Bill Tucker reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty percent of Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. One-third of all 10th graders say they have tried marijuana at least once. And it's becoming an increasingly familiar ballot initiative. Minnesota, New Mexico, Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Connecticut are all considering some form of legislation to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. It is a drive that opponents say has no merit.

STEVEN STEINER, AMERICANS FOR DRUG FREE YOUTH: You've got to remember something. This whole legalization movement isn't just about marijuana. These people want to legalize heroin, meth, cocaine for recreational use. Make no mistake about it.

TUCKER: Proponents of medical marijuana point to its pain- relieving qualities. And a recently-published study conducted with HIV patients at the University of California San Francisco found benefits.

But researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have been conducting research on a different topic: the impact of long-term marijuana use and dependency on the brain.

STEPHEN DEWEY, BROOKHAVEN NAT'L. LABORATORY: Not only does it alter the structure, the brain's chemistry, but you run the risk that the alterations that you produce today will manifest themselves in ten years or 20 years.

TUCKER: Impaired memory and feelings of anxiety are more than just jokes. They are reality. So, too, are frequent respiratory infections and there is concern that the cancer risk of marijuana users is higher, which is why the American Cancer Society does not endorse, smoke marijuana, nor its legalization.

(on camera): But the American Cancer Society has awarded a grant to work on a patch by use by chemotherapy patients to help combat their nausea and restore their appetite -- Lou.

DOBBS: Bill, thank you very much.

Bill Tucker.

Well, marijuana, thought to be harmless by many, particularly baby boomers, who have been associated with drug for decades. It's now known to be a dangerously addictive drug and it's long-term effects are still being studied.

Joining me now is Dr. Stephen Dewey. He's senior scientist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and has done some interesting research on this very subject.

Good to have you with us.

DEWEY: Thank you.

DOBBS: Let's talk about, first, the issue, and that is the evidence that this is a mind-altering drug that does carry with it long-term effects.

DEWEY: Absolutely. There's some very compelling issues -- very compelling data using some of the state of the art imaging techniques called positron emission tomography (ph) or functional magnetic resonance imaging. These are new imaging techniques that actually let us look inside the brain in a human abuser.

And we see marked changes in the way the brain produces or uses glucose or the way the brain functions in response to different challenges.

DOBBS: In terms of addictiveness, a great debate surrounds that.

DEWEY: Right.

DOBBS: The idea that it is not addictive. I've -- the debate can be framed a lot of ways. But are there those who are actually calling for its legalization, saying it's not addictive and it's absolutely harmless. How do you respond to that?

DEWEY: You know, I think you have a broad spectrum. You have individuals who just, as you have in smokers, chippers, people who can smoke a hundred cigarettes a year. You have people who can smoke a joint every now and then. And you have people who are absolutely dependent on it. So you have the full range. You have people who actually meet DSM-4 criteria for dependence on marijuana. So there really is a range.

DOBBS: The idea that this could cause cancer, is that a result of the qualities of marijuana, or of the inhalation of the smoke? Or can you tell?

DEWEY: You know, that's a good question. I believe it's more related to the inhalation of what's in the marijuana itself, as opposed to the THC, the psychoactive component.

DOBBS: Let's look at something here. Marijuana, as we've reported, is the most common illicit drug in use in this country. More than 40 percent of Americans over the age of 12 have reported trying the drug at least once in their lives.

Let's put that up.

The extent of marijuana use in Americans over 12: 40.1 percent have used marijuana at least once. 10.4 percent have used marijuana in the last year. What is the significance of such prevalent use?

DEWEY: I think one of the biggest concerns is that there's very strong evidence that adolescent use, or use of marijuana early on, predisposes people three or five times higher likelihood of using harder drugs, if you will.

So, I think that we really need to be aware that we don't fully understand the biochemistry that's involved. We don't fully understand the potential ramifications of using the drug today and what it can do 20 years down the road.

But I think the data is quite compelling that people who use marijuana, or a majority of people who use marijuana early on are likely to use the more illicit drugs, if you will, later on.

DOBBS: Marijuana use if students -- and this is from 2005 -- who used it over the past year. And these numbers to me are remarkable. In the eighth grade, almost 12 percent. In the 10th grade, over 25 percent. By their senior year, more than 31 percent of students using marijuana. If this is not a reason for concern among educators, public health officials and all of us, I don't know what would be required.

DEWEY: I agree with you. In fact, I spend a lot of time going to school districts and talking to kids about this. And I am struck, I'm absolutely struck by how common it is. In fact, it's almost -- it almost comes off as a badge of honor. They're very open to talk to you about how they use pot, how they smoke pot. You talk about the other drugs, they're much more reticent to discuss that.

But it's absolutely boggles my mind when I go to school districts, even elementary schools, where you see marijuana use.

DOBBS: Last week the White House reported marijuana use among teens has declined. Are you heartened by that fact?

DEWEY: I am heartened by that fact. I think that it's -- a lot of it is related to education. I think a lot of it is related to our better understanding of the potential consequences. And we're really getting a much better handle on the biochemical changes in the brain that occur.

DOBBS: The research on marijuana for 30 years has been -- I think the research has been -- I think the best way to say it is mixed. Why is there such an ambiguity? And I'm not talking about in terms of weight, but an ambiguity among all the research conclusions on marijuana in the country over the last 30 years?

DEWEY: I think one of the biggest...

DOBBS: I mean, what do have -- my God, this is a substance that's been in broad use now for 30 or 40 years in this country. We should know what we're talking about.

DEWEY: I think there are actually two things here that speak directly to your question. One is it's very difficult to find people who just use marijuana. You know, you have to tease apart marijuana use with alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD. You have situations where it's not straight forward looking at just a marijuana user because they're poly-drug-abusers.

The second -- the second this we've made huge advances in technology. We now can use imaging techniques that allow us to really look at brain chemistry, to look the at direct effects of drugs like marijuana on the brain.

DOBBS: Which clearly demonstrate...

DEWEY: Which clearly demonstrate that there are profound changes in the way the brain uses sugar for energy or brain glucose metabolism, cognitive abilities, changes in blood flow. And these are long lasting and persistent.

DOBBS: Dr. Stephen Dewey, good to you have here. Thank you.

DEWEY: Thank you very much.

Complete Transcript: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0702/21/ldt.01.html

Source: CNN (US Web)
Program: Lou Dobbs Tonight
Airdate: February 21, 2007
Copyright: 2007 Cable News Network, Inc.
Contact: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/
URL: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/

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