<p>According to a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more teenagers today smoke marijuana than cigarettes. 23% of surveyed teenagers said they had recently smoke marijuana, only 18% had recently smoked cigarettes. 10% had smoked Marijuana within the last 30 days.</p>
<p>(author commentary &#8211; for the record, marijuana IS addictive, and rather than destroying your lungs like tobacco products, it destroys your mind &#8211; see stats below.)</p>
<p>This survey was based on the answers of 13,000 teens between the ages of 14 and 18 years.  ;</p>
<p>Only about 40% of teens believe marijuana is harmful, a stark drop since a survey in 1991 said 80% believed it was harmful.</p>
<p>Currently 24 states have legalized medical use of marijuana, and four have legalized its recreational use.</p>
<p><strong>Author&#8217;s note:</strong>  ;To one who has risked his life attempting to prevent illegal drugs from entering America, this is a sad and discouraging development. Where are the parents in this?  ;Why do kids still think there is no harm here?  ;</p>
<p>Kids under 18 are legally considered incapable of making life changing decisions. And yet through inaction, many of these kids will be permanently damaged, making decisions based on social pressure from their friends and their local drug dealers.</p>
<p>Here are a few facts and statistics from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.  ;</p>
<p>&#8211; ;In 2010 there were over 572,000 marijuana-involved admissions to hospital emergency rooms. The same report indicated that during the same timeframe, an estimated 11,406 emergency department visits involved a synthetic cannabinoid product, sometimes referred to as &#8220;synthetic marijuana&#8221; and commonly known by street names such as &#8220;Spice&#8221; or &#8220;K2&#8221;.</p>
<p>&#8211; ; According to NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse), research has shown that, in chronic users, marijuana&#8217;s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. ; As a result, a daily marijuana smoker may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time. ; Research has also shown poorer cognitive abilities than non-users, including memory capability, math and verbal skills. ; And, as discussed earlier, marijuana can be addictive.</p>
<p>&#8211; Each year more teens enter treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than all other illicit drugs combined.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8211; According to NIDA, long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction for about 9% of users and increases among those who start young (to about 17%) and daily users (25-50%).</p>
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