Posted on 08/24/2002 1:02:56 AM PDT by JediGirl
CARSON CITY -- A federal study that shows drug-related emergency room visits are on the rise takes aim at marijuana use.
The survey, by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said drug-related emergency room visits rose 6 percent in 2001 over the previous year, to 638,484.
The number of times marijuana was mentioned as a drug patients used rose 15 percent, the study said, greater than the increase in cocaine use, which rose 10 percent, and heroin and methamphetamine, which were unchanged.
The study, which surveys 458 hospital emergency rooms nationwide, comes as Nevada and Arizona consider ballot questions that would legalize or decriminalize marijuana.
"Marijuana-related medical emergencies are increasing at an alarming rate, exceeding even those for heroin," White House Drug Czar John Walters said in a prepared statement. "This report helps dispel the pervasive myth that marijuana is harmless.
"In reality, marijuana is a dangerous drug, and adults and youth alike should be aware of the serious consequences that can come from smoking it."
Billy Rogers, leader of the campaign to pass Nevada's ballot question, which would legalize possession of up to three ounces of marijuana, disputed the conclusions.
"They're not talking about marijuana emergencies," Rogers said. "Nobody has died from an overdose of marijuana."
When patients go to an emergency room, they are asked what, if any, drugs they have taken. The federal Drug Abuse Warning Network counts the mentions of illegal drugs and misused prescription drugs reported by patients, and those are compiled into the twice-a-year study. Often patients said they had taken more than one drug.
Alcohol in combination with other drugs was the most frequently mentioned nationwide, at 34 percent, with cocaine at 30 percent, marijuana at 17 percent and heroin, 15 percent.
Marijuana had been used in combination with other drugs 76 percent of the time it was mentioned; 24 percent of the time, it was the sole drug used.
The increase in marijuana use reflected in emergency room visits drew federal concern. Between 1994 and 2001, mentions of marijuana per 100,000 emergency room patients rose 151 percent, compared with 34 percent for heroin and 22 percent for cocaine.
The rate for patients age 12 to 17, although stable from 2000 to 2001, increased 23 percent from 1999 to 2001, the report said.
"The clear message of the DAWN survey is that in already crowded emergency rooms, increasingly, one of the reasons people are showing up is marijuana use," said Mark Weber, spokesman for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
"It's taking resources from other parts of the health care sector. If you have 10 people in a room, how do you prioritize?"
The study gave separate reports for 21 cities, but Las Vegas was not among them. Neither the state nor county health division had statistics for Nevada or Las Vegas on those treated in emergency rooms with marijuana problems, and University Medical Center does not track drug use by type of drug, a spokesman said.
Local paramedics said they have noticed an increase in drug use overall in Las Vegas, but not in marijuana, said Tammy Bame, spokeswoman for American Medical Response.
"No one seems to feel there is an increase," Bame said. "There's nothing that really stands out."
AMR paramedic Shannon Cavey said Thursday the top drugs she sees in the Las Vegas area are crystal meth, GHB and Ecstasy, drugs not frequently used with marijuana.
"We see a lot more of those than people just getting high ( on marijuana )," Cavey said.
Alcohol, another depressant, is the drug most commonly associated with marijuana use, she said.
In fact, pot is rarely a topic during her shifts, she said.
"I don't hear about it much in the field," Cavey said.
An informal poll at Valley Hospital showed a similar result. Emergency room personnel have not noticed any increase in marijuana-related cases, spokeswoman Gretchen Pappas said.
"We haven't seen anything like that," Pappas said.
Weber, of SAMHSA, agreed that in Western cities use of club drugs and methamphetamine has been more prevalent since the early 1990s. But across the country, he said, more young people are in drug treatment for marijuana dependence that all other illegal drugs combined.
As with any depressant, marijuana can be dangerous when taken with other depressants, Cavey said. However, a marijuana-only overdose is rare, said Cavey, who has been a paramedic for 10 years.
"I have never even seen anyone overdose on marijuana," Cavey said. "It's always been mixed with something else."
Rogers said there is going to be a lot of smoke blown in this election campaign and his job is to cut through it to get the facts.
Besides allowing the possession of up to three ounces of marijuana by adults, the constitutional amendment would allow the state Legislature to set up "pot shops" to distribute marijuana.
It would still be illegal for minors to possess the drug.
"Nevadans are smart enough to know that heroin and cocaine are dangerous and marijuana is less dangerous," Rogers said.
When did Anslinger die?
Please pay attention to the note at the bottom of Table 1.
So who do you have more trust in, the medics or the Federal bureacrats?
2. Ok, then let's use the 11.5 million "current users" according to the DEA, which works out to 6.08% of all users.
"Frequent use of marijuana, defined as use on a weekly basis during the past year, remained unchanged from 1991 through 1993 at about 5.1 million weekly users..."
http://nsi.org/Library/Drugs/mj-hash.htm
Thank you. The legalization promoters have had 40 years with no Anslinger to worry about while they advocated repeal of our nation's drug laws, but they're still invoking his name to excuse their failure.
Source: National Drug Threat Assessment 2002; NDIC/USDOJ
Seventy six million have tried it, only 18 million are monthly users, and only 11.5 million are weekly users. That's 58 million who have tried marijuana but have not smoked it for at least a year. How do you account for that, if marijuana is as addictive as some here on FR claim? It surely cannot be attributed to fear of arrest, or they never would have tried it in the first place.
“Every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish,” Nixon told chief of staff H.R. Haldeman on May 26, 1971. “What the Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob?… I suppose it’s because most of them are psychiatrists.”
Just to be fair, I'll try and find some stupid quotes from Democrats who support the WODs.
I am unwilling to accept any. That is why I am anti-SOCIALISM, rather than anti-drug, anti-alcohol, anti-tobacco. You see, when you are anti-socialism, you really don't have to worry about what is sending other people to the hospital, you only have to worry about WHY you are paying for it.
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