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... e found to have recently smoked marijuana, though it could not be proven that it caused the accident. The engineer had extensive record of speeding and DUI. He was known by management to have drinking problems. Congress mandated that random drug testing be done on the entire transportation industry. Marijuana is less of a road hazard than alcohol.
Surveys have found that half or more of fatal drivers have alcohol in their blood, as opposed to 7 - 20 % with THC, the major component of marijuana. The combination of marijuana and alcohol is a hazard. Some research suggested that low doses of marijuana alone might sometimes improve driving performance, but not true in most cases. Marijuana appears to produce greater caution, because users are more aware of their state, so the become more alert.
Even though this is true in some cases, no one should drive when they are high. It should be noted that these results might not apply to non-driving related situations, where forgetfulness or inattention can be less important than speed and safety in a vehicle. There has never been a single commercial passenger airline accident attributed to marijuana abuse. Drug tests on railroad workers found no elevated incidence of drug use among workers involved in accidents. In surveyed blood samples from 1982 drivers killed in a car, truck and motorcycle accidents in seven states during 1990 - 91 found that 51. 5 % of specimens as against 17. 8 % for all other drugs combined. Marijuana, the second most common drug, appeared in just 6. 7 % of accidents.
Two-thirds of the marijuana using drivers also had alcohol. Drivers who use alcohol are especially vulnerable to fatal accidents when the are at the wheel. Marijuana alone had no indications to cause fatal accidents when not combined with other drugs. The Kaiser study also found that daily pot users have a 30 % higher risk of injuries, mostly from accidents. These figures are pretty accurate, and not nearly as high as comparable risks for heavy drinkers or tobacco addicts.
Marijuana can cause accidents isnt surprising since it has been shown to degrade short-term memory in chronic pot smokers. It can also impair concentration, judgment, and coordination at complex tasks including driving. There have been numerous reports of pot-related accidents, some fatal; saying it is a myth that no one has ever died from marijuana. A survey of 1, 023 emergency room trauma patients in Baltimore found that 34. 7 % were under the influence of marijuana, more than alcohol, but almost all were combinations with alcohol use and pot. The Partnership for a Drug-free America did a survey among teenagers from 13 - 15 years old.
Only eight percent believed that people who use marijuana are popular. From this study they found that fewer teens agree many rock and rap stars make drug use look tempting, but few believe it glamorizes drug use. Teens thinking that most people use marijuana at least once or twice, declined to 35 percent in 1998 and 41 percent in 1997. 11 percent of teens think it is difficult to say no to reject invitation to try marijuana. Statistically, drug use among teens has declined significantly.
So why do we continue to say we have a marijuana problem, when indeed it has gotten much better? Teens are people too, which make decisions just like adults. There are more teenagers out there than we think that make smart choices and act responsibly. One would not condone a child to use marijuana; we dont allow them to use tobacco products and alcohol. This is a must in keeping them safe, because children are not mature enough to handle responsibility with drugs. That is where marijuana gets its bad reputation.
Children who are involved with the drug are curious and want to try new things. Adults dont turn to crack when they are out of alcohol, so what makes us think that marijuana, a drug, would lead to the same thing? Knowing the positive side is always nice, but to be logical, you need the negative side as well. The short-term effects of marijuana use include: problems with memory and concentration, distorted perception (sight, sound, time, and touch) trouble with problem solving, loss of coordination, increased heart rate, and anxiety. These effects are even greater when other drugs are mixed with marijuana. Long-term effect is cancer, which is still in question and not known whether or not it can be caused by marijuana.
To determine whether or not it leads to cancer is hard to find out because so many users smoke cigarettes too. Pot smokers suffer lung damage just like tobacco users, and reported evidence shows that pre-cancerous cells are found in pot smokers. Overall, people who smoke marijuana have the same effects with the respiratory system as tobacco smokers. Un like tobacco, marijuana is not addictive from chemicals, it is mostly psychological. When people smoke marijuana, they may get depression, fatigue, and carelessness with appearance, hostility, and deteriorating relationships with family and friends. This is not effects from all users, but for some it can lead to this.
Smoking marijuana can also cause change in sleeping patterns. When we realize the problems that occur from smoking marijuana, it is easier to argue the point of why it remains illegal in the United States. Nearly all the health risks can be compared to those risks with smoking tobacco. When a person smokes a cigarette, the body responds immediately to the chemical nicotine in smoke. Nicotine causes short-term increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and blood flow from the heart, and causes arteries to narrow. Carbon monoxide reduces amount of oxygen carried in the blood, which creates an imbalance in the demand for oxygen carried by cells.
