Pubdate: Mon, 31 Mar 2014
Source: News-Gazette, The (Champaign, IL)
Copyright: 2014 The News-Gazette
Contact:  http://www.news-gazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1272
Author: Lisa Snider

MARIJUANA IS NOT SAFE DRUG TO CONSUME

As an employee at the Prairie Center, I have some observations about
marijuana use.

People smoke marijuana for a lot of different reasons: to feel good,
to feel better, to feel different or to fit in. Butwhatever the
reason, drug use has consequences.

Here are some things people should think about from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse when they're making the decision whether to
use marijuana.

Myth: Marijuana is not addictive.

Marijuana is addictive. About one in six people who start using as a
teen, and 25-50 percent of people who use it every day, become
addicted to marijuana.

Myth: "I drive better when I'm high."

Marijuana is the most common illegal drug involved in auto fatalities.
Marijuana affects a number of skills required for safe driving -
alertness, concentration, coordination and reaction time. It's not
safe to drive high or ride with someone who's been smoking.
Approximately 4 to 14 percent of drivers who sustained injury or death
in traffic accidents tested positive for THC.

Myth: Marijuana is safer than cigarettes.

The smoke from marijuana contains all the harmful elements of tobacco
smoke, except for nicotine. The heat alone from one joint does the
same damage as 20 cigarettes to the user's lungs.

LISA SNIDER

Urbana
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MAP posted-by: Matt