Arguments abound over whether marijuana should be legalized. Many of

Arguments abound over whether marijuana should be legalized. Many of these arguments pertain to the lengthy federal guidelines for prison sentences meted out for what is considered a relatively petty crime. Others point out that marijuana is a drug that could, and should, be used for medicinal purposes. But most proponents of legalization ignore the mounting evidence which points to the long term damage to the user and for society as a whole. In the Netherlands, marijuana has been legally available since 1976. ―Coffee shops‖ sell cannabis over the counter in many parts of the country. However, more people have tried cannabis since it has been legalized.

Medical research has repeatedly provided evidence that marijuana use causes permanent physical, psychological, and thus emotional damage to those who regularly use it. Studies at the University of Maryland and UCLA indicated that the regular smoking of only two marijuana cigarettes a day would tend to promote toe fungus and thrush. But over the years, much stronger claims have surfaced: heavy marijuana users perform poorly at work or school, are more likely to be delinquent and develop psychiatric problems, or have abnormal brain waves. Repeatedly, however, such studies encounter the same objection: are the problems caused by smoking marijuana, or is it just that people with problems are more likely to end up using marijuana heavily?

Marijuana is addictive. According to Wayne Hall, director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, cannabis is not generally regarded as a drug of dependence because it does not have a clearly defined withdrawal syndrome. But that, he says, is an old-fashioned definition of addiction.

Research into marijuana‘s use as a medicine has proven either inconclusive or tended to show that its side effects rendered cannabis unsuitable as a drug. For instance, one study surveyed the use of cannabinoids to combat nausea following chemotherapy. While the tablets or injections were slightly more effective than standard treatments, their side effects, plus the recent development of new, more powerful drugs, makes them a poor choice for nausea relief. In her study, ―Cannabinoids were no more effective than codeine in controlling acute and chronic pain and they had undesirable effects in depressing the central nervous system,‖ comments Eija Kalso of Helsinki University Hospital. Yet, under mounting pressure, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has reluctantly agreed to provide funds for once again testing the efficacy of marijuana as a medicine.

1.According to the passage, all of the following are harmful effects of marijuana EXCEPT:

A. poor performance at work
B. development of psychiatric problems
C. growth of toe fungus and thrush
D. depression and memory loss
E. Abnormal brain waves



2. According to an earlier definition, why is marijuana not considered addictive?

A. Its use does not result in death
B. Lack of clearly defined withdrawal syndrome
C. It has several beneficial uses
D. Its harmful effects have not been proved
E. Its use is legal in a lot of countries



3. Which of the following can be inferred from the information in the passage?

A. It has now been proved without a doubt that marijuana is indeed harmful to humans
B. Marijuana has been unreasonably criticized by doctors
C. Netherland will soon make marijuana illegal
D. Marijuana has several harmful effects and probably some beneficial ones as well
E. The US Drug enforcement Agency has decided to ban the use of marijuana