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TEN GOOD REASONS TO FOCUS ON MARIJUANA USE If you are wondering why you should make a special effort to try to stop the use of marijuana in your community, look no further. The following facts may be disturbing, but they will raise awareness and provide a reason for mobilizing people in a community to action. Despite a slight decrease in use rates in 1996, marijuana use has more than doubled among 12- to 17-year-olds since 1992. For a variety of reasons, many more young people are trying marijuana and using it on a regular basis than were doing so even a few years ago. Marijuana has devastating effects on individuals: stunting emotional and intellectual skill growth, instilling a feeling of apathy, compromising health, and exposing young people to the drug culture when they are young and vulnerable. Marijuana is frequently mixed with other drugs (such as PCP) to increase potency. Therefore it is impossible to predict the strength of marijuana—or the effect the mixture is likely to have, thereby increasing the danger. Greater supplies of more potent strains of marijuana are available today than 10 years ago. We are dealing with increased risk involved in the use of this drug—and more serious problems. We all need to be reeducated about marijuana so that we can help young people understand and avoid this dangerous substance. Marijuana hurts families: from the babies who are born to users, to the teens who find themselves betraying the trust of their parents and other caregivers, to the caregivers who are confused and hurt by their children's use. Marijuana hurts communities. Violence and other crime have been attributed directly to marijuana use; businesses pay the costs of unmotivated, underskilled workers who are likely to come to work high, use more sick leave, and file more worker's compensation claims; and health care systems are overtaxed by illnesses and casualties attributed to marijuana use. Some people perceive that marijuana is a relatively harmless drug. Because media coverage of problems associated with marijuana has been overshadowed by the dramatic coverage of drugs such as crack and heroin, and because many of today's parents grew up at a time when marijuana use was considered harmless, the message about the real dangers of this drug has not been communicated to young people. Almost all users of other drugs such as cocaine, crack and heroin, currently use, or in the past used, marijuana. Therefore, if we can help young people avoid becoming involved with marijuana, we'll have a greater chance of helping them avoid problems with other drugs as well. Families are confused about how they should address marijuana with their children. Many parents and guardians would like to talk with their children about marijuana and other drugs but are not sure how. They need help! Young people often know less about marijuana than they do about other drugs such as crack cocaine, cocaine, or heroin. Although marijuana is usually one of the first illicit drugs youth encounter, some drug prevention programs do not spend a concentrated effort helping them understand the dangers involveearning ways to avoid contact with it.

Review a cura del Gruppo Evelink - release dicembre 2000 - Copiright, Evelink 2000 - Fonti: CD-ROM "Stupefacente", a cura della Guardia di Finzanza; Il sito ufficiale dell'UNOCCP (United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention); Medline

Indice Sostanze | Che cos'è | Da dove viene | Che cosa fa' | Secondo la legge | Prodotti | Effetti farmacologici | Utilizzo clinico | Chimica | Informazioni supplementari | Abstract

Dipartimento Politiche Antidroga
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri

- Alcohol and drug terms - WHO
- Terminology & information - UNODC