Posted on 03/04/2005 10:44:14 AM PST by MisterRepublican
WASHINGTON - The admission rate for those who seek treatment for marijuana use nearly tripled between 1992 and 2002, according to the latest data compiled by the federal government.
The numbers released Friday reflect a growing use of marijuana in the 1990s and an increase in the potency of marijuana, said Tom Riley, a spokesman for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy.
"This report makes clear what people in the public health community have known for years, which is marijuana is a much more dangerous drug than many Americans realize," Riley said. "This report is a wake up call for parents that marijuana is not a soft drug. It's a much bigger part of the addiction problem than is generally understood."
The study on treatment rates was conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which estimated that 41 states experienced an increase in the number of people who sought treatment for marijuana use during the decade studied.
(Excerpt) Read more at fortwayne.com ...
I agree with you. I am just poking fun at the "pot's wonderful because it's natural and not addictive" crowd.
I think unwilling is probably a better word. An ex-girlfriend of mine was a good student in college and then started skipping class to smoke pot and failing her classes. Several times she said she needed to quit but couldn't. Sounds like addictive behavior. However, you're probably right in that those same people can become addicted to sex or porn or whatever.
Not as big as asses who use the drug and addict themselves.
I get sucked into these usual debates because there are far too many readers of this site who accept this because they seek Nanny Gov't on this issue as well as what they describe as "decency" issues.
"But pot itself is NOT generally addictive."
WRONG, it is addictive.
http://www.everydaywarriors.com/teens/art_potaddictive.htm
http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/
http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/atod/marijuana.htm
For people in that mental state, pot is likely the least of the evils they can resort to. I've never heard of a person who felt compelled against their will to smoke pot. This hits home with me at the moment because I am trying to quit cigarettes and it is unbelievable how difficult it is. I don't want to smoke any more cigarettes but at times I simply can't control my own body as I reach for one and light up, which is very frustrating and frightening.
Because they don't really want to. No, it is not addictive. I know many people that lead productive lives and only smoke in the evenings to relax. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that, it is far less harmful than alcohol.
Not very convincing sources but believe what you will. There are sources to support anything anyone wants to believe these days.
What is worse, doing pot or using steroids like your liberal governor?
Ummm...hate to break the news to you, but those sites are just wrong, there are no withdrawal symptoms. And the isolation theory...what a joke. Those sites are scaremongering. Everyone I know that smokes lead productive lives, some are professionals, you would never even know they smoke.
Except for the secret handshake. ;-)
There will be no proof strong enough ever for those who want their recreational drugs. Facts need not be posted.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=19709
http://www.addiction-help-line.com/marijuana.html
http://www.drug-rehabilitation.com/marijuana-addiction/
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/83B4A.htm
http://health.yahoo.com/health/centers/addiction/96407687
MARIJUANA
The marijuana smoked in the United States consists of the flower and dried top level of the flower and dried top leaves of the plant cannabis sativa. Unlike alcohol, relatively simple chemical, marijuana contains over 400 chemicals, 60 of which are unique to the marijuana plant. Marijuana, when lit, causes an additional 1,600 chemicals to be formed. As the pot smoker inhales, these chemicals invade every cell of the user's body. The ingredient that creates the "high" is Delta-9-THC, commonly referred to as THC. Like alcohol, marijuana is a central nervous system depressant. Pot, like most other drugs, wears down the motivation of users. It erodes the will to perform. Ambition is lost. Success and achievement no longer matter to the chronic marijuana user. In addition to the unknown short- and long -term dangers of so many chemicals entering the user's body, THC has a particular characteristic that increases its harmfulness. THS is soluble in fat; THC is not soluble in water. Since our body gets rid of its waste through a water system using urine, feces, sweat and blood, THC cannot escape. It stays trapped in the body. In addition, THX finds it's resting place in fatty parts of the body. The most sensitive and critical are: the brain, the lungs, the liver and the reproductive system.
http://www.drug-addiction.com/marijuana.htm
Is Marijuana Use Addictive?
Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction for some people; that is, they use the drug compulsively even though it often interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities. According to the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated 5.6 million Americans age 12 or older reported problems with illicit drug use in the past year. Of these, 3.6 million met diagnostic criteria for dependence on an illicit drug. More than 2 million met diagnostic criteria for dependence on marijuana/hashish. In 1999, more than 220,000 people entering drug abuse treatment programs reported that marijuana was their primary drug of abuse.
Along with craving, withdrawal symptoms can make it hard for long-term marijuana smokers to stop using the drug. People trying to quit report irritability, difficulty sleeping, and anxiety. They also display increased aggression on psychological tests, peaking approximately 1 week after they last used the drug.
I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone in those types of situations because they're "addicted" to pot.
First, lets not expand it to something more general like "recreational drugs". Let's keep the discussion on pot and not generalize - that's the fist way the "drug warriors" lose credibility. Second, all these sites get money and they seek to keep the money flowing into their "treatment" centers. Third, why do you care?
I read your links. Even they suggest that it is only addictive for some people (and based on my experience, not most users).
Your links liken it to alcohol, which is of course NOT addictive to the vast majority of people who use it, but which IS addictive to a relatively small number of people.
There are people who are sex addicts too, and who seek treatment for it. But most people are not sex addicts. So I continue to maintain that marijuana is NOT generally addictive, even though I acknowledge that it can be for some people.
Your link cites 150,000 people who seek help for marijuana addiction each year. But given that the number of Americans who have (or occasionally) smoke pot has to be in the tens of millions, I would argue that 150,000 is a pretty small number -- especially compared to the 7.9 million Americans who are addicted to alcohol.
Start your own blog - call it MINITRU.
I predict a huge following - you should make a fortune on the Koolaid franchise alone!
Laughable, at best, hysterical is probably a better term, because it more accurately describes the emotions of the bearers of this "bad news". My friends that smoke have professional careers that they have been at for at least 15 years, most very high up in the management chain. They smoke in the evenings just to relax. Anyone that loses ambition due to smoking pot had no ambition in the first place.
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