MARIJUANA

This listing of articles was developed to assist parents in knowing more about marijuana. We hope it will be helpful in talking to youth about the dangers of this drug. 

Listing of Articles

	Marijuana: Facts For Parents
	Do You Know This About Marijuana
	Synopsis of Marijuana
	Marijuana Facts From NIDA
	Marijuana's Adverse Effects
	Marijuana Is Not A Soft Drug
	Parents Defy Drug Legalization Supporters With A Day Of Remembrance
	Drug Paraphernalia Being Sold
	And They Say No One Ever Dies From Using Marijuana
	Early Pot Use Tied To More Drug Use And Dependency
	Marijuana's Rising Threat
	Law Enforcement Raids Head Shops In Lincoln
	New Study Finds Marijuana Can Lower Men's Fertility
	Marijuana Causes Real Damage To Lungs
	Survey Released On Local Youth Drug Use
	Black Teen Tobacco Smoking Linked to Pot
	80% of 11th and 12th Graders Report Illicit Drugs Are Available In Their School
	Lean Back or Fight
	An Anti-Drug Platform for Policy Makers
	Children Being Raised By Grandparents
	Hemp or Marijuana ~ Can You Tell The Difference?
	Talking Points On Marijuana Vs. Hemp
	Drug Dealer Liability Act

This link does not constitute AAFP's endorsement of our website or the information contained herein.

 MARIJUANA:  Facts For Parents

	Marijuana is a dangerous, additive drug. THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, is much stronger today than it was in the 1960's. Stronger marijuana means stronger effects.
	The average age of first time use of marijuana is 13 years of age.
	Studies show that adolescents who use marijuana are at much higher risk to use other drugs.
	Marijuana is fat-soluble and remains in cells for weeks, just like the banned insecticide DDT. The brain is one-third fat, and marijuana impairs thinking and concentrating skills, alters a person's sense of time, and hinders short-term memory. Marijuana has triggered attacks of mental illness, schizophrenia, and bi-polar (manic depressive) psychosis.
	Marijuana impairs motor skills, coordination, perception and judgment and is the cause of car crashes, injuries and trauma.
	Marijuana weakens the immune system by impairing white blood cell production. Marijuana smokers have higher rates of cancer and pneumonia than do non-users. Marijuana use can hasten the onset6 and progression of AIDS in HIV-positive individuals.
	Marijuana users may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have.
	Marijuana cigarettes are not medicine.
	Synthetic THC can be manufactured in a pill, suppository, or nasal spray forms for treating nausea, vomiting, or AIDS-wasting syndrome. However, other, more effective medicines are available.
	Marijuana can lower testosterone levels, can decrease sperm county, and can reduce muscle mass in males. In females, marijuana can disrupt menstrual cycles and hormone production.
	Parents should talk to children about marijuana's dangers because the well-funded pro-drug lobby is saturating the young people's environments with "do-drug" messages. Marijuana is promoted, marketed, and glamorized through movies, music, toys, comic books, clothing, the Internet, the Hemp Movement, and the "Medical Marijuana" Mythology.

~ Region6 Behavioral Health Administration

***The use of marijuana leads to the use of other drugs. Of those who use marijuana 3 to 10 times, 20 % go on to use cocaine. Of those who use marijuana one hundred or more times, 75 % go on to use cocaine. Based on research by/as reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

***Marijuana causes both dependence and addiction. Addictive use is defined by compulsive repeated use in spite of adverse consequences. Marijuana's effects include tolerance leading to dependence and inability to cease use. Based on research by Dr. Mark Gold published in his book Marijuana.

***The effects of marijuana persist much longer than the effects of alcohol. Using a computerized flight simulator, an experiment on pilots showed that their ability to land a plane was still impaired 24 hours after smoking one marijuana cigarette. Based on research by Dr. B. Leirer in Aviation, Space & Environmental Medicine.

***Marijuana impairs perception, judgment, thinking, memory and learning. Memory defects may persist for 6 weeks after last marijuana use. Based on research by Dr. Richard Schwartz, Vienna Pediatrics Associates in the American Journal of Diseases of Children.

***Long-term use of marijuana may cause irreversible memory problems. Marijuana users find it more difficult to separate irrelevant information from the relevant, their reaction times are longer and electrical activity of the brain is slowed. Based on research by Macquarie University, Sydney in conjunction with Australia's National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

***A cannabis (marijuana)-state-dependent effect in users includes weaknesses in analytic and synthetic skills. This includes having difficulty sorting out information, synthesizing and classifying information correctly and understanding subtle shades of meaning. Based on research by Dr. Lundquist in Life Sciences.

