[size=6]Matt Simon: Marijuana is less harmful than tobacco or alcohol, and that's the truth[/size]
MATT SIMON
April 14. 2015 8:17PM

TUFTONBORO POLICE Chief Andy Shagoury is entitled to his own opinion about New Hampshire’s marijuana decriminalization bill, but he is not entitled to his own facts.

“The biggest reason to oppose this is the message it will send to our children,” who, he fears, “will see (marijuana) as less harmful than tobacco or alcohol,” he is quoted as saying in the April 8 story, “Pot decriminalization proponents target new state senators.”

The sponsors and supporters of House Bill 618 certainly agree with Chief Shagoury that children and adolescents should be discouraged from using marijuana. But does that mean authorities have to continue being untruthful about the actual effects of marijuana when consumed by adults?

By any reasonable objective standard, marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and very much less harmful than tobacco.

The contrasts with alcohol are stunning. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), six Americans die from alcohol poisoning each day, and a whopping 88,000 American deaths each year are attributed to excessive alcohol consumption. In contrast, the CDC does not even have a category for deaths caused by marijuana consumption.

Like marijuana, tobacco doesn’t typically cause overdose deaths, but that is one of the only things the two substances have in common. The CDC attributes more than 480,000 deaths per year to tobacco use, while, again, attributing zero deaths to marijuana consumption.

But doesn’t smoking marijuana cause cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? You might assume that it does, but the research tells a very different story.

Dr. Donald Tashkin, a pulmonologist who has conducted several government-sanctioned studies on the effects of marijuana, was surprised by the relative lack of harm associated with marijuana. Writing for the Annals of the American Thoracic Society in 2013, Dr. Tashkin explained that smoking marijuana “does not appear to lead to significant abnormalities in lung function” and that “no clear link to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been established.”

What about cancer? Dr. Tashkin wrote, “(a)lthough marijuana smoke contains a number of carcinogens and cocarcinogens ... studies do not suggest an increased risk for the development of either lung or upper airway cancer from light or moderate use” and “evidence is mixed concerning possible carcinogenic risks of heavy, long-term use.”

Based on his evaluation of all the available research, Dr. Tashkin concluded, “(e)vidence implies far lower risks for pulmonary complications of even regular heavy use of marijuana compared with the grave pulmonary consequences of tobacco.”

What about addictiveness? Again, marijuana doesn’t even come close to measuring up to the legal drugs alcohol and tobacco.

There is no question that some marijuana users do develop dependence. Writing for CNN.com, Dr. Sanjay Gupta acknowledged in 2013, “There is clear evidence that in some people, marijuana use can lead to withdrawal symptoms, including insomnia, anxiety and nausea.”

However, Gupta noted, “Even considering this, it is hard to make a case that it has a high potential for abuse. The physical symptoms of marijuana addiction are nothing like those of the other drugs I’ve mentioned (alcohol, tobacco, opiates, and cocaine). I have seen the withdrawal from alcohol, and it can be life threatening.”

But doesn’t marijuana kill brain cells? Again, this is a myth that was laid to rest a long time ago. In 1999, the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine acknowledged, “Earlier studies purporting to show structural changes in the brains of heavy marijuana users have not been replicated with more sophisticated techniques.”

To be clear, studies have shown that there are good reasons for adolescents to avoid using marijuana. Those who start using heavily at an early age are more likely to develop dependence, and heavy marijuana use may certainly prevent young people from realizing their full potential in life. However, there is no question that alcohol — which does “kill brain cells” — is much more harmful to developing brains than marijuana.

Again, no credible advocate for marijuana decriminalization is claiming that “marijuana is harmless.” Instead, advocates are pointing out that marijuana is much less harmful than we’ve all been led to believe and that a criminal penalty for simple possession is not justified.

If Chief Shagoury really wants to help adolescents, he should recognize the importance of telling them the truth. He should also consider the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recently acknowledged that decriminalization laws “have not led to an increase in youth use rates” and announced that it “strongly supports the decriminalization of marijuana use for both minors and young adults and encourages pediatricians to advocate for laws that prevent harsh criminal penalties for possession or use of marijuana.”

Matt Simon of Goffstown is New England political director of the Marijuana Policy project.