Posted on 09/07/2019 4:37:12 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
Colorado's experiment with marijuana legalization has been an epic disaster, according to one doctor seeing its effects on the front lines.
Dr. Karen Randall, an emergency room physician certified in "cannabis science and medicine," said the legalization of marijuana has damaged, rather than helped, her home state. Randall, who spoke alongside former White House drug czar John Walters at the right-leaning Hudson Institute on Friday, said the public is being misled about the effects of recreational marijuana.
"I think the public needs to know that we are not okay," Randall said. "The grand experiment is not going so well. I don't think the public is hearing about this as they should be."
In 2012, Colorado and Washington become the first states in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The Centennial State is often pointed to as a success story with more than $1 billion in tax revenues generated since legalization. Eight more states followed in approving recreational use.
While the country has plowed ahead with marijuana legalization, less attention has been paid to potential downsides of the weed market. Randall said legalization has brought with it high-potency dope: The average joint in Colorado, she says, now contains 20 milligrams of THC, 10 times as much as the average joint at Woodstock. Concentrated products, sometimes called "shatter," can be up to 99 percent THC.
"My fellow physicians don't understand, they don't understand the potency that we're dealing with in Colorado at this point," Randall said. "The potency has dramatically increased."
Randall has seen a "marked increase in medical problems" at the emergency room she works at in Pueblo, Colo. She's experienced increased admissions for cannabis-related nausea and cardiac issues. Dr. Randall is likely not alone. One recent study found a three-fold increase in marijuana-related admissions in the aftermath of legalization.
At the same time many patients use legal marijuana heavily under the misguided impression that it has medical benefits, according to Dr. Randall. She cited one patient who used marijuana to treat his brain cancer—unsurprisingly, without success.
"Patients routinely use a gram a day, five grams a day," she said. "Why? It's okay, it's legal, it's healthy, the industry has said it will cure all kinds of diseases."
The Colorado state government is also working to perpetuate this belief. Randall cited the state's recent decision to add Autism Spectrum Disorder to the list of conditions eligible for treatment with medical marijuana, which specifically permits the drug's use by minors. The Autism Science Foundation says there is "limited research, and no evidence, on the potential short-term, long-term or neurodevelopmental risks and benefits of medical marijuana or its related compounds in ASD."
There is, however, evidence that marijuana adversely affects developing brains. The U.S. surgeon general warned that chronic teen marijuana use negatively affects IQ, school performance, and is even linked to psychotic disorders including schizophrenia.
Randall said the state government has not only ignored scientific findings about marijuana's effects to push sales, but failed in the regulatory responsibility it promised would accompany legalization. The surgeon general's report noted that marijuana use during pregnancy is linked to "adverse outcomes, including lower birth weight." A recent study of Colorado dispensaries found that 69 percent recommended women use marijuana anyway, with some actually discouraging mothers from telling their doctors about their drug use.
Randall pointed to other commonly cited effects of legalization, including a historic increase in homelessness and a growing population of chronic, marijuana-dependent users. All of these, she suggested, have gone unreported in spite of the toll they are taking on her community.
The glittering image of post-legalization Colorado—with billions in tax revenue and a happy populace—runs up against the uncomfortable reality of poor regulation and patients dangerously misguided about the risks and benefits of marijuana use.
"There are a whole host of us who are speaking out about it, and people need to start listening and looking to the future," Randall said. "This is going to be a crisis with potential long-term consequences that will far outpace the opioid crisis, with lasting damages and lasting injuries, as well as a significant cost to the public."
If you want to really talk about drug safety you have to talk about Therapeutic Index or “How many multiples of the Effective Dose 50 does it take to reach the LD 50?” Again, THC is about the safest drug ever discovered. Or look at the MOE, Margin of Exposure. In purely objective terms THC is MUCH safer than alcohol, aspirin, or Tylenol.