***It's not just alcohol that caused impaired crashes. A roadside study of reckless drivers who were not impaired by alcohol, showed that 45% of these drivers tested positive for marijuana. Based on research by Dr. Dan Brookoff, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

***A 1995 study of blood samples take from one thousand four hundred and forty-one dead or impaired drivers across Canada found marijuana present in 38 % of these samples. Based on research by Dr. Wayne Hindmarsh, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Manitoba and Wayne Jeffery, R.C.M.P. Police Forensic Laboratory.

***Marijuana smoke produces airway injury, acute and chronic bronchitis, lung inflammation, and decreased pulmonary defenses against infection. Smoking one marijuana cigarette leads to airway deposition of four times as much cancer-causing tar as does tobacco smoke. Based on research by Dr. D. Tashkin as reported in the Western Journal of Medicine.

***Cases of cancer from marijuana use are now well documented. In one California study, 90% of young cancer patients are marijuana smokers compared with 40% or young people in California as a whole. Based on research by Dr. P. Donald in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

***Cases of cancer, including cancer of the mouth, tongue, larynx, jaw, head, neck, and lungs have been reported in young marijuana smokers that would not occur in tobacco smokers until much later in life. Based on research by/reported in Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, the Journal of the American Medical Association and Southern Medical Journal.

***Saying nobody ever died from smoking marijuana is like saying nobody ever died from smoking tobacco. Marijuana contains the same cancer causing chemicals as tobacco. Marijuana contains acetone, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, carbon monocide, benzene, benzopyrene, nitrosamines and many other cancer causing pollutants. Based on research by G. Huber in Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

***Marijuana causes many mental disorders, including acute toxic psychosis, panic attacks, flashbacks, delusions, depersonalizations, hallucinations, paranoia, depression and "uncontrollable feelings of aggression". Based on research by Dr. Richard Schwartz, Vienna Pediatrics Association in Pediatric Clinics of North America.

***Marijuana has long been known to trigger attacks of mental illness, such as bipolar (manic-depressive) psychosis and schizophrenia. It has been shown that marijuana users are six times more likely to develop schizophrenia than are non-users. Based on research by Dr. S. Andreasson published in Britain's The Lancet.

***Babies born to mothers who use marijuana during pregnancy have eleven times the risk of getting childhood leukemia. These children are the innocent victims of their parents' marijuana use. Based on research by Dr. L. Robinson in the publication Cancer and Dr. J. Buckley in Cannabis: Physiopathology, Epidemiology, Detection.

***Fetal Marijuana Symptoms are similar to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome -- two diseases children are born with that are totally preventable. One of the leading specialists in cellular heredity, Dr. Akira Morishima of Columbia University, has said that his 20 years of research on human cells he has never found any other drug, including heroin, which comes close to the DNA damage caused by marijuana.

***Children exposed to marijuana prenatally have increased behavioral problems, and they have decreased visual perception, language comprehension, attention span and memory. These children are the innocent victims of their parents marijuana use. Based on research by Dr. Peter Fried of the Ottawa Prenatal Prospective Study.

***Children prenatally exposed to marijuana experienced more than two times the number of sleep arousals at night and more awake time after each sleep arousal than children not prenatally exposed to marijuana. Based on research by/published in The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

***There are significant negative effects of prenatal marijuana exposure on the performance of children in standard intelligence test. On average, children exposed prenatally to marijuana will have a lower IQ compared to children who are not exposed. Based on research by Dr. Day et al, in Neurotoxicology and Teratology.

***In males, marijuana use diminishes testosterone production and lowers sperm count. In females, marijuana use disrupts hormone cycles. Marijuana is mutagenic, fetotoxic (poisonous to the fetus) and impairs RNA and DNA synthesis. Based on research by Dr. Mark Gold in his book Marijuana and Drs. Latour and Nahas in the Medical Journal of Australia.

***Marijuana impairs the white blood cells which fight infection. Marijuana also causes decreased resistance to diseases such as herpes. Marijuana smokers have increased outpatient visits for respiratory illnesses, accidents and other illnesses. Based on research by Drs. Spector, Djeu, Watzl and Cabral in Advances in Experimental Medicine & Biology and the Western Journal of Medicine.

***HIV positive marijuana smokers have increased incidence of bacterial pneumonias in comparison to non-smokers. HIV positive smokers develop full-blown AIDS twice as fast as non-smokers. Based on research by/in the journal, AIDS Weekly 1993, and Dr. Neiman, in the journal, AIDS 1993.

