Some of the best information we have in social sciences comes from longitudinal studies, where people are followed and data gathered over a long period of time. Such studies are more likely to give us definitive answers than "snapshot" correlational studies that look at a sample at one time and merely tell us that certain factors tend to go together in members of the sample.
The problem with longitudinal studies, of course, is that they necessarily take a very long time to do. Some of the best work has come out of New Zealand. Magdalena Cerda, Terrie Moffitt, et al. have this article in Clinical Psychological Science on results from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study on the long-term effects of persistent marijuana use. Here is the abstract:
The problem with longitudinal studies, of course, is that they necessarily take a very long time to do. Some of the best work has come out of New Zealand. Magdalena Cerda, Terrie Moffitt, et al. have this article in Clinical Psychological Science on results from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study on the long-term effects of persistent marijuana use. Here is the abstract:
With the increasing legalization of cannabis, understanding the consequences of cannabis use is particularly timely. We examined the association between cannabis use and dependence, prospectively assessed between ages 18 and 38, and economic and social problems at age 38. We studied participants in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, a cohort (N = 1,037) followed from birth to age 38. Study members with regular cannabis use and persistent dependence experienced downward socioeconomic mobility, more financial difficulties, workplace problems, and relationship conflict in early midlife. Cannabis dependence was not linked to traffic-related convictions. Associations were not explained by socioeconomic adversity, childhood psychopathology, achievement orientation, or family structure; cannabis-related criminal convictions; early onset of cannabis dependence; or comorbid substance dependence. Cannabis dependence was associated with more financial difficulties than was alcohol dependence; no difference was found in risks for other economic or social problems. Cannabis dependence is not associated with fewer harmful economic and social problems than alcohol dependence.
Among the pro-legalization folks, we see two distinct arguments. One group argues that prohibition is not the best way to reduce marijuana use. That is debatable. The other group argues that marijuana is harmless. That is just plain wrong.
Christopher Bergland has this post at Psychology Today:
As the legalization debate goes on, we need to keep our eyes wide open and not be fooled by the "pot is harmless" propaganda of the growing marijuana industry. Increased usage will have serious negative consequences for our society, and those consequences need to be considered. If legalization advocates have alternative ways to keep usage down, let's hear them, and let's have them built into any proposal for legalization. A substantial tax, earmarked for public education on the downsides of pot, is a possibility.
Christopher Bergland has this post at Psychology Today:
The latest comprehensive longitudinal research on cannabis presents a wide range of potentially confounding factors that haven't been assessed comprehensively until now. These findings serve to raise our awareness about cannabis' long-term effects on individual users, plus the consequences that persistent cannabis use can have on families, communities, and national social welfare systems.
"These findings did not arise because cannabis users were prosecuted and had a criminal record," said Caspi, a psychologist with dual appointments at Duke University and the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London. "Even among cannabis users who were never convicted for a cannabis offense, we found that persistent and regular cannabis use was linked to economic and social problems."
There's a common public conception that alcohol is infinitely more dangerous than cannabis, which may be true from a physiological standpoint. However, the researchers believe that marijuana isn't necessarily 'safer' than alcohol in the long run.
As the legalization debate goes on, we need to keep our eyes wide open and not be fooled by the "pot is harmless" propaganda of the growing marijuana industry. Increased usage will have serious negative consequences for our society, and those consequences need to be considered. If legalization advocates have alternative ways to keep usage down, let's hear them, and let's have them built into any proposal for legalization. A substantial tax, earmarked for public education on the downsides of pot, is a possibility.
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