16 awesome quotes!

I compiled a list of the best (mostly scientific) quotes about marijuana. Not the funny or inspiring kind that cheech and chong or Marley would say. Instead, its what politicians and scientists say. Here it is. (btw I'm a somewhat new member who is always looking for +rep )

Top Marijuana Quotes
1. “For three weeks, we injected standard doses of THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells, and found that tumours were reduced in size and weight by about 50 percent in treated animals compared to a control group.” – Anju Preet, PhD, Harvard

2. "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.... In strict medical terms, [it] is far safer than many foods we commonly consume.” – Opinion and recommended ruling, findings of fact, conclusions of law and decision of administrative law judge F.L. Young” (1988)testimony given byFrancis L. Young, a top DEA judge.

3. “Acute fatal cases due to cannabis use in humans have not been substantiated, and median lethal doses of THC in animals have been extrapolated to several grams per kilogram of body weight ... In a 2-year administration of high oral doses of THC to rats and mice, no marked histopathological alterations in the brain and other organs were found. Moreover, THC treatment tended to increase survival.” Cannabinoids: Potential Anti Cancer Agents (2003) Manuel Guzman, PhD

4. “A synthetic substance similar to ones found in marijuana stimulates cell growth in regions of the brain associated with anxiety, memory and depression”– Dr. Xia Zhang (2005) U of S Neural Systems and Plasticity Research Group

5. “Marijuana smoking, even heavy long term use, does not cause cancer of the lung, upper airways, or oesophagus... The odds ratios are less than one almost consistently”- Donald Tashkin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (results from a study with more than 1000 participants)

6. "You know, it's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter with the Jews?... You have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks... You see, homosexuality, [marijuana], immorality in general. These are the enemies of strong societies... Soft-headed psychiatrists favor marijuana because they're probably all on the stuff themselves” – Richard Nixon, President of the United States, founder of the DEA. White House Tapes, 1971 (released to public ears in 2002)

7. “Nearly four in ten individuals admitted to substance abuse treatment programs for cannabis have not used the drug in the month prior to their admission... 65% of individuals enrolled in substance abuse treatment for cannabis are referred there by the criminal justice system... fewer than 15 percent of marijuana treatment admissions are voluntary” – US Department of Health and Human Services Data, 2009

8. “In terms of addictive potential, (the study) placed heroin, cocaine and alcohol in the most addictive category; benzodiazepine, hallucinogens and tobacco in the medium category, and cannabis in the last category” INSERM-CNRS report, directed by Pr. Bernard Roques and commissioned by Health Secretary of State Bernard Kouchner (AKA an American publication outlining the results of a major French study)

9. “Marijuana produces immediate, temporary changes in thoughts, perceptions, and information processing. The cognitive process most clearly affected by marijuana is short-term memory. In laboratory studies, subjects under the influence of marijuana have no trouble remembering things they learned previously. However, they display diminished capacity to learn and recall new information. This diminishment only lasts for the duration of the intoxication. There is no convincing evidence that heavy long-term marijuana use permanently impairs memory or other cognitive functions.” – Drug Policy Alliance Network, summarizing the results of 4 major studies between 1990 and 2000

10. "The drug is really quite a remarkably safe one for humans, although it is really quite a dangerous one for mice and they should not use it." - J.W.D Henderson Director of the Bureau of Human Drugs, Health and Welfare, Canada

11. “[The study] looked at whether heavy marijuana use as a young adult caused long-term problems later, studying identical twins in which one twin had been a heavy marijuana user for a year or longer but had stopped at least one month before the study, while the second twin had used marijuana no more than five times ever. Marijuana use had no significant impact on physical or mental health care utilization, health-related quality of life, or current socio-demographic characteristics.” – Conclusion based on: Eisen SE et al. Does Marijuana Use Have Residual Adverse Effects on Self-Reported Health Measures, Socio-Demographics or Quality of Life? A Monozygotic Co-Twin Control Study in Men. Addiction. Vol. 97 No. 9. p.1083-1086. Sept.
1997

12. “The study concluded adolescents who used cannabis prior to using other drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, were no more likely to develop a substance abuse disorder than subjects in the study who did not use cannabis prior to using other drugs” – 12 Year Study on the Cannabis Gateway Theory (2006) American Psychiatric Association

13. “When we're young, we reproduce neurons and our memory works fine. When we age, the process slows down, so we have a decrease in new cell formation in normal aging. You need those cells to come back and help form new memories, and we found that [a] THC-like agent can [assist] creation of those cells,” Dr. Yannick Marchalant, professor of psychology at Ohio State University.

14. "Marijuana is a remarkably safe and non-toxic drug that can effectively treat about 30 different conditions. I predict it will become the aspirin of the 21st century.” Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School Psychiatrist
15. “In those studies, some 700 regular marijuana users were compared with 484 non-users on various aspects of brain function -- including reaction time, language and motor skills, reasoning ability, memory, and the ability to learn new information... Long-term and even daily marijuana use doesn't appear to cause permanent brain damage”- Dr. Igor Grant, professor of psychiatry, University of California. (reflecting on the results of 15 major marijuana studies)

16. "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." – Albert Einstein, 1921