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slightly less fervor, and all too often scientific debate has fallen by the wayside. This polarization is
reinforced by the mass of contradictory evidence that seems to lend support to both sides. The naive
40
individual seeking guidance is often hardpressed to know whom to believe.
6.
Enough evidence has accumulated in the past five years, however, that a dispassionate observer must
be forced to two conclusions. There is probably little or no hazard associated with the use of a
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single joint—or even a few joints — but there is enough evidence suggesting potential dangers from long-
term, heavy use of marijuana that prudence would dictate both caution and concern. These dangers include,
among other things (Maugh, 1974a), the possibility that long-term, heavy use of marijuana may produce
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sharp personality changes that lead to a marked deterioration in what is normally considered good mental
health and may cause potentially irreversible brain injury. If this evidence is corroborated, cannabis (the
generic term for marijuana and the more potent hashish) would have to be considered far more hazardous
than was previously suspected.
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7. There is a little question that cannabis has a number of short-term effects on the brain — it could not
be psychoactive if it did not. The consequences of these short term effects are uncertain, but few
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scientists seem willing to suggest that these effects are in themselves hazardous. What is of greater concern
is the possibility that continuation of these effects over a period of time may produce organic brain
damage.
8. Tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the principal psychoac-tive constituent of cannabis, has a very high
affinity for brain tissues.
. The Amotivational Syndrome
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9. ...many scientists argue that the continued presence of tetrahydrocannabinol in the brain induces a set
of mental characteristics termed the «amotivational syndrome». This syndrome is familiar to most
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clinicians who have treated cannabis users, and has perhaps best been described by psychiatrists Harold
Kolansky and William T. Moore of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
10. Kolansky and Moore treated 13 individuals between the ages of 20 and 41 years who had smoked
75 cannabis three to ten times a week for at least 16 months. All showed the same set of symptoms. The
patients were characteristically apathetic and sluggish in mental and physical responses. There was usually
a goalessness and a loss of interest in personal appearance. Considerable flattening of affect gave a false
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impression of calm and well-being; this was usually accompanied by the patients' conviction that they had
recently developed emotional maturity and insight aided by cannabis. This pseudoequanimity was easily
disrupted if the patients were questioned about their personality change, new philosophy, and drug
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consumption, or if their supplies of cannabis were threatened. The individuals were physically thin, often
appeared tired, and exhibited slowed physical movements. They also showed symptoms of mental
confusion, a slowed time sense, difficulty with recent memory, and an incapability of completing thoughts
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during verbal communication.
11. The stereotyped nature of these symptoms and the apparent psychological stability of the patients
prior to cannabis use led Kolansky and Moore to hypothesize that the syndrome was attributable to
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cannabis. This hypothesis was supported by the strong correlation between the severity of the symptoms
and the duration of cannabis use. It was further strengthened by the observation that the syndrome
disappeared when the patients abstained from use of cannabis (although some other investigators have
100 attributed this disappearance to the combination of therapy and the power of suggestion) . In those patients
who had used cannabis most heavily and then stopped, however, the symptoms persisted intermittently for
as long as 24 months, and the investigators suggest that these individuals may have suffered irreversible
brain damage.
105 II LSD
12. There are a number of hallucinogenic drugs in use today: LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT, and
STP. The most well known, frequently used, and thoroughly researched is LSD. LSD (lysergic acid
110 diethylamide) is an extremely potent hallucinogenic drug. As little as four-millionths of an ounce produces