Correct I am not weak minded, which is why I never even tried drugs that cause brain damage. I know plenty that are addicted to getting high. It is addictive, especially for long term users.
Myth:Marijuana Has No Medicinal Value. Safer, more effective drugs are available. They include a synthetic version of THC, marijuana’s primary active ingredient, which is marketed in the United States under the name Marinol.
Fact: Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma. There is also appreciable evidence that marijuana reduces muscle spasticity in patients with neurological disorders. A synthetic capsule is available by prescription, but it is not as effective as smoked marijuana for many patients. Pure THC may also produce more unpleasant psychoactive side effects than smoked marijuana. Many people use marijuana as a medicine today, despite its illegality. In doing so, they risk arrest and imprisonment.
Vinciguerra, Vincent; Moore, Terry and Eileen Brennan. “Inhalation marijuana as an antiemetic for cancer chemotherapy.” New York State Journal of Medicine 85 (1988): 525-27.
McCabe M, Smith FP, Macdonald JS. “Efficacy of tetrahydrocannabinol in patients refractory to standard antiemetic therapy.” Investigational New Drugs 6.3 (1988): 243-46.
Gorter, R., et al. “Dronabionol effects on weight in patients with HIV infection.” 1992. AIDS 6 (1992):127-38.
Foltin, R.W., et al. “Behavioral analysis of marijuana effects on food intake in humans.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 25 (1986): 577-82.
Crawford, W.J. and Merritt, J.C. “Effect of tetrahydrocannabinol on Arterial and Intraocular Hypertension.” International Journal of Clinical of Pharmacology and Biopharmaceuticals 17 (1979):191-96.
Merritt, J.C., et al. “Effects of marijuana on intraocular and blood pressure on glaucoma.” Ophthamology 87 (1980):222-28.
Baker, D., Gareth Pryce and J. Ludovic Croxford. “Cannabinoids control spasticity and tremor in a multiple sclerosis model.” Nature 404.6773 (2000): 84-7.
Hanigan, W.C., et al. “The Effect of Delta-9-THC on Human Spasticity.” Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 39 (1986):198.
[…]
Myth: Marijuana’s Harms Have Been Proved Scientifically. In the 1960s and 1970s, many people believed that marijuana was harmless. Today we know that marijuana is much more dangerous than previously believed.
Fact: In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell cultures. None reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the National Commission in 1972. In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that “the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health.”
United States. National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse. Marihuana: A signal of misunderstanding. Shafer Commission Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.
“Deglamorising Cannabis.” Editorial. The Lancet 356:11(1995): 1241.
Yes, because the weak minded try drugs. You know, the billions of people who have ever drank alcohol, chewed tobacco or coca leaves, or consumed any other substance are all weak of mind. The great entrepreneurs, CEOs, history’s greatest generals, noted statesmen and monarchs, and great academics are/were all weak minded.
Thanks for your insight.
Myth: Marijuana Kills Brain Cells. Used over time, marijuana permanently alters brain structure and function, causing memory loss, cognitive impairment, personality deterioration, and reduced productivity.
Fact: None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. An early study reported brain damage in rhesus monkeys after six months exposure to high concentrations of marijuana smoke. In a recent, more carefully conducted study, researchers found no evidence of brain abnormality in monkeys that were forced to inhale the equivalent of four to five marijuana cigarettes every day for a year. The claim that marijuana kills brain cells is based on a speculative report dating back a quarter of a century that has never been supported by any scientific study.
Heath, R.G., et al. “Cannabis Sativa: Effects on Brain Function and Ultrastructure in Rhesus Monkeys.” Biological Psychiatry 15 (1980): 657-690.
Ali, S.F., et al. “Chronic Marijuana Smoke Exposure in the Rhesus Monkey IV: Neurochemical Effects and Comparison to Acute and Chronic Exposure to Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Rats.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 40 (1991): 677-82.
Of course a bunch of teens will claim marijuana is addictive and that they have issues with withdrawal. That’s what happens when you try to make an excuse to mommy and daddy for not quitting when you were supposed to.
marijuana users experience physical dependence and withdrawal, and often need professional drug treatment to break their marijuana habits.
Fact: Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans - less than 1 percent - smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. Others seek help from drug treatment professionals. Marijuana does not cause physical dependence. If people experience withdrawal symptoms at all, they are remarkably mild.
