Commentary & Analysis

 

Charles V. Giannasio
Physician (Addiction Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis)
Co-founder, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
Fellow, College of Physicians, Philadelphia

As a nation we are not yet ready to answer this question: Are we ready to legalize marijuana.

A prerequisite question must be answered first. It takes its cue from what physicians ask themselves before prescribing medications. It is this: What are the dangers vs. the benefits of marijuana?

From my perspective as an addiction psychiatrist it is clear that many see only one side of this two-pronged question. They herald the benefits of marijuana and claim it is benign. Since 1982, I have treated literally several thousand individuals suffering from all varieties of addiction, including marijuana dependency and abuse. From this clinical experience, I have taken away a strong conviction that marijuana is dangerous.

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