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

[johnrocks]

[You also cannot die from smoking too much pot.

Did you ever try taking the pot away from a Mexican?

You ever try taking a beer away from a Redneck?

 

[ABikerSailor]

Pot is not addicting, it is habit forming. For one you do not have the withdrawals like you do with drugs like nicotine, alcohol, and even caffeine. It does not trigger anything in your brain, to make it addictive.

Pot is mentally addicting but not Physically addicting. Physically addicting drugs like Nicotine, Heroin, and Booze are harder to kick because the body goes through physical Withdraw and pain when you quit. Pot is much easier to kick because it is all mental. You do not feel physical pain and have withdraw when you stop.

I know I have stopped and started many times in the past. I currently have not smoked in about a year because of the costs, and when I stopped the last time. The worst of it was me being a tad annoying for awhile.

When I used to smoke pot on a daily basis, and smoked cigarettes I could very much tell the difference. If I didn't have cigarettes I was evil, and could have killed someone.
If I didn't have pot, I was annoyed, but I didn't have that feeling like I absolutely needed it.
I smoke pot now, but not all the time, and it easy for me to do this even though I spent many years smoking it daily.
Another way to tell it isn't physically addicting is the fact you don't really build up a tolerance like you do on other drugs. You may be able to handle the high better, but you don't really build up a tolerance. I have smoked for weeks, then got a new kind, and it was like the first time I smoked.

Now, I just smoke it when I need to relax and de stress myself. I would rather smoke a bowl than drink.

Luissa's right.........smoke quite a bit for a couple of weeks (months if you're so inclined), stop for a week or two, and the first hit after being without for a bit, is just like the first time you smoked.

Addictive drugs don't do that.

Additionally, I never smoked while I was in the Navy (I liked my career too much), but I did know a couple who did (I enlisted in '82, right around the time of the zero tolerance policy).

They rarely went out drinking, but they did get high. When we started work in the morning Larry and Steve were ready and raring to go, but the rest of us who'd gotten drunk the night before were pretty useless until around 11 or noon.

Personally? I'd rather start the workday alongside someone who'd gotten high the night before than someone who went and got sauced.

 

[johnrocks]

Groups the War on Drugs helps

Drug lords....they are making boatloads of tax free money
Street gangs....They too make boat loads of tax free money while making our cities more dangerous.
Bureaucrats/politicians.....Those that derive their power,influence,income and benefits from "fighting" the "War on Drugs"
Terrorists....who get financed with this money

Did I leave anyone out like Narcs,prison guards,people who build the prisons, etc? If so...my apologies.

 

[Bullfighter]

Groups the War on Drugs helps

Drug lords....they are making boatloads of tax free money
Street gangs....They too make boat loads of tax free money while making our cities more dangerous.
Bureaucrats/politicians.....Those that derive their power,influence,income and benefits from "fighting" the "War on Drugs"
Terrorists....who get financed with this money

Did I leave anyone out like Narcs,prison guards,people who build the prisons, etc? If so...my apologies.

Lawyers who defends scumbag drug dealers,
Doctors who patch up people who get shot by drug dealers,
Real Estate Agents who make a fortune selling the homes of people who escape neighborhoods made scummy by drug dealers....

 

[MikeK]

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

Not surprising.

And we know government never lies to us.

Right?

 

[Charles_Main]

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

Not surprising.

And we know government never lies to us.

Right?

Not when the Liberals are in charge!! lol

 

[MikeK]

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.

For your information, because you obviously don't know, some drugs are very harmful. I vigorously advocate for legalizing mariunana because I personally used it on a regular basis throughout the 1960s and 70s (when it was decriminalized in New York City) and it did neither me nor my late wife nor any of my friends any harm. I stopped using it when Ronald Reagan and his dimwit wife made it a serious crime in 1982. If it were legal (or decriminalized) I would use it again, because there is no good reason not to.

Briefly stated, everything government says about marijuana is a lie. Now you can either believe that or you can keep whistling in the dark because your political orientation requires you to.

 

[johnrocks]

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.

Like Walter Williams, Reagan's former Sec. of State George Schultz and the late,great Milton Friedman supports or supported in Friedman's case,lol.

