"What kinds of things do you hear about it? It’s awesome. It has minimal side effects. It’s better—I always love this one—it’s better for you than cigarettes. Well they’re both bad for you. Better? You know, it’s like: having my arms and legs cut off is better for me than death. And do they talk about the potential negative side effects? Do you even know what potential drug effect you get with marijuana? Is it an upper? Is it a downer? Or is it a hallucinogen?
At least with meth, we know it’s an upper, right? You take it; you know what effect you’re going to get. You take alcohol; what effect are you going to get? Downer. It’s a depressant, right? But you know, marijuana is the only substance known to man that is a hallucinogen, a stimulant, and a depressant all in one substance? Does that sound like something that would be good for people?
How many ads have you seen where they show the study out of Illinois where long-term pot use (5 years or more) makes people lose, on average, 15 IQ points? Is that important to know before you embark on a habit? There’s a study out of Illinois that monitors long-term drug use of potheads. They were measured at the time they first started using. They were measured again 10 years later and 5 years later. In the end of 5 years, they lose 15 IQ points. In 10 years, they lost 20. They took someone who was slightly above average and they might be below average now. Take someone who is slightly below average and it would make them mentally retarded.
Students, you know, have gone pot crazy. It’s not the first time in history they’ve done that. They went pot crazy back in my day, too. But regular, habitual use, using it daily, is disastrous for college students. One out of about 500 is likely to graduate. It interferes with memory, it interferes with recall, it interferes with concentration. Are you going to OD from it if you smoke it? No, probably not. But it’s not, you know, changing your brain in an environment that requires concentration is never a good idea. Alcoholics don’t graduate either.
But that’s not the way it’s ever framed to us. It’s always, “Oh, it’s good. It’s better for you than cigarettes. It’s better for you than alcohol. You can’t become addicted.” It can become addictive, but they tell you it can’t.
There’s another side effect other than loss of IQ points and the inability to concentrate that nobody ever talks about. THC helps to start a process that destroys your genitalia: so it destroys ovaries in women and destroys testicles in men. When I was working with a prior generation who were big potheads, I used to tell the guys, “You want to not be able to get it up in 10 years? Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
But those are the things that are framed to us. “Oh, it’s positive. You’re going to be mellow. It’s going to be so awesome.” Right? Now, I don’t care if it’s legal or not legal, but the way something is presented to us can alter our decisions."
—Colorado college professor, MA of Psychology & MA of Sociology
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