Posted on 01/03/2019 8:36:53 AM PST by reaganaut1
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The most obvious way that cannabis fuels violence in psychotic people is through its tendency to cause paranoia. Even marijuana advocates acknowledge that the drug can cause paranoia; the risk is so obvious that users joke about it, and dispensaries advertise certain strains as less likely to do so. But for people with psychotic disorders, paranoia can fuel extreme violence. A 2007 paper in the Medical Journal of Australia looked at 88 defendants who had committed homicide during psychotic episodes. It found that most of the killers believed they were in danger from the victim, and almost two-thirds reported misusing cannabis—more than alcohol and amphetamines combined.
The link between marijuana and violence doesn’t appear limited to people with pre-existing psychosis. Researchers have studied alcohol and violence for generations, proving that alcohol is a risk factor for domestic abuse, assault and even murder. Far less work has been done on marijuana, in part because advocates have stigmatized anyone who raises the issue. Still, there are studies showing that marijuana use is a significant risk factor for violence.
A 2012 paper in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, examining a federal survey of more than 9,000 adolescents, found that marijuana use was associated with a doubling of domestic violence in the U.S. A 2017 paper in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, examining drivers of violence among 6,000 British and Chinese men, found that drug use was linked to a fivefold increase in violence, and the drug used was nearly always cannabis.
Before states legalized recreational cannabis, advocates predicted that legalization would let police focus on hardened criminals rather than on marijuana smokers and thus reduce violent crime.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
The democrats want marijuana legal everywhere as it turns functioning people into democrats.
Beer is more of a gateway drug than pot.
The whole gateway drug argument is a red herring. If you truly want to save lives make alcohol and tobacco illegal. That stuff kills millions.
We’ve tried prohibition. It doesn’t work.
Agreed. Very few things in life are 100%. I sense a little exaggeration.
So can psychotropic drugs and everyone is doing those. And shooting up schools.
“Coffee use is getting high in your world? Thanks for confirming that you aren’t really serious on this issue.”
Coffee is most certainly “getting high”, if you consider altering your mind “getting high”. It’s just a high you approve of... The “high” from cannabis is vastly different from that of opiates - the physical effects are vastly different as well.
“You are not a heroin addict. Have you talked to a heroin addict? The one I lived with said the problem started when he FIRST got HIGH smoking pot. I believe him.”
That’s your prerogative. The core fact is that at some moment in time, he decided to ingest heroin. The vast majority of cannabis users don’t do that. Anecdotal evidence is just about worthless.
Most of what the rest of what you wrote is either incorrect, or at least eclipsed by the negative effects of legal alcohol/tobacco.
Cannabis is one of the more benign drugs out there - it is not physically addictive, nor is it toxic. Drink enough alcohol and you will die. Not so with cannabis consumption.
Alcohol and tobacco both cause chronic, and in many cases fatal, diseases. Cannabis does not do so to anywhere near the same extent. (Smoking it can cause emphysema, but with rising potencies and lower doses that may not matter as much...then there’s vaporization/edibles. One amazing fact is that it’s not carcinogenic, and in fact even smoking it has an anti-cancer effect.)
One very misleading thing about your list is the reference to driving. Unlike alcohol, which impairs judgement leading to wild driving, marijuana generally induces caution in the driver. A study in Europe found drivers on a moderate amount of cannabis were safer drivers than straight drivers.
“Moderation in all things.”
100% of accidents one or both drivers have pot in their systems?
Utter codswallop. Show the blood work.
That is the same kind of nonsense that the MADD cows with their “alcohol involved” lies.
“Alcohol involved” means that there was booze in one of the involved, whether it’s a person, bicycle, or vehicle. I pick up a bottle of wine on my way home for dinner, and some old lady t-bones me, THAT is now considered alcohol involved.
An associate of mine nearly lost his job because of the alcohol involved thing, even though he was absolutely sober.
Seriously, is that the kind of world you want to leave our progeny? Lies and propaganda, with the rule of knee-jerk emotion?
Using that type of standard, most fuels and even electricity should not be allowed because of the potential danger each of them possesses if misused.
Even fire is dangerous.
Why Don, you almost sound like a member of DAMM (Drunks Against Mad Mothers).
