The Generation That Inhaled

[Dragonfan]

[uh oh, they're at it again . . .]

Brisbane Times

Miranda Devine | November 6, 2008

 

Barack Obama's autobiography, Dreams From My Father, describes his flirtation with drugs during a troubled early period. "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow [cocaine] when you could afford it … Everybody was welcome into the club of disaffection." At 47, the US president-elect is typical of his late baby boomer-early generation X cohort, in that marijuana was freely available in his teens and early 20s, virtually unpoliced and regarded as relatively harmless, a "soft" drug.

As the pot-smoking generations have moved en masse into positions of power, the days when reporters could play gotcha journalism with politicians about previous drug use are over.

No more will we be diverted by the prevarications of a Bill "I didn't inhale" Clinton, 62, but nor can we expect leaders to respond with the piety of Kevin "not a part of my scene" Rudd, 51.

Instead we have Julia Gillard, 47, Wayne Swan, 54, Peter Garrett (no kidding), 55, Malcolm Turnbull, 54, Nick Minchin, 55, and Tony Abbott, 51, freely admitting to the odd youthful toke, though most experimented briefly.

While marijuana use may have lost much of its political sting, politicians should not be afraid of accusations of hypocrisy, but heed mounting evidence that marijuana is not the benign drug it was once thought. If anything, their experience gives them the moral authority to ensure young people, particularly adolescents, with their exquisitely vulnerable brains, understand that cannabis is increasingly linked to permanent psychiatric damage. As Turnbull told ABC TV six weeks ago: "Yes, I have smoked pot … It was a mistake to do so … I think people of our generation, had we known when we were much younger the severe consequences that can come from smoking marijuana, I would hope we wouldn't have done so … It's a very serious drug, and it is a drug that we should strongly discourage everybody … particularly young people, from using … It's not something to joke about."

Recent research suggests that, without cannabis, the incidence of schizophrenia would drop by at least 10 per cent. That's roughly 28,000 people in Australia who would be spared this terrible ailment; around the world in this year alone, about 150,000 people would not develop the disorder.

As the ABC science program Catalyst put it last week: "Even five years ago, the jury was still out on whether marijuana causes psychosis. Well, that's all changed - the data has been flooding in." The program highlighted fierce emotional resistance, even within the medical profession, from those who have long held that marijuana is a benign drug.

Dr Martin Cohen, chief psychologist at the Hunter New England Mental Health Service, told of the hostile reception he received when "about five years ago I was giving a talk to a roomful of my colleagues on the link between cannabis use and psychosis, and one of them became so irate that he walked up to the stage and hurled abuse at me. So it did seem like heresy at the time."

Yesterday's heresy is today's truth, with the journal The Lancet last year recanting its 1995 editorial, which claimed cannabis was harmless. It published a paper that examined 35 international studies and found "a consistent association between cannabis use and psychotic symptoms, including disabling psychotic disorders". Another paper, published in June in the Journal Of World Psychiatry by Wayne Hall of the University of Queensland and Louisa Degenhardt of the University of NSW, declares: "There is now reasonable evidence from longitudinal studies that regular cannabis use predicts an increased risk of schizophrenia."

There is the long-term study of 50,465 Swedish Army conscripts, which found those who had tried marijuana by age 18 had 2.4 times the risk of schizophrenia than those who had never used the drug. Heavy users were 6.7 times more likely to be admitted to hospital for schizophrenia. There are the three-year longitudinal study of 4848 people in the Netherlands; a German study of 2437 adolescents and young adults between 1995 and 1999 in Munich; and two New Zealand studies. A 2002 study in the British Medical Journal made the staggering estimate that "13 per cent of cases of schizophrenia could be averted if all cannabis use were prevented".

Pot protectors have tried to counter with the claim that rates of schizophrenia have not increased in tandem with cannabis use. But, as Catalyst pointed out, recent studies in London and Zurich have put the lie to this argument. In the Zurich study, from 1977 to 2005, published in Schizophrenia Research last year, there was a "strong increase in the rates of psychotic disorders" among the youngest age groups in the second half of the 1990s, which "coincides with the increased use of cannabis among young Swiss in the 1990s".

As University of Melbourne neuropsychologist Dr Murat Yucel told Catalyst: "The verdict is in that cannabis and psychosis are intricately linked … Everyone is vulnerable … if you use it long enough and heavily enough."

Young people and those with a genetic predisposition are most at risk. Thankfully, the Tough on Drugs strategy of the Rudd and Howard governments has seen a dramatic decline in youthful cannabis use. Among 14- to 19-year-old males, use has dropped from 36 per cent in 1995 to 13 per cent in 2007, according to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey. The decline among 20- to 29-year-old males was from 44 per cent to 25. Use among 14- to 19-year-old females fell from 20 per cent to 13 per cent; among 20- to 29-year-old females it fell from 23 per cent to 16.

But for those aged over 40, cannabis use increased, especially among the over-50s, reflecting the ageing of the pothead generation. It is this generation, now in positions of influence, who are proving dangerously resistant to changing their youthful notions about cannabis.

 

Miranda Devine, Brisbane Times

 

Mmm, if Cannabis use has fallen, why haven't rates of schizophrenia? Tad contradictory one would think?

