Marijuana not so soft a drug?

[gottagrow]

Sally Grover August 19, 2006 12:00am

Article from: The Courier Mail

CANNABIS is usually referred to as the

soft drug, worse than tobacco but not as

dangerous as heroin or cocaine.

Often exploited because of its ability to relax

the mind and body, its users can frequently

be found lying on a couch in front of a TV

surrounded by snack food, sometimes for

days at a time.

Most people are aware of the consequences

of smoking marijuana, such as laziness,

weight gain and the inability to make positive

decisions.

In a recent report issued by the NSW health

department, new dangerous and long-term

effects relating to cannabis use have been

found.

Damage to cardiovascular, respiratory and

immune systems, short-term memory loss

and slow brain development have been

reported when the drug is used from a young

age.

Professor Wayne Hall, from the School of

Population Health at UQ, confirms that new

risks are constantly being discovered to

attack all users.

“Cardiovascular problems are more of an

issue for adults, people who have started

smoking cannabis in their 20s and are now

in their 40s and 50s,” he said.

Like smoking tobacco, cannabis is lethal to

the lungs and the harm can vary depending

on the instrument employed.

While these problems take time to occur and

are sometimes treatable, Professor Hall says

that there are more negative side effects that

are often forgotten.

“The under-appreciated risk is depression,”

he said. “The evidence is getting reasonably

strong that people susceptible to mental

problems are developing disorders.”

Professor Hall also lists poor concentration

as a direct setback from cannabis use and its

effects on young people at school.

“Teenagers losing interest at school because

they have been using marijuana is the

quickest problem to develop from use,” he

said.

Mark Brown, manager at the Logan House

drug rehabilitation centre, agrees that

memory loss is a major concern.

“Short-term memory can be devastated by

marijuana,” he said.

“A lot of people perceive marijuana as a

harmless, social drug. But in reality it is not

like that at all.”

Mr Brown likens early cannabis use with

alcohol consumption.

“People use a drug because they like it or

enjoy the feeling they get from it,” he says.

“It is like alcohol in that you drink it because

the feeling is good at first. Marijuana is the

same.”

However, the body quickly adapts to the

feeling and the person is left feeling agitated

and consume more, thus becoming addicted.

“When you increase the intake and regularity,

that’s when the risk starts,” Mr Brown said.

“The body says, ‘I’m not feeling as good as I

should’ so the person does more to get rid of

that feeling.”

Schizophrenia has also been associated with

cannabis addiction. Much research has gone

into proving its relation with various results.

[gottagrow]

bullshit gets me wild dumb pricks sitten in there office havnt got a clue!

 

so long as alcohole is legal these fucks havnt got a leg to stand on. the shit they talk!

[cybergenesis]

Its a shame that the press in this country are so out of touch.

 

That article is one of the worst i have ever read.

 

There is no evidence that marijuana causes serious cardivascular problems, though caution is advised in people that already suffer from severe cardiovascular problems.

 

The article is so bad, its not worth the effort to comment more.

[louise]

"worse than tobacco"

[headstone]

What a load of crap...

 

There is no way cannabis is worse than tobacco.

 

Who hasn't spent time infront of the TV with munchies?

 

Weight gain comes with laziness, but the ability to make "positive decisions" doesn't rest on being sober, infact I would argue being stoned makes it harder to make same stupid decisions straight people make.

 

Heart, lungs, immune system, short term memory and brain development are all affected by consuming cannabis? If I ate maccas as often as I smoke weed the cheeseburgers would be doing far more damage than my pot consumption.

 

Heart problems effecting those aged 40-50? Thats like saying death effects those aged 80+

 

Cannabis is lethal to lungs? I call bullshit as we'd have all died after our very first time of smoking cannabis and what about eating cannabis? Let me guess it's so much more lethal than smoking that you'll actually shit out a lung

 

People susceptable to mental illness are getting mentally ill and cannabis is to blame? Where the hell is the logic in that argument? If anything doctors should praise cannabis for being a tool they can use to detect mental issues before they become a real problem.

 

Teens are getting bored with school from smoking pot? I don't think they're getting bored as such. I think their eye's are opened to the fact schools are now more like prisons than a place to learn and would rather get stoned with friends than be imprisoned. That might sound crazy, but they both have strict dress codes forcing everyone to wear the same thing, they both have extremely high security fences keeping people from leaving, if you talk back to a person in authority there are severe consequences, people will bash you over things like money or cigarettes, etc. If you want teens to actually enjoy going to school bring back the freedoms that have been taken away in the name of security, make sure there is enough funding for people to have their own modern text books instead of sharing a 20yo book between 2 or more people and teach them the whole truth about everything, eg. drugs because if you stick to the old lines of drugs are bad, they'll send you crazy, etc. they will know full well your are bullshitting them as their drug using friends are sane and they'll ignore anything truthful you have said.

 

Drug tolerance does not equal addiction. I also find that when I build a tolerance to the pot I'm smoking that the second I switch to a different strain I can get stoned all over again. I don't understand how that works, but I definately know there is a difference between needing more of a drug than normal and not being able to live without your next fix.

 

What a perfect ending...

Schizophrenia has also been associated with

cannabis addiction. Much research has gone

into proving its relation with various results.

Even the author knows what he is saying is bullshit as the research has given different results. As any good scientist knows, if you can't replicate the results, your findings are BULLSHIT!

 

Well I feel better now I've got that out of my system....

[konflikt]

“People use a drug because they like it or

enjoy the feeling they get from it,” he says.

“It is like alcohol in that you drink it because

the feeling is good at first. Marijuana is the

same.”

 

well personally when i tried pot the first time i didnt like it at all..... as i grew older and started to understand diff strains effects i began to enjoy it...

[phreakah]

I'd like them to prove that you lose interest in school.

I was smoking pot from age 14 until now, all the way through TEE exams, coming out above 83.55% of other people.

Theres no way they can link grades to smoking pot, some subjects would really intrigue me when I had a cone.

Plus, what is 'normal'? How can they say pot smokers have lower grades on average than others?

 

Bloody politics, it has me fucked.

[darryl d]

ahh old post Edited August 20, 2010 by darryl d

[sativaindicaruderalis]

My take on this is drugs are drugs and all drugs have effects, and drugs are not cures for the causations of pain, and that today's medical system is just fucking retarded and doesn't achieve much at all. The reason people get sick, is because of the lives they are leading, and the wide quantity of toxic chemicals that surround them throughout there life made by man.

[Sylar420]

yea this article needs to printed on 3ply extra absorbent sheets 10cm x 10cm, rolled over a tube and placed in a toilet, NON OF IT IS TRUE i dont know where to start, just more propaganda filled with misleading and incorrect info. Shame on you who ever was the journalist!

A 10 min search on google will bring up a massive amount of info about cannabis and how its not as bad as its made out to be.

 

fuck you Sally Grover for writing this pile of Nazi dogshit and furthermost fuck you The Courier Mail for even publishing it!