***Who is really killing our rain forests? The United Nations reports that in Jamaica, marijuana growers plant their crops on isolated mountain slopes disturbing fragile forest soils. Growers clear, cut, and destroy the forests exposing fertile soil to runoff and erosion, causing permanent damage to forests.

~ Drug Watch International 5/18/04

SYNOPSIS OF MARIJUANA

Marijuana is not harmless; it is a deceitful drug and is extremely harmful to the human body.

Marijuana contains 425 bioactive molecules, increasing to over 2,000 identifiable chemicals entering the blood when it is smoked.

 

Sixty-one of these 425 bioactive molecules are called cannabinoids.

 

Cannabinoid molecules do not dissolve in water; they settle and collect in the fatty tissue of cell walls for months and block the passage of nutrients into the cell and waste products out of the cell.

 

The blockage results in slowing down the manufacture of DNA, RNA and proteins in the cell nucleus - a process essential for cell life.  The genetic equilibrium of sex cells is thus impaired.

 

In the male, marijuana reduces sperm production and can damage sperm cells (spermatozoa).

 

In the female, marijuana can cause irregular menstrual cycles and can damage egg cells (ovum).

 

The cells of all the major organs of the body become saturated with fat-soluble cannabinoids depending on the length of time the cannabinoids have been there.

 

Cell energy is lowered, resulting in a reduction of chemicals necessary to pass electrical messages from one cell to another.  Compare this to a low energy battery in a radio - the message is slower and unclear.

 

Concentration necessary for basic academic skills is interrupted, resulting in an overall decrease in thinking ability.

 

The Delta-9 THC cannabinoid is most responsible for the nervous system changes or state of intoxication.  To be intoxicated is to become stupefied to the point where physical and mental control is noticeably diminished.

 

The brain is made up of 1/3 fat.  When the cell walls in brain tissue become completely saturated with THC, the brain cells die.  They cannot be replaced.

 

THC saturated fatty tissues act like time-release capsules - steadily releasing THC into the blood and keeping the marijuana smoker in a state of continual sedation.

 

Marijuana is often claimed to be non-addictive.  This is not true.  Physical withdrawal symptoms are mild because marijuana cannot be withdrawn from the body rapidly; the body has its lingering supply stored in fat tissue.  Saturated fat tissue may not lose the cannabinoids for several weeks or more.

 

Regular marijuana smoking produces a drug-dependent personality, and generally leads to escalated use of many drugs.  It gradually drags the smoker into continual sedation, separating him from reality and forcing him into a dream world of drugs.

 

Fat-soluble THC impairs the performance of psychomotor tasks that require coordination and attention.

 

Marijuana can inhibit nausea so alcohol can be consumed in larger doses.  Consequently, marijuana has caused an epidemic of alcohol abuse, drunk driving injuries and death, and death from alcohol overdose.

 

Marijuana smokers’ immune system response is lowered by 40%.

~ Drug Watch International, 5/18/04

MARIJUANA FACTS FROM NIDA

What does marijuana actually do to the human body?

Marijuana . . .

". . . alters cognition and interrupts normal motor function and coordination."

". . . can impair short-term memory and disrupt mental activity."

". . . can also trigger psychological reactions such as anxiety, depression, panic, and hallucinations."

". . . can induce dependence in rats and mice."

". . . in high doses can produce withdrawal symptoms in rats and mice similar to withdrawal from other addictive drugs."

                                                Dr. Billy R. Martin, professor at the Medical College of Virginia

Marijuana . . .

". . . when used chronically, alters the secretion of hormones from the endocrine system, possibly impacting the reproductive system."

~ Dr. Laura L. Murphy, assistant professor at Southern Illinois University

Marijuana . . .

". . . use decreases the body’s ability to resist viruses, bacteria, and fungi."

". . . users may be compromising their body’s ability to fight infection."

~ Dr. Guy Cabral, professor at the Medical College of Virginia

Marijuana . . .

". . . smokers wound up with four times as much tar deposited in their lungs as ordinary (tobacco) smokers."

". . . and the tar from marijuana smoke contains 50 percent more of the cancer-causing agents found in tobacco smoke."

". . . also depresses the lung’s natural defenses against microorganisms."

~ Dr. Donald P. Tashkin, professor of medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles

 ~ The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) as reported in New View,

Newsletter of the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, May 1997, Vol.7, No. 4

Marijuana's Adverse Effects

Could I become chemically dependent on marijuana? 

