What to Believe About Marijuana?

Question by matt2894: What to believe about marijuana?
My friend enjoys smoking marijuana.

My friend smokes quite often. He still maintains his grades in school (straight A’s) as school is his first priority. He has obviously heard the conflicting evidence on the health risks/benefits of marijuana. We all know that the “Reefer Madness” way of thinking is no longer acknowledged, but the possibility of health risks cannot be known by anyone. All smokers want to believe that marijuana has only positive effects on the human body and cannot cause harm, but that may not be the case. Today, some doctors tell of the health benefits of marijuana, which are somewhat evident through its current medicinal use. Still, other doctors believe marijuana has many negative effects on the body.

My friend believes that smoking marijuana has very limited actual health risks. He knows that inhaling the smoke from a dead plant obviously can’t be good for the lungs, though there are ways around this, like baking marijuana or using a vaporizer. Some doctors still today say that marijuana kills brain cells, though some say that the studies that show this were done on monkeys which were forced to wear gas masks filled only with marijuana smoke, so their brain cells died because of the deprivation of oxygen. Some even say that marijuana can boost brain cell growth. I don’t think anyone can really know the truth about this (unless you are a doctor and have done studies and seen results yourself, in which case your response will hopefully satisfy my questions completely), but (1) can anyone provide convincing evidence that one belief is true and the other is false?

Another proposed health risk of smoking marijuana is memory loss, which a lot of my friend’s “stoner friends” believe occurs from smoking marijuana, yet on the news the other day, I saw evidence from a study that suggests that marijuana can actually improve memory and is being tested on patients with Alzheimer’s disease. (2) Can anyone provide convincing evidence that one belief is true and the other is false?

Basically, WHY IS THERE SO MUCH CONFLICTING EVIDENCE ABOUT MARIJUANA?!?
If the government wants the public to believe marijuana is a “narcotic substance” and not just a contained forest fire, why are they releasing this new information?

p.s My friend and I are alot alike 😉

Best answer:

Answer by Jimmy
I “medicate” everyday and still get straight As and maintain a a job. Been at the job for 2 years now. Not all of us are ignorant or lazy.

VOTE YES FOR PROP 19!

Answer by LiT
Send your friend to the psychiatric hospital, they will throw him down to the ground, hold him down in a spread-eagle fashion, and inject him in the buttocks with a high dose of Haldol, which is horrible depressing and dangerous drug. It will make him fat, weak, depressed, impotent, unable to talk, think or move properly, and unable to experience pleasure.

What do you think? Answer below!

Liverpool revealed as drug death capital of England
Liverpool is the drug death capital of England and sees more cocaine-related deaths than Greater London, a shocking new report revealed. There were 49 drug abuse deaths in 2012, according to figures published by the National Programme on Substance … Read more on Liverpool Echo

Colorado Springs school districts lead state in expulsions, suspensions
… the primary drug of choice among students, said Lt. Jeff Kramer, spokesman for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. "We get occasional scenarios involving heroin or cocaine, but marijuana definitely leads the way," he said. … Substance abuse is … Read more on Colorado Springs Gazette

We can all help others battle addictions
Whether the drug is cocaine, alcohol, methamphetamines, heroin or nicotine, substance abuse is as much of a problem here — including the suburbs and rural areas — as in the inner-city neighborhoods of New York, Philadelphia or Detroit. And sometimes … Read more on Pittsburgh Post Gazette