Many people say that marijuana is a gateway drug that can cause dangerous effects to the health and society. But research shows that the myths about marijuana may not be all true. Many believe that marijuana is a menace to the society. Some believe that it is no more harmful than an occasional drink of alcohol. Still, some people view it as something in between. But is marijuana really hazardous to body? Or do people have a misconception about its effects? Despite the many arguments that suggests marijuana is a dangerous substance, there hasn't been a thorough study yet on this extraordinary plant.
There are many people, including scientists and researchers, who are skeptical on what marijuana does to the body. Several studies argue that long-term use of marijuana has been shown to produce cancerous cell changes and other studies suggest that smoking marijuana can lead to lung cancer. "Despite the near- hysteria which accompanies the mid-1960's growth of marijuana use within our culture little information of scientific value had been added to our knowledge about the physiological and psychological effects of marijuana [I]n fact, to the present, essentially no scientifically valid data are available on the effects of long-term use" (Hochman 44). According to a recent study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ten chronic marijuana users were evaluated as test subjects to see if marijuana had any effect on the cognitive functioning of the human body. The results concluded that none of the ten subjects suffered any impairment of their mental abilities. In fact, I.Q. tests were given to the subjects while the subjects were using marijuana and tested normal or higher range of cognitive activity (Shaeffer 2). Many of the original studies of how marijuana is hazardous to your health may also cause some skepticism. Again, there has been very little study over the years about this subject, so there could be numerous conclusions.
