To the Editor:
Although the myths surrounding marijuana generally make for flashier headlines than do the facts, the article "Today's marijuana puts users in greater danger" in the July 27 issue of The Dartmouth stooped to a new low in faulty journalism.
Had the reporter or Dr. Jack Turco attended the National Institute on Drug Abuse's first-ever conference on marijuana last month, both may have been able to separate fact from fiction.
Fact 1: Marijuana today is no stronger thanin the past. According to NIDA scientist Billy Martin, Ph.D. when speaking at the conference, "average THC has not changed." Furthermore, NIDA's most recent literature affirms "ordinary marijuana has about 3 to 4 percent THC." In a 1994 NIDA report monitoring yearly cannabis potency and signed by NIDA Marijuana Project Director Mahmuod A. ElSohly, Ph.D., non-normalized samples received through the DEA under the scope of the Potency Monitoring Program in 1982 averaged 3.39 percent THC. This 13 year-old figure is precisely in the same range that NIDA claims is the average today.
Fact 2: Marijuana is not a "gateway" to harder drugs. According to Mary Ann Pentz, Ph.D. while speaking at the recent marijuana conference, marijuana is not a "predictor" of eventual hard drug use. Moreover, NIDA's new handbook, "Marijuana: Facts for Teens", concludes that "Most marijuana users do not go on to use other illegal drugs."
The manual also goes on to note that, "By far, most marijuana users do not become dependent."
Fact 3: While marijuana use among adolescents has increased slightly since 1991, it is nowhere near as high as it was in the late 1970s. According to NIDA's High School Survey report, the number of high school seniors who have tried marijuana rose from 32.6 percent in 1992 to 38.2 percent in 1994. In comparison, this percentage in 1980 was 60.3 percent.
Fact 4: The Drug Abuse Warning Network only reports "mentions" of marijuana and does not report on whether or not marijuana had anything to do with the hospitalization. The majority of these marijuana mentions involve other drugs, in addition to marijuana. Furthermore, marijuana-only mentions constitute just a tiny fraction of one percent of all hospital emergency room admissions. Lastly, contrary to the article's claims, DAWN does not report or comment on marijuana potency.
While reporting marijuana's myths may make for good copy, reporting on the facts should still remain The Dartmouth's first priority.
