Is Marijuana Harmful? National Academy Of Sciences Releases Study Confirming That It’s Neither 100 Percent Safe Nor Particularly Dangerous

Is marijuana harmful? That’s the question policy-makers, doctors, social scientists, and marijuana users have been asking for decades. And while the question may not be answered conclusively for some time, a new study released Thursday concludes that pot is not 100 percent safe, but it is generally no more harmful than alcohol.

As the Marijuana Policy Project reports, the National Academies of Sciences released a report Thursday on the health impacts of marijuana, confirming that pot provides medicinal benefits and dispelling the myth that marijuana is patently harmful.

The review of more than 10,000 scientific abstracts concluded that marijuana is beneficial in the treatment of chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea, and multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, the review found no link between smoking marijuana and lung cancer; no physiological “gateway” effect (one of the most widely held beliefs about marijuana); and no link between marijuana use and mortality, overdose deaths, or accidents on the job.

Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, says the findings contradict the federal government’s claim that pot has “no medicinal value.”

“These findings clearly undermine the federal government’s decision to classify marijuana under Schedule I, which is reserved for substances with no medical value. It confirms that marijuana has several medical benefits and is not nearly as problematic as people are often led to believe. There is no rational or scientific justification for our nation’s current marijuana prohibition policy.”

The report also contradicts several myths about the health impacts of marijuana. For example, it found no links between smoking marijuana and the development of lung, head, or neck cancers, nor did it establish a link between marijuana use and asthma or other respiratory diseases. The respiratory problems that it did link to smoking marijuana, such as bronchitis, appear to improve after the consumer ceases their use.

Fortunately for marijuana users, the legal medical/recreational pot industry has developed a wide variety of so-called “edibles,” that is, candies, cookies, and other foods that have been infused with THC (the psychoactive component in marijuana).

According to the report, there is insufficient evidence linking marijuana use to all-cause mortality (death), deaths from overdose, or occupational accidents or injuries. It also found no substantial evidence of a link between the use of marijuana and the use of other illegal drugs. The report also does not appear to make any links between marijuana use and violent or aggressive behavior. Several of these findings were also included in the National Academies of Sciences’ previous report on marijuana, which was released in 1999.

“The report essentially concludes that marijuana is not harmless, but it is not as harmful as many other products that are regulated for adult use. If the researchers conducted a similar study on alcohol, they would conclude that it poses far more harm and provides far fewer medical benefits than marijuana. Marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol, and that should be reflected in our nation’s laws.”

The conclusion that marijuana smoking is “objectively less harmful than alcohol” is likely to be disputed by pot-legalization opponents. For example, anti-pot organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) insists that marijuana is objectively harmful to the user.

For example, SAM claims that marijuana use increases the risk of a heart attack “more than four-fold” after using it; that marijuana smoke contains 50-70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke; and that employees who smoke marijuana are more likely to have accidents on the job, among other claims.

Do you agree with the National Academies of Sciences that marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol?

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