I can't stand the bad-rap marijuana has received over the years. Grouped in a category with cocaine, heroin, exctasy and other hard narcotics, marijuana has yet to claim a single life due to an overdose, has yet to be proven physically addictive, and yet to be conclusivly proven that it is a "gateway" drug. Anyone who tells you otherwise is mixing truth with fiction.

The truth is, marijuana IS a drug. There is no question about it. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is a mind altering chemical that creates a feeling of lucidity and relaxation upon consumption. By its very nature it is less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, both of which are legalized narcotics.

One of the most prevelant reasons marijuana remains illegal is it's effect on memory and reasoning. Fed up with claims that "stoners end up smoking all day and failing their courses", I decided to conduct a very basic experiment as part of my individual report for an Introduction to Statistics course checking the validity of this claim. Though it was conducted two years ago, I strongly believe that the results of this experiment are still valid.

Introduction

The legal foundation of the status of marijuana in Canada has been severely weakened. With the recent Senate report regarding the benefits of decriminalization and even legalization as well as the Supreme Court ruling that the current laws are unconstitutional, the topic of "pot" and its usage is at the forefront of the minds of todays youth. National surveys and reports have indicated that nearly 80% of Canadians favor decriminalization of the substance while a statistically significant proportion (65%) favor legalization. Those who have argued against the legalization and more-so decriminalization of marijuana have argued it would create a generation of pot-heads, or "stupid" pot addicted youth. The main goal of this report is to research whether marijuana has any effect on the intelligence of youth. This will be done so by surveying 40 random people at the University of Toronto during the week of March 1, 2003 to March 8, 2003 and comparing the G.P.A