While tobacco is damaging to the body, it is not a mind altering drug
such as Marijuana is. Although neither is beneficial for ongoing use.
Marijuana kills brain cells that will not grow back, in addition to 7 times
worse affects of a cigarette on the body, smoke wise. One marijuana cigarette
is equivalent to 7 tobacco cigarettes in damaging tars and smoke etc.
Alcohol used to be illegal, but the world pressed for it to become legal and
eventually it was. Many people have died unnecessarily as well because the law
cannot make people ethical. An ethical person will not drive drunk, and doesn't
need the law to tell them that.
I agree with you on the hypocrisy. The world is full of it.
It is not okay to murder they say, but that only depends on whether
or not the person is being brutally dismembered by a doctor in its mother's
womb or not.
IS ETHANOL A NEUROTOXIN?: THE EFFECTS OF ETHANOL ON NEURONAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
B. E. LEONARD [SIZE=-1] Department of Pharmacology, University College Galway, Republic of Ireland [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]
Received 1 July 1986;[/SIZE] Although the psychiatric manifestations of heavy ethanol consumption have been well known for decades, studies on the structural changes at the level of the nerve cell which result from chronic ethanol administration are relatively recent. It is now well established that ethanol increases the fluidity of the neuronal membrane by changing the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fats in favour of the latter; in addition, the concentration of cholesterol is increased. These changes in lipid composition appear to be associated with the development of behavioural tolerance to the drug. The resultant change in membrane structure affects transport processes across the cell surface involving calcium and other electrolytes and the active transport of neuro-transmitters such as the biogenic amines and GABA; there is evidence that neurotransmitter receptor function is also impaired as a consequence of the alteration in the membrane micro-environment brought about by chronic ethanol exposure. Such effects suggest that alterations in cellular function, and ultimately behaviour, are primarily the result of the changes in nerve membrane structure and function. The possible consequences of this with regard to the development of a therapy to counteract the neurotoxicity of ethanol are discussed.
Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds and 400 other toxins. These include nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, as well as formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, arsenic, and DDT.
Ammonia: Household cleaner
Angelica root extract: Known to cause cancer in animals
Arsenic: Used in rat poisons
Benzene: Used in making dyes, synthetic rubber
Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid
Carbon monoxide: Poisonous gas
Cadmium: Used in batteries
Cyanide: Deadly poison
DDT: A banned insecticide
Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals
Lead: Poisonous in high doses
Formaldehiyde: Used to preserve dead specimens
Methoprene: Insecticide
Megastigmatrienone: Chemical naturally found in grapefruit juice
Maltitol: Sweetener for diabetics
Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs
Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984
Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element
All in 1 cigarette.
Source: quitsmoking.org
Myth: Marijuana Kills Brain Cells. Used over time, marijuana permanently alters brain structure and function, causing memory loss, cognitive impairment, personality deterioration, and reduced productivity.
Fact: None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. An early study reported brain damage in rhesus monkeys after six months exposure to high concentrations of marijuana smoke. In a recent, more carefully conducted study, researchers found no evidence of brain abnormality in monkeys that were forced to inhale the equivalent of four to five marijuana cigarettes every day for a year. The claim that marijuana kills brain cells is based on a speculative report dating back a quarter of a century that has never been supported by any scientific study.
- Heath, R.G., et al. Cannabis Sativa: Effects on Brain Function and Ultrastructure in Rhesus Monkeys. Biological Psychiatry 15 (1980): 657-690.
- Ali, S.F., et al. Chronic Marijuana Smoke Exposure in the Rhesus Monkey IV: Neurochemical Effects and Comparison to Acute and Chronic Exposure to Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Rats. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 40 (1991): 677-82.
Myth: Marijuana Impairs Memory and Cognition. Under the influence of marijuana, people are unable to think rationally and intelligently. Chronic marijuana use causes permanent mental impairment.
Fact: Marijuana produces immediate, temporary changes in thoughts, perceptions, and information processing. The cognitive process most clearly affected by marijuana is short-term memory. In laboratory studies, subjects under the influence of marijuana have no trouble remembering things they learned previously. However, they display diminished capacity to learn and recall new information. This diminishment only lasts for the duration of the intoxication. There is no convincing evidence that heavy long-term marijuana use permanently impairs memory or other cognitive functions.
- Wetzel, C.D. et al., Remote Memory During Marijuana Intoxication, Psychopharmacology 76 (1982): 278-81.
- Deadwyler, S.A. et al., The Effects of Delta-9-THC on Mechanisms of Learning and Memory. Neurobiology of Drug Abuse: Learning and Memory. Ed. L. Erinoff. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse 1990. 79-83.
- Block, R.I. et al., Acute Effects of Marijuana on Cognition: Relationships to Chronic Effects and Smoking Techniques. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 43 (1992): 907-917.
I assume you came up with those ideas of the top of your head. Next I will say things of the top of mine. I am not advocating the use of marijuana, I just don't want to lie to people about it. The danger of marijuana is the pleasure received.