United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. DASIS Report Series, Differences in Marijuana Admissions Based on Source of Referral. 2002. June 24 2005.
Johnson, L.D., et al. “National Survey Results on Drug Use from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1994, Volume II: College Students and Young Adults.” Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996.
Kandel, D.B., et al. “Prevalence and demographic correlates of symptoms of dependence on cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine in the U.S. population.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence 44 (1997):11-29.
Stephens, R.S., et al. “Adult marijuana users seeking treatment.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 61 (1993): 1100-1104.
Translated: “Animals Exposed To Pleasurable Experiences Will Try To Recreate Those Experiences”
See Also: Eating, Having Sex, Sleeping, Socializing
Straw man. I said I know plenty of potheads and former potheads who aren’t and never were addicted to pot. I know quite a few smokers and former smokers who are and/or were addicted to tobacco.
I used to smoke marijuana regularly until I quit in a few weeks ago (no problems quitting, BTW). I got a 31 on my ACT and a 3.3 GPA in one of the best public high schools in South-East Michigan. My first semester of college, I got a 3.8 GPA with a heavy course-load. Am I slow and stupid? Because if I am, you should be very, very worried about the 98% of students who scored below me on the ACT…
Krazy Kaju clearly your brain damaged. We should just concede our points to the ever knowledgeable PT. He alone has the power to deny one study and validate another. It seems very odd though that only anti-marijuana studies are somehow real legitimate studies, and pro-marijuana studies are lies, according to him. Oh well I suppose we should trust in him since we are clearly brain damaged.
Does it? Clearly, the editors of respected medical journals were all smoking the killer reefer when they accepted those studies manufactured by Colombian drug lords which supposedly show the relative safety of marijuana.
Honestly I’ve lived in 3 major geographical regions in the states. All of which were fairly liberal with Pot. None of these areas had problems with Herion, Meth, Coke, or other types of drug abuse beyond alcohol.
It’s been my previous experience that the horrific reality depicted by PT seems to be nonexistent?
Huh. That’s interesting. The potheads I know mostly live in the burbs. I guess the cultural norms in urban areas are quite different, at least when it comes to drug use?
That region of the states is one of the most densely populated regions in the entire country. I’ve never lived in anything like that. There are many variables at play there not considered.
That explains a lot and I don’t believe your grades as I have been through this with pot heads before.
Yes you are slower and less intelligent because of smoking pot, to what extent depends on how often and long your were smoking. It is impossible for the user to determine this as they always think everything is fine.
Come to NJ, kids start abusing cough medicine “cordies”, then Pot and work their way up to Meth, Coke and Heroin. I’ve seen kids smash up their parents homes and assault their mothers.
I believe it is ethical to make money off of work, so it’s O.K. for people who work for charities to make money. Sure in a free market bogus charities would pop about like shell games, but they would also have the lack of prosperity a shell-game artist has. I think there would be more needs satisfied in a “hands off” market, more than any that the governments hands are on. At least some more people would be helped by charities, if the market was allowed to regulate itself.
I don’t know if you were including me in this group, but let me say that I have not done and will not ever do marijuana or any “harder” drugs. I’ve never smoked, never want to. I’ve had a few drinks in my life, but never even gotten tipsy. Why? Because I take pride in my mind, and I enjoy it most when I’m lucid.
That said, as much as I’m personally devoid of any tendency towards marijuana, I do know several incredibly intelligent individuals who smoke it on a fairly regular basis. Frankly, both sides are correct… there are both benefits and detrimental effects to be found in marijuana use.
None of this changes the issue, though, which is that nobody has the moral right to aggress upon drug users simply by virtue of them being drug users (or any other group, for that matter). Shout, scream, rant, post all you want about the dangers of drug use if you’d like, but you are in the wrong if you wish to force people to stop.
Bleh, if the central planners really wanna make a dent in saving peoples’ lives they should use the “gentle nudge” of taxation on food intakes.
In the meantime, I look forward to undercutting the government and their “selectively taxed” commodities. I thought this was supposed to be a free market, right? [8-|]
As to the point that welfare would only be a backup for if charities said it was necessary, what’s to stop them from saying it’s necessary regardless of whether it is or not. Not to mention the point that by establishing a welfare system, you are distorting the charity market and potentially creating the supposed necessety of your programs with the programs themselves.