Pot causes Brain Damage

The Vancouver Province ran an article that has been floating around of late claiming that pot causes brain damage. No kidding. Everyone knows that pot doesn't make you smart. Stoners aren't very bright. That was the whole point behind the comedy Cheech and Chong.

However, the study claims that the size and shape of two brain regions involved in emotion and motivation may differ in young adults who smoke marijuana at least once a week. There is a difference between mood alteration and brain damage. There is also a huge difference between pot and crack or crystal meth. We used to say Crack Kills when speaking to the youth about drugs. I would sometimes add to that Pot Kills Ambition.

Pot is not nearly as harmful to the body as crack and is likely just as bad as alcohol but one thing excessive pot use does do is kill ambition. It's not surprising the new study discovered pot use affects the part of the brain dealing with motivation.

Obviously the legalization of marijuana supporters want to promote it's use. Some people even claim pot cures cancer. That is false. Pot alleviates the pain of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy cures cancer. However, I personally know someone who has numerous health problems and after getting a prescription for medical marijuana, his symptoms have significantly improved.

I totally agree that mandatory minimum sentences for growing or possessing pot is stupid. It's a waste of tax dollars and prevents us from dealing with violent crime. Yet we do need to be honest about the harmful effects of pot because there are some. Alcohol abuse is likely more damaging than pot abuse but that doesn't mean pot abuse is good. Driving stoned or going to work or school stoned is not a very intelligent thing to do.