Posted on 03/30/2009 9:13:47 PM PDT by neverdem
Is marijuana less dangerous than alcohol?
(PhysOrg.com) -- It appears that when it comes to teen brain development, parents should be more worried about alcohol abuse than marijuana abuse. Two recent studies have been published showing that alcohol -- a legal substance (though not legal for teens in the U.S.) -- is considered more dangerous than marijuana, which is illegal in many countries.
One study has been published in the U.S., in the journal Clinical EEG and neuroscience: official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS), and shows that alcohol has a stronger effect on teen brain development than marijuana. The other is a study published in the Lancet, offering the results of substance classification by a number of U.K. professionals, purporting that alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana to individuals and to society.
The U.S. study was undertaken by Squeglia, Jacobus and Tapert in a San Diego State University/University of California San Diego joint doctoral program. The study looks at teen brain development for its uniqueness, as well as for the effects that substance abuse has on the brain during this time. Because alcohol and marijuana are commonly used by high school students, it is little surprise that the study is interested in the brain abnormalities stemming from abuse of these substances.
When the brain abnormalities were measured -- seen in terms of brain functioning and structure, cognitive tasks and quality of white matter -- it appeared as though alcohol had a great effect than marijuana. Heavy drinking was defined 20 drinks per month, and the abnormalities were detectable. In heavy marijuana users, abnormalities existed, but not to the same degree as those seen in alcohol abusers.
Findings from the U.S. study, showing that alcohol use in teens causes more irregular brain function than marijuana, would seem to square with efforts in the U.K. to encourage new drug classification. In the Lancet, David Nutt at Bristol University, along with his colleagues, asked psychologists and scientifically or medically trained police to rank different substances according to how harmful they are. The study purports that experts rank alcohol (and tobacco) as more harmful than marijuana. In a list of 20 substances, alcohol came in at number five, tobacco came in at number nine, and marijuana/cannabis came in at number eleven.
These studies are likely to add fuel to movements in both the U.S. and the U.K. to re-classify marijuana. Supporters of fewer restrictions on marijuana will undoubtedly point to scientific studies that show we already legalize less dangerous substances.
© 2009 PhysOrg.com
Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse
This article is from 2007 by David Nutt. Scroll down about three quarters of the way. You'll find alcohol in 5th, tobacco in 9th and marijuana in 11th place.
The article falsely implies that alcohol is legal for teens in the US.
It's not legal, but when did that stop teenagers?
It just worked for me.
The posts on this thread so far seem like they were posted by Freepers who are stoned.
Ah, nevermind. It appears the cache doesn’t work, but the PDF does.
Thanks.
"Supporters of fewer restrictions on marijuana will undoubtedly point to scientific studies that show we already legalize less dangerous substances."
I’m not buying it.
Seeing that relativistic BS makes me more angry. It’s time to take some action.
OTOH, Socialized Medicine will make it all better.
:-\
Isn't this the same David Nutt that said taking the drug Ecstasy was about as risky as riding a horse?
Sounds like an unbiased source of information and judgment
about marijuana, doesn't it?
Thanks for the ping.
Don't take anything that screws with your hormones until then either.
As a general rule that, along with proper nutrition and brain stimulation should produce a brain that is firing on all cylinders.
What exactly does "an unbiased source of information and judgement about marijuana" sound like?
The report is crafted to disabuse any notion that since we now have a black president, our discrimination woes are “relics of the past.” The proof: blacks are “twice as likely as whites to be unemployed, three times more likely to live in poverty and more than six times as likely to be incarcerated.”
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