Yes. When you're chemically dependent on marijuana, it means you crave it and you need to take more and more to get the same effect. You may have withdrawal symptoms when you stop using it. Because marijuana is a lot stronger than it used to be, people are also more likely to abuse it and become dependent on it today than in the past.

Is marijuana use associated with other drug use? 

Yes.  People who use marijuana are much more likely to use other drugs and to engage in other high risk behavior.

What are the common side effects of marijuana use?

Some of the common side effects of marijuana are:

	Trouble remembering things
	Sleepiness
	Anxiety
	Paranoia
	Altered time perception

 

Using marijuana for a long time makes some people lose interest in school, work, relationships and other activities. It may cause legal problems and can be dangerous in certain situations, like driving.

How might marijuana affect me physically?

Some of the common physical effects of marijuana include:

	Tremors
	Nausea
	Headache
	Coordination becoming worse
	Breathing problems
	Increased appetite
	Reduced blood flow to the brain
	Changes in the reproductive organs

Like tobacco, marijuana contains many chemicals that can hurt the lungs and cause cancer. One marijuana cigarette can cause more damage to the lungs than many tobacco cigarettes, because marijuana has more tar in it and is usually smoked without filters. Unpleasant side effects from marijuana occur in about 40 to 60% of people who use marijuana

This handout provides a general overview on this topic and may not apply to everyone. To find out if this handout applies to you and to get more information on this subject, talk to your family doctor. Visit familydoctor.org for information on this and many other health-related topics.

Copyright © 2000 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.  Permission is granted to print and photocopy this material for nonprofit educational uses. Written permission is required for all other uses, including electronic uses.

5/2004

MARIJUANA IS NOT A SOFT DRUG

Since the 1960’s, most people in the U.S. have believed that marijuana is a soft  drug, much less dangerous than heroin or cocaine, and no more harmful than alcohol. Unfortunately, this belief is false and misinformation concerning marijuana has had tragic consequences. Let us examine the facts.

The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is THC, or tetrahydro-cannabinol. THC is chemically unique among the common psychoactive drugs in that it is fat soluble. All of the others, such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine, LSD, barbiturates, etc., are water soluble. Because THC is fat soluble, it is extremely slow acting. It is a very potent drug, but its slow action makes it appear to be mild.

As a consequence of its high fat solubility, THC is stored for weeks in the fatty tissues of the body, which act like time-release capsules, steadily feeding THC into the blood. Drug testing has made marijuana smokers keenly aware of this fact. A urine sample can test positive to THC, when taken more than a month after marijuana smoking has ceased.

Experiments have shown that about 1/3 of the THC absorbed by the body is stored in the fat, which releases it with a half life of one week. Thus, when a person stops smoking marijuana, it takes one week for THC stored in his fat to drop to ½, two weeks to drop to ¼, three weeks to 1/8, etc.

Since THC is not water soluble, it is not soluble in the blood. It is carried in the blood by sticking to protein molecules. After THC is absorbed into the body, it leaves the blood rapidly to be stored in various body tissues which later release it back into the blood. The THC blood concentration drops to 50% of the initial value in 1 minute, and to 1% in 20 minutes. After that, it decreases more slowly because the flow of THC from body tissues back to the blood becomes significant.

The transmission of THC to the brain is impeded by the blood-brain barrier, which is a sieve  made of capillary walls and membranes that helps to protect the brain from toxic substances. The THC molecules tend to stick to this sieve and so are fed to the brain quite slowly. By the time enough THC molecules have worked their way through the blood-brain barrier to produce an appreciable high, there is little THC left in the blood. Consequently, only a small part of the THC absorbed into the body reaches the brain at the time of the high. The maximum concentration of THC in the blood of the brain at the time of the high  is ½ of 1% of the initial blood concentration.

Accurate measurements of the intoxicating effect of marijuana have been made by injecting THC into the blood. Tests on casual marijuana smokers have shown that an injection  of  one milligram of THC produces a moderate high after 15 minutes, which is maintained for another 30 minutes. Taking ½ percent of one milligram gives 5 micrograms (5 millionths of a gram). This is the effective amount of THC in the blood producing the high. Thus, a moderate high can be caused from only 5 micrograms of THC spread throughout the complete blood supply.

To illustrate how very low this concentration is, pull a strand of hair from your head. Snip off a piece 1/32 of an inch long. That will weigh about 5 micrograms. An amount of THC no larger than that tiny bit of hair, distributed throughout the blood supply, is sufficient to produce a high.

