Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2001 Source: Register-Guard, The (OR) Copyright: 2001 The Register-Guard Contact: http://www.registerguard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362 Authors: Sara Boettcher, Kimmy Schwarm Note: Sara Boettcher is a senior at Creswell High School. Kimmy Schwarm is a senior at Willamette High School. Both writers are members of the 20Below News Team. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Also: The following opposing OPEDs appeared side by side THE GREAT DEBATE: SHOULD MARIJUANA BE LEGALIZED? YES: DECLARE TRUCE IN WAR ON POT For the past 20 years, we have been involved in a complicated, costly and largely ineffective war on drugs. In spite of Just Say No, DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and the prosecution of drug offenders, drug abuse is still a big, messy and expensive problem. It is a problem best solved with the legalization and regulation of marijuana. Neither the health risks nor the effects of marijuana are more severe than those of alcohol or tobacco. A Johns Hopkins University study published in the May 1999 American Journal of Epidemiology reported "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users and nonusers of cannabis" in the 1,318 participants studied over a 15-year period. Additionally, marijuana addiction is psychological, not physical, and therefore relatively easy to break. "More than 90 percent of people who have ever used the drug have long since quit," says a 1998 special report on marijuana in New Scientist magazine, suggesting that the grasp of cannabis addiction is weak. If marijuana isn't very dangerous, aren't we throwing our money away by pretending that it is. Considering the cost of arrests, trials and incarcerations, busting people for marijuana is expensive. For example, according to the FBI's 1999 Uniform Crime Report, 46 percent of the 1.53 million U.S. drug arrests in 1999 were for marijuana. Of those, 88 percent were for possession alone. If marijuana were legal, money currently spent combatting cannabis could be used in ways that are far more likely to curb abuse: prevention and treatment programs for hard drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine. While prevention is the best way to stop drugs, programs such as Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign and DARE have failed. In a study in the August 1999 Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, in which 1,002 individuals experienced either DARE or a standard curriculum in the sixth grade, "few differences were found between the two groups in terms of actual drug use, drug attitudes or self-esteem, and in no case did the DARE group have a more successful outcome than the comparison group" upon re-evaluation at age 20. DARE lacked results because, while it taught kids how to say "no," it didn't make them any more inclined to want to say "no." Prevention programs are more likely to be effective if they give factual knowledge about drug abuse - how it affects the mind, body and life of the user. In addition to preventative measures, money also needs to be channeled into addiction treatment programs, such as counseling and rehabilitation, which help to end the addiction cycle. It is high time we accept the errors in our war on drugs and take measures to correct them. After 20 years of failed policies, enough is enough. Marijuana is not on a par with drugs such as heroin and shouldn't be treated as if it were. With the decriminalization of marijuana, our money and time can be focused on ending real drug-abuse problems. Only then can we hope to lessen the grip of serious drug addiction. Sara Boettcher is a senior at Creswell High School. ~~~ NO: ON BALANCE, PASS UP GRASS Guess what would happen if marijuana were legalized. The next time you have cramps, a migraine or other chronic pain, your doctor might tell you to go smoke a joint. Instead of Aleve or Advil, you could enjoy the pleasures of what is now considered an illicit drug. The other day, I had an argument with my friends at school. We debated the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing marijuana. They are all strongly opinionated people, and I learned several facts from them. One thing I learned is that marijuana does relieve pain and that it is not nearly as addictive as morphine. It can ease the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy and, at the same time, give you a wonderful high. Despite the positives, I am not convinced. There are so many other factors that need to be considered. Marijuana causes some parts of the brain - such as those governing the emotions, memory and judgment - to spin out of control. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is one of the main chemicals in marijuana. It attaches itself to receptors in the hippocampus (an area in the back of your brain). This part of the brain is responsible for short-term memory. When THC arrives in this area, it inhibits new memories from forming and also can cause people to forget facts they have just learned. Also, THC influences the limbic system (the part of the brain responsible for emotions) and can cause attacks of hysteria and paranoia. If you choose to ignore the attacks and memory loss, consider what marijuana can do to your lungs. Its smoke carries more tar and other particles than tobacco. You can relieve your migraine, but you also have a higher chance of developing lung cancer. So far, there aren't any other safe, alternative ways to take marijuana. THC attaches to certain other receptors in your brain, and when it is there, it blocks pain and nausea. Researchers recently discovered that the brain makes a chemical - anandamide - that attaches to the same receptors as THC. This discovery may lead to the development of medications that are chemically similar to THC, but less harmful. You could get the same results, but with no lung cancer or short-term memory loss. Are there advantages to legalizing marijuana. I can't deny that the answer is yes. Do the benefits outweigh the side effects. No. We already have too many people high in our country. We don't need to prescribe it when there are other safe alternatives. We are learning valuable information from research done on marijuana, research that some day may enable us to find chemicals that provide the same effects without the dangers. Kimmy Schwarm is a senior at Willamette High School. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D