10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MARIJUANA

1. Q. What is Marijuana?

   A. "Marijuana" refers to dried flowers and leaves of some strains of the cannabis hemp plant [1], which contain various quantities of the non-narcotic chemical THC in various quantities. When smoked or eaten, it produces the feeling of being "high," which lasts a few hours. Different strains of this herb produce their own sensual effects, ranging from sedative to stimulant.

2. Q. Who Uses Marijuana?

   A. There is no simple profile of a typical marijuana user. It's been used for thousand of years for medical, social and religious reasons as well as for relaxation [2]. Several of our Presidents farmed hemp [3] and some are believed to have smoked it. One out of every five Americans in all walks of life say they have tried it, and it is still very popular.

3. Q. How Long Have People Been Using Marijuana?

   A. Since Biblical times. [4] This practice was widely accepted in America [5], as well, until the orchestrated campaign of the 1930s led to disinformation [6], public hysteria and the first American laws against using it. [7]

4. Q. Is Marijuana Addictive?

   A. No, it is not. [8] Most users are moderate consumers who only smoke it socially or occasionally to relax. We now know that 10% of our population have "addictive personalities", and they are no more nor less likely to abuse cannabis than anything else. On a relative scale, marijuana is less habit-forming than either sugar or chocolate. Sociologists report a general pattern of marijuana usage that peaks in the early adult years, followed by a period of levelling off, and finally a gradual reduction in use. [9]

5. Q. Has Anyone Ever Died From Smoking Marijuana?

   A. No; not even once. [10] Judge Francis Young studied all the evidence in 1988. and ruled that "marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume" The federal agency NIDA says that autopsies show 75 people per year are high on marijuana when they die, but this does not mean marijuana is a factor in any of their deaths. This chart shows the number of deaths from selected substances in a typical year:

   Tobacco				340,000-395,000
   Alcohol (excluding crime/accidents)	125,000 +
   Drug Overdose (prescription)		14,000-27,000
   Drug Overdose (illegal)		3,800-5,200
   Marijuana				0
   

   Source: U.S. government Bureau of Mortality Statistics, 1987.

6. Q. Does It Lead to Hard Drugs?

   A. No. [11] Although people who abuse drugs often smoke marijuana also, the National Academy of Science reports that -"Legal drugs for adults, such as alcohol and tobacco, ...precede the use of all illicit drugs" Tobacco is known as "the gateway drug."

7. Q. Does It Cause Violence?

   A. No, just the opposite. [12] The only crime most marijuana users commit is using marijuana. The U.S. Shafer Commission [13] report was the most comprehensive study ever undertaken on the subject. It found that marijuana smokers "tend to be underrepresented" in violence and in crime, "especially when compared to users of alcohol, amphetamines and barbiturates." The simple fact is that marijuana does not change your basic personality. The federal government reports that over 70 million Americans have smoked it...probably including some of the nicest people you know.

8. Q. How Does Marijuana Affect Your Health?

   A. A Harvard University medical team in 1987 found that "dangerous physical reactions to marijuana are almost unknown" All smoke is unhealthy, but marijuana is safer than tobacco, and people tend to smoke less of it. That risk can be eliminated by eating the plant instead of smoking it [14] or it can be reduced by using water pipes to smoke smaller amounts of more potent marijuana. Moreover, cannabis is a proven medicinal herb with hundreds of modern therapeutic uses in treating ailments from stress to arthritis to glaucoma to asthma to cancer therapy, to AIDS, and more. [15]

9. Q. What About All Those Scary Stories and Reports?

   A. Most sensational claims of health risks cite no studies or sources at all. Others rely on a handful of inconclusive or flawed reports. [16] After 20 years study, the California Attorney General's panel [17] concluded in 1989 that "an objective consideration shows that marijuana is responsible for less damage to the individual and society than alcohol and cigarettes."

10. Q. What Should We Do?

    A. American taxpayers have funded many studies on this very point, and every independent government panel on marijuana has opposed the jailing of marijuana smokers. [18] Most have urged lawmakers to re-legalize and tax use of this herb by responsible adults, with age limits and regulations like those on alcohol and tobacco. Tell your elected leaders to free up our police and resources to combat violent crime and to honor our national pledge and committmeflt to "liberty and justice for all" by ending marijuana prohibition.