This indicates that THC is extremely powerful. It is much more potent than heroin or cocaine and at least as potent as LSD. If LSD is sprinkled on the flap of an envelope, licking that flap can evoke a deep LSD “trip.” If THC were water soluble and stayed in the blood, it would have as strong an effect as LSD.

The blood-brain barrier does not stop the flow of TCH to the brain; it merely slows it down. It greatly reduces the THC reaching the brain during the initial surge after THC enters the body. However, it does not affect the transmission to the brain of THC released from fat because the THC is released slowly and continuously. Thus, the THC fed from fat back into the blood passes unimpeded through the blood-brain barrier.

The THC contributions from successive marijuana joints accumulate in the fat. When marijuana is smoked regularly, a steady THC level builds up equal to the peak level from a single marijuana joint multiplied by the average number of joints smoked in a 10-day period. Hence, the more heavily one smokes marijuana, the greater is the THC level in the fat and the higher is the steady blood concentration of THC released from the fat.

~ George Biernson and Otto Moulton

4/2003

Parents Defy Drug Legalization Supporters With A Day Of Remembrance

DRUG PARAPHERNALIA BEING SOLD

Drug paraphernalia is again being sold in the Omaha metropolitan area. Pipes, bongs, and other tools used to facilitate drug use are illegal in our state.

However, more and more stores are now selling this paraphernalia. Convenience stores and gas stations are among those violating the law.

Marijuana use among adolescents in our community continues to rise. Part of the reason for this alarming increase of marijuana use is the fact that items used to facilitate drug use are openly sold in retail outlets. Youth perception of community acceptance of drug use can hardly be questioned when sales of these drug tools are allowed.

You can help!

Help us identify those businesses that are illegally selling drug paraphernalia so we can alert the proper authorities. If you see drug paraphernalia for sale in any store, please contact our office at 397-3309. Encourage others to help.

If you would like to remain anonymous, simply e-mail us at megrove@pride.org or fill out the form below and mail it to PRIDE-Omaha, Inc., 3534 South 108 Street, Omaha, NE  68144.

 

I observed drug paraphernalia for sale at the store listed below on: Date __________/__________/__________ Store Name ___________________________________________________________ Store Address _________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip ________________________________________________________ Item For Sale _________________________________________________________ Comments ___________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Submitted By (optional) Name _______________________________________________________________ Phone _______________________________________________________________

And They Say No One Ever Dies From Using Marijuana

Michael Howells, the Pembrokeshire coroner in Haverfordwest, West Wales, told The Daily Telegraph that the death was caused by cannabis toxicity. The man was free from disease and had not drunk alcohol in over 48 hours. Ì

~ The Daily Telegraph, January 19, 2004

Early Pot Use Tied To More Drug Use And Dependency

Research led by the Washington University School of Medicine studied 300 sets of same-sex twins and found that the twins who first smoked marijuana before the age of 17 were twice as likely to use opioids, three times as likely to use sedatives, three times as likely to use cocaine or other stimulants, and nearly four times as likely to use hallucinogens.

Marijuana’s Rising Threat

An in-depth report by Felicia Thomas-Lynn for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that, of Wisconsin youth, ages 12 to 17 entering substance abuse treatment in 2002, more than 1 in 3 had marijuana as their primary substance of abuse.

~ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 13, 2003

Law Enforcement Raids Head Shops In Lincoln

~ Lincoln Journal Star, January 14, 2004

~ PRIDE-Omaha, Inc. files

Editor’s Note: PRIDE-Omaha, Inc. applauds the enforcement of our state and federal laws concerning drug paraphernalia. The availability of items that can only be used for drug use sends the wrong message to our youth. It tells them that drugs are acceptable and normal in society. If you would like a definition of drug paraphernalia and how it differs from tobacco pipes, please contact our office at 402-397-3309.

New Study Finds Marijuana Can Lower Men’s Fertility

Smoking marijuana may decrease fertility in men, according to a study released at the annual conference of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. The study by the State University of New York-Buffalo found that the sperm of marijuana smokers can swim erratically and fail to attach themselves to female eggs.

~ USA Today, October 14, 2003

Marijuana Causes Real Damage To Lungs

“It is vital that young people understand the dangers of both cigarette and cannabis smoking since these habits can start having a serious impact on their lungs at an early stage,” stated Dr. John Harvey of the British Thoracic Society.

