You Can't Deny Marijuana Is Dangerous For Developing Minds

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You Can't Deny Marijuana Is Dangerous For Developing Minds
by Dr. Diane McIntosh, 04/08/2016, huffingtonpost.ca
I have many patients with psychotic illnesses, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Many were vulnerable because of their family history, but some share another important life experience: they smoked pot from an early age.

Physicians have not effectively confronted pot-related myths, nor have we adequately educated our patients. When I tell parents about marijuana's risks, they often express shock. Many believe it's like oregano... a safe "natural product" that adds a little spice to life.

But pot is not benign and there's a mountain of scientific evidence, compiled over nearly 30 years, to prove it poses serious risks, particularly for developing brains......click on "Read More" below to continue.....

Driving while high on marijuana causing spike in fatal accident

by Tom Costello, Today.com
Any time Mary Gaston drives by the intersection where a driver high on marijuana plowed into her son's motorcycle two and a half years ago, the loud bang of the impact replays in her head.

Blake had hugged her before he left the suburban Seattle restaurant's parking lot — it was the last time she would ever feel his embrace.

"I heard it and I knew instantly," Gaston remembers. "I said 'that's Blake' and I just ran. It was not even 50 feet away. And he was lying in the intersection bleeding out."

Though doctors tried to save his life, 23-year-old Blake Gaston didn't make it.

His story is becoming frighteningly more common. A new report by the American Auto Association (AAA) has found that the percentage of drivers who are high on pot during fatal accidents in Washington State more than doubled between 2013 and 2014.

In Washington, only looking at crashes in which at least one driver tested positive for active THC, there were 40 fatalities in 2010, compared to 85 in 2014, according to AAA estimates. However, a large number of drivers were not tested for THC or did not have available blood test results, so THC-related fatalities could be much higher, the report notes.

The AAA report focused only on Washington state, while legalized the sale and possession of marijuana in 2012. It did not track driving while high fatality trends in Colorado, which also legalized pot that in 2012.

But with marijuana on the ballot to become legal in more states, AAA researchers fear that the numbers will rise more sharply.

 The problem is, many people don't realize that "driving under the influence" isn't just about drunk driving. It also means driving when you're high.

"Driving is already a tough task," says Jake Nelson, director of Traffic Safety Advocacy and Research at AAA. "When you add a drug that impairs our ability to manage that task, it's a recipe for disaster."

Currently 20 states allow medicinal marijuana use, while four states and Washington, D.C., allow recreational use. 
     Related: Pot fuels surge in drunk driving deaths
After the accident, Mary Gaston learned that the driver of the car that hit her son's motorcycle, 33-year-old Caleb Floyd, admitted he had been smoking pot. He was eventually convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to three years in prison.

That's little comfort to Mary, who wonders where her bright, talented son would be now if he not been hit by a stoned driver.

 A computer whiz who developed websites, Blake was also an accomplished musician.

By 23, he'd already mastered numerous musical instruments, including piano, guitar and drums. He didn't just play music, though, he also wrote songs too.

"Blake was going to change the world," Gaston says. "Blake had an energy about him. He affected people's lives in such a positive way. It makes me happy to think about him. Even in 23 years he lived a hell of a life. His life was way too short. But he lived a hell of a life."
http://www.today.com/health/driving-while-high-marijuana-causing-spike-fatal-accidents-t91746
Related News:
Marijuana-related deaths, suspensions & problems spike in Colorado – report
https://www.rt.com/usa/316148-marijuana-related-deaths-injuries-study/

Pot harms unborn babies / Dopamine levels may go up in dope smoke

Hopes of moms-to-be can go up in pot smoke
Drs. Oz and Roizen HEALTH TIPS FROM MEHMET OZ, M.D. AND MICHAEL ROIZEN, M.D.
The Province, 9 May, 2016
Up In Smoke (a Cheech & Chong movie,1978) may have floated the hazy notion that smoking marijuana was harmless fun, but new research shows that a woman’s chance for delivering a healthy baby is actually what goes up in smoke if she lets smoke into her brain and lungs while pregnant.

Researchers from the University of Arizona looked at 24 studies of pregnancy and marijuana smoking. They discovered pregnant women who smoke cannabis were more likely to be anemic and babies more likely to end up in neonatal intensive care with a low birth weight.

Low birth weight is associated with intestinal and respiratory woes, brain bleeds, and heart and vision problems.

This study comes at the same time that researchers in Leipzig’s Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research discovered that tobacco smoking during pregnancy causes epigenetic disruption that dysregulates several genes at once and can trigger a roster of health problems for a newborn and throughout life.

Plus, various studies indicate that cannabis smoke is almost as toxic as tobacco smoke and can reduce levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, impairing memory and making it hard to stop smoking without feeling depressed.

These studies together should be more than enough to convince every young woman that if she smokes marijuana, tobacco or both, her dreams of a healthy baby may just go up in smoke.
http://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-province/20160509/281719793795001
More pot news by Drs. Oz and Roizen:
Dopamine levels may go up in dope smoke