The newspaper was able to see some shocking results on the evaluation of students' knowledge and behavior on the sale and use of cannabis light. “Il 64.8% of those interviewed mistakenly believe or do not know that light cannabis can cause drug tests to be positive in drivers“.
The Cannabis light ended up in the political spotlight in recent days when the Vice President of the Council and leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, he proposed closing all shops, sprouted like mushrooms, who sell this substance in different parts of Italy, often in the vicinity of schools and places frequented by young people.
“We will carry out extensive checks and from tomorrow I will ask for the closure one by one of all these alleged tourist cannabis shops“, I had explained il Minister of the Interior, remembering that “they also sell drugs to minors and as far as I'm concerned they must be sealed from first to last.

There are now more than a thousand of them outside of any rules and any control” and anticipating that he has no intention of waiting for the Supreme Court ruling at the end of May to close “one by one all these places of mass miseducation“.
There was an outcry from Salvini's political forces against Salvini's proposal left, of half of the supporters of the government of Giuseppe Conte, that is to say the five-star grillini of Luigi Di Maio, of exponents liberal e, naturally, of the same shop owners who spread these substances, managers who had been pulled in a few months ago dance also by the former minister Carlo Giovanardi.
Now science is also entering the field, indeed the neuroscience, to thrash precisely those politicians who, indoctrinated for years by ideas radical chic anti-prohibitionists, they have not yet realized the dangers of these substances, of any drug.

Read more, Indeed, The newspaper heard one of the world's leading drug scientists, who is an Italian, the neuroscientist Giovanni Serpelloni, director of the Uoc Addiction Department of the Aulss 9 of Verona.
Serpelloni, former head of the Anti-Drug Policies Department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (2008-2014) and director of the National Drug Alert System, after having developed innovative research in the field of neuroscience, in collaboration with American research centers, he is currently also Senior Nr Fellow (at the Drug Policy Institute, Department of Psychiatry in the College of Medicine) from the University of Florida and participates in conferences throughout Italy, meetings, educational activities, to warn young people and parents about the dangers of Cannabis, to make everyone aware of this new form of business “on the skin of our children“.
Professor Serpelloni, how he managed to convince the Vice President of the Council Matteo Salvini on the dangers of Cannabis light?
“I didn't have to convince anyone. I only sent to the competent ministers (who I have never spoken to personally) two pieces of research we have done on the topic and which demonstrate its danger and potential problems in terms of prevention and conditioning of health behaviors in young people“.
These shops have sprung up like mushrooms around Italy and often near schools. What investigations have you done to understand the risks of young people who approach this substance??
“This is research that was done on Verona on over 1400 students“.
The professor shows a The newspaper the preliminary results of a study conducted by Health promotion & Life Science – Addition Research Group, in collaboration l’University of Florida and the Community of San Patrignano, regarding the evaluation of the knowledge and behavior of Italian students on the sale and use of cannabis light and the data that emerged are shocking. A series of extremely worrying information was recorded in terms of the limited and incorrect knowledge that students possess regarding the purchase and use (mainly through the respiratory tract) of cannabis light. There is in fact a series of cognitive distortions potentially capable of altering the perception of risk towards cannabis in general and therefore health behaviours.
“The current condition of media communication and environmental exposure of shops strongly characterized by signs explicitly reporting the word and images of cannabis, they are also capable of creating disorientation and confusion regarding the legality of such sales and use. Of the 1484 students interviewed (aged between 13 and i 19 years, equally divided between males and females) beyond 40% has doubts or erroneous beliefs about the hypothetical legalization of cannabis in general. Il 48.8% of those interviewed mistakenly believe that it is legal to smoke the inflorescences offered for sale as collectibles, with labels clearly stating 'not for human use'. Il 36.6% of those interviewed mistakenly believe the sale of inflorescences for smoking is legal. Il 47.1% of those interviewed mistakenly believe it is legal to buy inflorescences for smoking. Il 46.8% of those interviewed mistakenly believe that light cannabis can cure diseases. Il 31.4 % of those interviewed mistakenly believe that shops are not authorized by law to sell light cannabis, only for collection or research, therefore excluding human use. 8.5% of those interviewed mistakenly believe that light cannabis can also be used by minors, while the 23.5% is in doubt. Il 64.8% of those interviewed mistakenly believe or do not know that light cannabis can cause drug tests to be positive in drivers with the risk of being found positive in possible traffic police checks while driving motorcycles or cars. The students interviewed therefore underestimate the resulting withdrawal of their driving license, the confiscation of the vehicle and the resulting legal problems. Il 9.4% of those interviewed smoked light cannabis. Taking into account the young age of the interviewees, who were mostly minors. It is highlighted that even in subjects with less than 14 years there is a share of 2,3% that he used (and therefore probably purchased) cannabis light. This percentage between 15 e 17 years arrives at 9.2. Il 22.2% of those surveyed smoked enhanced cannabis (illegal). To better interpret the seriousness of this data, take into account the young age of the interviewees, who were mostly minors. It is highlighted that in subjects with less than 14 years there is a share of 4.8% who used enhanced cannabis. This percentage between 15 e 17 years arrives at 22.8“.
