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Marijuana use in Hawaii
Marijuana, the second most important drug threat to the state, is widely available and commonly abused in Hawaii, especially by teenagers. The majority of the marijuana available in Hawaii is cultivated locally. Hawaii constantly ranks among the top five in the number of cannabis plants eradicated. Cannabis grown outdoors in Hawaii contains some of the highest THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) levels in the country because of the optimal growing conditions, nutrient- and mineral-rich volcanic soil, and advances in hybridization techniques. Local independent growers, mainly Pacific Islanders, produce cannabis outdoors year-round. Local independent dealers and, to a lesser degree, Mexican criminal organizations transport Hawaii-produced marijuana to the West Coast, primarily California, as well as to Canada and Mexico.
Abuse of cannabis is widespread and is still increasing in Hawaii. According to a Center for Substance Abuse Treatment survey, lifetime abuse of marijuana by adult Hawaiian respondents rose from 28.9 percent in 1991 to 38.1 percent in 1998. From 1991 through 1998 abuse among males raised from 34.8 percent to 44.8 percent and among females from 23.9 percent to 31.7 percent. During the same time, marijuana abuse increased slightly among Caucasians and Filipinos and decreased lightly among Japanese Americans.
The amount of admissions for marijuana abuse varied in Hawaii between 1994 and 2000. TEDS data demonstrate that admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities for cannabis abuse increased from 589 in 1994 to a peak of 1,257 in 1999 then decreased to 1,150 in 2000.
Health issues and the effects of cannabis
The most obvious confounding factor in cannabis research is the very prevalent use of other recreational substances, including alcohol and tobacco. Such complications indicate the need for studies on cannabis which have stronger controls and investigations into the symptoms of marijuana that may also be caused by tobacco.
Additionally, research using cannabis is heavily restricted in several countries, reducing the studies funded or approved, and it may be many years before accurate, unbiased information comes to light.
Unlike tobacco, marijuana has not been proven to cause emphysema or lung cancer. Other researches have suggested that cannabis may be less likely to cause birth defects or developmental delays in the children of users than other substances. According to a United Kingdom government report, using marijuana is less hazardous than both tobacco and alcohol in social harms, physical harm and addiction. Cannabis has a complicated effect on memory, and its effects have been demonstrated to differ from case to case. Rats who were exposed to THC regularly for 30% of their typical lifespan showed neurodegeneration of the hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with memory and learning. Similar discoveries in humans have not yet been established, and certain studies even point to enhancement of particular types of memory. Additional study has proven that cannabis has neuroprotective effects, further demonstrating its complicated action. Nonetheless, a 1998 French governmental report commissioned by Health Secretary of State Bernard Kouchner, and directed by Dr. Pierre-Bernard Roques determined that "former results suggesting anatomic modifications in the brain of chronic cannabis users, measured by tomography, were not confirmed by the accurate modern neuroimaging techniques like MRI. Moreover, morphological impairment of the hippocampus [which plays a role in memory and navigation] of rat after administration of very elevated doses of THC (Langfield et al., 1988) was not shown (Slikker et al., 1992)." he concluded that : "Scientifical facts demonstrate that, for cannabis, no neurotoxicity is proven, to the opposite of alcohol and cocaine."
Study between the use of cannabis and mental illness has also brought important results. Cannabis use is usually more prevalent among sufferers of schizophrenia, but the causality between the two has not been established. Another research concluded that sustained early-adolescent marijuana use among genetically predisposed individuals has been associated with a variety of mental illness outcomes; ranging from psychotic episodes to clinical schizophrenia.
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