Its ALCOHOL not MJ thats the problem ,you bastards !

[Jess Stone]

ALCOHOL AND CANNABIS: THE MIX by Paul Dillon .... SSOnet.com.au

 

Over the years this column has tended to concentrate on those drugs often linked to the nightclub/ dance party scene. Ecstasy, crystal and GHB attract most of the headlines and we often warn about mixing drugs for, although many people believe that mixing can enhance the effects, we know the risks are also increased when drugs are used in combination, i.e. polydrug use. Not including tobacco, the most common pattern of polydrug use in Australia is among people who mix cannabis and alcohol.

 

People who mix cannabis and alcohol say they do it to get more “out of it”, or that they use the second drug to increase the effects of the first. One of the greatest problems people appear to experience when they mix these two drugs is “greening out”. This refers to the situation where people, for reasons that we don’t understand and cannot predict, feel physically sick after smoking cannabis. They might go pale or even green; they can feel sweaty and dizzy; they experience nausea and might even throw up; and they feel like they have to lie down. But even then, they still feel bad.

 

Many people say it’s more likely to happen if they have a smoke after they’ve been drinking. Some evidence suggests that when you have alcohol in your blood, it makes you absorb THC (the part of cannabis that gets you stoned) faster. So you might end up having what is a normal amount of cannabis for you, but it has a much stronger effect than if you hadn’t been drinking.

 

There is an old saying: “Beer and grass, you’re on your arse. Grass and beer, you’re in the clear.” Ever heard it? It refers to the fact that there seems to be a difference in the effects that mixing alcohol and cannabis can have, depending on the order that you use them. Although the effects are not totally predictable it does seem you’re more likely to have a bad reaction if you drink and then smoke than if you smoke and then drink.

 

On the other hand, other research suggests smoking cannabis can actually slow the absorption of alcohol, reducing the effects you feel from the alcohol. So it would appear that the old saying is correct, to a point. However, if you want to reduce the risk of something going wrong, avoid mixing the two drugs together.

 

Information for this column has been adapted from a new NDARC resource called Alcohol And Cannabis: The Mix. If you are interested in getting a copy, contact NDARC reception on 9385 0333.

 

Remember: if you do not want any negative consequences, do not use the drug and, no matter how many times you have used a substance, never be blasé.

 

 

Internet Comments:

User Comment

 

 

Submitted by David, from Dulwich Hill,on the 1/12/2007 2:42:46 PM

 

I agree with Tony. With marijuana (just like tobacco) the user has a foreign substance going into the lungs. Humans are not built to take in smoke whether it's grass, tobacco or car exhaust fumes. The lungs can't take it. And just because alcohol is a lethal drug doesn't mean other drugs are harmless.

 

 

 

Submitted by Tony, from Darlinghurst, Sydney,on the 1/12/2007 11:47:05 AM

 

Actually Jess recent studies have shown that cannabis is not as innocuous as once thought. It is linked to depression and frontal brain malfunction and is particalry damaging on the developing brain of teens.It is also far more carciinogenic than tobacco becuse of its innate properties and the ways that it ii ingested.It is also an addictive substance that can stop people from reaching their full quality of life. If this sounds like my personal experience then you would be correct. Some people use substances to block out painful feelings or to avoid feeling their lives at all so to be pro-cannabis use is to miss the bigger picture entirely.

 

 

 

Submitted by Oliver, from Sydney,on the 12/01/2007 4:01:29 PM

 

You only have to look at the Baby Boomers around us and see the lasting effects that drugs and alcohol can do to a person. Walk around Sydney City at any time and see for yourself. Even in the workplaces.

 

 

 

Submitted by Jess Stone, from www.drugtestscam.com ,Australia,on the 11/01/2007 12:46:58 PM

 

What a load of rubbish,are you people this stupid? Its called DRUNK,you spin out when you are drunk,can cannabis cause you to spin out ? Yes if your DRUNK, and mainly if its mixed with tobacco, a drunk non tobacco smoker smoking cannabis mixed with tobacco will spin out the worst,can cannabis without tobacco spin out a drunk person? Yes but no where near as bad. Its all dependent on how drunk you are ,the more inebriated you are the worse the spins and vomiting will be and no cannabis is required for the filthy poison drug alcohol to do this to you. Stop telling lies and spreading propaganda that is ideologically driven and not peer reviewed science driven.This "reefer madness" renaissance is wearing thin, in the light of the overwhelming evidence that cannabis is virtually harmless and the real facts are that alcohol and gambling are the to greatest evils in modern society and the mental conditions that these disgusting addiction cause are being blamed on cannabis ,its shameful.

Bloody rich coming from a gay magazine , I'll stereotype here without guilt,GAYS are the WORST drug abusers as a sub-group with in society...Jess

 

and some more

 

Happy new year, until you count all the health costs .... SMHonline

SYDNEY'S streets are awash with drunk partygoers, prompting hospitals to warn of the dangers of alcohol abuse amid skyrocketing rates of violence.

 

And the State Government yesterday announced a squad of 100 police officers to patrol hot spots and curb drunken behaviour.

 

Hospitals had noted significant harm associated with alcohol abuse, mostly involving young people binge drinking, said Paul Preisz, a senior staff specialist and deputy director of the emergency department at St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst.

 

On New Year's Day 60 per cent of the 190 admissions to St Vincent's emergency department were alcohol related, including 30 head injuries, 23 injuries from falls, broken bones and vomiting. For the next two days there were more drug-related cases but alcohol remained a significant underlying factor, its data shows.

 

On the previous New Year's Day there were 159 admissions, 39 per cent of them alcohol related.

