Heh heh heh ;-)
Posted on 11/21/2004 9:00:46 PM PST by april15Bendovr
I was asked to write this for my hospital newsletter. I hope it will help people here to understand a little bit better.
The truth about marijuana As a psychiatric counselor, many clients report to me that at an early age they suffered from anxiety, stress, agitation and depression. In an effort to avoid or treat their problems, many decided to medicate themselves with alcohol, marijuana or other street drugs. And while the problems of alcohol addiction are well-known, there is a popular myth that marijuana is an innocuous and harmless drug. Unfortunately, marijuana's addictive repercussions can be just as devastating as alcohol.
The Hazelden Foundation, which runs treatment centers for chemical dependency, has produced an educational documentary videotape titled "Marijuana, the Escape to Nowhere," about addictive issues, side effects and marijuana's use as a mood altering substance. Participants in the video report resorting to acts of desperation, such as scraping bongs and pot pipes and pulling their bedroom dresser out from the wall, to retrieve just enough marijuana to give them their next high. Many of my clients as a psychiatric counselor have recounted the same kinds of behavior. I believe it's imperative that our society understand the addictive nature of marijuana and its harmful side effects. The drug has gained support from people with various ailments who praise the drug for its potential use in treating pain and nausea medically. Although there's a synthetic prescription pill developed for this purpose (Marinol), advocates for smoking the leaf continue to push for marijuana cigarette legalization. Advocates also argue that pot has few and short-term--side effects, if any. I believe such a claim is dangerously wrong. In Oldsmobile car ads, the slogan was: "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." Well, the same can be said for marijuana today. Hazelden reports the amount of THC (the main active chemical) in marijuana has increased 5 times since 1974, with the typical strength today being 15 percent. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Intelligence Division December Report 2000 states that a form of marijuana called BC Bud (British Columbia), with Canadian growers using sophisticated cultivating techniques, has increased THC levels from 15 percent to 25 percent, compared with 2 percent in 1970. There's evidence to support claims of long-term damage. Studies referenced in the Hazelden booklet "Marijuana: Current Facts, Figures and Information," by Brent Q. Hafen, Ph.D., and David Soulier, show long-term and permanent damage. This book cites research using instruments to trace brain waves, showing slight changes in the brain's electrical activity from marijuana use. Other studies cited in the book, using electrodes placed deep inside the brain stem, showed that the effects of marijuana use lingered. Researchers at Tulane University studied long-term effects, revealing damage to brain cells and nerve synapses in monkeys. A 2-month to 5-year study at the University of California Davis revealed, via CAT scan, damage to the brains of monkeys from long-term use. Visual signs of long-term pot smoking are poor motor coordination, uncontrolled laughter, a lag or hesitation between thoughts, and unsteady hands. At one time, these were all thought to be short-term side effects--now known in many cases to be long-term with frequent use, according to a 1968 study by researchers W.H. McGlothin and L.J. West, published in the Hazelden booklet mentioned above. Other linked side effects include a symptom called amotivational syndrome, in which people become passive, apathetic, unmotivated, hedonistic, unconcerned about the future, unable to make plans and increasingly introverted. A marijuana information fact sheet from the National Institute on Drug Abuse states that THC kicks off a series of cellular reactions that lead to the high after smoking. It rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain. THC travels inside the brain, where it connects with THC receptors on nerve cells. The areas of the brain with the most THC receptors are the cerebellum, the cerebral cortex, and the limbic system, which includes the hippocampus. This is why marijuana affects thinking, problem solving, sensory perception, movement, balance and memory. (For a more detailed image of the brain and acute side effects of marijuana, visit www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/marijuana/marijuana3.html. In 2001, 12 million Americans aged 12 and older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in its 2001 Monitoring the Future Surveys. Students who smoke pot get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school compared with their non-smoking peers. Researchers studying the survey compared test results of marijuana-smoking 12th graders and non-smokers; in standardized tests of verbal and mathematical skills, the pot smokers scored significantly lower. The same NIDA Monitoring the Future survey of 129 college students found that someone who smokes pot once daily may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level all of the time. Other Hazelden-reported side effects include damage to the lungs: Marijuana cigarettes have 15 times more tar content than tobacco cigarettes and 50 percent more cancer-causing hydrocarbons than cigarettes. Liver biopsies of long-term marijuana users show significant damage. It effects the heart due to reduced oxygen to the blood stream. It causes cell damage--tests on animals show changes in gene structure. These effects are becoming more apparent to the public. Information in the National Institute on Drug Abuse marijuana fact sheet shows that marijuana-related hospital emergency department visits in the United States recently experienced a 15 percent increase. If all these negatives are not enough, I recently discovered more: On Nov. 23, 2002, The British Journal of Medicine published a study linking frequent marijuana use at a young age to an increased risk of depression and schizophrenia later in life. Without knowledge, education, and an understanding of the problems and myths of marijuana, it is dangerous to advocate for such a drug. If we do not discourage vulnerable young people from using marijuana, the future could be very grim for our country. With the increase of THC levels and the apathy about marijuana, I unfortunately see a preview of that future and fear more mental health and overall health problems as a result.
marijuana is bad...ummmkayyy...
It has medicinal uses, which should not be abused as a recrational drug.
I dont know what the hell happened here as this was in paragraphs before I posted it.
When you post in the "article" area, you need to put in HTML.
In replies, paragraphs, etc. are detected automatically.
You may want to post your esssay again as a reply to a post, in a post, which would make it much more readable.
Looks like a stoner posted it. (/joking)
Uhh yeah. I've seen kids only 16 who have done habitual marijuana use for 2, 3 years and they're already falling apart with memory and coordination. There's no easy solution.
Pound users with enough pain, and there'll be less use. $10,000.00 fine for an ounce or more. Take it out of their EITC checks - a lot of users don't pay federal inome tax - too low-skilled/low-paid.
Very interesting article. I humbly suggest that it is very hard to read without paragraphs. Why not post it again as a comment on the thread but WITH paragraphs? Many people will not even attempt to read it, and it is worth reading.
The harm done by marajuana smoking far outweighs any medicinal benefits. If all they really want is medicinal benefit they should use marinol in pill form, but no, advocates want it legalized in order to be able to legally smoke it. Don't be fooled by the medicinal BS.
OK, flame suit fitted and ready. Have at me all you hipsters.
I should have read the whole thread before advising you!
D'uh.
I have moved the article to
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1285684/posts
Its easy to read there and I am sorry folks for the bad post.
The addictive effects - and consequent dumbing down - of psychobabble are far, far worse.
Hmmm. So how come I have to put the p in between the <> in order to make a paragraph in my replies? What am I missing here?
Hmmm - Moral Absolutes Ping. Hopefully the poster will have posted it again with paragraphs.
Very good facts about marijuana use. I used to smoke it when the THC was much lower. Made me stupid, listless, divorced from reality, and hungry.
Haven't touched it in many years.
My take on MJ - let people who want to smoke it, grow it. Allow drug tests for any job or position. No selling it - if sold, penalty should be public beating. Repeated selling - execution.
I know, it sounds harsh. But determined dopers could still ruin their lives, and everyone else would be free of the miasma, and there would be no money in it.
Let me know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
When you hit the reply button, look at the bottom paragraph:
Posting HTML
This forum allows optional use of most HTML tags. If your post does not contain HTML, it will be converted to HTML when posted, retaining paragraphs as typed. This conversion is not performed if you have anything resembling an HTML tag in your text.
If you don't put in anything, that could be interpreted as HTML, it will figure it out, if you put in anything, then you will have to put in everything.
Do a preview -- that will allow you to see, whether it did get turned into "proper" HTML.
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