Should the U.S. Legalize Marijuana?

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Mr. Sabet clearly did not read NORML's 'objection' above regarding the specious claim that marijuana is "addictive," so here it is again:

According to the nonpartisan National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine -- which published a multiyear, million-dollar federal study assessing marijuana and health in 1999 -- "Millions of Americans have tried marijuana, but most are not regular users [and] few marijuana users become dependent on it." The report continues, "[A]though [some] marijuana users develop dependence, they appear to be less likely to do so than users of other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), and marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other drugs."

Just how less likely? According to the Institute of Medicine's 267-page report, fewer than 10 percent of those who try cannabis ever meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of "drug dependence" (based on DSM-III-R criteria). By contrast, the IOM reported that 32 percent of tobacco users, 23 percent of heroin users, 17 percent of cocaine users and 15 percent of alcohol users meet the criteria for "drug dependence."

In short, it's the legal drugs that have Americans hooked -- not pot -- but, curiously, I do not hear Mr. Sabet calling on police to begin arresting adults who drink alcohol or smoke tobacco (though I wouldn't put it past him to one day do so.)

Regarding Mr. Sabet's equally specious claim regarding pot and lung damage, it's worth noting that, according to the Institute of Medicine, "There is no conclusive evidence that marijuana causes cancer in humans, including cancers usually related to tobacco use." Most recently, a comprehensive study by UCLA investigators of 2,200 subjects determined that pot smoking was not positively associated with cancers of the lung or upper aerodigestive tract -- even among individuals who reported smoking more than 22,000 joints during their lifetime.

Naturally, smoking anything -- including cannabis -- poses certain respiratory risks. However, these hazards can be mitigated or eliminated by utilizing alternate methods of drug delivery such as vaporization. Tellingly, however, folks like Mr. Sabet have argued that such technology should be criminalized as 'drug paraphernalia.'