it hard to learn,
4
thus jeopardizing
their ability to achieve their full potential.
COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
That marijuana can cause problems with concentration and thinking
has been shown in research funded by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA), the
federal agency that brings
the power of science to
bear on drug abuse and
addiction. A NIDA
funded study at McLean
Hospital in Belmont,
Massachusetts, is part of
the growing body of
research documenting
cognitive impairment
among heavy marijuana users.
5
The study 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.
Another study, conducted at the University of Iowa College of
Medicine, found that people who used marijuana frequently (7 or more
MYTH 1 Marijuana is harmless.
MARIJUANA myths & 3
of D or below were more than
4 times as likely to have used
marijuana in the past year as
youths who reported an
average grade of A.
78
MARIJUANA FACTS
Youths with an average gradetimes weekly for an extended period) showed deficits in mathematical
skills and verbal expression, as well as selective impairments in
memoryretrieval processes.
6
These findings clearly have significant
implications for young people, since reductions in cognitive function
can lead to poor performance in school.
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.
7
Effects such as these may be especially problematic during teens’ peak
learning years, when their brains are still developing.
MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
Smoking marijuana leads to changes in the brain similar to those
caused by cocaine, heroin, and alcohol.
8
All of these drugs disrupt the
flow of chemical neurotransmitters, and all have specific receptor sites
in the brain that have been linked to feelings of pleasure and, over
time, addiction. Cannabinoid receptors are affected by THC, the active
ingredient in marijuana, and 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.
9
Particularly for 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 pastyear
marijuana use.
10
Other research shows that kids age 12 to 17 who
smoke marijuana weekly are three times more likely than nonusers to
have thoughts about committing suicide.
11
A recently published
longitudinal study showed that use of cannabis increased the risk of
major depression fourfold, and researchers in Sweden found a link
between marijuana use and an increased risk of developing
schizophrenia.
12
According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine,
addiction and psychiatric disorders often occur together. The latest
National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that adults who use
illicit drugs were more than twice as likely to have serious mental
illness as adults who did not use an illicit drug.
13
4 MARIJUANA MARIJUANA myths & FACTSResearchers conducting a longitudinal study of psychiatric disorders
and substance use (including alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs)
have suggested several possible links between the two: 1) people may
use drugs to feel better and alleviate symptoms of a mental disorder; 2)
the use of the drug and the disorder share certain biological, social, or
other risk factors; or 3) use of the drug can lead to anxiety, depression,
or other disorders.
14
TRAFFIC SAFETY
Marijuana also harms when it contributes to auto crashes or other
incidents that injure or kill, a problem that is especially prevalent
among young people. In a study reported by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, even a moderate dose of marijuana was
shown to impair driving performance. The study measured reaction
time and how often drivers checked the rearview mirror, side streets,
and the relative speed of other vehicles.
15
Another study looked at data concerning shocktrauma patients
who had been involved in traffic crashes. The researchers found that 15
percent of the trauma patients who were injured while driving a car or
motorcycle had been smoking marijuana, and another 17 percent had
both THC and alcohol in their blood.
16
Statistics such as these are
particularly troubling in light of recent survey results indicating that
almost 36 million people age 12 or older drove under the influence of
alcohol, marijuana, or another illicit drug in the past year.
17
LONGTERM CONSEQUENCES
The consequences of marijuana use can last long after the drug’s
effects have worn off. Studies show that early use of marijuana is
strongly associated with later use of other illicit drugs and with a
greater risk of illicit drug dependence or abuse.
18
In fact, an analysis of
data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse showed that
the age of initiation for marijuana use was the most important
predictor of later need for drug treatment.
19
MARIJUANA MARIJUANA myths & FACTS 5Regular marijuana use has been shown to be associated with other
longterm problems, including poor academic performance,
20
poor job
performance and increased absences from work,
21
cognitive deficits,
22
and lung damage.
23
Marijuana use is also associated with a number of
risky sexual behaviors, including having multiple sex partners,
24
initiating sex at an early age,
25
and failing to use condoms consistently.