FOOTNOTES TO THE TEXT:

1. Researchers Count about 50,000 non-smoking commercial uses for cannabis hemp; in paper, textiles, fuels, food, medicine, sealants, etc. But even the pharmacalogically inert strains and uses of hemp are now outlawed. Sources: Encyclopaedia Brittanica, US Dept. of Agriculture; Herer, Jack, The Emperor Wears No Clothes.

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2. In the Bible, God told man to use "all the seed bearing herbs" and did not exclude the hemp / marijuana plant. (Genesis 1:12). Coptic Christians, Rastafarians, Shintos, Hindus, Buddhists, Essenes, Sufis, Zoroastrians, Bantus and many other sects have traditions that consider the plant to have religious value.

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3. America was founded by hemp farmers. 1975 President of the American Historical Reference Society and consultant for the Smithsonian Institute, Dr. Burke, counts the following seven U.S. presidents as cannabis smokers: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce, as well as Ben Franklin. 'Father of Our Country" George Washington once recorded his preference for female plants and mentioned a "curious" preparation (5-26-1974 letter), possibly hashish, made from the resins of hemp flowers. After Abe Lincoln's assassination, his wife was prescribed hashish for her nerves. John F. Kennedy was known to smoke marijuana for his back pain and to favor legalization. (Washington farm journals, Jefferson diaries, national archives, etc.)

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4. Archeologists report that cannabis was probably the first plant cultivated by humans -- about 8,000 B.C. (Columbia University, History of the World.) It was used for linen, paper and garments. It was being smoked in China and India by 2700 B.C. (US Dept. of Agriculture Yearbook, 1913.)

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5. Turkish smoking parlors, a tradition in the Middle and Far East, were popular in Europe and America as recently as the turn of the Century.

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6. Forty years earlier, the exhaustive British "Raj" Indian Hemp Commission (1896) study of "gunjah" smokers found no cause to restrict its use.

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7. Notorious yellow journalist William Randolph Hearst fabricated and published horror stories about marijuana. His lies were eventually exposed, but not until long after marijuana prohibition was enacted in 1938. (Sloman, Larry, Reefer Madness.) The law against "marijuana" was passed a year after the invention of a machine to process hemp that could compete commercially against businesses owned by Hearst, DuPont and other powerful families. (Herer, Jack, The Emperor Wears No Clothes.)

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8. Marijuana use does not lead to physical dependency: Harvard Medical Report, 1987. Judge Francis Young, Sept., 1988 (Docket # 88-22). NY LaGuardia report, 1944. U.S. Shafer Commission, 1972, et.al.

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9. Sources: Kaplan, John, Marijuana: The New Prohibition. Newsweek, Sept 7, 1970. U.S. Shafer Commission, 1972, et. al.

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10. Source: Harvard Medical Report, 1987; Judge Francis Young, Sept., 1988 (Docket # 88-22).

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11. Costa Rican Study 1980; Jamaican Study, 1975: Shafer Coman, 1972. The FBI reports that 65-75% of criminal violence is alcohol related.

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12. Federal Bureau of Narcotics chief Harry Anslinger told Congress in 1948 that marijuana causes pacifism, but the "Siler Commission" study conducted by the U.S. in Panama (1931) had already reported "no impairment" in personnel who smoked marijuana during off-duty hours.

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13. Also known as President Richard M. Nixon's 'Blue Ribbon Report."

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14. "The only clinically significant medical problem that is scientifically linked to marijuana is bronchitis. Like smoking tobacco, the treatment us the same: stop smoking." (Dr. Fred Oerther, M.D., 1991.)

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15. Traditional uses source: Dr. Tod Mikuriya, Marijuana: Medical Papers. Marijuana could replace at least 10-20% of prescription drugs now in use. Source: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam. Marijuana was a major active ingredient in 40-50% of patent medicines before its ban.

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16. "There is not yet any conclusive evidence as to whether prolonged use of marijuana causes permanent changes in the nervous system or sustained impairment of brain function and behavior in human beings." (National Academy of Sciences) In the famous Heath/Tulane study (1974), wild monkeys were brutally captured, then slowly suffocated in smoke over a period of 90 days. Source: National Institute of Health>

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17. The California Attorney General's Research Advisory Panel 20th Annual Report, 1989 (released 1990; portions suppressed).

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18. Major U.S. and international studies on marijuana and policy include "Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission" (British, 1896); "Suer Commission' Report (U.S., 1933); "LaGuardia" Commission (New York, 1944); "Shafer Commission" (U.S., 1972); "Ladaine Commission" (Canada, 1972); Alaska State Comsn. (1989); Attorney General's Research Advisory Panel (California, 1990), et. al.

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