Subj: WHO insists cannabis a threat to public health

Date: Feb 19, 1998

Source: Reuters

WHO insists cannabis a threat to public health

GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) - The World Health
Organization insisted Thursday that cannabis is a public health
threat.

``It is obvious that the use of cannabis causes a number of
health problems and that an increase in its use would make the
situation worse,'' it said in a statement.

The WHO was defending itself against accusations that it
suppressed a report confirming cannabis is safer than alcohol or
tobacco.

Britain's New Scientist magazine said Wednesday that WHO
officials in Geneva suppressed a comparison study of cannabis
and legal substances because they feared it would give
ammunition to the ``legalize marijuana'' campaign.

But the WHO said the analysis was dropped because it
contained contradictions and ``conclusions were not
scientifically sound.''

Tokuo Yoshida, in charge of narcotic drugs at the WHO, said
cannabis was dangerous to health because it caused mind-altering
activities in users.

``The WHO's position is that cannabis is a public health
threat,'' Yoshida told Reuters, comparing cannabis to LSD.
``Cannabis is milder than LSD, of course,'' he added. ``But it
must not be used because it changes your judgment and
thinking.''

A WHO summary report on cannabis, its first in 15 years, was
published in December.

According to New Scientist, which published a special report
on marijuana Wednesday, a leaked document about the analysis
concluded that the drug posed less of a public health threat
than alcohol or cigarettes, even if people consumed it on the
same scale as the other substances.

It showed that while there was evidence of fetal alcohol
syndrome, proof that cannabis can harm fetal development was
``far from conclusive.''

The magazine said researchers had found that marijuana smoke
did not lead to blocked airways or emphysema or impact on lung
function, and it was less addictive than alcohol or cigarettes.