Posted on 05/18/2023 1:04:47 PM PDT by absalom01
The more marijuana is consumed, the more evidence mounts up that it ruins lives.
As more states legalize marijuana, and as popular culture increasingly treats the narcotic as though it were harmless, it becomes increasingly apparent that using it involves serious risks.
Lawmakers should stop decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, and allow it only as prescribed, via strict protocols, by licensed medical doctors. Even then, its use should be a last resort.
The latest worrisome study, released earlier this month, was conducted by researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark. Its most compelling finding is that “as many as 30% of cases of schizophrenia among men aged 21-30 might have been prevented by averting cannabis use disorder."
Schizophrenia, defined by the National Institutes of Mental Health, is “a mental disorder characterized by disruptions in thought processes, perceptions, emotional responsiveness, and social interactions ... Schizophrenia is typically persistent and can be both severe and disabling.”
It can be triggered by heavy pot use when it might otherwise not develop at all.
“The entanglement of substance use disorders and mental illnesses is a major public health issue, requiring urgent action and support for people who need it,” said NIDA Director and study coauthor Nora Volkow.
The existence of a link between marijuana use and schizophrenia has been known for decades, but the new study not only reaffirms the connection but also shows the problem’s growing severity, especially among young men. It blames the “increasing prevalence” of the problem on the “higher potency of cannabis” typically used today compared to typical street marijuana half a century ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Oh, stop it with you reason and logic. This is WEED we’re talking about. Didn’t you see Reefer Madness? Besides, science is always to be trusted, right? RIGHT?
I would put the number much higher given their age.
Alarming!???
WTF!
How could something so historically obvious be considered "alarming" at this late (by 50-years) date?
"Expected"..."Usual"..."Normal"..."Highly Anticipated"..."Continuing"...
All are more appropriate attributes than "alarming"...
BS
The data are pretty clear that the incidence of psychosis, controlling for age, is higher among mj users than non-users. This was true even back when mj was a very mild tranquilizer. It appears the appropriate relationship is not causation but a triggering effect of thc in vulnerable persons.
“Lawmakers should stop decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, and allow it only as prescribed, via strict protocols, by licensed medical doctors. Even then, its use should be a last resort.”
The fatal flaw in this line of thinking is that we already tried completely criminalizing marijuana, which is much more restrictive than what is being suggested here, but that did nothing to stop people who wanted to smoke it from getting it and consuming it.
“Seems to me that if one really wanted to take issue with flagrant commerce clause overreach, and 10th amendment violations, one would pick something a little less frivolous, not to say harmful, than weed.”
On the other hand, if you want to actually get anywhere with it, you might want to go after a 10th amendment violation that would be extremely popular with Americans to fight... like marijuana criminalization.
It’s also a well known fact that people disposed to conditions like schizophrenia are extremely likely to try to self medicate with recreational drugs, providing another possible explanation for the correlation.
“most heroin users ate a cheeseburger before too”
Hell, I’ve never met a junkie who wasn’t a cigarette smoker first.
Probably isn’t true anymore due to the indoor smoking bans, but say 15-20 years ago, you couldn’t go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting either without seeing every single person smoking too.
This was true even back when mj was a very mild tranquilizer.
The currently available weed is, as you point out, a lot stronger than what was popularized in the 60's, and somewhat ridiculously vilified in films like "Reefer Madness". Seems to me that the currently available product, with high THC content makes just about everything worse. Mix alcohol and THC, you get a paranoid drunk. And mix it they do, it's almost a given baseline. And the old adage that "the dose makes the poison" seems to hold true with THC as well. I don't like the state regulating every aspect of our lives, but the tendency on the Libertarian left, and right to downplay the negative effects of weed are not helpful, either.
“It appears the appropriate relationship is not causation but a triggering effect of thc in vulnerable persons.”
Funny thing is, THC only effects us because we have receptors for cannabinoids in our brain. And we have cannabinoid receptors in our brains because our bodies produces its own cannabinoids. So if THC lighting up our cannabinoid receptors triggers psychosis or schizphrenia, why don’t those same receptors trigger psychosis or schizophrenia when activated by our own body’s endocannabinoids?
One huge problem not generally recognized...
Most apartments ban ALL smoking, and no one can smoke within 25 feet of a doorway or open window.
Here in Seattle, where marijuana is legally sold, you can get evicted for smoking weed, inside or outside your apartment, after just one warning.
Solution...
Younger people smoke weed in their cars while driving or just walking around on the sidewalk or in parks.
"A new study conducted by the Lieber Institute for Brain Development suggests that the risk of schizophrenia is largely due to the role of over 100 associated genes in the placenta, rather than in the developing brain."
https://scitechdaily.com/placenta-not-brain-groundbreaking-study-shifts-the-schizophrenia-narrative/
“You can’t even walk down the street in Austin without the pervasive smell of weed wafting on the wind.”
It is the stench of decay and decline. And is now in every city in North America.
I am a male lesbian....I’m not ashamed..
In parts of Canada we now have full-on total drug legalization, while they move toward total tobacco bans.
The Regime wants people, isolated, obese, demoralized, depressed; and they promote dope, porn, fast food, online games and gambling in order to temp people to destroy themselves.
The last thing the Regime wants is for young people, to meet together, chain smoke cigarettes, and plot revolution.
Re Seattle apt thing.
That is seriously shocking but if they can do that great.
That said Seattle should have designated smoking areas in or near parks.
I would say they should all just use Diamond parking lots, cause Cindy is a nasty thing and has always had dislike for me. At least she is aging worse than pelosi
TBH it’s not so bad here in Houston.
I question the validity of some of these studies. Mental illness usually manifests itself between the ages of 18-25 or so, the same time period when most are likely to experiment with pot. Correlation doesn’t always equal causation. While smoking weed by someone who is vulnerable to mental illness might help precipitate full blown schizophrenia, it’s also just as likely that such a person would eventually develop this disorder without smoking pot.
*********
You haven’t lost a child to this, obviously. I have.
then allow me to take a giant dump on your lawn whenever I want as I blow crack smoke thru your front door screen and I shark your children. After all, im just practicing my " Personal freedoms"
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