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Articles Against Decriminalizing Marijuana showing harmful marijuana effects on youth. Collected by the National Evangelical Association of Belize.
1. CNN. Frequent teen marijuana use linked to issues later in life Sept. 2014. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/09/health/teen-marijuana-use/
Story highlights. Study:
Teens who use marijuana daily are less likely to get high school diploma.
· Daily teen users 18 times more likely to become dependent on pot, study says.
· Teens who use marijuana daily are less likely to get high school diploma
· Study: Adolescents who frequently use marijuana also more likely to use other drugs;
· Study fails to show that marijuana use causes these problems, advocate says.
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2. Time Magazine. Marijuana effects same area of brain as schizophrenia http://time.com/2032/why-its-still-a-big-deal-if-your-teen-smokes-pot/
“Adolescence is a sensitive time for brain development,” says Matthew J. Smith, a research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “If a teen introduces the abuse of marijuana at that point in their life, it could have consequences for their ability to problem solve, for their memory and for critical thinking in general.”
The earlier the drug was taken up, the worse the effects on the brain.
“Marijuana is the ideal compound to screw up everything for a kid,” says Hans Breiter, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and a senior author of the study. “If you’re an athlete, a chess player, a debater or an artist, you need working memory, and marijuana hurts the brain circuitry.”
3. Mental Health Treatment. New studies prove marijuana is a gateway drug leading to harder drugs. http://mentalhealthtreatment.net/marijuana-is-a-dangerous-gateway?utm_outbrain=contently&utm_campaign=ch&utm_term=171366
“Early marijuana initiates’ increased vulnerability for drug abuse and addiction to other substances later in life has been reported by most epidemiological studies. It is also consistent with animal experiments showing THC’s ability to ‘prime’ the brain for enhanced responses to other drugs.”
THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that produces the euphoria, is generally much higher in today’s varieties of weed.
4. Teen Vogue magazine. Effects of weed are worse than thought, affecting parts of brain related to IQ and motivation. http://www.teenvogue.com/story/marijuana-effects
New research shows that the effects of pot are even worse for teens than we previously thought. Scientists now believe that marijuana causes developmental changes to the part of the brain that controls motivation and decision-making. The impact is long-lasting. Even scarier, studies have also shown that teens who are dependent on pot before the age of 18 and continue to use the drug lose an average of eight I.Q. points by the time they’re 38.
…Recent studies show that almost 23 percent of high school seniors used marijuana in the past month, and nearly half of all teens have tried it—a staggering 21 percent increase from just five years ago. …One study from the University of Southern California found that 30 percent of sexual assault victims at rape treatment centers had marijuana in their systems.
5. Society for Neuroscience. BRAIN CHANGES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CASUAL MARIJUANA USE IN YOUNG ADULTS. https://www.sfn.org/Press-Room/News-Release-Archives/2014/Brain-Changes-Are-Associated-with-Casual-Marijuana-Use-in-Young-Adults Light to moderate use of pot changes brain anatomy, says study by Harvard hospital using MRI technology comparing brains of weed smokers to non smokers.
“The scientists found that the more the marijuana users reported consuming, the greater the abnormalities in the nucleus accumbens and amygdala. The shape and density of both of these regions also differed between marijuana users and non-users.”
The nucleus accumbens “is at the core of motivation, the core of pleasure and pain, and every decision that you make,” explained Dr. Hans Brieter, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Northwestern’s medical school. Brieter also said, “If I were to design a substance that is bad for college students, it would be marijuana.”
6. New York Times. “This Is Your Brain on Drugs” Oct 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/education/edlife/this-is-your-brain-on-drugs-marijuana-adults-teens.html?_r=1 MRI scans showing brains of weed smokers. Dangerous effects of new modern weed with higher % levels of THC.
DEA: “the concentration of THC, the drug’s psychoactive compound, rising from a mean of 3.75 percent in 1995 to 13 percent in 2013”—3.5 times higher. “High-THC marijuana is associated with paranoia and psychosis….Emergency room visits related to marijuana have nearly doubled, from 66,000 in 2004 to 129,000 in 2011.”
“in casual users, THC can disrupt focus, working memory, decision making and motivation for about 24 hours.”
7. The Guardian (UK). “Teenagers using cannabis daily are 60% greater chance of not finishing high school: Daily users under 17 are seven times more likely to attempt suicide compared with non-users, Australian-led study finds” http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/10/teenagers-who-use-cannabis-every-day-60-less-likely-to-finish-school
Daily teenage users were seven times more likely to attempt suicide and eight times as likely to use other illicit drugs compared with non-users, the research published in journal the Lancet Psychiatry found.
8. The Globe & Mail. “Your kids brain on pot: The Real Effects of pot on teens” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/your-kids-brain-on-pot-the-real-effects-of-marijuana-on-teens/article21127612/ Effects of marijuana on teen brains, leads to later loss of intelligence.
“ …quitting pot did not seem to restore intellectual functioning in those who had been chronic pot users as teenagers, the researchers found” from Duke University.
“…the risk in developing psychosis doubles from about 7 in 1000 for non-cannabis users to 14 in 1000 among regular users.”—Addiction Journal.
“Compared to people who had never used cannabis, those who were daily users before age 17 had an 18-times greater chance of becoming cannabis dependent. They were eight times more likely to use other illicit drugs in adulthood, and seven times more likely to attempt suicide.” The Lancet Journal.
9. ABC News Australia. Teen Cannabis Users More likely to quit school & suicide. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-10/daily-cannabis-smoking-puts-teenagers-at-serious-risk/5732272 Teen users were less likely to finish school, had later life problems, motivational issues, performed lower than non smokers.
Teenagers who regularly use cannabis before they turn 17 are much more likely to drop out of high school or university, or attempt suicide, than those who never smoked a new study has found.
Australian research by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at the University of New South Wales: “It found teenagers who were daily users of cannabis before age 17 were more than 60 per cent less likely to complete high school or obtain a degree compared to those who had never used the drug.
“The large meta-analysis also indicated daily users of cannabis during adolescence were seven times more likely to attempt suicide.
“In addition, those teenagers had a chance of cannabis dependence 18 times higher than others, and were eight times more likely to use other illicit drugs later in life.
10. The Lancet Journal. The most probable adverse effects include a dependence syndrome, increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, impaired respiratory function, cardiovascular disease, and adverse effects of regular use on adolescent psychosocial development and mental health. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2809%2961037-0/abstract (Synopsis only, full report for purchase.)
“ The most probable adverse effects include a dependence syndrome, increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, impaired respiratory function, cardiovascular disease, and adverse effects of regular use on adolescent psychosocial development and mental health.”
NEAB articles related to harmful marijuana effects on youth.
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NEAB Statement on Decriminalizing Marijuana.
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