Marijuana to Blame for Increased Drug Use in 2009, Government Report Says

It's going to be legal, the hard core religious right will just need to be pulled into the 21st century kicking and screaming.

I agree with you topspin, it will eventually be legal again... That said, until then it is still ILLEGAL and I will show little pity for those ignorant enough to get caught smoking/with it.
 
some ignorant folks in this thread, on BOTH sides of the issue.

Pot IS addictive and it is a gateway drug, for SOME.

Oh, to answer the LEO question. I know first hand of pot heads attacking LEO, for a variety of reasons. No, it isn't like meth , which just makes a person lose their minds, but a pothead will act aggressively just like any other criminal if they think they are about to be arrested.

morning conhog....

I'm not sure how addictive it really is....

my experience;

i've known lots of people who smoked pot until....late 20s? early 30's?

who decided to stop smoking for one reason or another (settling down? raising a family?)

anyway
I noticed that every one who stopped (and they don't all stop...many keep smoking until they die of old age but NOT cancer)....
just quit....cold turkey...

no night sweats
no panic attacks
no desperation to get more....

they just stopped smoking and that was that.....

seems to me a REALLY ADDICTIVE substance would have been more difficult for them to give up

as for aggression....
I don't know your experiences but MOST of us who smoked or knew people who smoked saw people (pot smokers) who were NOT violent and far more inclined to just talk

I know LOTS of musicians and almost ALL of them smoke pot (still, even in their 40's 50's 60's...willie nelson!)

not a violent person among them

I know a couple of guys who, at night, after supper, will smoke a little pot, retreat to their cellars and spend hours working on making/building furniture and cabinets. These guys make really good stuff, too...

back in my 20's and early 30's my friends and I would get together on a saturday afternoon, smoke a little pot and play basketballl or frisbee (ultimate or frolf)

and many people still find pot to be an aphrodisiac

I don't smoke it much anymore these days (can't get it! if it was legal I'd be a more regular toker) but when I do the first thing I think of is "getting it on" with my woman....

anyway
it's probably less dangerous than tobacco and alcohol
and in a freedom loving country with citizens who believe in smaller government and keeping the government out of our private lives it really should be legal
 
Hey dumbass, I think you missed the point that the OBAMA'S handpicked Drug Czar made these comments and findings and you missed a key line in the article. I HIGHlighted for you so you won't miss it.

And the Ghestapo right still supports the retarded war on pot. It's less dangerous than beer and will cost the right millions of votes in the next few election cycles. But republicans aren't exactly know for being smart.

The "drug czar" said marijuana "may have properties that have medicinal values that should be tested" but he insisted it is not medicine.

Kerlikowske views marijuana as "an entry drug." The survey found that for the first time since 2002, less than half of young people believe using marijuana is harmful.

The Obama administration remains strongly opposed to legalization of marijuana.
 
some ignorant folks in this thread, on BOTH sides of the issue.

Pot IS addictive and it is a gateway drug, for SOME.

Oh, to answer the LEO question. I know first hand of pot heads attacking LEO, for a variety of reasons. No, it isn't like meth , which just makes a person lose their minds, but a pothead will act aggressively just like any other criminal if they think they are about to be arrested.

I don't give much credence to a smalll government republican who is a History major and who's only job he can get is SUCKING THE SMALL GOVERNMENT TIT.

YOU ARE PART OF THE DARK AGE PROBLEM SIMPLETON

You are not smart. There really is no other way to put it.

I didn't even voice an opinion in this thread about whether pot should be legalized yet here you are bashing me for my non stated opinion.

Can you argue the fact that pot is addictive for some? No you can't. Can you argue that for many pot was a gateway drug? No you can't. Those are both facts.

So of course you are reduced to infantile attacks.

I know you hate the military , but suggesting that those who chose that path did so either because they couldn't find a "real job" or because they wanted to suck on the government teet is just stupid. OMG you mean soldiers expect to be paid? The audacity!

In short, go away junior.

Now for the grown ups in the thread, I will post my opinion. Which by the way I have posted before. In my OPINION, it should be a state choice. No federal law either way on pot.
 
some ignorant folks in this thread, on BOTH sides of the issue.

Pot IS addictive and it is a gateway drug, for SOME.

Oh, to answer the LEO question. I know first hand of pot heads attacking LEO, for a variety of reasons. No, it isn't like meth , which just makes a person lose their minds, but a pothead will act aggressively just like any other criminal if they think they are about to be arrested.

How many arrests have you made? I can personally attest by experience those on weed rarely resist, those on alcohol, and expecially those on alcohol and speed or downers (reds) are especially dangerous. If someone is 'stoned' on weed and acts agressively I'd be surprised if there were not other drugs or alcohol (AOD) involved, or a psychiatric condition was in play.

As for a gateway drug, there is an element of truth to this argument. However one must not necessarily lead to the other. Consider, by only a few degrees of seperation a person who chooses to buy MJ must come in contact with a professional criminal, and professionally criminals make their money by selling drugs other than MJ.
Cutting the weed with other drugs is one way to introduce a user of MJ with stronger and more profitable substances, and of course while marketing a small amount of MJ a dealer might toss in a freebee, a little taste of speed or crack as a friendly gesture.

Kids use MJ. "Just say No" was a joke. We need to educate kids on the harm of drug use, and MJ is harmful to the physical development of the brain, expecially the linkage between the left and right hemispheres. Any association with criminals is not what we want in terms of child development either, for some kids have already decided to sell drugs and caviet emptor is the operating ethos of that element.

Removing MJ from schedule I and allowing the States to ban or not makes sense. The regulated sale of MJ will provide some quality control, likely reduce the amount of illegal MJ on the streets and schoolyards and provide revenue for treatement and education.

Or, we can continue to do what we've done for the past 30 years and "Just say know".
 
conNarc, I'm free to post here just as you are. They are my opinons.

I too stopped smoking while raising my kids, though I shouldn't have had too.
As long as we have soo many rightwing religious simpletons common sense improvements will be tough to make.
I'm not anti military defense. But we are trillions for offense, and rightwing tool republican politicians are all to quick to send some poor kid to get killed. IE Bush the college cheerleader, he couldn't even hack the football field but had no prob sending poor kids to die in the ME.
ConNarc you can go away, I'll exercise my freedom of speach. Clown
 
National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske
(Credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) A new government report blames increased marijuana use for an uptick in the overall use of illicit drugs among Americans.

The annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows the rate of illicit drug use rose from eight percent in 2008 to 8.7 percent in 2009. The survey also found increases in the use of ecstasy and methamphetamines.

Authorities are especially concerned about use of illicit drugs by young people. The survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found 21.2 percent of young adults experimented with illegal drugs in 2009. The report says the trend "was also driven in large part by the use of marijuana."

National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske told CBS Radio News, young people are being exposed to "mixed messages" about marijuana including the idea that it is a medicine.

The "drug czar" said marijuana "may have properties that have medicinal values that should be tested" but he insisted it is not medicine.

Kerlikowske views marijuana as "an entry drug." The survey found that for the first time since 2002, less than half of young people believe using marijuana is harmful.

The Obama administration remains strongly opposed to legalization of marijuana.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation
Coincidentally, the survey is being released as California voters consider a November ballot issue on legalizing pot.

Proponents believe the move would ease crowded court dockets and weaken Mexican drug cartels. Kerlikowske and many veteran former federal drug enforcement officials reject those ideas.

The president's drug adviser said it is a "false argument" to say marijuana legalization would reduce cartel violence in Mexico. Kerlikowske, a former police chief and undercover narcotics detective, noted, "Taking one small part of the (cartel) enterprise, marijuana away from them isn't going to change them."

He concedes the drug gangs south of the border can not be totally defeated but he believes "their impact and their violence can be reduced."

While the report emphasizes the detrimental effects of marijuana, Kerlikowske says abuse of prescription drugs rises to the top of his concerns because, "young people don't perceive them as dangerous or addictive."

He said the availability of prescription medications in home medicine cabinets often makes them widely available and attractive to young people. The non-medical use of prescription drugs notched up slightly to nearly three percent of the population.

The annual survey offered some encouraging news. It showed decreasing levels of tobacco use to a new low level of 23.3 percent. But the report warned, "The pace of improvement is stagnating."

The administration's drug control strategy emphasizes prevention and treatment along with law enforcement. Kerlikowske told CBS News, "We have had a focus of a criminal justice lens on drug abuse for quite a while." He added, "It should be a blend" that includes prevention and education.

The administration is seeking a 13 percent increase in funding for the federal drug abuse prevention effort.

The drug control policy chief rejects the term, "War on Drugs."

He said, "If we approach it with the same level of complexity that we approach things like cancer, I think we're better off than telling the American public, here's a bumper sticker to solve your problem."

The survey covers the transition year as President Obama took office. Next year's report will be the first true test of any initial results from the administration's approach to a drug abuse problem that has been a national challenge for decades.

Marijuana to Blame for Increased Drug Use in 2009, Government Report Says - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

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The only way to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US is to remove the franchisers that are here. Boot out the Mexicans and cut off the flow of illegal drugs. Simple.
I love it when the government tries to say marijuana is a gateway drug.
And drug use has been on the rise for the last ten years, has nothing to do with Obama.
The use of heroin has also been rise, I wonder why?
 
some ignorant folks in this thread, on BOTH sides of the issue.

Pot IS addictive and it is a gateway drug, for SOME.

Oh, to answer the LEO question. I know first hand of pot heads attacking LEO, for a variety of reasons. No, it isn't like meth , which just makes a person lose their minds, but a pothead will act aggressively just like any other criminal if they think they are about to be arrested.

Most hardcore drug addicts start with milk. It's forced upon them in their infancy. I blame milk.

"Gateway drug" is a bullshit myth. To make the claim, one must show cause-effect. That's something that's never been done. I know too many people, who in their old age, who are still smoking an occasional doobie, and have never "graduated" to harder, addictive drugs.


agreed

I know many people in their 40's 50's 60's who still smoke pot regularly and NEVER TOUCH anything else!

as for "gateway"

couldn't one say that it starts with that first cigarette?

a 12 year old steals one from his mothers purse

he and his friends go behind the garage and smoke it up

after the cigarette....
the bottle of beer.....

then the pot....

a thought;

"they" tell us (when we are young) of the EVILS of pot

basically they lie to us and use extreme fear tactics to scare us

then
we try it for ourselves and realize...."gosh...the police...the government...our parents....all LIED to us...."

do we not then ask ourselves..."well...if THEY lied about pot.....what ELSE are they lying to us about?....sex?.....freedom?....an apple a day?"

another thought;
I'm aware of the attitude amongst police; cops do NOT turn other cops in

yet I note that cops will come into schools and ask children to turn their parents in...
"if you think your parents are smoking that evil weed then TELL US and we will ARREST THEM and DESTROY THEIR LIVES and put YOU in FOSTER CARE with people who will absue you because THAT is much better than YOU living with two loving parents who smoke pot"
 
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Pharma companies are all about gateways, as long as it's though them at a huge profit. Small government my ass ghestapo anyone?
 
As for MJ being a gateway drug, there is an element of truth to this argument. However one must consider cause and effect. Consider, by only a few degrees of seperation a person who chooses to buy MJ must come in contact with a professional criminal, and professionally criminals make their money by selling drugs other than MJ.
Cutting the weed with other drugs is one way to introduce a user of MJ with stronger and more profitable substances, and of course while marketing a small amount of MJ a dealer might toss in a freebee, a little taste of speed or crack as a friendly gesture.

Kids use MJ. "Just say No" was a joke. We need to educate kids on the harm of drug use, and MJ is harmful to the physical development of the brain, expecially the linkage between the left and right hemispheres in teens and tweens. Any association with criminals is not what we want in terms of child development either, for some kids as well as grown-ups have already decided to sell drugs and caviet emptor is the operating ethos of that element.

Removing MJ from schedule I and allowing the States to ban or not makes sense. The regulated sale of MJ will provide some quality control, likely reduce the amount of illegal MJ on the streets and schoolyards and provide revenue for treatement and education.

Or, we can continue to do what we've done for the past 30 years and "Just say no".
 
Marijuana to Blame for Increased Drug Use in 2009, Government Report Says



Not surprising.

I have no doubt that were this a government report telling us something you didn't agree with you would be explaining how it can't be trusted.

pot is no more dangerous than alcohol
in a free country pot shoud be legal

in a country in which the people believe the government should stay out of our private lives pot would be legal

people who oppse a nanny state shoud support legalization of pot

people who don't want OTHER people telling THEM how to live should support the legalization of pot
 
Marijuana to Blame for Increased Drug Use in 2009, Government Report Says



Not surprising.

I have no doubt that were this a government report telling us something you didn't agree with you would be explaining how it can't be trusted.

pot is no more dangerous than alcohol
in a free country pot shoud be legal

in a country in which the people believe the government should stay out of our private lives pot would be legal

people who oppse a nanny state shoud support legalization of pot

people who don't want OTHER people telling THEM how to live should support the legalization of pot

That's your opinion.

Why not make all drugs legal.
 
most other drugs are way more dangerous than pot.

Back in the 20's lot's of people agreed with beer being banned. I think the mentality of the mj banners is exactly the same.
 
Exposing the Myth of Smoked Medical Marijuana

  • Marijuana is an addictive drug1 with significant health consequences to its users and others. Many harmful short-term and long-term problems have been documented with its use:
  • The short term effects of marijuana use include: memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor skills, decrease in muscle strength, increased heart rate, and anxiety2.
  • In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of emergency room mentions of marijuana use. From 1993-2000, the number of emergency room marijuana mentions more than tripled.
  • There are also many long-term health consequences of marijuana use. According to the National Institutes of Health, studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.
  • Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, including most of the harmful substances found in tobacco smoke. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times more tar into the lungs than a filtered tobacco cigarette.
  • Harvard University researchers report that the risk of a heart attack is five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana.3
  • Smoking marijuana also weakens the immune system4 and raises the risk of lung infections.5 A Columbia University study found that a control group smoking a single marijuana cigarette every other day for a year had a white-blood-cell count that was 39 percent lower than normal, thus damaging the immune system and making the user far more susceptible to infection and sickness.6
  • Users can become dependent on marijuana to the point they must seek treatment to stop abusing it. In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse treatment primarily for marijuana abuse and dependence.
  • More teens are in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug or for alcohol. Adolescent admissions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew from 43 percent of all adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in 1999.
  • Marijuana is much stronger now than it was decades ago. According to data from the Potency Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of commercial-grade marijuana rose from an average of 3.71 percent in 1985 to an average of 5.57 percent in 1998. The average THC content of U.S. produced sinsemilla increased from 3.2 percent in 1977 to 12.8 percent in 1997.7
 
Marijuana to Blame for Increased Drug Use in 2009, Government Report Says



Not surprising.

I have no doubt that were this a government report telling us something you didn't agree with you would be explaining how it can't be trusted.

pot is no more dangerous than alcohol
in a free country pot shoud be legal

in a country in which the people believe the government should stay out of our private lives pot would be legal

people who oppse a nanny state shoud support legalization of pot

people who don't want OTHER people telling THEM how to live should support the legalization of pot

That's your opinion.

Why not make all drugs legal.

You can certainly try and legalize any drugs you want to.

personally I feel a line should be drawn....

on one side of that line (legal) should be tobacco, pot and all forms of alcohol

on the other side should be the more dangerous drugs
 
As for MJ being a gateway drug, there is an element of truth to this argument. However one must consider cause and effect. Consider, by only a few degrees of seperation a person who chooses to buy MJ must come in contact with a professional criminal, and professionally criminals make their money by selling drugs other than MJ.
Cutting the weed with other drugs is one way to introduce a user of MJ with stronger and more profitable substances, and of course while marketing a small amount of MJ a dealer might toss in a freebee, a little taste of speed or crack as a friendly gesture.

Kids use MJ. "Just say No" was a joke. We need to educate kids on the harm of drug use, and MJ is harmful to the physical development of the brain, expecially the linkage between the left and right hemispheres in teens and tweens. Any association with criminals is not what we want in terms of child development either, for some kids as well as grown-ups have already decided to sell drugs and caviet emptor is the operating ethos of that element.

Removing MJ from schedule I and allowing the States to ban or not makes sense. The regulated sale of MJ will provide some quality control, likely reduce the amount of illegal MJ on the streets and schoolyards and provide revenue for treatement and education.

Or, we can continue to do what we've done for the past 30 years and "Just say no".

I don't think added revenue is a good argument to make when considering legalizing pot. Let's be honest.

A) Most are simply going to grow there own, unless of course you make THAT illegal, in which case you are of course still criminalizing aspects of pot, and most users wouldn't be happy about that.

and

B) The government would certainly just waste the money and we wouldn't even notice any net gain.
 
I have no doubt that were this a government report telling us something you didn't agree with you would be explaining how it can't be trusted.

pot is no more dangerous than alcohol
in a free country pot shoud be legal

in a country in which the people believe the government should stay out of our private lives pot would be legal

people who oppse a nanny state shoud support legalization of pot

people who don't want OTHER people telling THEM how to live should support the legalization of pot

That's your opinion.

Why not make all drugs legal.

You can certainly try and legalize any drugs you want to.

personally I feel a line should be drawn....

on one side of that line (legal) should be tobacco, pot and all forms of alcohol

on the other side should be the more dangerous drugs

A line has been drawn. You just don't like it.
 

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