drug with significant health consequences to its users
and others.
From 1993-2000, the number of emergency room marijuana
mentions more than tripled.
According to a study by the National Institutes of Health, someone who smokes five
joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone
who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.
Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, including most of the harmful substances found
in tobacco smoke.
Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times more tar into the lungs than a filtered tobacco cigarette.
Harvard University researchers report that the risk of a heart attack is
five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana.
According to a Columbia University study, people smoking a single marijuana
cigarette every other day for a year had a white-blood-cell count that was
39 % lower than normal, thus damaging the immune system and making the user far more susceptible
to infection and sickness.
In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse treatment primarily for marijuana
abuse and dependence.
More teens are in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug or for alcohol.
In 1999, adolescent admissions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew from 43 % to 60 %.
Marijuana is much stronger now than it was
decades ago. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of commercial-grade marijuana increased to 5.57%
in 1998.
In a 1990 report, the National Transportation Safety Board reports that 12.5% of car accidents
are caused by drivers using marijuana.
Nationwide, 40% of adult males tested positive
for marijuana at the time of their arrest.
