Research helps dispel marijuana myths

Sober Talk ^ | Thursday, August 1, 2002 | By BECKY CLARK, MSW, CSW

[Behind Liberal Lines]

As we endeavor toward a more lucid and informed discussion of substance abuse, let's deconstruct the mystique of marijuana and recognize it for the dangerous drug that it is.

Marijuana is a substance that's worthy of our concern. It is the most prevalent of all illicit drugs used in the country. The 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reported that 34 percent of Americans have used marijuana in their lifetime and 5 percent are current users.

[sweet_diane]

robjna
Thank you for sharing your recovery story..and way to go! My Husband is a recoverying alcoholic and I do volunteer work at a local rehab center... I know the destruction of addiction. It's always a blessing to me to see the joy of recovery. :)

[A2J]

There is not one ounce of thruth in your entire post. I guess you take pride in "If I say it enough, people might think its true".

A classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.

[A2J]

To them we're just a market and the sooner they can beat down resistance they can deal with impunity on the schoolyard, all the while masquerading as freedom-loving Tom Jefferson.

Well said.

I can see Thomas Jefferson lighting his bong while sitting at his desk and drafting letters.

Yeah, right.

[vin-one]

what the heck are you smoking and will you share it.

[William Terrell]

Please don't implicate God in your crimes.

Crimes? Crimes involve an innocent damaged victim. Crimes are defined by the Golden Rule mentioned in both Luke 6:31 and Matthew 7:12 by the Master Himself. Can you tell me how possession and use of a herb qualifies?

Genesis 1:29

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Not only do you not do research on the topic you try to discuss; you don't read the Bible either. Tell me, why should anyone listen to what you have to say if you merely swallow whole the pronouncements given to you by those who pander to your preconceived notions?

[KDD]

"The difference is that those 10 potatoes don't adversely affect a person's mental abilities, as does marijuana, nor do they lead to addiction and possible introduction to harder drugs, as does marijuana."

Lies!

In March 1999, the Institute of Medicine issued a report on various aspects of marijuana, including the so-called, Gateway Theory (the theory that using marijuana leads people to use harder drugs like cocaine and heroin). The IOM stated, "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."

Source: Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999).


The Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on marijuana explained that marijuana has been mistaken for a gateway drug in the past because "Patterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana -- usually before they are of legal age."

Source: Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999).


The 1999 federal National Household Survey of Drug Abuse provides an estimate of the age of first use of drugs. According to the Household Survey, the mean age of first use of marijuana in the US in 1997 was 17.2 years. The mean age of first use of alcohol in that year, on the other hand, was 16.1 years, and the mean age of first use of cigarettes was 15.4 years old.

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services, Summary of Findings from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (Rockville, MD: SAMHSA, August 2000), pp. G-49, G-60 & G-61.


The 1999 federal National Household Survey of Drug Abuse reports, "The rate of past month illicit drug use among youths was higher among those that were currently using cigarettes or alcohol, compared with youths not using cigarettes or alcohol. In 1999, 5.6 percent of youth nonsmokers used illicit drugs, while among youths who used cigarettes, the rate of past month illicit drug use was 41.1 percent. The rate of illicit drug use was also associated with the level of alcohol use. Among youths who were heavy drinkers in 1999, 66.7 percent were also current illicit drug users. Among nondrinkers, only 5.5 percent were current illicit drug users."

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services, Summary of Findings from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (Rockville, MD: SAMHSA, August 2000), p. 15.


Over 72 million Americans have used marijuana, yet for every 120 people who have ever tried marijuana, there is only one active, regular user of cocaine.

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Population Estimates 1998 (Washington DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, 1999), pp. 19, 25, 31.


The World Health Organization's investigation into the gateway effect of marijuana stated emphatically that the theory that marijuana use by adolescents leads to heroin use is the least likely of all hypotheses.

Source: Hall, W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995 (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, March 1998).


The World Health Organization noted the effects of prohibition in its March 1998 study, when it stated that "exposure to other drugs when purchasing cannabis on the black market, increases the opportunity to use other illicit drugs."

Source: Hall, W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995 (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, March 1998).


According to CASA (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse), there is no proof that a causal relationship exists between cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs. Basic scientific and clinical research establishing causality does not exist.

Source: Merrill, J.C. & Fox, K.S., Cigarettes, Alcohol, Marijuana: Gateways to Illicit Drug Use, Introduction (New York, NY: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, October 1994).

