Marijuana- Not What It Used To Be

[grace]

Marijuana- Not What It Used To Be

Serious Health Consequences From Increased Potency of Marijuana

Transworld News

19 September 2008

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.as...1871&cat=15

 

Marijuana use in the past decades has evolved from being perceived as a relaxing pastime to a serious drug abuse problem.

 

"Marijuana has been portrayed as simply a 'gate-way drug' to harder drugs." comments Mary Rieser, Director for Narconon Drug Rehab GA. "However, recent studies show that the higher levels of THC, the active component in marijuana, have turned marijuana into a 'hard drug' in and of itself.

 

"Not only is marijuana more potent, but the perception that it is harmless can affect teens, who, not knowing any better, use marijuana, making it the most abused drug in teens today. This misperception can cause negative mental effects, including mental depression, anxiety, and marijuana addiction.

 

"Teens addicted to marijuana tend to let grades slip, lose motivation, and soon use more of the drug to cope. Marijuana addiction is insidious, and has ruined many lives."

 

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the latest analysis from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project, which revealed that levels of THC - the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana - have reached the highest-ever amounts since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s. According to the latest data on marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached a new high of 9.6 percent. This compares to an average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a doubling in the potency of the drug since that time.

 

As of March 15, 2008, the University of Mississippi's marijuana Potency Monitoring Project has analyzed and compiled data on 62,797 cannabis samples, 1,302 hashish samples, and 468 hash oil samples confiscated by law enforcement agencies since 1975. In its most recent Quarterly Report, the highest concentration of THC found in a single marijuana sample during this period was 37.2 percent. About three-fourths of the cannabis samples acquired were from law enforcement seizures and purchases. The law enforcement seizures and purchases were obtained from 48 different states. The Potency Monitoring Project is funded through by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has conducted an ongoing analysis of seized marijuana samples since 1976.

 

John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy and President Bush's "Drug Czar" expressed serious concerns regarding this trend, "Baby boomer parents who still think marijuana is a harmless substance need to look at the facts. Marijuana potency has grown steeply over the past decade, with serious implications in particular for young people, who may be not only at increased risk for various psychological conditions, cognitive deficits, and respiratory problems, but are also at significantly higher risk for developing dependency on other drugs, such as cocaine and heroin than are non-smokers."

 

"The increases in marijuana potency are of concern since they increase the likelihood of acute toxicity, including mental impairment," said Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Particularly worrisome is the possibility that the more potent THC might be more effective at triggering the changes in the brain that can lead to addiction; however, more research is needed to establish this link between higher THC potency and higher addiction risk."

 

The increased potency of marijuana available in the United States corresponds with other troubling research showing links between marijuana use and mental illness. A new report released by ONDCP this last month entitled "Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows 'Self-Medicating' Could Actually Make Things Worse," shows that some teens are using drugs to alleviate feelings of depression ("self-medicating"), when in fact, using marijuana can compound the problem. The report shows a staggering two million teens felt depressed at some point during the past year, and depressed teens are more than twice as likely as non-depressed teens to have used marijuana during that same period. Depressed teens are also almost twice as likely to have used illicit drugs as non-depressed teens. They are also more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become dependent on marijuana.

 

Additionally, higher potency marijuana may be contributing to a substantial increase in the number of American teenagers in treatment for marijuana dependence. According to the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), among Americans age 12 and older there are 14.8 million current (past-month; 6.0 percent) users of marijuana and 4.2 million Americans (1.7 percent) classified with dependency or abuse of marijuana. Additionally, the latest information from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS, 2006), reports that 16.1% of drug treatment admissions were for marijuana as the primary drug of abuse. This compares to 6% in 1992. A similar trend is taking place in the Netherlands, where new data indicate that the number of people seeking assistance for cannabis there has risen, from 1,951 in 1994 to 6,544 in 2006 - a 235 percent increase.

 

Look closer at your teen's behavior-moodiness may not just be a passing phase; it could be sign of depression or drug use;

 

Recognize the warning signs of drug use and depression, including carelessness with grooming, change in behavior and friends, loss of interest in daily activities, and withdrawal from family;

 

Be more involved: monitor your teen's activities; ask questions and know how he or she spends time; set limits about drug use with clear rules and consequences for breaking them.

 

For more information on drug addiction rehabilitation or drug education, call Narconon of Georgia Drug Rehab at 1-877-413-3073.

 

Copyright © 2008 Narconon of Georgia Inc. (www.drugsno.com) All rights reserved. Narconon and the Narconon Logo are trademarks and service marks owned by the Association for Better living and Education International and are used with its permission. Narconon of Georgia is a non-profit 501© public benefit corporation.

 

 

narcononofga@yahoo.com

www.drugsno.com

[razza]

shit

 

i was actually worried for a second

 

then i realised i was high and that's all fearmongering bull shit

propaganda if you will

 

sure yes it is a drug

it should be taken "responsibly" if taken at all

 

but shit

if pot is so bad then. . . why are other drugs that are far worse and far more accessible and available over the counter

 

right now

id rather have a joint or a cone then a drink

because i know for a fact! that that is worse for me

long run short run whatever

 

but

i know everyone here already knows that

/rant

[bufo marinus]

Wow, sounds like Cannabis is a terrible drug.

Why don't all you silly sheep fall into line, pay attention and just KNOW that your not really enjoying yourself, it's not really helping you cope any better than the easier to tax and much healthier items like ciggarettes grog or the pokies.

Seems a straight forward request? Stop enjoying growing and consuming your own Cannabis.

What's wrong with you sheep?

Do you need to be jailed into happiness?