 

"It is not just about the toxicity of alcohol and the fact that you could inhale vomit and die, or that in the long term you can damage just about every organ in your body, it is the short-term damage that is also alarming," Dr Preisz said. "There are behavioural aspects, a lot of people getting involved in assaults and violence, people having alcoholic blackouts, people who are so intoxicated they are unable to look after themselves."

 

Managing a drunk and injured patient can be difficult and dangerous for emergency department staff. Dr Preisz said his colleagues had been abused, assaulted and spat on. "You just wish sometimes you could show them what they have done … when they are no longer intoxicated they are often just regular people who, when they are drunk, behave in a terrible way."

 

As well as the potential for violence and danger, it takes considerable health resources to assess a person's condition and monitor their recovery, he said.

 

"Some need quite high-level care. They may have been assaulted, they may have a brain injury … we spend a lot of time doing expensive tests and a lot of scans, tying up a lot of people and equipment at significant cost."

 

Sydney Hospital in Macquarie Street, next to The Domain, has to triple its staff on party nights such as New Year's Eve, when at least one-third of emergency patients are there because they are drunk. "The young women come in intoxicated, unable to stand, having vomited on their clothes," said Danielle Newman, the nursing unit manager in emergency.

"Our staff have to get them changed out of their clothes, cleaned up and hydrated - it is four to six hours later that they are released because it takes them that long to sober them up." They receive two litres of intravenous fluid and anti-nausea medication, while the emergency staff call a friend or relative to pick them up.

 

For the men, it was violence-related injuries such as facial lacerations, hand injuries, bruising and cuts that need stitches, Ms Newman said.

 

"The majority of our cases are alcohol related on New Year's Eve - 30 per cent of the presentations would be solely alcohol intoxication, then there is injuries related to alcohol as well."

 

Sydney Hospital usually averages 50 presentations a day to emergency, but on New Year's Eve 105 people needed treatment. This year, the youngest alcohol-related presentation was 14 and most were under 25, she said.

DRUNK AND DISORDERLY

- 62 per cent of adults report drinking alcohol weekly

 

- One in eight, or 2 million adults, drink at risky levels

 

- People drinking at risky levels has increased from 8.2 per cent to 13.4 per cent over the past decade

 

- Of those aged 14 and over, 40 per cent of males and 31 per cent of females consumed alcohol at risky levels

 

Australian Bureau of Statistics

 

Its ALCOHOL thats the problem

you stupid bastard POLITICIANS!

Edited January 14, 2007 by Jess Stone

[DownUnderDoper]

 

Whilst I have reservations calling ANY drug 'virtually harmless', when comparing Alcohol and Cannabis there can be little doubt which is less likely to cause damage to the user.. and it's not the one that raises $6 BILLION in tax per year.

[Tom]

We all know that alcohol is far worse than mj, the police know it too as must the governments, but alcohol also generates a lot of tax dollars.

 

[Jess Stone]

But I just enjoy dumping on booze Tom,so share my joy.

[moKing]

I allways laugh when i hear politicians talking of Australias zero drug policy then spending tax dollars on their piss, So what's your opinion jess?,. Should all drugs be; legal, illegal(including alcohol and ciggerettes), or just marijuana decriminalised?. Anybody can gain access to drugs it's easier than alcohol for a kid, and the markets are unregulated and un taxed. There seems to be a lot of money wasted on fighting drugs and it's scary to think what the proceeds are funding. I hate it when i hear politics associate drugs with anti social behaviour, in my opinion it's these tough on drug polies that fight for laws on drugs and keep people shut away causing this. I'm sick of beeing discriminated against, i just want to legally grow a self sustainable amount without stressing.

[Tom]

But I just enjoy dumping on booze Tom,so share my joy.

Most of the drinkers I know are total idiots that I refuse to mix with socially, most stoners I know are people I don't mind getting together for a session with.

 

All the meth-heads I know are total fuckwits that only want to rip people off and I don't want them around me at any time for any reason.

 

i just want to legally grow

When it's legalised it will be taxed, the I think I would rather be busted by the cops than the Taxation Department.

 

[Budman2012]

Cheerz Jess ,

I totally agree with your sentiment , even if it is quite an obvious point

...

I am a drinker .. and a stoner .. and whatever .. And I know I cause myself harm thru the lifestyle I live ...

But not all people are hopeless Alcholics .. In fact some of are quite compitent as far as Alcoholics go

 

Alcohol and Cannabis .. I don't think there is really any cause to say that there can be any true evidence of any sort of correlation to anything of this matter ... when every person (Potential hamster) already consumes so many different types of "DRUG" Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhggg!!! ... anyway

 

The Hypocrisy of the governing cause in society is just fucking ridiculous .. almostr not worth debating .. But for our little quandary ..

 

The Rule Is true .. Grass then Beer ... and Cigarettes are very poisonous .. Where's my lighter .,.

 

Budman

 

(P.s. I'll try and explain myself in a better manner another time .. but just one thing ... I find that Alcohol and MJ both amplify the effects of each other to some extent .. But then they also seem to defeat (neutralize) one another at the same time aswell .. I'll get to the bottom of this (beer) soon .. and report any important scientific findings as they develop )

 

Yours bent friendly ,

 

Budman

[dev0]

i like a little bit of port before a couple of bongs, doesn't green you out too much, but you sleep like a baby

[smoke p]

i hav a love 4 mj and alc

[Jess Stone]

I think all drugs should probably be legal for adults ,but, crack cocaine and real ice (smoked) may be the exception,maybe, oh and the next new scurge on its way ,crack nicotine its for real ! do a google

For you ,smoke p, if you look like your avatar(very pleasing to the eye) I would happily drink with you otherwise i'll stick to the SUPERIOR buzz ,cannabis and stay an alcohol celebate