The truth about marijuana.

Me

[jocon307]

"I would love to see a study on the amount of people that smoke marijuana that are actually self medicating."

I'm not entirely sure what you are getting at (I keep coming back to this thread, but I am not following it in its entirety, so forgive me if your point should already be clear to me), but mightn't it be better for people to be medicated with pot than prozac, or some other such drug?

I'm not asserting is would be better, just raising the question.

[cbkaty]

A voice of reason....in what has now surprised me here at "FREE-Republic".

There was a time when FREEDOM reigned in the forum.... Now, I must say that I am dismayed. Unfortunately, many of our fellow Freepers seem to think just like the LEFT....They always take the opposite position of the opposition....regardless of the logical argument.

There are freedoms that both camps can agree to...without jettisoning their core beliefs.

I do not smoke dope...but if it would ease my wife's suffering I'd locate it, buy it, and administer it....

[tacticalogic]

The truth about marijuana is that any article titled "The Truth About Marijuana" is bound to be full of lies and propaganda.

The weird part is that for all the hype, the people with a medicine cabinet full of half used bottles of antibiotics are a bigger public health threat than the ones with a bag of pot in their nightstand.

[cbkaty]

Would you use the "pain and suffering" of a loved one to push a drug legalization agenda? Speak out right now. Are you for drug legalization or is this just a "pain and suffering" issue for you

Fair enough.... i simply do not care about marijuana use among adults... I ask you...what would change? Dopers will be dopers...alcholics will be alcholics....gamblers will gamble...prostitutes will prostitute... We as reasonable men & women have choices....The police can't control human desire....only push it into the shadows.

[WildTurkey]

Are you for drug legalization or is this just a "pain and suffering" issue for you

Fair enough.... i simply do not care about marijuana use among adults...

I asked about DRUG LEGALIZATION.

[philman_36]

Well, there's always the Schafer Commission report, but it seems that rather conveniently no one can find a copy of that anymore.
It's out there. You're looking under the wrong name...
The Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse

[philman_36]

I would love to see a study on the amount of people that smoke marijuana that are actually self medicating.
A report on some people that are self medicating. Your criteria is very broad and I doubt such a report has ever been undertaken since the scope of it would seem too vast. Control group analysis, however, being representative, should give you an overall idea.
Characteristics and Experiences of a Cohort of 489 Patients Self-Medicating with Cannabis for Pain and Other Symptoms

The GAO report mentioned in there in HTML...
MARIJUANA Early Experiences with Four States’ Laws That Allow Use for Medical Purposes (GAO-03-189)

Why the impetus on self medicating? In the old days plenty of people went to the local herbalist for treatment and, once they found the cure to their ailment, continued to use the herb recommended.
Ain't ya never seen "The Outlaw Josey Wales"?
Granny Hawkins: I say that big talk's worth doodly-squat. Now, them poltices is laced with feathermoss and mustard root. Mind you drop water on 'em occasion to keep 'em damp. (Walks off) You can pay me when you see me again, Josey Wales.

[lugsoul]

I guess, by that reply, you are stating your unwillingness to refer to any actual peer-reviewed medical evidence. That's what I asked, and you respond with some canard about High Times magazine.

[TKDietz]

"I guess, by that reply, you are stating your unwillingness to refer to any actual peer-reviewed medical evidence."

She won't give you any evidence. Her whole article is paraphrased like an eighth grader's research paper. She doesn't actually know anything nor is she willing to do any independent research. If someone like the Hazelden Foundation prints it, she'll regurgitate it without checking the claims. Did you notice how she claimed that the average marijuana on the street in America today is 15% THC? When I pointed out that according to the government's numbers the average on the street is somewhere around 5% and gave her government sources to verify what I was saying she just made snide comments and cut and ran.

Don't expect her to make an honest effort to back up any of her claims. She won't do the research and she wouldn't admit she was wrong about anything even if she knew she was wrong. It's a waste of time to argue with someone like this.

[tacticalogic]

It's out there. You're looking under the wrong name...

I'll amend that statement. Nobody at a .gov tld seems to be able to find a copy.

[tacticalogic]

What is your and Hazelden's position on the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health's recommendation that all kids in public school be screened for mental health problems?

Note that the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health came out of the Texas Medical Algorithm Project (TMAP). Both TMAP and the Hazelden Foundation are funded by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

[vin-one]

I try to have a reasonable discussion on the issue, and you laugh at me and call me a pot head

you are a jerk.......
Ping me when you want to have a reasonable debate other wise...take a big leap......

[Ken H]

Note that the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health came out of the Texas Medical Algorithm Project (TMAP). Both TMAP and the Hazelden Foundation are funded by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

That figures. Notice that I never got an answer to Hazelden's position on the massive screening proposal for public schools.

[april15Bendovr]

First of all you should do a little more research yourself because I am a he and not a she. I am a die hard Republican and Conservative that is for personal accountability for ones actions including the repercussions that marijuana use has on family and society as a whole.

It isn't easy being a Republican and a mental health worker to begin with. It is almost an oxymoron.

I have been an 18 year veteran as a psychiatric counselor that works on a 20 bed psychiatric unit.

My article I wrote for my hospital newsletter and not "High Times Magazine" I pointed out my experiences, my concerns and the reaction from my patients based on the material available to me.
There is no hidden agenda here as much as my opponents want there to be.

I am not a Scientist, I am not a Psychiatrist or am I a full time researcher on the topic. I was inspired to write this article because of the people I work with that are trying to rebuild their lives. With that 18 years I have in the field of psychiatry I have realized that I shouldn't base my opinions on what I have learned from a book because you cant fit a person into a bookshelf.


I understand that no matter what material I find about side effects and symptoms that some advocate for the use of marijuana can always find material to contradict the research in my article trying to perceive me as an 8th grader. "Thats Life" The truth is the best experience I get is from my clients.

[the_unchosen_one]

Drug screening should be manditory in schools only after they are mandatory for ALL public officials. Officials should be screened as often as the students, and of course a few random tests as well. Would that pass in congress??

[tacticalogic]

Drug screening should be manditory in schools only after they are mandatory for ALL public officials. Officials should be screened as often as the students, and of course a few random tests as well. Would that pass in congress??

It probably wouldn't pass in Congress, but the proposal he's talking about is to do mental health screening on all school children.

[the_unchosen_one]

The government has also stated that looking at a computer screen too long is bad for your eyes. Should we look for a law stating how long we can look at our computer screens??

[GLDNGUN]

First of all, suggesting that legalization of pot will make it less available to minors is anything but reasonable.

Secondly, if pot were legalized for adults, what would you call the effort to keep it out of the hands of minors? Uhhhhhhh, war on drugs? Yes, you would STILL have a WOD, only now you are trying to sell it to part of the population and keep it away from another part. Ridiculous.

Why is it potheads never think these things through? Never mind...I know the answer...

[the_unchosen_one]

But should they be manditory?? I think schools would have to have parental permission to draw blood or take any sample from a student. Big brother is here, and I don't mind him, but we have to draw the line somewhere!

[the_unchosen_one]

But should they be manditory?? I think schools would have to have parental permission to draw blood or take any sample from a student. Big brother is here, and I don't mind him, but we have to draw the line somewhere!