🚀 go-pugleaf

MARIJUANA IS BAD NEWS

The weapons of choice for those who campaign to change established social
policy are, unfortunately, lies, distortion and misrepresentation of the
facts in order to create confusion and doubt in the public's mind, which
decreases resistance to the proposed changes.

The Dangers of Marijuana

Marijuana (the dried leaves), hashish and hashish oil (compressed resin of
the flower) all come from the cannabis plant (hemp) which is the most
complex of all illegal drugs. It has 425 known constituent parts and all
these parts alter the biological function of some organ in the human body.

One of the most active parts of this plant is referred to as THC or
Tetrahydrocannibinol and its effects depend on the strength of the marijuana
used. For example, back in the 1950s, THC potency usually ranged from � to 1
or 2%. In the year 2000, however, it is usually between 4% to 8% with the
result that it can cause up to 10 times more intoxication than it did 20
years ago. Hybrid plants are now being cultivated with a potency of up to
30%.
Many people who believe marijuana is merely a harmless soft drug, base their
conclusion on their knowledge of the marijuana used in the past, not
realizing the huge increase in potency of marijuana today. The increased
potency clearly invalidates many earlier studies. Supporters of legalizing
marijuana, however, are not about to disclose this crucial difference.

How Marijuana Affects the Body

Marijuana lodges in those body organs which have significant fat content
such as the brain, the testes and ovaries, as well as in the general fat
stores. Because the body eliminates such fat soluble substances slowly, half
the THC from a single "joint" remains in fatty tissue and cell membranes for
approximately one week after it is smoked. The rest is slowly eliminated
over a period of some weeks. About a month is needed for the body to
completely eliminate the harmful substance. If another "joint" is smoked
within a week before the previous "joint" has been eliminated, the level of
THC in the body increases.

Marijuana produces both acute and chronic effects. The acute effects include
a subjective intoxication, usually referred to as "being on a high" or
"stoned." There is a feeling of euphoria, an intensification of ordinary
sensory experiences and poor visual perception. There is also an impairment
of the ability to perform complex and precise motor, visual or mental tasks,
such as operating equipment, playing sports, driving a car or engaging in a
rational discussion. The increased number of accidents that have been
reported in the last few years, on both the roads and the ski slopes, may
have been due to the increased use of cannabis.

Chronic and regular users of marijuana lack motivation, becoming more
listless and passive. They may lose interest in school or work and fail to
meet the everyday demands of ordinary living. They become irrational and
alienated from family and former friends and drift into a marginalized state
in society. There is also the possibility that sub-clinical changes may
occur in the lungs, liver, kidney, adrenal glands, bone marrow, ovaries,
testes and the most sensitive of all organs - the brain. Not infrequently,
serious mental illness such as psychoses, similar to schizophrenia, can
arise in regular users of cannabis.

The effects of marijuana use has been verified and documented by the United
Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) which represents the
international scientific community. It is incorrect to claim there is a lack
of "scientific proof" of the detrimental effects of marijuana.