A conclusive twenty-year research study into the long term effects of marijuana/dagga use has destroyed any counter-arguments that weed is a safe drug to use.

The paper found that modern cannabis containing high levels of THC is highly considered an addictive substance with the ability to cause an array of mental health issues and is a catalyst to harder substances.

Prof. Wayne Hall a World Health Organisation (WHO) adviser, has created a conclusive and convincing case counteracting almost any studies that deny the devastation which marijuana/dagga wreaks on the brain and psychological wellbeing of it’s users.

  • In this study case as much as 1/6 teenagers who frequently smoke or abuse this drug become psychologically dependent on the substance.
  • Cannabis literally doubles the chances of developing further psychotic and psychiatric disorders in teens and some prone adults, some of these disorders include mild to chronic schizophrenia.
  • Cannabis users do worse at vocational activities such as in the classroom/school/ education and work.
  • Extended use in teens appears to dramatically impair and inhibit normal intellectual brain development.
  • 1/10 adults who frequently smoke the marijuana/dagga risk becoming addicted to it & many who do use on a day to day basis are far more prone to go on to using significantly harder drugs.
  • Driving following the intake of THC found in marijuana/dagga, more than doubles the risk potential of a vehicle accident, a risk which further dramatically increases if the vehicle operator is also under the influence of alcohol.
  • Smoking cannabis while pregnant can reduce the infants birth weight and compounds are directly transferred from the mother to the foetus, long-term marijuana use increases the risks of cancer, bronchitis and heart attack.

Professor Hall, a professor of addiction policy at King’s College London, dismissed the views of those who say that cannabis is harmless.

If cannabis is not addictive then neither is heroin or alcohol, he said.

Professor Hall writes that it is impossible to take a fatal overdose of cannabis, making it less dangerous at first glance than heroin or cocaine.

The study demonstrates that teens and adults are now just as likely to smoke marijuana as they are to smoke tobacco products.

Hall states that it is however difficult and rare for users to take a fatal overdoses of cannabis / THC, making it a somewhat less dangerous drug at first glance than cocaine or heroin.

The important point I am trying to make is that people can get into difficulties with cannabis use, particularly if they get into daily use over a longer period,

he said.

There is no doubt that heavy users experience a withdrawal syndrome as with alcohol and heroin.

Rates of recovery from cannabis dependence among those seeking treatment are similar to those for alcohol.

Anyone interested in reading the paper in Addiction can access it online. It covers the evidence relating to recreational cannabis use and the following:

  • Dependence (addiction)
  • Brain function and cognition
  • Psychosis and schizophrenia
  • Other mental disorders such as anxiety and depression
  • Heart and lung health, including cancer
  • Other drug use
  • Car crash injuries and deaths
  • Pregnancy
  • Educational attainment
  • Changes in cannabis potency