I mention the LD50 for a number of reasons. One, the article mentions that 99% pure THC is available, meaning that people can very easily ingest a lethal dose without even realizing that the stuff is toxic. Two, it does not take an LD50 to cause serious and even permanent harm. Three, marijuana proponents continue to spread the false notion that marijuana use is a harmless pastime and that marijuana is not only perfectly safe, but even has medicinal properties. Yes, marijuana is safer than carfentanil, but it is not safer than alcohol, to which its advocates love to compare.
That would account for all the huge amount of dead people killed by pot...
Seems legit as f***.
Just stop. You didn’t even read that paper, which IDs all of two cases and can’t assert anything more strident than “suspected”.
You are embarrassing yourself and insulting everyone else.
And people have OD on alcohol.
Never mind the other effect’s on one’s life -
But we all appreciate and notice your concern.
You sound like Soros and his drug talking points.
> One, the article mentions that 99% pure THC is available, meaning that people can very easily ingest a lethal dose without even realizing that the stuff is toxic.
Nobody actually does that. Cliffs are available for people to toss themselves off of, too, but you don’t get arrested and jailed for being on the edge of a cliff.
Quoting Mayo Clinic, here:
"Colloidal silver isn't considered safe or effective for any of the health claims manufacturers make. Silver has no known purpose in the body.
Manufacturers of colloidal silver products often claim that they are cure-alls, boosting your immune system, fighting bacteria and viruses, and treating cancer, HIV/AIDS, shingles, herpes, eye ailments and prostatitis.
However, no sound scientific studies to evaluate these health claims have been published in reputable medical journals. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration has taken action against some manufacturers of colloidal silver products for making unproven health claims.
It's not clear how much colloidal silver may be harmful, but it can build up in your body's tissues over months or years. Most commonly, this results in argyria (ahr-JIR-e-uh), a blue-gray discoloration of your skin, eyes, internal organs, nails and gums. While argyria doesn't usually pose a serious health problem, it can be a cosmetic concern because it doesn't go away when you stop taking silver products. "
Yeah, permanently blue skin is certainly MY favorite side effect.
“Just stop, your ignorance is extreme”
Any particular fact that you can refute, or is this just an emotional reaction to having treasured beliefs (i.e. rationalizations for your drug use) challenged?
Bite me.
Already have. I am glad you are a person of no influence.
re: “But we all appreciate and notice your concern.”
You didn’t read the article above did you?
Figures ...
“On the other hand CBD oil poses far less danger and is proving highly beneficial in medical treatments.”
Yeah, but what does CBD oil do to your car?
I wrote this to another “of your kind”:
Yeah, HWGA - assuming YOUR experiences are the SAME experience as for every other person’s physiology AND psychological make up - AS WELL AS up-bringing and personal experience ...
What applied to YOU doesn’t necessarily apply to ANYONE ELSE. You OBVIOUSLY don’t understand “statistical outliers” and what it means when it comes to any given person’s physiological response to different ‘compounds’, ingested, inhaled or otherwise consumed.
Pothead “logic.”
The best the pothead Soros talking point parroter can offer?
The dope heads are up in arms over this thread.
No, young brains were not smoking the same strength as when we were young. It is 10 times stronger and they are proving it has a lasting effect on undeveloped brains.
You bet.
“If you want to really talk about drug safety you have to talk about”...
Lets talk about lethality. That is a very objective drug safety measure - the gold standard. When it is concentrated, THC is more lethal than caffeine - and much, much more lethal than alcohol, aspirin, or Tylenol.
2 grams of those (e.g. 6 aspirins) is not going to kill half of men weighing around 150 pounds.
There is the substantial additional risk of indirect death through the psychoactive effects (intoxication) - car crashes, etc.
“THC is about the safest drug ever discovered”
That is just an article of religious faith, requiring tortured abstractions, to avoid the obvious contradiction. LD50 is around 2 grams. Bottom line.
People will be profoundly hallucinating, before reaching that blood level.
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