26.10.14

Your kid’s brain on pot: The real effects of marijuana on teens

Adriana Barton, The Globe and Mail, Oct. 16 2014
As the debate over legalization heats up, Adriana Barton examines the effects of marijuana on the developing brains of teenagers – our nation’s most prolific users – and finds there is no such thing as a harmless habit

Like it or not, your kids will probably try marijuana. So will their friends. Canadian teens are more than twice as likely as adults to smoke pot – and have the highest rate of cannabis use in the developed world. Marijuana has become as much a part of Canada’s youth culture as hockey or Katy Perry.....click "Read More" below to continue.....

6.10.14

Potheads' heads buried in sands about marijuana facts

Drs. Oz & Roizen: New marijuana facts surface
By Mehmet Oz, M.D., and Mike Roizen, M.D., October 6, 2014
  With clever names like Peace of Mind, Girl Scout Cookies, Train Wreck and Tsunami, it's a good bet that the marketers of legal marijuana finished high school.

That's less certain for their younger customers. New research shows daily marijuana use before the age of 17 cuts your chances of graduating from high school or getting a college degree by 60 percent. And that info's just the tip of the joint. Now that marijuana is legal for recreational use in Washington and Colorado, and for medical purposes in 19 other states plus the District of Columbia, scientists are able to study the drug more closely. The result is an outpouring of data on marijuana's formerly unknown or underappreciated risks.

One new study found that 40 percent of cannabis-using adolescents receiving treatment for substance abuse report symptoms of withdrawal - a true marker for drug dependence (addiction). And kids are eight times more likely to use illicit drugs later in life if they smoke marijuana regularly. Another study found that adolescents who smoke pot daily shed an average of six IQ points by adulthood; points you're not getting back, and that can mean the difference between an engaged, rewarding life and not!

Just because the drug is legal in some places, doesn't mean it's smart to use it. As Derek Jeter says: "If you have dreams and aspirations to be successful, drugs and alcohol are only going to alter those dreams. Try to stay away from them and find something more productive to do with your time."

Mehmet Oz, M.D., is host of "The Dr. Oz Show," and Mike Roizen, M.D., is chief medical officer at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. To live your healthiest, visit sharecare.com. Distributed by King Features Syndicate Inc.

Source:
Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/10/06/3412500/new-marijuana-facts-surface.html