The Cannabis Catastrophe (Pot softens brains: Stoners don't care)

The Daily Mail [UK] ^ | January 26 2003 | Melanie Phillips

[quidnunc]

As David Blunkett contemplates the chaos and fury triggered by his decision to downgrade the law on cannabis, he could do worse than consider the case of Dominique Lansdowne.

Eleven years ago, when she was 18, the former care assistant from Swindon started smoking cannabis once a week. ‘After a couple of weeks, I found it was addictive’, she said. ‘As soon as you start you get the feeling you’re completely relaxed and calm, but then you crave it. I used it more and more until I was smoking it every day. Then I couldn’t work because I was too stoned all the time. I was so paranoid I couldn’t leave the house.

‘I haven’t worked for the past six years. I lost all my friends and nearly lost my family. I couldn’t afford to pay my mortgage, my house was repossessed, I had to live in a hostel. I was in hospital three times, and couldn’t cope at all in the community. I had no social skills left. My life was in tatters. I didn’t stop completely until two years ago.

‘I still take anti-psychotics, antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, and will probably have to take medication for the rest of my life. I’m positive cannabis was the cause; I became paranoid as soon as I started smoking it. I’ve known hundreds of people who smoke it; all of them have some kind of paranoia or a problem, whether they recognise it or not.’

All of which makes it truly extraordinary that this Thursday, cannabis will be downgraded from a class B to a class C drug.

The Home Secretary’s move has delighted the drug legalisers — but astonished and horrified those like Dominique, who know the truth about its effects.

Tory leader Michael Howard has boldly declared that a future Conservative government will reverse the policy. Yet Mr Blunkett’s so called ‘reform’ has already caused many people mistakenly to believe cannabis is now legal or safe to use.

Despite ministers’ desperate insistence that it remains illegal and dangerous, putting cannabis in the same category as slimming pills, painkillers, tranquillisers and anabolic steroids sends the inescapable signal that it is not very dangerous after all.

Dominique Lansdowne knows what nonsense this is. Before she used cannabis, she had not even smoked tobacco; afterwards she also tried speed, LSD and ecstasy. ‘I would never have touched hard drugs if I hadn’t taken cannabis. Reclassification is really dreadful and sad because the government is saying cannabis isn’t that bad and so people are going to take it thinking it’s not going to do them any harm.’

-snip-

[justshutupandtakeit]

Sure I did.

When did we limit the discussion to Great Thinkers? Satchmo's life refutes the absurd contention in this article that the smoker turns into a useless and helpless drain on society like the poor mope described.

BTW Satchmo was no Einstein but was a musical genius which I rate very highly if no one else does.

[bird4four4]

There's a causal relationship between pot and schizophrenia

These studies really don't tell us much. So people with mental disorders are more likely to use rec. drugs. Gee, I'm shocked. People abusive alcoholic fathers are more likely to be problem drinkers. Eating fast food may cause obesity. You know some things don't deserve a research grant.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I love Dickens and am reading Nicholas Nickleby at the moment. The constant drinking described therein is amazing, men, women, children everyone.

[Destructor]

Like...wow,man! LOL!!

[justshutupandtakeit]

Hashish did not prevent the assassins from feeling remorse. They operated under the belief that any sins committed by them in the service of the Old Man of the Mountain or Hassan Ibn Sabbah were forgiven since they were performed in the service of God.

This cult was not really Islamic at any rate and served itself rather than the "wishes" of Mohammed.

[justshutupandtakeit]

There is no doubt that it makes some users paranoid but that is because of the realization that Sheriff Lobo can throw your ass in jail not because of some natural reaction to the pot itself. When strong enough it can cause newbies to hallucinate or to start being aware of their bodily processes. Both of these cause great fear in some.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Pot use by Islamic Jihad, Hizbollah, Al Queda is none existent. The Assassins are not the same as "Islamic." The Caliphate fought them for decades because of their heresies?

