times greater than a normal intoxicating dose.This, however, does not mean that there are not any harmful side effects of marijuana.There are clinical reports of birth defects in infants born to mothers who used marijuana duringpregnancy. However, along with marijuana, these mothers also admitted to use of LSD andprobably used other drugs as well. If birth defects are connected with the use of marijuana duringpregnancy, it has not been noticed by clinicians. This does not necessarily mean that marijuanadoes not cause birth defects. Clinical notice of alcohol’s teratogenicity, the ability to cause birthdefects, occurred only in 1973 (more correctly, the rediscovery of its potential as a teratogen),and it is possible that marijuana’s effects on the unborn are also awaiting discovery. Animal testshave shown in fact, that marijuana does have teratogenic effects depending on dose, species, andmethod of administration.Although chromosomal deviations have been reported in heavy marijuana smokers, theseindividuals tend to be users of other illicit drugs as well. When allowances are made for effectsof multiple drug use, there is no sound evidence that cannabis or its derivatives producechromosomal damage in animals or man.The issue of marijuana being a gateway drug is one that has received quite a bit ofattention, because of the fact that chronic users of cannabis drugs are often multiple drug users aswell. This by no means indicates that all marijuana users will move on to more illicit drugshowever. A reason for this gateway effect might be due to its status as an illegal substance. Oncea person tries smoking pot and sees that its immediate and after effects are not half as bad aspeople will have you believe, his or her perceptions of other illegal drugs might change to beingnot so bad either. This may explain why alcohol is not considered a gateway drug because of thefact that it is legal, and new users have not yet broken that leg...
