IDEAS-CANADA.CA 11 Dec 2024 Index [Click on box for counter-idea] MEDICAL MARIJUANA KILLS LIKE TOBACCO Marijuana has grown more potent over the decades. The dangers of the "medical" marijuana movement go beyond the known cancer threats (such as the head and neck cancers more frequent in habitual pot-smokers) AND Smoking marijuana can cause cancer, lung damage and babies with low birth weights. The greater danger for Canada is that the pro-dope movement encourages tolerance for marijuana and creates popular support for the use and legalization of cannabis and other substances. Consider that when Alaska briefly legalized pot, the use of marijuana and cocaine among adolescents soared more than twice that of any other U.S. state. In Holland where dope smoking is permitted, use among 11 to 18 year olds increased 142% from 1990 to 1995; crimes like aggravated theft and breaking and entering are now 3 to 4 times that of the U.S. Cannabis is no better than codeine at controlling pain and because of its undesirable side effects, "It has no place in mainstream medicine". PET scanning of frequent-use marijuana smokers show lower blood flow in large regions of the brain, affecting motor coordination function, cognition, timing, sensory information-processing and attention. Longitudinal 10-year study of offspring exposed to marijuana in utero indicated increased hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattention, delinquency and problem-externalization.

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