Note: No offense intended, I just always thought the DAMM thing was, er, d*** funny. :-)
” It found that most of the killers believed they were in danger from the victim, and almost two-thirds reported misusing cannabis—more than alcohol and amphetamines combined.”
No mention as to whether those killers were high at the time of the killing. Nor any evidence presented that pot was the cause of the paranoid delusion.
And ALL the studies the author cites are of similar bullsh!t.
Pot does not make people violent.
Anyone who says it does is ignorant.
Alcohol and meth make people violent.
” a family member who is a LEO in a state that legalized pot a few years ago said that in 100% of the fatal automobile accidents”
He lied to you.
That statistic doesn’t hold up in any state.
Funny, I noticed the same thing.
Absolutely.
Give it up. Drinking coffee is not getting high. The minor stimulation is not a high. Insisting it is makes you look foolish and argumentative.
Confirmed. You don’t know any heroin addicts. Real life experiences they share are not anecdotal.
Most of what you say I “wrote” I simply cut and paste from an article in Psychology Today. Here it is again. Please cite your sources, or are they from High Times, or are they just anecdotal?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-about-addiction/201807/is-marijuana-gateway-drug
“How is marijuana potentially harmful?
Marijuana has potentially harmful effects in the short-term and long-term on physical and mental health.
Marijuana’s Potential Negative Short-term effects:
While intoxicated by marijuana, the following effects can be observed in users:
- Memory consolidation difficulties
- Anxiety, paranoia and panic attacks
- Increased probability of psychotic symptoms
- Hallucinations
- Decreased reaction time
- Increased risk of heart attack and stroke
- Coordination problems (impairs driving)
- Sexual dysfunction (mostly for males)
Marijuana’s Potential Negative Long-term effects:
Repeated use of cannabis over a longer period has been associated with longer-term problems that may include:
- Lower IQ (especially when use starts early)
- Poor school or work performance
- Impaired ability to perform complex tasks
- Lower life satisfaction
- Relationship problems
- Antisocial behavior (stealing money, lying)
- Financial difficulties and unemployment
- ADDICTION (Wow! An EXPERT says this!)
The verdict
On the one hand, research does support the positive effects of cannabis in treating chronic pain conditions (while not as strong a relief in the short-term for many, the probability of developing hypersensitivity to pain seems to be reduced with THC when compared to opioids).
On the other hand, the research on the potentially harmful physical and psychological effects of cannabis use is hard to ignore. Marijuana is damaging to the developing adolescent brain, and it can lead to Cannabis Use Disorder (or addiction).
However, the causal link between cannabis and ‘harder’ illicit drug use is still unclear....”
“Makes more sense to me than the silly vaccination hypothesis.”
ROTFLOL!!
Today’s typical product is 20+ times stronger than in the 1960s.
I said I think it SHOULD be legal. ;)
Like Ben, I think it’s a stupid thing to do, but as a libertarian (rather than an authoritarian) I don’t presume to have the authority to control other people’s lives unless their decisions and actions DIRECTLY impact mine.
Probably didn’t get past the first two sentences. ;)
Please. I’ve been reading “scientific research” on weed for years and years now. Each time, people take it as “settled science” if they like the research and dismiss it when they don’t like the research. Sound familiar? It should by now. Legalization will allow long time smokers to come out of the shadows to validate all the “scientific studies”. P.S. I have an advanced degree from an engineering school. THAT’S why I doubt the research. Adjust statistical confidence intervals and you can correlate anything and let people think you’ve shown causation.
Don’t tell me what to do.
I was merely pointing out that the topic is marijuana..
Pointing to other substances that one feels is worse doesn’t negate that there are real issues of concern related to long term recreational use of marijuana.
Otherwise, I don’t have a problem with someone smoking their brains out ..IF they are an “adult”
And IF other people do not have to pay for any consequences like respiratory issues and the like.
You mean you would be okay with your children smoking dope?
“Each time, people take it as “settled science” if they like the research and dismiss it when they don’t like the research.”
Well, since I have never smoked a joint, and don’t intend to, I have no dog in this fight.
What I think about it is based on a lifetime of personal observation.
Do you think your personal interaction with dope is scientific?
Some people can drive home drunk and not get in an accident, but does that make driving drunk safe?
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