SURVEY RELEASED ON LOCAL DRUG USE

The 2003 Nebraska Risk and Protective Factor Student Survey results have been released by the Nebraska Health and Human Services System and the Department of Education for Nebraska Partners in Prevention.

The survey found high school seniors in our area report:

76% have tried alcohol

54% have tried cigarettes

44% have tried marijuana

44% have been a passenger with a drunk driver

31% have had a binge-drinking episode

22% have tried chewing tobacco

49% think drugs are easily available

44% think their parents have attitudes favorable to drug use

79% drink alcohol in someone else’s home

72% obtained alcohol from someone over 21

61% obtained cigarettes from someone over 18

34% report that one or more adults are present when they use alcohol

31% bought their own cigarettes without a fake ID

BLACK TEEN TOBACCO SMOKING LINKED TO POT

A study conducted for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the University of Illinois at Chicago finds that tobacco use by African American teens is increasing and is sometimes related to the use of marijuana.

The survey indicated a sharp rise in both tobacco and marijuana smoking among all teenagers, but most pronounced in blacks. White adolescents still use tobacco at twice the rate of black teens, but the gap is narrowing, signaling the end of low smoking rates among black teens that had been considered a public health success.

 In 1,200 focus groups conducted throughout the country, it was found that the abundance of media and advertising messages targeting black neighborhoods and youth are still the main reason for this increase.

However, many black youth reported being lured to tobacco use by reports from peers that nicotine helped continue the high of marijuana smoking.

"It is a commonly-stated motivator," states Professor Robin Mermelstein, principal investigator for the study.

 This finding is especially notable because it is the reverse of most progressive use of gateway drugs by teens. In almost all other populations, tobacco use precedes marijuana use.

~ The Denver Post, 4/22/98

80% OF 11^th AND 12^th GRADERS REPORT ILLICIT DRUGS ARE AVAILABLE IN THEIR SCHOOL

By the time students reach 11^th and 12^th grades, they are twice as likely as 6^th graders to report the presence of drugs in their school. (approximately 80% vs. 40%), according to a report released last week by the Department of Education and the Department of Justice.

In addition, the percentage of 6^th and 7^th graders reporting that drugs were available in their school decreased from 1989 to 1995. According to the students, marijuana was the most accessible drug (61% of students reported that marijuana was available, and 36% reported that marijuana was easy to obtain).

Other drugs reported to be available, yet harder to obtain than marijuana, were uppers/downers (43%) crack cocaine (42%) cocaine (40%), LSD (39%), heroin (34%), and PCP (32%).

Source: Adapted by Center for Substance Abuse Research, University of Maryland, College Park (CESAR) from K. Chandler, C. Chapman, M. Rand, and B. Taylor, "Students Reports of School Crime: 1989 and 1995, "U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, March 1998. For information contact Kathryn Chandler of the National Center For Education Statistics (202-219-1767).

4/21/98

 LEAN BACK OR FIGHT

"It’s nice to think that in another five or ten years maybe the right over one’s consciousness, the right to possess and consume drugs, may be as powerfully and as widely understood as the other rights of Americans are."

If that strikes you too as nice, you don’t have to do much. Just lean back and enjoy the successes of a Dr. Ethan Nadelmann, who said it in 1993, and other executives of well-financed "drug reform" foundations.

Maybe he is a little optimistic about his timing. But he and others who would like now-illegal drugs to be a right certainly have made political headway since his pronouncement at the San Francisco conference to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the discovery of LSD.

Still, perhaps the thought that narcotics will become a basic American right strikes you as plain horrible. Perhaps you have a love for your children, or theirs, or for the mental, moral and civil stability of the country in which you live.

Perhaps you will become worried about a new report from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. It shows that marijuana use among children and teenagers is increasing, and parents don’t know it, and that children and teenagers find it much easier to get, and parent don’t know it, and that among the youngsters the fear of the risks of the drug is decreasing, --and parents don’t know that either.

Or, maybe you will be startled at the report’s finding that parents think they talk to their children about drugs a lot more than their children recall hearing—and wonder if the parents remember right.

Or it could be that you are sick to the gorge of the press and TV accepting the flood of false compassion that reformers used to attain the triumph of "medicalization" of marijuana in California and Arizona.

Perhaps you know the "reformers," supported by benefactors like George Soros, Peter Lewis of Ohio and John Sperling of Arizona, plan to use the same weapon in other referendums across the country.

Then, under any of those conditions, the time has come for you to get up and fight against drugs, instead of just looking worried. Here are three ways:

1. With your votes, letters, mouths and religious and social organizations, pressure the people you elect to every level of government. Demand detailed exposure of backdoor legislation.

