Using marijuana raises the risk of car crashes, cancer, and mental illness, according to a committee appointed to study pot use and Colorado’s marijuana policies.
The group of doctors, scientists and public health officials reviewed the available scientific research on pot to understand its effects and come up with recommendations for state lawmakers. They issued this report.
Researchers have found that the same carcinogens in cigarettes are also present in marijuana, said Dr. Larry Wolk, who heads the state health department.
"You’re just as much at risk from smoking marijuana products as you are from smoking tobacco products," Wolk said.
That finding was among seven others the committee singled out in a press release Monday:
Members of the Legislature are taking up several different pot measures this week.