Because you will be

To help you

To help us all

become better

more boring

fucked units that fit into some sort of pansy arse controlled way of thinking, to help ease the burden of government for all the health services it provides If all you sheep end up on the mental scrap heap just imagine how many more experts will need to be trained to retrain you all? Do you know how many office towers will need to be constructed to house these experts, how many compiled reports, luxury cars, corporate junkets, this could cost?

You selfish bastards

Stop smoking pot

Get the fuck back to work

And be happy

[mull]

Yep, what bufo said.

 

Be more involved: monitor your teen's activities; ask questions and know how he or she spends time; set limits about drug use with clear rules and consequences for breaking them.

 

Sounds just like the government, not like a caring parent.

 

Spy, interrogate, and enforce rules which prohibit natural human appetites.

Why not speak the truth to kids? No money in it (no need for a drug zar either)

 

No mention to parent of perhaps asking the kids why they are sad?

 

Just draw a line in the sand they know will be crossed?

 

Misinfo, keep your value of the drug war up.. mr walters..

[Frazz]

I cant understand why on earth this sort of shit ... and that s all it is is shit, its not research .. it might quote research but this is not an article of research ...;. what is the point of posting this right-wing, anti-drug bullshit?

 

Its little more than a advertising promotion for a drug clinic to cure amongst other things, addiction to marijuana ... the ppl who wrote this piece of "research" are dedicated to cure ppl from an addiction ... which in the case of Cannabis doesnt even exist ...

 

By law, John Walters must oppose any attempt to legalize the use of illicit drugs, thats his job!

so to use anything he says in relation to drugs and hold it up as research is nothing more than an insult to any normal person's intelligence

 

[jabez]

The report shows a staggering two million teens felt depressed at some point during the past year, and depressed teens are more than twice as likely as non-depressed teens to have used marijuana during that same period. Depressed teens are also almost twice as likely to have used illicit drugs as non-depressed teens.

 

What! Depressed people like using drugs more than non-depressed people, CASE CLOSED It must be the cannabis causing depression then, I don't see any other reason why the statistics would show that depressed people who generally find it hard to enjoy life and probably suffer from anxiety as well, tend to be more likely to use cannabis while non depressed people who usually couldn't give a fuck about much else except for going out on a Friday night getting pissed, talking shit and listening to meaningless music, are less likely to use cannabis.

 

 

It seems like every fuckin week I'm hearing about this same crap from so called experts, some of who specialize in depression and know better than anyone that depressed people are more likely to use ANY drug than a non depressed person. The only thing that proves is cannabis (or any drug for that matter) usually makes people feel better.

 

Depressed people a prone to using drugs, we all know that.

[grace]

I cant understand why on earth this sort of shit ... and that s all it is is shit, its not research .. it might quote research but this is not an article of research ...;. what is the point of posting this right-wing, anti-drug bullshit?

 

I like to read the posts from you guys when your all stirred up over this bs.

 

We know it's all bs ... these ppl need to justify their existence so that they can continue to obtain all that government funding. This anti-cannabis propaganda that is being touted as research needs to be exposed for what it is ... a waste of taxpayer resources that could be better spent on research into the medical benefits of cannabis, housing for the homeless etc.

 

As bufo points out "if all you sheep end up on the mental scrap heap just imagine how many more experts will need to be trained to retrain you all? Do you know how many office towers will need to be constructed to house these experts, how many compiled reports, luxury cars, corporate junkets, this could cost?"

 

Another reason why the articles is BS is that it states that "according to the latest data on marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached a new high of 9.6 percent."

 

Cannabis available for medicinal use has THC levels of 7, 11 and 18 per cent ie: See Office of Medicinal Cannabis (Dutch Government). So what is out on the streets is in fact lower in THC than the cannabis that governments are making available for medical use.

 

The drug law reform movement needs to counter this bs with evidence based research and facts. We also need to know who is pushing this anti-cannabis propaganda and understand that their motives are not about the truth but exploiting a group of ppl who have been stigmatised and criminalised and who won't speak out against this bs for fear they will get busted.

 

Yeah ... it is a bit insulting knowing that these parasites are getting away with this at our expense.

 

grace

[Frazz]

We also need to know who is pushing this anti-cannabis propaganda

 

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),USA

 

ONDCP offers millions of additional advertising dollars to tv networks that use embedded anti-drug messages in their programs

 

One example was in the show Smart Guy, the original script showed two young people using drugs at a party, originally depicted as cool and popular,

but after input from the drug office, 'We showed that they were losers and put them (hidden away to indulge in shamed secrecy) in a utility room'

that was not in the original script ...

other shows which had embedded messages to cash in on the millions of $ offered were ER, Beverly Hills 90210,Chicago Hope, The Drew Carey Show

 

thats in addition to the ONDCP regularly violating anti-propaganda laws by preparing pre-packaged news stories that do not disclose to television

viewers that the government had produced them ...

also you may be familiar with the anti-drug clips on youtube, these are prepared by ONDCP and now you cant even rate or comment on any of the messages ..

these are just some of the ways they spend their budget of 100million$ per year and thats what they have to work with to keep Cannabis away from us

 

and some wonder why any message our community offers up has zero impact

 

[grace]

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),USA

 

ONDCP offers millions of additional advertising dollars to tv networks that use embedded anti-drug messages in their programs

shows which had embedded messages to cash in on the millions of $ offered were ER, Beverly Hills 90210,Chicago Hope, The Drew Carey Show

 

Thanks for that information Frazzle.

 

I wonder if the ONDCP offered any money to the networks that run House.

Maybe the ONDCP doesn't have a problem with prescription drugs or maybe be the makers of vicodin offered more $$$ to promote their legal drug.

 

grace

[Nooby]

Hey Frazzle, that's really interesting, can you post some links for me to do some reading up on?

 

Cheers