Study finds cannabis is harmful in the long run
Professor Wayne Hall, a drugs adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO), published a paper challenging notions about the harmlessness of marijuana. Hall's paper is a 20-year long study which found that cannabis use, especially in teenagers, leads to addiction and long-term mental health problems. He said, "it is often harder to get people who are dependent on cannabis through withdrawal than for heroin."
Claims of activists and celebrities
Activists and celebrities have, for years, tried to get marijuana decriminalized. They had, on countless occasions, stressed that cannabis use was not harmful for health. Prominent proponents for decriminalization of marijuana include actors Robert Downey Jr., Jack Nicholson, Woody Harrelson, Snoop Dogg, etc. Even Barrack Obama admitted to having smoked pot as a youngster and claimed that it was less harmful than alcohol.
Obama: Alcohol more dangerous than pot
"I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked. I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol," US President Barrack Obama said.
Professor Hall's findings
According to Professor Hall's study, cannabis, apart from being addictive, doubles the risk of developing psychotic disorders. One in six teenagers, and one in ten adults, who use cannabis regularly become dependent on them. Hall further found that driving when high doubles the risk of a car crash. He also found that smoking pot during pregnancy reduces a baby's birth weight.
Cannabis is addictive
Professor Wayne Hall went on to say, "'If cannabis is not addictive then neither is heroin or alcohol."