And to put your other lie to rest.

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/addictiv.htm

[A2J]

Why do Libertarians make up other people's thoughts? It's impossible to carry on a meaningful conversation with you people because you are constantly telling me what I think.

It's the power of "The Jay."

More powerful marijuana leads to greater "abilities" to see the unseen.

[Dane]

For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response.

I always love the non-sequiters the pot heads bring out.

Name me one person who even eats one potato raw?

Oh there may be one or two, but one doesn't see people dying from eating raw potatoes, because eating raw potatoes is akin to eating paste, not very palatable.

Oh wait a minute a pot head may eat a raw potato when he/she has the munchies and can't wait the five minutes it takes to cook one in a microwave.

Never mind.

[4Freedom]

Statistics on crime, recreational drug use and illegal immigration, from the Netherlands, have been posted by KnightHawk many times. He lives there.

Most of the Libertarians on FR, that make references to the Netherlands in their posts, don't.

[A2J]

Only if he's smoking and flying (so to speak).

What if he flies the day after he smoked? Is there still a chance that his mental abilities will still be affected?

Is that a chance we want to take?

[jayef]

And so what would be the danger of that?

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Afroman - Because I Got High

It's like, I don't care about nothin' man,
Roll another blunt, Yea (ohh ohh ohh)

La da da da da da la, da daaa,
La da da da, la da da da, la da da daaa

I was gonna clean my room until I got high
I gonna get up and find the broom but then I got high
My room is still messed up and I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna go to class before I got high
I coulda cheated and I coulda passed but I got high
(La da da da da da da da da)
I am taking it next semester and I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna go to work but then I got high
I just got a new promotion but I got high
Now I'm selling dope and I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna go to court before I got high
I was gonna pay my child support but then I got high
They took my whole paycheck and I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high

(La da da da da da da da da)

I wasn't gonna run from the cops but I was high
I was gonna pull right over and stop but I was high
(La da da da da da da da da)
Now I am a paraplegic and I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna pay my car note until I got high
I was gonna gamble on the boat but then I got high
Now the tow truck is pulling away and I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high

(La da da da da da da da da)

I was gonna make love to you but then I got high
I was gonna eat yo ~ too but then I got high
Now I'm ~ off and I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high

(La da da da da da da da da)

I messed up my entire life because I got high
I lost my kids and wife because I got high
Now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
(La da da da da da da da da)

I'm gonna stop singing this song because I'm high
I'm singing this whole thing wrong because I'm high
And if I dont sell one copy I know why (why man) yeah hey
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high
'Cos I got high

La da da da da da...

http://www.thehottesthits.com/servlet/Protect/covers/large/Afroman-GoodTimes.jpg

[A2J]

I don't care if someone calls themself "liberal" or "conservative" - if they believe that "good/bad for you" trumps individual rights, them screw 'em. Freedom rejects this notion all together.

Then why did the Founding Fathers codify our rights in writing?

[Wolfie]

What if he's hungover the next day from drinking too much? Is that a chance we want to take?

Should we make all laws dependent upon what an airline pilot might do?

[Aedammair]

Here's the thing that I don't understand; as far back as nearly twenty years ago marijuana was known to become lodged (not permanently, but for a decent period of time) in the fatty tissues of a person's body. They had concluded that the THC found in brain fissures and the fatty tissue of reproductive organs was what accounted for a decrease in sperm count in males, and short term memory loss in both males and females. Not to mention the harmful effects of tar in lungs, etc.

I think drugs should be legalized or at least decriminalized unless linked to violent crime, like alcohol. But the idea that marijuana is a harmless or nearly harmless substance is impossible to believe.

[robjna]

thanks , its been 4 years now and zero chance of going back to pot and cigarettes. Every time i see some one light a cigarette , it just re-enforces my resolve to not be a slave to a death stick. Pot never even enters my mind at all. my wife likes the new me because this has only left me with one vice (wink wink)

[KDD]

Not my statement dimwit.

You think Judge Francis Young is a pothead?

[freedomcrusader]

Whether you live in the place that the statistics describe is meaningless. Just because I live in the USA, doesn't mean I have greater authority when citing statistics about the USA than someone who lives in Europe and cites the same statistics.

If the numbers show increasing crime and drug use as a result of legalization, then so be it. I just want to see them.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Yet another new FREEPER: AFROMAN

[Between the Lines]

I see.