Washington, DC.

 

In issuing a new policy statement, accompanied by a technical report discussing the scientific basis for its decision, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently strengthened its opposition to marijuana use by adolescents and specifically opposed any effort to legalize marijuana. According to Robert L. DuPont, M.D., president of the Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc. (IBH) "The new policy position and associated technical report make clear that marijuana is the nation's most widely used illegal drug and that marijuana use is a major health threat to the nation's youth. This is a clear and courageous stand by the country's pediatricians, physicians guided by science and dedicated to the welfare of children and youth."

In the supporting technical report from the AAP's Committee on Substance Abuse and Committee on Adolescence, appearing in the June 2004 issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the AAP, the dangers of marijuana abuse among youth is discussed. Citing a 1997 Science article, the study stresses the damaging neurochemical effects of marijuana as well as marijuana's psychological effects. The authors report that marijuana is known to have "negative effects on short-term memory, concentration, attention span, motivation, and problem solving, which clearly interfere with learning."

 

"This statement from the AAP draws a clear line on this issue - kids should not use marijuana." stated DuPont. "Everyone who cares about the health and welfare of America's youth needs to do whatever they can to help kids stay drug-free and that starts with helping kids reject pot."

 

The AAP's accompanying policy statement stresses  marijuana's status as the most popular illicit drug among adolescents. As such, legalization would only help keep marijuana at the apex of illicit substances abused by our youth and even further impact their ability to grow and learn. "Helping youth includes letting them know that pot
smoking is illegal, unwise, unhealthy, and unacceptable," DuPont concludes.