Gov't: Pot Use Linked To Mental Illness

Fox News ^ | May 3, 2005 | AP

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

I just got to the end of article and forget what it's about...

/sarcasm and humor

[cryptical]

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

[Publius6961]

Recently I have had a few in depth discussions with a heavy marijuana user, and one of the statements made was that it has been found that one in four persons have genes predisposed to react after years of use with a frightening array of mental ilnesses, including suicidal tendencies, paranoia, depression, hallucinations, hearing voices, etc.

The additional frightening thing is that the medication used to deal with the resulting symptoms are worse than the afflictions.

I was (am) skeptical of the report but have yet to ask for the supporting documentation.

If the person reporting it is any indicator, it is indeed a serious problem.

[Sir Gawain]

Just go ahead and assume everything John Walters says is a lie.

[rhombus]

The White House comes out with demographic relationsips and makes its usual causal claims. Report authors and others call for treatment rather than sentencing. Shift that federal money from one of of Uncle Sam's pocket to the other and nobody gets hurt see.

Man, no wonder people want to get high.

[cripplecreek]

The government also seems to think illegal immigration isn't a problem.

[sageb1]

"I was (am) skeptical of the report but have yet to ask for the supporting documentation"

Stay skeptical. The guy had problems before, believe me.

[Rodney King]

I'd like to know the data source. When I filled out drug sureys in middle school I always said that I used heroin 5 times per day, etc. I can't imagine I was the only one. If the study is based solely on what the kids say they did, then I put a lot of doubt in it.

[Jack Black]

Pot is destructive, and alcohol can be too.

Is it your contention that pot is ALWAYS destructive but that alcohol is only SOMETIMES destructive. My theory is that we have 2000 years of culture that tells us how to deal with alcohol, but it is still a huge problem for us.

[joesnuffy]

WOW....drugs change brain chemistry?...
and not necessarily for the better?
who knew?


That's why they call it 'dope'.

[itsamelman]

[gidget7]

Exactly, and say what anyone will, this is no more true than all the anti second hand smoke reports. But how else can they justify locking up pot users, while letting child molester out? How else can they justify all the money spent in the "war on drugs"

If these statics gatherers wanna do something about a behavior with real risk factor, they shouldn't be promoting homosexuality!

[sageb1]

This pretty much tells you the story:

"Past medical studies have linked marijuana with a greater incidence of mental disorders such as depression or schizophrenia. But questions remain about whether people who smoke marijuana at a young age are already predisposed to mental disorders, or whether the drug caused those disorders."

They key word is "linked." You could also link gum chewing to smokers. You could link beans with rude behavior.

[sageb1]

gum-chewing to lung cancer would be a better analogy

[gidget7]

LOL love your post! How true!

For the record, I have never tried any drugs, ever! Unless one counts aspirin, ibuprofen, decongestant LOL

[followerofchrist]

I have found that people who are depressed "self-medicate" with marijuana. Did the study take into account that perhaps depressed people self medicate?

[Joe Brower]

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

On the surface, the WOD is indeed insanity -- at best, a cure worse than the disease.

But let's dig deeper -- the federal, state and municipal governments know exactly what they are doing, and why. By continuously stoking the propaganda machine against some drugs, they are able to vindicate enormous expenditures on their various bureaucracies, perpetuate a draconian web of laws that can be used to selectively punish any dissenters, all the while expand their authority in ever-widening circles.

If I was in their shoes, with their lust for power and lack of ethics, it's what I would do.

[Imaverygooddriver]

This cannot be true because Bill Clinton said he did not inhale and he`s the biggest psychopath out of all the `Rats. Oh wait, that`s not true, Hitlery is the champion.

[followerofchrist]

"Uh-oh, here we go again, the pothead department of FR is going to jump all over this. It just has to be more propaganda to promote the War on Drugs..."

A far worse problem is meth.

[OneTimeLurker]

"One, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, found adult marijuana smokers who first began using the drug before age 12 were twice as likely to have suffered a serious mental illness in the past year as those who began smoking after 18."

No shit sherlock. It has nothing to do with the Marijuana. How could a 12 year old kid get pot. What kind of family and friends does he have. Why would he smoke pot at that age anyway. You are talking about a messed up kid to begin with.