Lei, through non-fiction, he also warned of the dangers of cannabis. Can you explain to us in simple words what these dangers are?
“Scientific research, particularly in the field of neuroscience, has widely demonstrated that the use of cannabis can produce serious neurotoxic effects that are particularly important in the development of the adolescent brain.. In fact, at that age the brain is still evolving and therefore particularly sensitive. The documented effects are memory impairment, attention skills and therefore learning as well as motivation and the ability to face and solve problems. Behavioral and impulse control is also compromised due to the inhibitory action on the prefrontal cortex (control of aggression) of this drug. Furthermore, by acting on the cerebellum, cannabis creates an important alteration in motor coordination and the ability to drive, certainly documented by the many fatal accidents of those who drove after smoking.. It is proven that taking cannabis at a young age (under i 18 years) it decreases the IQ of well-takers 8 points later 30 years”.
There may also be problems with psychotic disorders?
“Persone che usano cannabis hanno maggior probabilità di sviluppare schizofrenia e altre patologie psichiatriche oltre che crisi di panico. Esse sono più inclini a sviluppare depressione. Ultimamente la risonanza magnetica ha dimostrato che i fumatori cronici di cannabis hanno alterazioni cerebrali importanti che compromettono la normale struttura e funzione. Da una nuova ricerca internazionale lesioni della struttura sono state riscontrate anche con pochi spinelli. Da un punto di vista comportamentale spesso ce un difficile controllo degli impulsi di violenza ed aggressività. Anche malattie quali bronchiti croniche e cardiopatie ischemiche sono aumentate nei consumatori. All these effects are related to delta 9Thc and the higher the concentration, the stronger and longer-lasting the symptoms.
But today's cannabis is different from that of “mythical” ’68?
“Today's cannabis is highly enhanced and can reach high percentages of active ingredient, until 38% (the plant in nature has the 4%). The danger in light cannabis is clearly not the percentage of THC which is very low but the fact that the people who use it, especially minors, they learn behaviors and attitudes towards drugs that are certainly dangerous in preventive and evolutionary terms. However, even if the percentage is low, THC can accumulate and still cause toxic effects in the long term. The proof is that these subjects were tested (as for example the traffic police does with drivers) they test positive in the drug test with all the consequences of the case (withdrawal of driving licence, confiscation of the car and referral to the judicial authority with complaint)“.
In Italy some politicians are fighting to legalize cannabis. One excuse is that it would reduce the business of organized crime. This appears to you?
“I answer you with the exact words of the anti-mafia judge Paolo Borsellino: 'Someone argued: if we eliminate clandestine trafficking and legalize drug consumption we have at the same time taken away from the hands of the mafia the possibility of making all these illicit profits and being so powerful. However, perhaps it is not reflected that the legalization of drug consumption does not eliminate the clandestine market at all, on the contrary, the weakest and least protected categories will be the first to be hit by the clandestine market, because I cannot imagine a form of legalization that would allow minors to enter the pharmacy and buy a dose of heroin... It is therefore clear that there would be this group of minors who would be immediately affected by the residual clandestine trafficking, which would become extremely more dangerous, because it is aimed at those who, for reasons of age, cannot enter the official market, therefore to the weakest categories most in need of protection. And it would also fuel the most deadly drugs, that is, those that could not be sold in pharmacies if only because pharmacists would rightly refuse to sell. Consequently, it seems to me that it is like criminology amateurs to think that by liberalizing drug trafficking, clandestine trafficking would disappear completely and the mafia's claws would thus be removed.’“.
From your international observatory in Florida, what do you predict for the future regarding new drugs that may arrive on the Italian market?
“I foresee a future that is already present unfortunately. An already online reality that offers any type of synthetic and natural drugs, new and classic with formidable penetration on the cell phones of all our teenagers. The future, in other words, it's already here and those who want to take advantage of the weaknesses and curiosities of our children and especially of the most vulnerable adolescents, it is building powerful multinationals that would like to be able to sell their drugs (and not just cannabis) legally in order to obtain the highest profit without taking risks. There are already professional movements and organizations at an international level that propose the legalization not only of enhanced cannabis and its derivatives (including super-concentrated extracts) but also of LSD, of hallucinogenic mushrooms, of cocaine and probably, in this wake, soon also heroin”.
She is not afraid that someone might accuse her of exaggerating?
“Exaggerations? I don't think so and in any case time will prove us wrong if this isn't tragically true. A few years ago, when I warned of the intentions of tobacco multinationals to reconvert to cannabis and how they were studying powerful preparatory marketing campaigns and lobbying pressure groups, I was mocked and defined as a visionary. Today the reality has gone much further than I had predicted and I believe that we have yet to see the worst“.
source – http://m.ilgiornale.it/news/2019/05/11/cannabis-light-neuroscienziato-mette-in-guardia-politici-e-famiglie/1693012/