Everyone remembers the classic "This is your brain, this is your brain on drugs" ad that scared the living bejesus out of people in the '80s.

At the time, the ad was meant to convey the message that illegal drugs like marijuana hurt the brain. More recent studies, however, have suggested that excessive alcohol use is actually far more harmful to the brain than marijuana use.

According to a recent report from researchers at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, which appeared in the journal Archives of Neurology, there is no longer any doubt that this is the case:

“The take-home message is that, if you want a lot, you’re going to hurt your brain. This is something we knew, but this is a huge study that quantifies that,” said Rajesh Miranda, an associate professor of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

When it comes to marijuana, the myth that it kills brain cells has largely been dispelled. As the Drug Policy Alliance points out, however:

None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. An early study reported brain damage in rhesus monkeys after six months exposure to high concentrations of marijuana smoke. In a recent, more carefully conducted study, researchers found no evidence of brain abnormality in monkeys that were forced to inhale the equivalent of four to five marijuana cigarettes every day for a year. The claim that marijuana kills brain cells is based on a speculative report dating back a quarter of a century that has never been supported by any scientific study.

• Heath, R.G., et al. “Cannabis Sativa: Effects on Brain Function and Ultrastructure in Rhesus Monkeys.” Biological Psychiatry 15 (1980): 657-690.

• Ali, S.F., et al. “Chronic Marijuana Smoke Exposure in the Rhesus Monkey IV: Neurochemical Effects and Comparison to Acute and Chronic Exposure to Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Rats.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 40 (1991): 677-82.

CLICK HERE for SAFER Podcast #2

This edition of the SAFER Podcast features:

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano discusses the upcoming national NORML conference that will be held October 17-19, in Berkeley, as well as his recently published articles on the current state of marijuana laws and enforcement.  

Sensible Colorado Executive Director Brian Vicente, who serves as the chairman of the Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel, provides an update on the panel's progress and discusses the action it took leading up to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

SAFER Outreach Director Anne Catto describes SAFER's presence during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. SAFER coordinated volunteer-run booths in various parks throughout the convention that were highly visible and popular with the crowds. 

SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert gives a rundown on SAFER's latest projects, including the "Cindy McCain: Drug Dealer" campaign and SAFER's efforts to highlight the hypocrisy of the National Football League's marijuana policy.

Once again, a huge thanks goes out to JohnDoeRadio for producing the podcast, and to THC Media Network for hosting it on on-line.

SAFER Podcast #1  

A British think-tank has published a report for next year's United Nations Strategic Drug Policy Review that highlights the fact that marijuana is far safer than alcohol. According the Beckley Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission:

"[I]n terms of relative harms [marijuana] is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco..."

"Historically there have only been two deaths worldwide attributed to cannabis, whereas alcohol and tobacco together are responsible for an estimated 150,000 deaths per annum in the UK alone."

 The full report, which calls for the decriminalization of marijuana to reduce the harm associated with the drug (which it suggests are primarily the result of laws against it) is available here.