Studies show that the mental functions of people who have smoked a lot of marijuana tend to be diminished. The THC in cannabis disrupts nerve cells in the brain, affecting memory.30. Cannabis is one of the few drugs that causes abnormal cell division, which leads to severe hereditary defects. A pregnant woman who regularly smokes marijuana or hashish may give birth prematurely to an undersized, underweight baby.
Autism rates soar, now affects 1 in 68 children. Autism rates climbed nearly 30% between 2008 and 2010 and have more than doubled since the turn of the century, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition is now believed to affect one of every 68 8-year-olds â up from one in 88 just two years earlier.
The nation's official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 â the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate. There were 46.2 million people in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009 â the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.