Despite the millions of dollars that have been spent on drug education, a surprising number of college students arrive on campus each year with severely uninformed ideas about marijuana. Quite possibly a majority of students subscribe to the opinion that marijuana use is "no big deal" or even that its use has positive benefits. These people are deluding themselves into endorsing a substance that has been proven to cause physical dependence, depression and schizophrenia, and reduced academic ability. They tell themselves that marijuana is "medicinal," despite ample studies exposing its detrimental effects on health. They use bogus arguments in a quest toward marijuana decriminalization (which is a code word for legalization) by comparing it with other legal substances such as caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and prescription drugs. Worst of all, these misguided students receive often tacit, sometimes explicit, encouragement for their continued ignorance by teachers and other authority figures.

Young proponents of marijuana decriminalization and their elders ought to take a more mature approach to the issue. One of the purposes of education is to teach young people to understand the world they live in. The universe was not created yesterday; it has been here for longer than they have. The people who came before bequeathed the world to the present generation in the state it is in for a reason. Western culture has a tendency to put the cart in front of the horse when it comes to agitating for social change. One cannot change the world if one does not first understand why the world is the way it is. Thus, one cannot rightly agitate to decriminalize marijuana without first understanding why it is and has been illegal to possess, transport, and distribute.

One common misconception about marijuana is that it does not cause physical dependency. Several studies in recent years, including a study in the November 2000 issue of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, have proven that marijuana users indeed suffer the detrimental physical effects of withdrawal. Dr. Aron Lichtman of Virginia Commonwealth University has stated, "A few years ago, it was widely believed that marijuana does not cause any kind of physical dependence, but now that has pretty much been debunked . . . Studies like this one and the ones we have done show that physical dependence does exist" (i).

The physical effects of marijuana are just the beginning. Despite its popular status as a "recreational drug," marijuana has been causally linked to depression and schizophrenia in recent years by several studies. According to child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Joseph M. Ray, these recent studies "offer strong support for the explanation that cannabis use causes both schizophrenia and depression" (ii).

College professors often bemoan the underdeveloped critical thinking skills of incoming students. Unfortunately, misinformation about the effects of marijuana is partly to blame for student underperformance. According to one study, students who used marijuana several times per week scored considerably lower than nonsmokers in tests conducted in 12th grade, where both groups had scored equally when tested in 4th grade. Another study, this one of college students, found that critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were considerably impaired, even over 24 hours after marijuana use (iii).

Marijuana proponents have put forth a spirited effort in recent years to shift the focus of the debate to the issue of so-called medical marijuana. Indeed, marijuana is touted by some to be a miracle drug that treats anything from glaucoma to cancer symptoms. The facts point to a different prognosis, however. Conventional treatment options have proven more effective for glaucoma, and, according to a recent study by the Mayo Clinic, marijuana was shown to be less effective than customary treatments in helping cancer patients recover their appetites (iv).

Considering the abundant and readily available information about marijuana, it is surprising that people are not more suspicious of the overly optimistic ideas floating around about this dangerous substance. Unfortunately, it seems as if marijuana proponents dupe themselves into missing the information all around them. Moreover, they refuse to see a distraction like medical marijuana for what it really is, even when those advocating it make their intentions as plain as day. In January 2000, the New York Times interviewed Ethan Nadelman, Director of the Lindesmith Center. When asked whether medical marijuana would lead to marijuana legalization, Mr. Nadelman answered, "I hope so" (v).

Marijuana proponents delude themselves into ignoring the risks, dangers, and consequences of marijuana use. In order to have a positive, supportive opinion about decriminalization, one has to make a conscious effort to avoid the negative information about marijuana. The studies and information used in this paper were gleaned from a simple, five-minute search of the Internet. It is amazing what lengths people will go to to hide the truth from themselves. But, when the primary goal is agitation for social change, prior evidence and conventional wisdom are often conveniently disregarded. If proponents of marijuana decriminalization spent more time attempting to understand why marijuana is considered dangerous and illegal, perhaps they would have a better understanding of why they fail in their campaign for change.

Notes:

i) http://www.webmd.com/content/article/29/1728_64975.htm

ii) http://www.webmd.com/content/article/53/61380.htm

iii) http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/default.html

iv) http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ongoing/marijuana.html

v) Ibid.