[Danny]

This information is more than a little inaccurate. Cannabis has been proven to be considerably better for you than Tobacco. Apart from the fact that Cannabis does not contain any Tar, it also does not exacerbate Lung Cancer, as well as helping to prevent Throat and Mouth Cancer. The suggestion that it causes infertility is unfounded, and has yet to be proven. Also, inhaling Cannabis can actually help to counteract the side-effects of Tobacco, and Cannabis users have been shown to have up to 130% of the lung capacity of non-smokers. It is not harmless, by any means, since inhaling any hot smoke into your lungs will undoubtably cause some damage, but this damage is temporary, and it has yet to be proven that Cannabis causes any long-term damage [unless smoked incredibly often IE constantly, in which case it will cause irreprable damage to the lungs simply as a result of being hot].

Nothing the article actually says is provably untrue, but certain facts have been omitted, and others exaggerated.

For example, when he talks about its effects on fertility, he says that it "has been shown to lower sperm counts". This is true, it has been shown to do this, but only occasionally, and the tests have never shown this repeatedly enough for it to be accepted as proven. In most cases, it has had no effect on the test subjects' sperm counts.

Although it cannot be denied that there are some risks in taking cannabis during pregnancy, the same is true of any drug, including alcohol, tobacco, painkillers, and other medicinal drugs. When placed on a scale of risk beside these other drugs, Cannabis is relatively [but not totally] harmless, and it has not yet been proven to cause any damage to unborn children, physically or mentally. For example, my mother has been an irregular smoker for most of her life. I am fine.

"Some cellular-level research suggests that THC may increase the mutagenic activity of the tar in smoke, which could lead to cancer." This is an example of this doctor's selective mentioning of facts. Here he mentions the small minority of cases in which cancer has been exacerbated by cannabis, but does not mention the larger minority [still a minority, though - cannabis generally has no effect on cancer] in which the chances of cancer were actually reduced.

The bit about it impairing cognition and motor functions is the only part of the article that is really 100% true, but then that is the whole reason why most people indulge, and, since cannabis is generally taken at home, there is not much risk of injuring yourself. If you were to smoke a joint then go and operate a forklift truck, or something, you might be injured, but how many of us would seriously do something like that?

[ December 29, 2001: Message edited by: Rettick ]