[i could rabbit on for ages and rail against yet another load of claptrap splashed across mainstream media, but I think everyone here already gets it . . . however, I have to say this . . . . putting two and two together, does that mean that Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan, Peter Garrett, Malcolm Turnbull, Nick Minchin and Tony Abbott are all 'closet' schizo's, or is it just a prerequisite for politicians to be off their rockers, no longer in touch with the real world and suffering from cranial sphincter syndrome?]

[Thylacine]

makes me sick...

 

 

fuck you turnbull, go have another bottle of vino you sly prick.

 

 

Pathetic "me to" article, no real surprise though given its source.

[eexpee]

That 13% is still only 0.13% of the population. And im not totally convinced that rates have risen. The human population has gone up, so therefore so would schizophrenia, but only in numbers. The amount of people with schizophrenia is still 1%

 

Though rates of marijuana use has decreased (not because of Tough on Drugs program) ecstasy has increased and so has cocaine use. People are just looking for stronger highs these days, because weed just doesn't do it seems.

 

Fucking over-exaggerated mainstream media. It's articles like these that either make my blood boil or laugh.

Edited November 6, 2008 by eexpee

[loylty gets u nothing]

ol Miranda at it again hey..

one lady who not welcome for dinner at my house

take acre

bil

[Frazz]

Even the posting of this sort of propaganda is becoming repetitive and boring .. and being published by an online digital infotainment rag makes it even less relevant to real news ...

 

[bufo marinus]

The dirty bitch also quoted that Swiss study which, long ago, was PROVED TO BE INCONCLUSIVE.

What the fuck is her problem?

Was she abused by a pot smoker as a kid?

Can't find a man who doesn't smoke?? wtf Miranda?

It's no wonder people get mad when they keep getting fed bull shit by personal crusaders with an axe to grind.

PRINT HOW MANY PEOPLE GO MAD FROM ALCOHOL YA CUNT!!

[Rocker]

Good post bufo marinus.

 

Miranda Devine is a dog (with apologies to all canines).

 

You should really discuss your hangups with your shrink Miranda.

[bufo marinus]

But for those aged over 40, cannabis use increased, especially among the over-50s, reflecting the ageing of the pothead generation. It is this generation, now in positions of influence, who are proving dangerously resistant to changing their youthful notions about cannabis.

 

Fuckin oathe this age group will resist. They can think for themselves they weren't raised on a diet of Home and Away, alcopops and reefer madness reborn and can make informed logical decisions about how different drugs affect them.

I think Miranda drops into OzStoners too occasionaly, my stoner sense tells me. I'd love to let her know how much I despise people like her, they have no compassion for their fellow man, and little understanding of how the world turns. I truly hope she is affected by Mulitiple Schlorosis, Glaucoma, a nasty dose of AIDS, or tastes some enjoyment from the cancer drugs.

Cannabis is a peaceful drug, people like Miranda Devine are poisonous

[mull]

Bad luck Miranda, the conservatives lost this time.

[lightning]

The new zealand study which was heavily quoted in the catalyst program is actually very different to what is being portrayed.

 

What it ACTUALLY concluded is that if you are part of the 25% of the population that is genetically predisposed to mental illness but especially schizophrenia which is controlled by getting the faulty gene from BOTH PARENTS resulting in a faulty gene pair then any number of things can work as a trigger event to psychosis. That trigger event can be

1 Drug induced - Any psycho-active substance including all Illicits Alcohol, nicotine, antidepressants, All ADHD/ADD drugs and MANY other pharmaceuticals.

2. Emotionally induced - A traumatic relationship event like marriage breakdown as a child, relationship breakdown as an adult

3. Environmental stress- Living in high density urban environment.

4. Major trauma of ANY VARIETY. car accident, work place incident, bullying, job loss, eviction from dwelling etc

 

The following figures are from memory I read the study a few months back so apologies if they are a bit rubbery. sorry I don't have time at the moment to look them up.

 

The greatest threat found once the "Considered" indicators for co-morbidity were taken into account by the study to "Cause" Psychosis in the vulnerable is Relationship trauma accounting for about 40% of cases of Psychotic break or diagnosis.

the next biggest threat was Urban dwelling accounting for some 23% percent of cases

then Stimulants of all kinds including Ritalin, meth, ice, speed, ecstasy, accounting for around 17 percent,

then Antidepressants at 15%

then cannabis at 10 %

with the balance being filled by the other issues mentioned above.

 

If you are part of the other 75% of the population that is NOT subject to the faulty gene pair the there is NO THREAT OF PSYCHOSIS from ANY CAUSE. Including Cannabis.

 

The study did not consider the co-morbidity of such things as solvent exposure, agricultural chemicals or other factors such as strain of consumption, adulteration of consumed product intentional or accidental or a myriad of other things that have been indicated to have impact on the outcome of interaction between human and plant species.

 

As usual the reporting was simply propaganda spin on a medical study to bad mouth cannabis. shame the reporters are not capable of reading the FULL STUDY and getting the facts straight.

 

25% of the population has a faulty gene pair that makes them susceptible to anaphallaxus from food allergies but so far they have not Banned food, (they are however working on it,)

 

Given that nearly half of all Psychotic breaks are caused by Relationship Trauma which also accounts for the cause of All wars maybe we should just ban human relationships full stop and thereby live in a peaceful and quiet world.

Until we die out as a species of course and cease destroying the planet, now that seems like a good plan doesn't it.