Ask the President, again and again and again, to become the political, passionate leader against drugs that the country lacks and so terribly needs. Maybe he will never do it, which does not excuse us from saying it is his fault.

2. Join and support organizations that actively fight drugs and ask that Congress fully restore the funds it cut from their anti-drug education work.

3. Pester newspapers and TV to give full hearings to the organizations and to the anti-drug case. And if the organizations are not on the Internet, tell them they are surrendering to the crowds of legalizers who are. (National Families in Action, an anti-drug organization, publishes "A Guide to the Drug Legalization Movement and How to Fight It," a most useful book in which I came across Dr. Nadelmann’s "nice" thought. Ten dollars, Suite 300, 2296 Henderson Mill Road, Atlanta, GA. 30345; 770.934.7137;www.emory.edu/NFIA).

4. Any way you can, spread the truth that law enforcement, drug interdiction and therapy are all necessary to fight the war, and that therapy, especially in prisons, is not getting enough government funds. Help therapeutic communities like Phoenix House, Daytop Village and others.

Expect no medals. Many journalists have used drugs, particularly marijuana, and having survived themselves, think everybody can. And America’s best-known writers are either cold to the drug war or apparently never heard of it. American pop stars would rather go bald than fight narcotics.

But 87 percent of Americans are against legalizations, which is why legalizers use euphemisms and back doors and have to depend on big donors, not little ones.

If you help the huge anti-drug majority know its strengths and the backdoor techniques of the legalizers, then parents and their children will not only talk at home about drugs, bit hear each other. 

~ A.M. Rosenthal, 4/14/98 New York Times

Reprinted with permission

 AN ANTI-DRUG PLATFORM FOR POLICY MAKERS

Many policy makers say they want to keep children from using drugs. Drug prevention does work, and there are many ideas to help bring it about.

True drug prevention is possible only when all segments of society actively support and enforce clear, consistent, "no-use" messages and policies regarding the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs by young people.

Therefore, an effective ten-point program for drug prevention would include, but not be limited to the following:

1. No acceptance of campaign contributions from industries associated with alcohol or tobacco or the drug culture.

2. Increase the tax on alcohol and tobacco because use by children decreases when prices of these drugs increase significantly.

3. Dedicate a small portion of the above taxes to drug prevention and education.

4. Use another small portion of the above taxes to create special law enforcement units, which address youth access to alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs. This includes compliance checks on license holders, stopping teen alcohol parties, and halting the retail sale of drug paraphernalia.

5. Mandate that all tobacco products be placed behind the counter in stores, so that a clerk must intervene in all sales.

6. Make certain that all public buildings are truly smoke-free.

7. Re-criminalize the possession of less than 1 oz of marijuana in Nebraska.

8. Recognize that all children are "at risk" to use drugs.

9. No government money will be provided to any programs or materials that promote drug use – only to those which have a clear, consistent message of "no illegal use of psychoactive drugs".

10. Provide strong leadership on this issue by talking often about drug prevention and making drug-free children a priority.

    ---

CHILDREN BEING RAISED BY GRANDPARENTS

In the first year of operation, the national Grandparents Center reports fielding over 4,700 telephone calls for information and referrals to local support groups.

Two-thirds of the requests came from grandparents. Seventy-five percent of the requests were regarding caregiver issues about raising grandchildren.

Substance abuse problems of parents are the number one cause of this new role for today’s grandparents. The following are the top reasons given for grandparents being thrust into the role of raising grandchildren:

44%---Substance Abuse by parents

28%---Child Abuse, neglect or abandonment

11%---Teen-age pregnancy or the parent being unable to handle the children

5%---Death of parent

4%---Parental unemployment

4%---Parental divorce

4%---Other reasons—including HIV/AIDS

~ Bev Kinard, Colorado Delegate, Drug Watch International

 HEMP OR MARIJUANA...

CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE?

TALKING POINTS ON MARIJUANA VS. HEMP

The marijuana plant that produces an addictive high is the same plant as marijuana hemp.

	The two plants are not “cousins”-- they are the exact same plant: Cannabis Sativa.
	The naked eye cannot tell how much THC (the main psychoactive ingredient) is present in Cannabis Sativa.

 

The only way to know the THC content of Cannabis Sativa is to perform a chemical test on each plant.

 

There are other legal hemp plants available as “alternative” crops (including Manilla hemp, Sisal hemp, and Sunn hemp, among others), none of which have intoxicating properties like marijuana hemp.

