The real danger of cannabis

The Observer [UK] ^ | August 18, 2002 | Susan Greenfield

[Mike Darancette]

Ummmmmm, Uhhhhhh, Oooooo I forgot what the topic was. Where are those Cheetos?

[Vidalia]

BAWBBWA STWEISAND!

[Cultural Jihad]

Is this thread being hijacked, by the way? ;)

[Joe Bonforte]

Yeah, and besides that, marijuana makes black men sleep with white women.

Seriously, there's as much scientific evidence for that as for most of the nonsense cited in this article. The scientific studies about pot break down into two categories:

1. Those funded by anti-drug agencies. Most (not all!) of these say pot is dangerous. (The ones that conclude that pot is not dangerous are suppressed by those sponsors.)

2. Those that are independent scientific studies. All of these that I've ever read put the health danger/damage from pot in the minimal-to-nonexistent category.

Folks like the author of this article have no trouble finding "research" funded by the DEA and their equivalents that will exaggerate the risks of pot.

And what does that have to do with the case anyway? Don't most of us on this forum believe in the individual's right and ability to judge risks for himself? At least I do.

If we believe government has the right to judge what is "safe" for us to do in the privacy of our own homes, I'd say guns, fatty foods, tobacco, and a host of other things are on their way to being illegal.

[SpaceBar]

"Take the myth that cannabis is 'just the same as' alcohol ..."

It is a myth. Alcohol is far more dangerous.

[porte des morts]

Nothing like a little hysteria to work the WOsD nazis into a foam....

Please someone explain to me, in a Free society, if I can grow it in my back yard;smoke it in the privacy of my home;and not effect anyone else in society,,,,,,,who are you to say its a bad thing to do??????(understanding of course, that a couple of War's were fought to seperate us from the UK type thinking.....)

[EBUCK]

It is argued that we will never stamp out cannabis use, and therefore we should give up trying. But we will not stamp out murder or house break-ins or mugging, yet I've never heard an argument for freeing up police time by liberalising the law on these acts.

Comparing crimes involving VICTIMS with crimes involving none should be well below a "distinguished expert on brain processes".

It is hard for me, as a neuroscientist, to accept that a drug that has the biochemical actions that it does, that hangs around in the brain and body, and that has dramatic effects on brain function and dysfunction, could not be leaving its mark, literally, on how our neurons are wired up and work together.

Yet every study I've seen reports that there are no lasting effects. Kinda odd for a scientist to use "guestimation" to refute 40 years of clinical studies. I don't think this person is on the up and up here. Anyone know if good 'ol Asa or Walters have had any contact with this one?

Bump to WOD list...

EBUCK

[Search4Truth]

Reefer Madness

'There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.'

-Harry Anslinger, testifying to Congress, 1937

[Search4Truth]

[Search4Truth]

[MileHi]

What a load. The usual WoDies should be here soon to open their boubon and cheer this non-sense.

[plain talk]

Probably need to restate it this way to be more honest:

1. Those funded by anti-drug agencies.

2. Those funded by pro-drug or former druggies.

The people who care about this subject are generally on one side or the other. I'm sure there are exceptions. As a former pot smoker in college I can personally attest to the fact the stuff messes with your memory and personality in ways far worse than alcohol (which has its own serious but different problems). Don't need a study to tell me that. What we're we talking about, anyway? Oh, yeah, where's those cheetos? ...

[Founding Father]

The real danger is the "War on Drugs" that is stripping us of our rights.

[diode]

Cannabis Use and Psychosis: A Longitudinal Population-based Study.

Van Os J, Bak M, Hanssen M, Bijl RV, De Graaf R, Verdoux H.

Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, European Graduate School of Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Cannabis use may increase the risk of psychotic disorders and result in a poor prognosis for those with an established vulnerability to psychosis. A 3-year follow-up (1997-1999) is reported of a general population of 4,045 psychosis-free persons and of 59 subjects in the Netherlands with a baseline diagnosis of psychotic disorder. Substance use was assessed at baseline, 1-year follow-up, and 3-year follow-up. Baseline cannabis use predicted the presence at follow-up of any level of psychotic symptoms (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18, 6.47), as well as a severe level of psychotic symptoms (OR = 24.17, 95% CI: 5.44, 107.46), and clinician assessment of the need for care for psychotic symptoms (OR = 12.01, 95% CI: 2.24, 64.34). The effect of baseline cannabis use was stronger than the effect at 1-year and 3-year follow-up, and more than 50% of the psychosis diagnoses could be attributed to cannabis use. On the additive scale, the effect of cannabis use was much stronger in those with a baseline diagnosis of psychotic disorder (risk difference, 54.7%) than in those without (risk difference, 2.2%; p for interaction = 0.001). Results confirm previous suggestions that cannabis use increases the risk of both the incidence of psychosis in psychosis-free persons and a poor prognosis for those with an established vulnerability to psychotic disorder. Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:319-27.

Although this report does not negate your analysis, wouldn't you agree that we must keep an open mind concerning all the health implications of this drug before concluding that it is entirely safe?

[Jorge]

Such a calculation is possible because we know alcohol is eliminated relatively quickly from the body.

With cannabis, it is a different story. The drug will accumulate in your body for days, if not weeks, so, as you roll your next spliff, you never know how much is already working away inside you.

Anyone who's dealt with drug testing knows this is true.

[serinde]

why are people not taking those already legal drugs for the much-lauded pain-relief effects?

Uh - my husband does do that. He can't take most rx pain killers because they tear up his stomach. And when the meds don't work and he absolutely can't stand it any more, he drinks a beer.

[Jorge]

Leaving aside the issue that cannabis could indeed be lethal, in that the impaired driving it can trigger could well kill, there is more to life than death.

This is true for some people. I made the mistake of turning on people who couldn't handle a car after smoking pot, and they drove so erratically they scared me to death.

It is widely accepted that there is a link between cannabis and schizophrenia: as many as 50 per cent of young people attending psychiatric clinics may be regular or occasional cannabis users.

I've also known many people who can't handle the mental effects of pot...and would get paranoid and skitzo.
Even those who can handle it admit these effects to some extent.
This of course has been my experience from over 20 years of pot smoking.

[AdA$tra]

I challenge any advocate of cannabis to state what a 'safe' dose is.

Last time I checked: More is better. Although, I have to admit her concern is long overdue. Especially considering all the deaths due to marijuana overdoses.