Is it? When I was a kid second hand cigarette smoke was considered harmless. It certainly isn't today. We just don't the research because of restrictive laws banning it for the most part and the pro-pot acitvists disingenuous commentary about how "safe" it is.
I feel like any politicized recreation substance will go down the path of cigarettes. Fanboys will claim its neutral, if not good for you, and then eventually the science and bias will shake out about its dangers. For example, we do know there's an increase for mental illness an decrease in IQ in kids who habitually smoke pot:
Among a long-range study cohort of more than 1,000 New Zealanders, individuals who started using cannabis in adolescence and used it for years afterward showed an average decline in IQ of 8 points when their age 13 and age 38 IQ tests were compared. Quitting pot did not appear to reverse the loss either, said lead researcher Madeline Meier, a post-doctoral researcher at Duke University. The results appear online Aug. 27 in PNAS.
The key variable in this is the age of onset for marijuana use and the brain's development, Meier said. Study subjects who didn't take up pot until they were adults with fully-formed brains did not show similar mental declines.
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So yes, pot can be harmless for a 21 year old, but not for a 15 year old. I'm all for legal pot, but only at age 21 or higher. I don't think the especially libertine attitudes we're seeing via web culture are helping. Its not harmless for certain age groups. We don't know enough about the brain and pot to make these types of assessments. Erring on the side of caution is the only rational path here and that includes making sure pregnant women aren't exposed to pot smoke.
I feel like any politicized recreation substance will go down the path of cigarettes. Fanboys will claim its neutral, if not good for you, and then eventually the science and bias will shake out about its dangers. For example, we do know there's an increase for mental illness an decrease in IQ in kids who habitually smoke pot:
https://today.duke.edu/2012/08/potiq
Among a long-range study cohort of more than 1,000 New Zealanders, individuals who started using cannabis in adolescence and used it for years afterward showed an average decline in IQ of 8 points when their age 13 and age 38 IQ tests were compared. Quitting pot did not appear to reverse the loss either, said lead researcher Madeline Meier, a post-doctoral researcher at Duke University. The results appear online Aug. 27 in PNAS.
The key variable in this is the age of onset for marijuana use and the brain's development, Meier said. Study subjects who didn't take up pot until they were adults with fully-formed brains did not show similar mental declines.
---
So yes, pot can be harmless for a 21 year old, but not for a 15 year old. I'm all for legal pot, but only at age 21 or higher. I don't think the especially libertine attitudes we're seeing via web culture are helping. Its not harmless for certain age groups. We don't know enough about the brain and pot to make these types of assessments. Erring on the side of caution is the only rational path here and that includes making sure pregnant women aren't exposed to pot smoke.