(California Medical Association and Medical Cannabis) "CMA [California Medical Association] policy has acknowledged the criminalization of cannabis to be a failed public health policy (HOD 704a-09) and has recognized a public movement toward the legalization of cannabis (HOD 101a-10).

(history - use of paraquat to eradicate marijuana) "In the 1970s, Mexican cannabis plantations were sprayed with the herbicide paraquat. Inhalation of toxic amounts of this material could lead to severe lung damage, and some instances of acute toxicity have occurred.[69] Up to 2mg paraquat per gram was detected on seized marijuana samples in the USA.[70] Ironically, the ensuing panic among recreational cannabis users in the US, popularly dubbed "paraquat fever"

(Inadequate or Inconsistent Data) "Since marijuana crosses the placenta, it is reasonable to think that it may have a direct, adverse effect on the fetal brain or on fetal growth, but the small number of studies performed to date have failed to identify major birth defects or a consistent effect on neurobehavioral function. Results regarding the relationship of prenatal marijuana exposure to lowered birth weight are inconsistent."

(Endocannabinoids and Neonatal Milk Suckling Response) "Cannabinoids are known to enhance appetite by activating cannabinoid (CB1) receptors. This phenomenon is exploited to combat cachexia and loss of appetite in cancer and AIDS patients. The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG) is present in milk. Evidence is presented supporting a critical role for CB1 receptors in survival of mouse pups. Thus neonates do not gain weight and die within the first week of life when their receptors are blocked. This is due apparently, to an inability to ingest maternal milk.

(Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Cognitive Development) "The failure to find an association between prenatal marijuana exposure and a variety of cognitive outcomes persisted in the OPPS sample until the offspring were 4 years of age. At 2, although there was a negative association with language comprehension, this relationship did not retain significance when the home environment was statistically controlled (Fried and Watkinson 1988).

Marijuana

(Cannabis Users Compared With Abstainers) "Interestingly, our results do not confirm our hypothesis of better overall functioning among abstainers. In fact, what our research indicates is that the main difference between COG [cannabis use only group] youth and abstainers [those abstaining from all drugs] is that the former are more socially driven: they are significantly more likely to practice sports, and they have a better relationship with their peers.

(Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Offenses in the UK, Trends and Demographic Data) "The 2010 National Profile reported 6,866 offences of commercial cultivation in 2009/10, increasing by 15 per cent over the following two years.³ Based on those forces that provided three years’ data for this profile, there was a 3.7 per cent reduction between 2011/12 and 2012/13 and a 5.6 per cent reduction between 2012/13 and 2013/14. These figures equate to an annual average of five offences recorded per 100,000 population.

(Police Seizures of Cannabis in Canada 2009) "In 2009, Canadian law enforcement seized a total of 34,391 kilograms (kg) of marihuana and 1,845,734 marihuana plants. These figures, which have remained relatively unchanged from 2008 and coupled with steady street prices in 2009, indicated an apparently stable marihuana market. As in 2008, the majority of marihuana seized was domestically produced, yet the drug continued to be imported from Jamaica, the United States, the Netherlands, and Thailand."

Basic Data

Prevalence and Trends