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Below is the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) MARIJUANA FACT SHEET 2005.

ONDCP Marijuana FACT SHEET

Marijuana is a bigger part of our national drug problem than most people realize
· Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States.
· According to the NSDUH, 95 million Americans age 12 and older have tried “pot” at least once, and three out of every four illicit drug users reported using marijuana within the previous 30 days.
· The widespread perception of marijuana as a benign, natural herb seriously detracts from the most basic message our society needs to deliver:
o It is not OK for anyone—especially young people—to use this or any other illicit drug
· Over the past three years, there has been an 18 percent reduction in teen marijuana use (MTF, 2004)

Marijuana potency has dramatically increased over the last 15 years
· Today’s marijuana is at least twice as strong as it was in the mid-1980’s. NIDA found the average levels of THC jumped from 3.5% in 1985 to over 7% in 2003.
· An analysis of seized hydroponically grown marijuana shows a potency exceeding 9% and even as high as 27%.

Consequences of Use:
· According to the National Institutes of Health, smoked marijuana contains 50 to 70% more carcinogens than tobacco smoke. It can also lead to cancer of the respiratory tract and hurt the immune system.
· Research shows that kids who use marijuana weekly are nearly four times likely than nonusers to report they engage in violent or aggressive behavior.
· In 2002, marijuana was a contributing factor in 120,000 emergency department visits in the United States, a 164% increase since 1995.
o Marijuana mentions now exceed those of heroin (DAWN)
· The British Lung Foundation reports that smoking three marijuana joints is bad for your lungs as 20 tobacco cigarettes.
· Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have determined that marijuana smoking can cause potentially serious damage to the respiratory system at a relatively early age.
· British Thoracic Society in London reports that recent research points to the fact that regularly smoking three to four joints a week, event less than six years, can impair lung function and rob the body of antioxidants that protect cells against damage that can lead to heart disease and cancer.
· People who smoke marijuana are nearly three times more likely to develop psychotic disorders like hallucinations, paranoia, manic depression, and schizophrenia—the risk increases with the amount smoked. (American Journal of Epidemiology 2002)

Marijuana and Youth:
· More kids enter drug treatment for marijuana dependency than all other illicit drugs combined. Three out of five (61.7 percent) teens in drug treatment are dependent on marijuana.
· Teens are at a higher risk for addiction than adults and the earlier kids try marijuana the more likely they are to become addicted to drugs later in life.
· Also associated with emotional, behavioral, and academic problems. Marijuana abusers are four times more likely to report symptoms of depression, and have more suicidal thoughts than those who never used the drug.

Marijuana and Driving:
· According to NSDUH, 10.9 million people reported driving under the influence of an illegal drug.
o Of the approximately 4 million high school seniors in the United States, approximately 600,000 admitted that they drove under the influence of marijuana.
· Marijuana effects alertness, concentration, and reaction time. These skills are required for safe driving and these effects can last up to 24 hours. Marijuana can also make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road.

Medical Marijuana:
· According to the FDA, there are no proven benefits to marijuana use, there are many short and long term risks associated with marijuana use.
· The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science reported that because of health risks associated with smoking, smoked marijuana should generally not be recommended for long-term medical use.
· A synthetic component of marijuana (THC) has been approved in pill form by the FDA. It’s called Marinol, and the U.S. government supports the right of doctors to prescribe this drug if they feel it would best serve their patient’s needs.
o The DEA even lowered the scheduling on Marinol to make it easier for doctors to prescribe the drug.

FYI:
NSDUH: National Survey on Drug Use and Health (formerly the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse; sponsored and put forward by the Dept. of Health and Human Services)
MTF,2004: Monitoring the Future (University of Michigan's annual high school student survey)
NIDA: National Institutde on Drug Abuse (an arm of the National Institutes of Health)
DAWN: Drug Abuse Warning Network (this is the data for ER mentions)
FDA: Food and Drug Administration
ADAM: Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (which is probably being discontinued, unfortunately; though it may be updated)
ONDCP: Office of National Drug Control Policy
OJJDP: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
SAMHSA: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (an arm of the Dept of Health and Human Services)
CSAT: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (an arm of SAMHSA)
CSAP: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (an arm of SAMHSA)