One of the most difficult challenges facing parents today is discussing drug and alcohol use with an adolescent son or daughter. Most adults were teenagers themselves during the 1970s, 80s and 90s, a time when drug experimentation could be dismissed as a rite of passage to adulthood. But times have changed. Marijuana today is 15 to 25 times more potent than the pot smoked 30 or 40 years ago. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, average THC (the psychoactive component in marijuana) levels rose from less than 1 percent in the mid-1970s to more than 6 percent in 2002. Sinsemilla (highly potent form of marijuana obtained from unpollinated female plants) potency increased in the past two decades from 6 percent to more than 13 percent, with some samples containing THC levels of up to 33 percent.

Research shows that recurrent or frequent use of this drug suppresses the immune system, damages brain cells and decreases short-term memory, attention span and motivation. Low levels of THC make the user feel relaxed, silly and sleepy. Higher amounts may cause mild sensory distortions, an altered sense of time, loss of short-term memory, loss of balance and difficulty in completing thought processes. Extremely high amounts may result in anxiety, panic, hallucinations, delusions and paranoia. Physical effects may include an increase in heart rate, tightness of the chest, difficulty breathing, lack of muscle coordination and reddened eyes. Chronic smokers are susceptible to significant respiratory problems including recurring chest cold, bronchitis, emphysema, asthma and potentially lung cancer. Marijuana affects necessary skills for safe driving. Marijuana affects alertness, the ability to concentrate, coordination and reaction time. It also makes it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and signs on the road.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes per day. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times as much tar into the lungs as a filtered tobacco cigarette. In all, marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals including tar and other cancer-causing agents. It also contains some of alcohol’s depressant properties and similarly damages the central nervous system, causing neurological and psychological abnormalities.

The 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is a special report on drug use by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This report provides the most comprehensive picture of marijuana and other illicit drug use, and following are key findings:

• Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, with a rate of 6.2 percent. Of the 14.6 million past month marijuana users in 2002, about one third, or 4.8 million persons, used it on 20 or more days in the past month.
• The percentage of youths aged 12 to 17 who had ever used marijuana declined slightly from 2001 to 2002 (21.9 to 20.6 percent). Among young adults aged 18 to 25, the rate increased slightly from 53.0 percent in 2001 to 53.8 percent in 2002.
• Youths were asked how much they thought people risk harming themselves physically and in other ways when they use various substances. Response choices in the survey were “great risk,” “moderate risk,” “slight risk,” or “no risk.” Only 32.4 percent of youths indicated that smoking marijuana once a month was a great risk.
• Among youths indicating that “smoking marijuana once a month” was a “great risk,” only 1.9 percent indicated that they had used marijuana in the past month. However, among youths who indicated “moderate, slight, or no risk,” the prevalence rate was almost 6 times larger (11.3 percent).
• When asked about their perceived availability of drugs, slightly more than half of youths aged 12 to 17 indicated that it would be fairly or very easy to obtain marijuana if they wanted some (55.0 percent).
• Youths were less likely to use substances if they perceived that their parents would disapprove of it. Most youths (89.1 percent) reported that their parents would strongly disapprove of their trying marijuana once or twice. Among these youths, only 5.5 percent had used marijuana in the past month. However, among youths who perceived that their parents would only somewhat disapprove or neither approve nor disapprove of their trying marijuana, 30.2 percent reported past month use of marijuana.
• An estimated 3.5 million people aged 12 or older (1.5 percent of the population) received some kind of treatment for a problem related to the use of alcohol or illicit drugs in the 12 months prior to being interviewed in 2002. Of these, an estimated 974,000 persons received treatment for marijuana.
• Of the 7.1 million Americans classified with dependence on or abuse of illicit drugs, 4.3 million were dependent on or abused marijuana.
• In 1965, only 1.8 percent of youths had ever used marijuana. There were dramatic increases in use during the late 1960s and 1970s, and by 1979, 19.6 percent of youths had ever used marijuana. After that, use declined until 1991, when 11.5 percent of youths had ever used marijuana. The trend reversed during the 1990s, reaching 21.9 percent in 2001 before dropping slightly in 2002 to 20.6 percent.
• 2002 data show decreases from 2001 to 2002 in lifetime use of marijuana among youths.
• High rates of marijuana initiation during the 1970s among the cohort identified as the “baby boomers” has resulted in an increase in the numbers needing treatment for substance abuse problems. The increase in marijuana initiation rates during the 1990s may have the same result.

Finally, marijuana is called a “gateway” drug. Among marijuana’s most harmful consequences is its role in leading to the use of other, harder drugs. Long-term studies of students who use drugs show that very few young people use other illegal drugs without first trying marijuana. Not everyone who uses marijuana will move on to other drugs, but using marijuana sometimes lowers inhibitions about drug use and exposes users to a culture that encourages experimentation and use of other drugs. Marijuana users are two to five times more likely to go on to use harder drugs.

Source: Drug Free America
Site: http://www.dfaf.org/marijuana/whyharmful.php