I.Q.'s of both groups. Scientists do agree that pot has temporary cognitive effects lasting up to 24 hours after being smoked, but these disappear soon after leaving a normal mental state. This is similar to the effects of alcohol. The addictiveness of pot is ranked considerably lower than alcohol or nicotine. It falls in the area of caffeine which is very weak. In a study by the University of California of pot smokers who engaged daily for at least 70 months, only 16% of the subjects experienced withdrawal symptoms when asked to stop for a time. The symptoms included minor tension, sleeplessness, and appetite changes. The only proven ill effects are the effects that a cigarette smoker would contract, such as lung and heart problems. Although people think that pot can be deadly, it has never been credibly linked to a single death through overdose or acute toxicity (Fortgang 53, 101).The gov't has continually tried to cover up these findings making false, uneducated, and absurd claims. When Reagan came into the presidency he took a hard stance against pot. His officials claimed that researchers viewed pot as the most dangerous drug in existence. Carlton Turner who was Reagan's leading anti-drug advocate, believed that marijuana was the cause of the youths involvement in anti-authority campaigns. He even made the claim that the drug could transform young men into homosexuals. These claims were all made in the name of demonizing the drug. With all the money spent by the gov't on marijuana research producing no significant reasons to keep the drug illegal, these claims were necessary. Necessary to keep the taxpayers from seeing their hard earned poured into a lost cause (Schlosser 49).The money involved in pot arrests is astounding. In 1997 roughly 695,000 people were arrested for pot. This is the largest number of arrests for the drug in U.S. history. The cost of those arrests not including the cost of imprisonment af...