[justshutupandtakeit]

Charlie Parker? You have to be kidding. The man was a total junkie and alcoholic. Why do you think he was dead by the age of 35?

Sober jazzmen? Almost non-existent. The list of junkies is longer than the list of sober jazz people. Those who were neither heroin addicts or alcoholics were few and far between. Maybe the Duke, the Count, the Dorseys and Bennie Goodman but even they probably were alcoholics by some measure.

[justshutupandtakeit]

These zealots are confusing the Cult of the Assassins with Islam. They were an offshoot at best and heretical. At the highest levels of initiation into their beliefs they weren't religious at all other than worshippers of power.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I couldn't be made worse after your absurd comments. BTW I don't believe you when you claim you know all these people whose lives were ruined by weed. Alcohol is FAR more damaging to society and individuals. It isn't even close.

Why don't you show me some statistics illustrating the deaths caused by weed (or even heroin actually) in comparison to alcohol. Even counting those caused by accidents it would be a thousand to one.

PS learn how to spell "assassin" so as to not look too stupid.

[Mama Shawna]

What if you don't sell it, but just give it away?

[Monty22]

Try not to defend a drug to death and maybe you won't look so stupid, eh?

[eboyer]

"heroin's pretty darn common"

Somehow I missed this reply to me, sorry!

My usage of common was relating to how many people use it.

If this particular substance was used by as many people as tobacco, it would be a national epidemic.

It was dishonest for a poster to claim the two most dangerous substances are legal.

[tacticalogic]

No doubt. But isn't this about the prevalence of schizophrenia in cannabis users?

No. It is about the prevalence of cannabis use among schizophrenics. I'll encourage anyone reading this to stop and think about that distinction, and the implications of getting it wrong.

[little jeremiah]

That's one of those "what if" questions - and since I am not in a position of authority to ever implement my postion (at least for now ;-)) it hardly matters. But my current view would be no giving away. That turns into trading, that turns into barter, that turns into selling. It would create another type of underground market, just like we have now.

Let people grow it themselves. One or two plants could easily be grown even in harsh climates indoors. It's not so hard (I've heard, never done it myself, but have known people who did) and if one plant produces half a kilo (which some do, apparently) a couple of plants a year should keep someone properly wasted.

[Agnes Heep]

I love Dickens and am reading Nicholas Nickleby at the moment. The constant drinking described therein is amazing, men, women, children everyone.

I started on Dickens at an early age, and I couldn't wait to start drinking ... porter, ale, brandy, sherry, port; there's a special kind of romance to those potations that can only come from long exposure to Dickens. I first tasted sherry at the home of a friend whose father traveled extensively in Europe and had an entire room stocked with every conceivable beverage under the sun. In fact, my nickname, ironically, was "Boz," (Dickens's pen name), and when visiting this particular friend, everyone used to vie in plying "Boz" with sherry.

[mac_truck]

These studies really don't tell us much.

On the contrary, they tell us a lot. You just seem unable to process the information.

" While each of our long term cannabis users performed their task of selective attention, we recorded the electrical activity of their brain. What we found was very interesting. We found that some impairments are associated with the frequency of cannabis use, how often people were smoking. The problem seemed to be a general slowing of information processing. People who were using cannabis more than three times a week were much slower in recognising information as being important, evaluating that information and making decisions to act on that information" -Dr Nadia Solowij

[mac_truck]

I smoked pot daily when I was 17.

Since then, the average age of addiction amongst teenagers has gotten younger, while the potency of the cannabis ingested has increased significantly. Its a shame that the pro-pot elements on this website don't acknowledge the significant risk that results from ignoring the mental health issues surrounding the use of cannabis by adolescent and preadolescent children.

[tacticalogic]

Two words - "peer review".

[robertpaulsen]

I'm afraid you're the one "getting it wrong". The article is about a cannabis user developing a psychosis.

I'm sure you'd just love to twist this around and have us believe that this woman is a psychotic who decided to try marijuana.

Yes, by all means, think about the distinction. It's the whole point of the friggin' article!