disease, and are three times more likely to die of heart disease if they develop it. Does it .
make sense that tobacco is legal and marijuana is not, when so many people die from .
tobacco smoking each year and there is not one reported case of anyone ever dying from .
marijuana use in its 10,000 years of consumption? You have probably heard that "one .
joint is that same as 10 cigarettes," but this statement is misleading. Although marijuana .
contains the same amount of carcinogens as an equal amount of tobacco and more tar, .
tobacco is still worse. Every yr 350,000 Americans die from tobacco-related disease .
according to the American Lung Association. A tobacco smoker consumes much more .
tobacco than a marijuana smoker consumes marijuana. This is probably because tobacco .
has a 90% addiction rate while marijuana is less addictive than caffeine. Also, tobacco .
contains nicotine that may harden the arteries and may be responsible for much of the .
heart diseases caused by cigarette smoking. Marijuana on the other hand contains the .
chemical THC which opens up the lungs and aids in the clearance of smoke and dirt. I .
think it is safe to say that tobacco smoking is much more dangerous than marijuana .
smoking. Another bad habit is alcohol, which in my opinion is the worst of all. 8,000 .
American teenagers are killed each year and 40,000 maimed from driving under the .
influence. The mortality figures for alcohol use are 100,000 annually, compared to the .
zero marijuana deaths. The amount of marijuana needed to kill someone is 1 to 40,000, .
while the ratio for alcohol fluctuates between 1 to 4 and 1 to 10. Not only do many .
people die each year from alcohol poisoning, but alcohol has caused thousands of fatal .
car accidents. Although, marijuana, when used to the point of intoxication, impairs .
judgment and reaction time, actual studies suggest that the effect alcohol has on one's .
driving ability is much greater than that of marijuana.
