No commentary from me necessary on this one....
Playlist below this rundown of some facts from
drugwarfacts.org-
• In 2009, approximately 17 million people or 7% of the population were considered current users by consuming marijuana least once per month.
⁃ (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2010)
• An estimated 758,593 people were arrested for marijuana possession (not trafficking or sales) in 2009. Arrests for marijuana possession have risen from about a third to about a half of all drug abuse violation arrests over the fifteen year 1995-2009 period.
⁃ (FBI Uniform Crime Reports 1970-2009)
• Findings do not support claims that criminalization reduces cannabis use and that decriminalization increases cannabis use.
⁃ (American Journal of Public Health, 2004)
• Despite a federal ban and criminal penalties that vary among the 50 states, 104 million Americans are estimated to have tried marijuana at least once according to 2009 data.
⁃ (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2010)
• Approximately $8.7 billion of savings would result from legalization of marijuana. Also, approximately $8.7 billion in revenue would result from legalization of marijuana.
⁃ (Cato Institute, 2010)
• Direct alcohol-related health care costs ($3,306.2 million in Canada) are over 45 times higher than the direct health care costs of cannabis ($73 million).
⁃ (Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, 2007)
• More than half (58 percent) of primary marijuana admissions were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system.
⁃ (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2005)
• There are no confirmed cases of human deaths from cannabis poisoning in the world medical literature.
⁃ (World Health Organization, 1998)
• In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. … it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.
⁃ (Administrative Law Judge Francis J. Young, In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition, 1988)
• [O]ur meta-analysis of [marijuana] studies that have attempted to address the question of longer term neurocognitive disturbance in moderate and heavy cannabis users has failed to demonstrate a substantial, systematic, and detrimental effect of cannabis use on neuropsychological performance.
⁃ (Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2003)
• We conclude that marijuana does not have a long-term negative impact on global intelligence.
⁃ (Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2002)
• This study does not therefore support the specific causal link between cannabis use and the incidence of psychotic disorders. This concurs with other reports indicating that increases in population cannabis use have not been followed by increases in psychotic incidence.
⁃ (Schizophrenia Research, 2009)
• We found only limited evidence to support the claim that cannabis use increases accident risk. Participants who had driven under the influence of cannabis in the previous year appeared to be no more likely than drug-free drivers to report that they had had an accident in the previous 12 months.
⁃ (Crime and Justice Bulletin, 2005)
• Both Australian studies suggest cannabis may actually reduce the responsibility rate and lower crash risk. Put another way, cannabis consumption either increases driving ability or, more likely, drivers who use cannabis make adjustments in driving style to compensate for any loss of skill.
⁃ (Journal of Drug Issues, 2004)
• We found no positive associations between marijuana use and lung or UAT cancers. Despite several lines of evidence suggesting the biological plausibility of marijuana use being carcinogenic, it is possible that marijuana use does not increase cancer risk
⁃ (Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2006)
• We found that moderate marijuana use was significantly associated with reduced risk of HNSCC [head and neck squamous cell carcinoma]. Further, we observed that marijuana use modified the interaction between alcohol and cigarette smoking, resulting in a decreased HNSCC risk among moderate smokers and light drinkers, and attenuated risk among the heaviest smokers and drinkers.
⁃ (Cancer Research Prevention, 2009)
• Evidence supporting causal linkages between stages, as specified by the gateway hypothesis, was not obtained. Nor were specific risk factors identified that were related to consumption of each drug.
⁃ (American Journal of Psychiatry, 2006)
• Data suggest(s) that rather than acting as a gateway to other drugs, …cannabis has been exerting a beneficial influence on most.
⁃ (Harm Reduction Journal, 2007)
Today is Earth Day, a day set aside to remind us that, despite our efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle, there is always more we can do to help preserve and save our planet.