 

According to Mahmoud A. ElSohly, PhD, noted researcher at the Univ. of Mississippi marijuana research center, Cannabis Sativa with as little as .1%-.3% can have “significant potential for narcotic applications”.

 

There is no practical “field” test to determine THC levels.  Samples must be sent to labs (a costly, slow job).

 

Not all hemp plants are grown densely.  Plants used for seeds and grains grow bushy like the drug plant.

 

It is easy to conceal high THC plants (worth over $1,000 each per year) among low THC plants, as has been done in other countries, such as the Netherlands.  Plants do not cross-pollinate the first year.

Legalizing hemp would make it more difficult to enforce the already weak Nebraska marijuana laws.

Currently, Nebraska has one of the most-lenient marijuana possession laws in the United States.  Young people now cite our de-criminalization of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana as proof that marijuana use isn’t so bad.  After all, “You’re not in much trouble if you get caught using it!”

 

It would be too costly to enforce our marijuana drug laws.  Enforcement is a rather low priority already.

 

It would be very difficult to enforce drug paraphernalia laws because of the weight needed in residue samples.  (Paraphernalia violations often lead law enforcement to investigate wider-ranging drug crimes.)

 

Enforcement of laws has a direct impact on children’s use of drugs.  When good laws are strongly enforced, use by adolescents usually goes down.

Our children are the ones paying the closest attention to the hemp issue and are using more marijuana than ever before in Nebraska.

Marijuana is a huge problem for children in Nebraska.  In one survey, 40% of  12th graders had tried it.

 

Between 1993 and 1997, there was an increase of 68% in marijuana use by 9th - 12th graders in Nebraska.

 

Children listen to the hemp argument and many think of hemp as harmless.  Research indicates that adolescent drug use increases as perception of harm to one’s self or others decreases.

Hemp is not as easy to grow and process as its advocates would have us believe.

The soil for marijuana hemp requires preparation and cultivation like any other annual crop.

 

Marijuana hemp needs fertilization and pest control.  Bertha Army Worms can wipe out entire harvests.

 

Marijuana hemp does not deter soil erosion.  The roots of corn and other plants are deeper.

 

Hemp is very costly to harvest.  Only the stem is used and must be separated from the entire plant.

 

This separation process requires very expensive machinery or very, very cheap labor.

Hemp is a cruel hoax on farmers.  There is NO MARKET for hemp.  Canadian hemp farmers lost huge sums of money on hemp.

Canadian hemp farmers have lost $5 - $6 million dollars on hemp since it was legalized in 1998. There is no market for hemp, and only 17 of the 232 hemp farmers received even minimal payment.  215 of the farmers got nothing, and some had to pay out thousands of dollars in lawyers’ fees fighting to recoup losses.

 

Hemp can survive as a cash crop only if very cheap labor is used or if governments subsidize it.

 

All of the hemp used for fabric, fiber and yarn imported into the US in 1999 could have been grown on 2,000 acres (less than 10 farms). There is NO MARKET for hemp!

The drug legalization movement has been the backbone of the hemp movement for over 25 years.

The same drug culture that promotes marijuana to our young people (through High Times and other drug magazines, the Internet, music, concerts, movies, clothing, head shops and other methods) promotes hemp.

 

In 1993, Richard Cowan, Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), listed the legalization of hemp as one of the strategies to be used for full marijuana legalization by 1997.

 

The pro-drug legalization movement is now heavily funded by billionaire George Soros and other wealthy supporters who are underwriting state initiative and other lobbying efforts at the rate of millions each year.

 

In order to change federal drug laws, the drug culture  is targeting states to pass “medical” marijuana and hemp laws as well as “needle exchange” legislation and other “drug policy reform” laws.  They will then take the accumulated laws to Congress and the President as a “mandate” for full drug legalization.

 

Jack Herer, the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, (the “Bible” of the hemp movement) brags that he has used marijuana every day since 1969.  He says his commitment to the hemp movement started one night while he was high on LSD.  During the 1970's and 80's, Herer was a major drug paraphernalia dealer.

 

Many hemp products contain marijuana symbols as well as “stealth” compartments, which are used to stash drugs and drug paraphernalia.

 

We can follow the agenda of the drug culture or we can fight for drug- free kids. . . . We cannot have it both ways!

For further, factual, research-based information on marijuana hemp or any other drug, contact

PRIDE-Omaha, Inc. 3534 South 108 Street Omaha, NE   68144402-397-3309 Fax 402-39