Smoking can cause chronic lung disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke, as well as cancer in various parts of the body. It is a known fact that smoking tobacco causes cancer, but marijuana is not known for sure to cause it. Women who use tobacco during pregnancy are more likely to have difficult birth, low birth weight, and risk of infant death. Nearly 300, 000 infants suffer from lower respiratory tract infections, due to exposure to cigarette smoke. We all know that smoking is almost a definite no for pregnant women.
You see the warnings on the side of every cigarette pack. Studies done to prove marijuana doesnt harm a fetus are criticized for obvious reasons. A woman named Nancy Day specializes in prenatal care. She did a study that was well controlled; finding that cannabis use had a positive impact on birth weight during the third trimester of pregnancy. Cannabis use is not recommended in pregnancy, it may be of medical value to some women in treating morning sickness or helping in childbirth. Smoking pot is obviously harmful, so I dont know why anyone would recommend that to any pregnant woman.
Another drug that causes concern among many Americans, but remains legal is alcohol. Alcohol is absorbed in the stomach, enters the blood stream, and goes into all tissues. The effects from drinking are different depending on a persons size, weight, sex, as well as food and alcohol consumed. Effects from drinking can cause dizziness, nausea, thirst, slurred speech, disturbed sleep, and vomiting. Alcohol impairs judgment and coordination, causes aggressive acts like domestic violence and child abuse. Prolonged use of alcohol can also lead to addiction, producing withdrawal symptoms.
Drinking can cause tremors, hallucinations and convulsions. Permanent damage to vital organs can occur in the brain and liver. Mothers who drink during pregnancy may give their infants fetal alcohol syndrome, causing mental retardation and other irreversible physical abnormalities. These drugs are legal for adults, but yet have caused a lot of damage to millions of Americans.
Theses people are generally adults, that are suppose to be responsible. They arent making wise choices when they abuse the drug, but the ones who are wise arent effected. The same goes for marijuana. It is illegal to use because of the people who once abused it, which led to suspicion of its use. The health dangers steaming from marijuana use are less or equal to smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol.
Everyone in this country is born with the right to make decisions. We all have choices, but how we make them is important. If we continue to doubt others, or even discriminate against them, we will always be in constant battle. The word freedom is suddenly followed by thousands of rules and exceptions. If we make things that can harm individuals illegal, is it really stopping it. Are we really thinking about what is out there now to legally screw up lives isnt doing the job already?
Let it be our choice, let it be our right, make it legal to be free to make our own choices. If we could just take a moment to think about all the madness in our world, the freedom to smoke pot is just a tiny seed. That is what marijuana comes from, a seed. It is a natural plant, which somehow along the way got miss-understood.
Bibliography: Sources Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Surveys, Attitude tracking studies web The Birmingham News, Val Walton, News staff writer (June 21, 2000) The Arizona Republic, A losing Drug War, Pat Flannery and Dennis Wagner, (Sunday, June 4, 2000) Washington Hemp Education Network (W. H. E. N) Compare legal drugs with illegal drugs Prohibition Ensures Misuse (November 22, 1996) web Donald Tashkin, Physician, New England Journal of Medicine Is Frequent Marijuana Smoking Hazardous to Health Cannabis 1977 Ann.
Intern. Med. pg. 539 - 49 (1978) Respiratory Status of Habitual Marijuana Smokers pg. 699 - 706 (Nov 1980) Nicholas Cozzi, Effects of Water Filtration on Marijuana Smoke: A literature Review Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Newsletter, Vol. IV # 2 (1993) Survey on Hawaii's war on pot done by Honolulu Advertiser, April 1, 1994 Found at: web Norman, Salary and Mahoney An Evaluation of Pre-employment Drug Testing from Journal of Applied Psychology Pg. 629 - 39 (1990) Most facts were found at web What is Marijuana? web Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report, Caroline Wolf Harlow, Ph. D.
BJS Statistician (April 1998) Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse fact sheet Barry R. McCaffrey, Director web or call, 1 - 800 - 666 - 3332, (March 2000) Social Issues Resources Series A Losing Battle article found in Drugs-SIRS, West View Library, Clara Germany, staff writer of Christian Monitor (1991)
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Research essay sample on Pot Smokers Fatal Accidents