26
6 MARIJUANA MARIJUANA myths & FACTSMYTH 2 Marijuana is not addictive.
It was once believed that marijuana was not addictive; many people
still believe this to be the case. But recent research shows that use of
the drug can indeed lead to dependence. Some heavy users of
marijuana develop withdrawal symptoms when they have not used the
drug for a period of time.
Marijuana use, in fact, is often associated with behavior that meets
the criteria for substance dependence established by the American
Psychiatric Association in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSMIV). Considered the standard reference for
health professionals who make psychiatric diagnoses, the DSM
contains information about all mental disorders for children and adults.
As described in the DSM, the criteria for substance dependence
include tolerance (needing more of the substance to achieve the same
effects, or diminished effect with the same amount of the substance);
withdrawal symptoms; using a drug even in the presence of adverse
effects; and giving up social, occupational, or recreational activities
because of substance use.
27
According to the 2002 National Survey on
Drug Use and Health, 4.3 million Americans were classified with
dependence on or abuse of marijuana. That figure represents 1.8
percent of the total U.S. population and 60.3 percent of those classified
as individuals who abuse or are dependent on illicit drugs.
28
The desire for marijuana exerts a powerful pull on those who use it,
and this desire, coupled with withdrawal symptoms, can make it hard
for longterm smokers to stop using the drug. Users trying to quit
often report irritability, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping.
29
On
psychological tests they also display increased aggression, which peaks
approximately one week after they last used the drug.
30
Many people use marijuana compulsively even though it interferes
with family, school, work, and recreational activities. What makes this
all the more disturbing is that marijuana use has been shown to be
MARIJUANA MARIJUANA myths & FACTS 7three times more likely to lead to dependence among adolescents than
among adults.
31
Research indicates that the earlier kids start using
marijuana, the more likely they are to become dependent on this or
other illicit drugs later in life.
32
TREATMENT ADMISSIONS
More teens enter treatment each year with a primary diagnosis of
marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined.
33
Currently, 62 percent of teens in drug treatment are dependent on
marijuana.
34
The proportion of admissions for primary marijuana abuse
increased from 6 percent in 1992 to 15 percent of admissions to
treatment in 2000.
35
Almost half (47 percent) of the people admitted
for marijuana were under 20
years old, and many of them
The earlier kids start started smoking pot at a very
using marijuana, the more early age. Of those admitted
for treatment for primary
likely they are to become
marijuana dependence, 56
dependent on this or other
percent had first used the drug
illicit drugs later in life.
79
by age 14, and 26 percent had
begun by age 12.
36
8 MARIJUANA MARIJUANA
myths & FACTSAlthough some people think of marijuana as a benign natural herb,
the drug actually contains many of the same cancercausing chemicals
found in tobacco. Puff for puff, the amount of tar inhaled and the level
of carbon monoxide absorbed
by those who smoke marijuana,
regardless of THC content, are
three to five times greater than
among tobacco smokers.
37
Consequently, people who
use marijuana on a regular basis
often have the same breathing problems as tobacco users, such as
chronic coughing and wheezing, more frequent acute chest illnesses,
and a tendency toward obstructed airways. And because respiratory
problems can affect athletic performance, smoking marijuana may be
particularly harmful to kids involved in sports.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have
determined that marijuana smoking can cause potentially serious
damage to the respiratory system at a relatively early age. Moreover, in
a review of research on the health effects of marijuana use, the
researchers cited findings that show “the daily smoking of relatively
small amounts of marijuana (3 to 4 joints) has at least a comparable, if
not greater effect” on the respiratory system than the smoking of more
than 20 tobacco cigarettes.
38
Recently, scientists in England produced further evidence linking
marijuana use to respiratory problems in young people. A research
team at the University of Birmingham found that regular use of
marijuana, even for less than six years, causes a marked deterioration in
lung function. These findings, the study concludes, “may have serious
longterm implications for what is currently regarded as a relatively
‘harmless’ recreational habit.”
39
https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/marijuana_myths_facts.pdf
