| Despite the millions of dollars that have been spent on | | | | College professors often bemoan the underdeveloped |
| drug education, a surprising number of college students | | | | critical thinking skills of incoming students. Unfortunately, |
| arrive on campus each year with severely uninformed | | | | misinformation about the effects of marijuana is partly |
| ideas about marijuana. Quite possibly a majority of | | | | to blame for student underperformance. According to |
| students subscribe to the opinion that marijuana use is | | | | one study, students who used marijuana several times |
| "no big deal" or even that its use has positive benefits. | | | | per week scored considerably lower than nonsmokers |
| These people are deluding themselves into endorsing a | | | | in tests conducted in 12th grade, where both groups |
| substance that has been proven to cause physical | | | | had scored equally when tested in 4th grade. Another |
| dependence, depression and schizophrenia, and | | | | study, this one of college students, found that critical |
| reduced academic ability. They tell themselves that | | | | skills related to attention, memory, and learning were |
| marijuana is "medicinal," despite ample studies exposing | | | | considerably impaired, even over 24 hours after |
| its detrimental effects on health. They use bogus | | | | marijuana use (iii). |
| arguments in a quest toward marijuana | | | | Marijuana proponents have put forth a spirited effort in |
| decriminalization (which is a code word for legalization) | | | | recent years to shift the focus of the debate to the |
| by comparing it with other legal substances such as | | | | issue of so-called medical marijuana. Indeed, marijuana |
| caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and prescription drugs. Worst | | | | is touted by some to be a miracle drug that treats |
| of all, these misguided students receive often tacit, | | | | anything from glaucoma to cancer symptoms. The |
| sometimes explicit, encouragement for their continued | | | | facts point to a different prognosis, however. |
| ignorance by teachers and other authority figures. | | | | Conventional treatment options have proven more |
| Young proponents of marijuana decriminalization and | | | | effective for glaucoma, and, according to a recent |
| their elders ought to take a more mature approach to | | | | study by the Mayo Clinic, marijuana was shown to be |
| the issue. One of the purposes of education is to | | | | less effective than customary treatments in helping |
| teach young people to understand the world they live | | | | cancer patients recover their appetites (iv). |
| in. The universe was not created yesterday; it has | | | | Considering the abundant and readily available |
| been here for longer than they have. The people who | | | | information about marijuana, it is surprising that people |
| came before bequeathed the world to the present | | | | are not more suspicious of the overly optimistic ideas |
| generation in the state it is in for a reason. Western | | | | floating around about this dangerous substance. |
| culture has a tendency to put the cart in front of the | | | | Unfortunately, it seems as if marijuana proponents |
| horse when it comes to agitating for social change. | | | | dupe themselves into missing the information all around |
| One cannot change the world if one does not first | | | | them. Moreover, they refuse to see a distraction like |
| understand why the world is the way it is. Thus, one | | | | medical marijuana for what it really is, even when |
| cannot rightly agitate to decriminalize marijuana without | | | | those advocating it make their intentions as plain as |
| first understanding why it is and has been illegal to | | | | day. In January 2000, the New York Times |
| possess, transport, and distribute. | | | | interviewed Ethan Nadelman, Director of the Lindesmith |
| One common misconception about marijuana is that it | | | | Center. When asked whether medical marijuana would |
| does not cause physical dependency. Several studies | | | | lead to marijuana legalization, Mr. Nadelman answered, |
| in recent years, including a study in the November | | | | "I hope so" (v). |
| 2000 issue of Experimental and Clinical | | | | Marijuana proponents delude themselves into ignoring |
| Psychopharmacology, have proven that marijuana | | | | the risks, dangers, and consequences of marijuana |
| users indeed suffer the detrimental physical effects of | | | | use. In order to have a positive, supportive opinion |
| withdrawal. Dr. Aron Lichtman of Virginia | | | | about decriminalization, one has to make a conscious |
| Commonwealth University has stated, "A few years | | | | effort to avoid the negative information about |
| ago, it was widely believed that marijuana does not | | | | marijuana. The studies and information used in this |
| cause any kind of physical dependence, but now that | | | | paper were gleaned from a simple, five-minute search |
| has pretty much been debunked . . . Studies like this | | | | of the Internet. It is amazing what lengths people will go |
| one and the ones we have done show that physical | | | | to to hide the truth from themselves. But, when the |
| dependence does exist" (i). | | | | primary goal is agitation for social change, prior |
| The physical effects of marijuana are just the | | | | evidence and conventional wisdom are often |
| beginning. Despite its popular status as a "recreational | | | | conveniently disregarded. If proponents of marijuana |
| drug," marijuana has been causally linked to depression | | | | decriminalization spent more time attempting to |
| and schizophrenia in recent years by several studies. | | | | understand why marijuana is considered dangerous |
| According to child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. | | | | and illegal, perhaps they would have a better |
| Joseph M. Ray, these recent studies "offer strong | | | | understanding of why they fail in their campaign for |
| support for the explanation that cannabis use causes | | | | change. |
| both schizophrenia and depression" (ii). | | | | |