The junk ‘science’ behind the marijuana legalization movement

The junk ‘science’ behind the marijuana legalization movement - The Washington Post:
"Already, 23 states allow marijuana to be prescribed for medicinal use, making it easy for proponents for broader legalization, such as the Marijuana Policy Project, to brand the drug as “harmless.”
Some go further, calling it “safe” and even “healthy.”
....The problem is that marijuana is not, in fact, “harmless.”
(Update: After publication, the Marijuana Policy Project altered the language on its site to call pot “a much less harmful substance” than alcohol.
Here is a screenshot of the original.)
Proponents are spinning the science — casting pot as a threat only if used improperly, much like a car — for the sake of advancing their political agenda.
It’s fine for people to believe the government has no business conducting a “war on drugs,” but it’s something else entirely to trivialize or simply deny marijuana’s harmful effects.   
....As more states move to legalize marijuana, polls indicate that Americans are growing much more accepting of marijuana use.
But the growing acceptance and availability of pot, along with the misleading advertisements spread by legalization proponents, are spreading the dangerous myth that marijuana is risk-free.
There are compelling reasons to change our policy toward marijuana — notably, cutting down on incarceration rates for possession.
But simply ignoring the science on the negative effects of chronic (no pun intended) marijuana use does a disservice to the dialogue around marijuana."