Marijuana unquestionably causes cognitive impairment; nobody would smoke it for fun otherwise. Loss of memory and a decline in decisionmaking ability are the most pronounced effects, data confirmed anecdotally and by Cheech and Chong movies. How long the impairment lastsâ??whether a month or a lifetimeâ??and to what degree are open questions. Use of marijuana has been linked clinically to the onset of depression, anxiety and schizophrenia; the link is especially strong in younger users and stronger still in young men with a predisposition to mental illness.

If nothing else, technology may make medical marijuana obsolete. Mark A.R. Kleiman, a specialist in drug policy at UCLA, says it's inevitable that some form of measurable, dosable medical marijuana will be made available in the next few years, a medicine that comes not in plant form but in a spray or an inhaler. "And that will do away with the argument for medical marijuana as we know it," he says. Already Canada and the U.K. have approved the use of Sativex, a cannibis-based spray for the nose and mouth that was developed by GW Pharmaceuticals, and it's in late-stage testing in the U.S. Sativex has been effective for pain from MS spasms and cancer treatment without causing the marijuana high. The moment Sativex goes on the market, the need for medical dispensaries, caregivers and growersâ??and all the confusions and prevarications that attend themâ??disappears.

The author is a senoir editor at the Weekly Standard, a totally GOP right-wing rag. Sounds like it was partially ghost written by Bill Bennett, former drug czar, hence the copied quotes from the article. Same old tired refrain.

Thanks for pointing it out. :thumbsup: