The truth about marijuana.

I was asked to write this for my hospital newsletter. I hope it will help people here to understand a little bit better.

The truth about marijuana As a psychiatric counselor, many clients report to me that at an early age they suffered from anxiety, stress, agitation and depression. In an effort to avoid or treat their problems, many decided to medicate themselves with alcohol, marijuana or other street drugs. And while the problems of alcohol addiction are well-known, there is a popular myth that marijuana is an innocuous and harmless drug. Unfortunately, marijuana's addictive repercussions can be just as devastating as alcohol.

The Hazelden Foundation, which runs treatment centers for chemical dependency, has produced an educational documentary videotape titled "Marijuana, the Escape to Nowhere," about addictive issues, side effects and marijuana's use as a mood altering substance. Participants in the video report resorting to acts of desperation, such as scraping bongs and pot pipes and pulling their bedroom dresser out from the wall, to retrieve just enough marijuana to give them their next high. Many of my clients as a psychiatric counselor have recounted the same kinds of behavior.

I believe it's imperative that our society understand the addictive nature of marijuana and its harmful side effects. The drug has gained support from people with various ailments who praise the drug for its potential use in treating pain and nausea medically. Although there's a synthetic prescription pill developed for this purpose (Marinol), advocates for smoking the leaf continue to push for marijuana cigarette legalization. Advocates also argue that pot has few and short-term--side effects, if any. I believe such a claim is dangerously wrong.

In Oldsmobile car ads, the slogan was: "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." Well, the same can be said for marijuana today. Hazelden reports the amount of THC (the main active chemical) in marijuana has increased 5 times since 1974, with the typical strength today being 15 percent. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Intelligence Division December Report 2000 states that a form of marijuana called BC Bud (British Columbia), with Canadian growers using sophisticated cultivating techniques, has increased THC levels from 15 percent to 25 percent, compared with 2 percent in 1970.

There's evidence to support claims of long-term damage. Studies referenced in the Hazelden booklet "Marijuana: Current Facts, Figures and Information," by Brent Q. Hafen, Ph.D., and David Soulier, show long-term and permanent damage. This book cites research using instruments to trace brain waves, showing slight changes in the brain's electrical activity from marijuana use. Other studies cited in the book, using electrodes placed deep inside the brain stem, showed that the effects of marijuana use lingered. Researchers at Tulane University studied long-term effects, revealing damage to brain cells and nerve synapses in monkeys. A 2-month to 5-year study at the University of California Davis revealed, via CAT scan, damage to the brains of monkeys from long-term use.

Visual signs of long-term pot smoking are poor motor coordination, uncontrolled laughter, a lag or hesitation between thoughts, and unsteady hands. At one time, these were all thought to be short-term side effects--now known in many cases to be long-term with frequent use, according to a 1968 study by researchers W.H. McGlothin and L.J. West, published in the Hazelden booklet mentioned above. Other linked side effects include a symptom called amotivational syndrome, in which people become passive, apathetic, unmotivated, hedonistic, unconcerned about the future, unable to make plans and increasingly introverted.

A marijuana information fact sheet from the National Institute on Drug Abuse states that THC kicks off a series of cellular reactions that lead to the high after smoking. It rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain. THC travels inside the brain, where it connects with THC receptors on nerve cells. The areas of the brain with the most THC receptors are the cerebellum, the cerebral cortex, and the limbic system, which includes the hippocampus. This is why marijuana affects thinking, problem solving, sensory perception, movement, balance and memory. (For a more detailed image of the brain and acute side effects of marijuana, visit www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/marijuana/marijuana3.html.

In 2001, 12 million Americans aged 12 and older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in its 2001 Monitoring the Future Surveys. Students who smoke pot get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school compared with their non-smoking peers. Researchers studying the survey compared test results of marijuana-smoking 12th graders and non-smokers; in standardized tests of verbal and mathematical skills, the pot smokers scored significantly lower. The same NIDA Monitoring the Future survey of 129 college students found that someone who smokes pot once daily may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level all of the time.

Other Hazelden-reported side effects include damage to the lungs: Marijuana cigarettes have 15 times more tar content than tobacco cigarettes and 50 percent more cancer-causing hydrocarbons than cigarettes. Liver biopsies of long-term marijuana users show significant damage. It effects the heart due to reduced oxygen to the blood stream. It causes cell damage--tests on animals show changes in gene structure. These effects are becoming more apparent to the public. Information in the National Institute on Drug Abuse marijuana fact sheet shows that marijuana-related hospital emergency department visits in the United States recently experienced a 15 percent increase.

If all these negatives are not enough, I recently discovered more: On Nov. 23, 2002, The British Journal of Medicine published a study linking frequent marijuana use at a young age to an increased risk of depression and schizophrenia later in life.

Without knowledge, education, and an understanding of the problems and myths of marijuana, it is dangerous to advocate for such a drug. If we do not discourage vulnerable young people from using marijuana, the future could be very grim for our country. With the increase of THC levels and the apathy about marijuana, I unfortunately see a preview of that future and fear more mental health and overall health problems as a result.

"The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Intelligence Division December Report 2000 states that a form of marijuana called BC Bud (British Columbia), with Canadian growers using sophisticated cultivating techniques, has increased THC levels from 15 percent to 25 percent, compared with 2 percent in 1970."

Okay, are you claiming that the average marijuana on the street in America today is 15%, or just that BC Bud averages 15% in THC? If so, why would you say "compared with 2 percent in 1970" when that was the average of commercial marijuana in the U.S. in 1970 and not "BC Bud?" That's an apples to oranges comparison.

If you are claiming that the average marijuana on the street in the U.S. is 15%, you are making a false claim. According to the ONDCP, it's closer to 5%, or at least it was in 2001. NIDA gets their data on marijuana potency from the same place the ONDCP gets theirs.

I am in favor of legalizing pot but only if the people that smoke it will sign a waiver that I wont have to take care of their dumb ass when they fry their synapse and receptors with tax dollars.

Your argument is hogwash. If MJ is as bad as the article you posted makes it out to be, why in the world would you favor legalizing it?

How about this: I am in favor of your right to free speech, freedom of religion, right to keep and bear arms, BUT only if you sign a waiver holding me personally non-liable for any stupid acts you commit in the exercise of the aforesaid rights. Will you gladly sign the waiver so that decent folks like myself are protected against you frying your synapses singing too many hymns in chruch, or shooting yourself in the foot while hunting?

This kind of anti-drug propaganda comes from those with a vested interest in 'solving problems' -- self-styled 'experts', half-baked therapists, counselors and some in the medical establishment. They see only one side of drug issues, and that is the very worst side, because people who are happy and successful don't often talk to therapists and counselors. A good example is this Hazeldon Foundation whose video you tout. Don't they have a vested interest in portraying MJ and all 'street drugs' as dangerous?

And of course, you talk about 'the kids'. Always the kids.

PAGING ART LINKLETTER AND HILLARY RODHAM!

I'm changing my tagline just for you...

Oak Hay... I have an admission to make regarding my occasional four to six hour vacations from normal brain functions whenever I am fortunate enough to share the MJ joint supplied by a visiting friend.

The "stoned" effect produced by said joint NEVER subdues my profound dislike... nay, HATRED... for the satanic death cult that masquerades as a "peaceful religion" while its Muzzle-em believers fiendishly decapitate Jews, Christians, other Infidels and Apoatates !!!

In other words... I Slam Islam !!!

I am a Right Winger, a Republican, a Conservative, a Musician (believe it or not), and I am also a Pot-Head. Though I can agree with many views on this thread, I do not believe legalization would benefit the the government or the user. The user would be taxed to the nth degree on a substandard product (compared to what we have today) and the government would have so much work to do that the cost of man power would negate a good deal of the revenue. Paper and lumber costs would go down, but there is no way to control intoxication levels. Chances are that most of the revenue created would have to fund a program to control the production and regulations of the drug. The breathalizer test won't (or can't(no research to back that up))detect concentration, and the blood test cannot provide on-the-spot levels needed to regulate DUI offenses. If pot were legal, the crack and heroin junkies would infest our cities like they have in Amsterdam and some places in Canada. Not pretty places either!! Legalization would only mean that I (along with millions of people in America) wouldn't be supporting my local gangsters and we'll be helping them pay for there six kids (tax-free) who are sucking up my tax dollars through welfare and food-stamps.. what to do, what to do?? It was also mentioned earlier to keep it at home. That's what I do. My wife told me to, and she's usually right! She's not a user, she just loves one.

Their 2 favorite lines are "the WOD is a failure!"

It isn't? I suppose in one sense it's not, in that it's conditioned Americans to sacrifice their Constitutional rights so that law enforcement can use invasive methods to stop victimless crimes. Plenty of government officials are quite pleased about that.

"hey, booze is legal and it's a lot worse than pot!". Now just try and follow the logic: ALCOHOL=BIG PROBLEM & LEGAL, POT=SMALL PROBLEM & ILLEGAL.

Alcohol under Prohibition=EVEN WORSE PROBLEM. Do the math

Did it ever dawn on these people that alcohol is a much bigger problem BECAUSE it IS legal and readily available?

Um, I thought this country had learned the opposite lesson from our experience with alcohol Prohibition. But I could be wrong, because I have smoked pot more than a few times so my brain synapses are fried.

The problem is, amotivation persists when the person ISN'T high. That's the danger. I've known many bright people who smoked 'in moderation' but basically opted out of all the opportunities they could have had, in favor of a nihilistic existence. Not that they spent all the time high, remember? Just once in a while. Enough to make that inner change. That was enough to convince me, in college, to stay the hell away from pot. (fully acknowledging the manifold hazards of alcohol...hic)

I like to think i'm a pretty motivated person, and I smoke weed everyday. I lift weights with a passion and I have a 430 lb. bench press. My job is a security guard at a hotel that caters parties, and my business is investment in mobile homes.

I think the motivation issue is up to the individual.

Did the marijuana cause that or were the people already like that in the first place? Was pot smoking just part of their "nihilistic existence" or was it the root of all their problems?

I know people who still smoke pot who are very successful hard working people. I also know losers who smoke it, but I imagine most of them would have been losers whether they smoked pot or not. Overall, I think people would all be better off if they left things like pot and booze alone. But I don't really care if people use either as long as they don't cause big problems for me or our community through their use. The vast majority of those who use these substances in moderation don't cause us any problems, and if it makes them happy to smoke a couple of hits off a joint or drink a couple of beers, I say let them do it.

The problem is, amotivation persists when the person ISN'T high

This seems to be a little subjective if you ask me.

A persons motivations in the college years change about as often as they change their socks. One could easily blame women, work, alcohol, entering the real world etc.

Marijuana is easily defined as the reason that great guy or gal "never really amounted to anything". How many did while smoking? How many never would have, smoking or not? Impossible to tell really.

Smoking the demon weed is just to easy of an excuse. I don't deal in excuses.

=== The puritan half that wants no smoking/no drinking/no drugging .... generally has no problem with the one medication designed specificially to keep God out of the picture and shown to prevent more productivity, cause more broken homes, physical ailments and death of innocents than all illegal drugs combined: Birth Control ... the Gateway Drug to Abortion.

This "right" to exclude the Creator from sex is the "right" which underpins both abortion and the artificial reproduction which now has California borrowing billions to get in the Human Farming business.

Especially when concern is "for the Children," some drug regimes are just more equal than others, I guess -- particularly those that provide Pharmas their monthly bread and butter funds (from nearly 46% of American women as of 1995) and for which the "Republican Congress" enacted comprehensive "contraceptive coverage" for Federal Workers in 1998.

Nice post ... I'm happy for you and your Dad.

If they could figure out a way to tax it, pot WOULD be legal. It's just too easy to grow plants -- as opposed to erecting a still for moonshine -- and the State only approves those drugs which it can tax and/or regulate as "controlled substances."

For all the talk of the addictive and "desperate" behaviors of pot smokers, I've yet to see anyone smoke themselves into a rage and beat the crap out of anyone after verbally abusing anyone who happens to be handy.

Nor have I noted "withdrawal" symptoms -- other than a spike, perhaps, in mental acuity -- to be terribly violent for pot smokers.

With those contrasts to alcohol and the fact that drunk drivers like Janklow (who got a whopping 100 days in jail for his drunken KILLING of motorcyclist ... compare that to your average Sentencing Guideline for pot, will you?) are responsible for an inordinate amount of carnage and LITTER on the byways of this land.

I for one am particularly sick of the hypocrisy. No one who is "anti-pot" has any business supporting the continued legal status of alcohol which is -- by far -- the more dangerous substance.

"Go to NIDA's web site. While your there please learn something please and stop making me do your homework."

Just for you I went to NIDA's website and looked around and finally got linked to a DEA web page where they cite NIDA's numbers. You will not that in 2001 the average commercial grade marijuana was 4.72% THC and the average sinsemilla was 9.03% THC. It looks like the ONDCP rounded up on the commercial grade and down on the sinsemilla. The DEA web page doesn't say what the average of all marijuana seized in the U.S. was in 2001, but the ONDCP link I provided you said the avaerage of all types seized was 5.02%. Mostly what is out on the streets is the cheap commercial stuff. Most people can't afford to buy the expensive "connesuoir" varieties which while they may be more potent, are much more expensive and not as widely available throughout the states.

One other thing you will note from the DEA link is that the Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project is conducted by the University of Mississippi, and sponsored by NIDA. If you ever do any research on this issue, you will see that if our government provides sources for data on marijuana potency in the U.S., they'll always cite the Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project.

Here's the link: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/intel/02058/02058.html#6

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