Pubdate: Thu, 21 Feb 2008
Source: Athens News, The (OH)
Copyright: 2008, Athens News
Contact:  http://www.athensnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1603
Author: Alexandra Hazlett, Campus Reporter

DEPENDING ON WHOM YOU ASK, POT'S HARMLESS OR HAZARDOUS

A lack of scientific consensus on the possible medical  benefits and
health risks of marijuana may contribute  to the public's wildly
different perspectives on the  drug.

Nearly a third of students at Ohio University report  using marijuana
at some level, and many see it as less  harmful than other
recreational drugs, despite  contradictory medical evidence, according
to the OU  Department of Health Promotion.

Terry Koons, associate director of Health Promotion,  said that
marijuana, like alcohol (and increasingly  unlike tobacco), is viewed
by many as socially  acceptable, despite its health risks. Despite
popular  opinion, however, smoking marijuana is more physically
harmful than smoking cigarettes, he said. Marijuana  smokers tend to
hold the smoke in their lungs longer,  exposing them to more
carcinogens, and marijuana is  also generally unfiltered when smoked,
again increasing  the carcinogen exposure.

On the other hand, pot smokers these days often only  take a few puffs
or "hits," unlike cigarette smokers,  who puff away until the
cigarette is burned down to the  filter.

Part of the reason marijuana gets a free pass with  regard to lung
cancer, emphysema and other ailments  related to smoking, is that
people don't believe  marijuana is comparably harmful, and there is a
lack of  scientific research, compared to tobacco, to  conclusively
show that it is.

"No one knows anyone who has died of cancer (from  smoking
marijuana)," Koons said.

Health Promotion conducted its most recent biennial  survey on student
drug and alcohol use last spring, in  compliance with the Drug Free
Schools and Campuses Act,  which affects federal financial assistance.
More than  1,500 OU students were polled and the 30 percent figure
was down 5 points from the 2005 study.

In his class, Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Koons said he  tries to get
his students to evaluate their opinions on  marijuana and drug use.
Many students do not consider  pot to be in the same category as
harder drugs such as  cocaine, crystal meth or heroine.

"I want the students to think about use in a different  way," he said.
"Any drug you're using can become  addictive."

According to the federal Drug Enforcement  Administration
classification, marijuana is considered  a Schedule I drug, meaning
that it is considered to  have no medical benefits and a high
potential for  abuse. Other Schedule I drugs are heroin, ecstasy, LSD
and GHB. Schedule II drugs include cocaine, opium,  morphine and
amphetamines, among others, and while they  are considered to have a
high potential for abuse, some  of them may also have an accepted
medical use.

Many health professionals, including most recently the  American
College of Physicians, have recommended that  marijuana be changed to
a Schedule II drug so that  research into possible medical benefits
may be  conducted. While some states have passed laws allowing  the
use and prescription of marijuana for medicinal  purposes, patients
and health professionals may still  be prosecuted under federal
statues. In 2005, U.S. Rep.  Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced the
States' Rights to  Medical Marijuana Act, which would give marijuana
Schedule II status and allow states to determine their  own guidelines
for medical usage of the substance. The  bill is still in committee,
according to GovTrack, a  non-commercial Web site that tracks bills
and roll call  votes.

Marijuana has been prescribed for relief of chronic  pain and nausea
related to chemotherapy and other  antiretroviral therapies such as
those used in HIV  treatment. Patients with chronic pain, insomnia and
  anorexia have also shown benefits with marijuana  treatment,
according to a report issued by the American  Medical
Association.

The FDA has approved Marinol, a drug that contains a  synthetic
version of THC, the intoxicating ingredient  in marijuana. According
to the DEA Web site, Marinol is  considered effective at alleviating
the same symptoms  as smoking marijuana.

The Journal of the American Medical Association  documented the
cognitive effects of marijuana use.  Heavy users (defined as using
marijuana 29 out of the  last 30 days) showed decreased cognitive
function and  ability to focus even after not using the drug for 24
hours.

And on an anecdotal level, many pot smokers freely  acknowledge that
their motivation and productivity  tends to decline when they're high.
Longstanding  stereotypes about pot-smokers, after all, didn't just
come out of nowhere.

On the other hand, Koons noted that many heavy users  become so used
to functioning at high levels of  marijuana intoxication that "it's
not until they stop  using that they feel unusual or strange." Also,
because  THC is stored in fat cells and takes longer to vacate  the
body, effects of withdrawal like those related to  alcoholism or other
drug addictions may not be  experienced, he said.

Relatively mild consequences in Ohio for marijuana  possession also
contribute to its widespread abuse as a  recreational drug. However,
work places across the  country are increasingly requiring drug tests,
or  mandating random tests for employees they suspect are  smoking
pot.

At OU, marijuana prevention and education programs tend  to take a
backseat to anti-alcohol initiatives, because  high-risk drinking is
more prevalent, Koons said.

In the same survey on marijuana use, 78 percent of the  student
respondents reported high-risk drinking  activity in the preceding two
weeks.
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MAP posted-by: Derek