Would you rather your child tried cannabis or alcohol? One leading pediatrician (and father) says he’d prefer pot any day…
- Aaron E. Carroll is professor of pediatrics at Indiana University
- Says he is often asked if he would prefer his children to use alcohol or pot
- While the answer is obviously neither, he says if pushed, he’d opt for pot
- Research shows it has a better safety profile than alcohol, he says
- Warns that many people – especially parents – underestimate risk of booze
- A leading pediatrician has stated he would rather his children use cannabis than drink alcohol, such is the problems that drink can cause.
Aaron E. Carroll, professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, states while he would prefer the younger generation to use neither, if pressured to make a choice, he would opt for marijuana.
Writing for The New York Times, he states that as his children grow up, he is constantly asked – given his career choice – which of the two substances he would prefer them to use.
He states: ‘The immediate conclusion, of course, is “neither”. And after sifting through all the studies and all the data, I still say “neither”. Typically, I say it more than once.
‘But if I’m cornered to make a decision, the answer is “marijuana”.’
He goes on to debate that while research has linked cannabis to changes in the brain and psychosis, and changes in lung function and cancer risk, ‘these are all associations, not known causal pathways’.
Instead, he explains, there may be other factors that explain these links – perhaps people with mental health problems are more likely to use the drug, he suggests.
Yet he warns what many of us – especially parents – do is overlook the huge concerns involving alcohol.
He cites statistics from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, which state that alcohol use is an issue in 40 per cent of all violent crimes in the United States, including 37 per cent of rapes and 27 per cent of aggravated assaults.
No such association has been discovered among cannabis users.
‘People who are high are not out acting violent within their communities,’ he explains.
He goes on to add that nearly 20 per cent of male delinquents and 10 per cent of female delinquents have an alcohol problem.
Meanwhile binge drinking was responsible for around half of the 80,000 alcohol-related deaths in the United States in 2010, whereas cannabis kills virtually no one.
He also adds in statistics for driving drunk and domestic violence – and once again, alcohol takes the lead of being worse.
As it does in terms of long-term dependency.
Professor Carroll says that while nine per cent of marijuana users eventually become dependent, more than 20 per cent of alcohol users do.
From first-hand trials and tribulations as a pediatrician, he states he has also seen more harm – some almost resulting in death – caused by alcohol poisoning.
Then there is the link with unprotected sex, drunken fights and accidents – all of which are much more likely when alcohol is tossed into the mix.
In contrast to being marginally in favor of cannabis over alcohol, Professor Carroll denies his arguments are ‘pro pot’ – neither is he burying the negative effects of the drug.
Indeed, he goes on to show cannabis does have risks and negative consequences – and they are ‘definitely greater than zero’.
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