 

[MikeK]

Oh for sure lots of things are addictive, but addiction alone isn't reason enough to outlaw something, only if it has other dangerous properties should that be considered. I am merely stating that those who say that pot absolutely isn't addictive are lying.

There is much confusion surrounding the word, addiction. In the academically correct sense addiction means one's use of a given substance has produced a mutation in brain chemistry resulting in neurological dependence on regular input of that substance. Diacetyl morphine (heroin) is most commonly known to produce this effect. There are no biologically addictive properties in cannabis sativa (marijuana).

However, some individuals are psychologically predisposed to what is best described as pseudo-addiction in that they develop a purely psychological dependency on something (including a lover). Such individuals are classified within the behavioral profession as having addictive personalities and are capable of manifesting "addiction" on such things as Pepsi Cola. (I know one such person!)

Bottom line: Some who use marijuana will develop a psychological dependency on it, which in no way compares to the debilitating effects of a biological (real) addiction.

 

[MikeK]

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.

I will say that I find these numbers interesting since just the other day there was a thread on here stating that violent crime is at a 3 year low.... Hmmmm

http://www.usmessageboard.com/curre...-crime-drops-for-the-third-straight-year.html

Hmmmmmm, is right! Thank you for recognizing that important statistical implication.

Good job!

 

[MikeK]

I think we should round up all the muslim terrorists and lock them in a room with marijuana, Beatles records, and tons of chips.

I predict world peace.

Many a truth is said in jest.

 

[MikeK]

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

Christ Lonestar at least use a no-biased source.....the DEA?.....come on Dude....

They listed each source.

1Herbert Kleber, Mitchell Rosenthal, "Drug Myths from Abroad: Leniency is Dangerous, not Compassionate" Foreign Affairs Magazine, September/October 1998. Drug Watch International "NIDA Director cites Studies that Marijuana is Addictive." "Research Finds Marijuana is Addictive," Washington Times, July 24, 1995.
2National Institue of Drug Abuse, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Clinical Phamacology, International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Pharmacology Review.
3"Marijuana and Heart Attacks" Washington Post, March 3, 2000
4I. B. Adams and BR Martin, "Cannabis: Pharmacology and Toxicology in Animals and Humans" Addiction 91: 1585-1614. 1996.
5National Institute of Drug Abuse, "Smoking Any Substance Raises Risk of Lung Infections" NIDA Notes, Volume 12, Number 1, January/February 1997.
6Dr. James Dobson, "Marijuana Can Cause Great Harm" Washington Times, February 23, 1999.
72000 National Drug Control Strategy Annual Report, page 13.
8"Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Institute of Medicine, 1999.
9See footnotes in response to question 4 regarding marijuana's short and long term health effects.
10"Marijuana Appetite Boost Lacking in Cancer Study" The New York Times, May 13, 2001.
11Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.
12Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.

You're welcome to check it for yourself.

Are those your references? Are you serious? That is analogous to Charles Manson listing Jeffrey Dahmer as a character reference.

 

[MikeK]

why?.....whats going to happen?.....

Well if I'm not mistaken, those caught with or smoking it will face some type of retribution from the judicial system...

what a ticket....if that?....in some cases as long as your not in a vehical and you have under an ounce the cops dont care.....and this i was told by Anaheim Cops at a Coffee shop before work...

That's virtual decriminalization.

Pot was decriminalized in New York City in the 1960s and 70s. Possession of less than 55 grams (about two ounces) was a summons offense which called for a $25 fine. As long as it didn't involve minors or public sale the cops were not concerned with marijuana. There were head shops all over the place, people lit up in coffee shops in Greenwich Village, stoners smoked openly and played chess in Tompkins Square Park and there were no problems because of that relative freedom.

Then came Ronald Reagan.

 

[MikeK]

You're welcome to check it for yourself.

sorry Lone.....i dont trust stats from any organization that is dead set against OR dead set for what they are rallying about...who should you believe?.....the DEA?....NORMAL?....to biased Orgs....or an independent study?.....♠

Harry,

While NORML is indeed biased please don't equate it with the DEA which is notorious for publishing duplicitous propaganda. NORML relies for its very existence on presenting unimpeachable facts and reliable information. NORML is the very antithesis of the DEA and the drug warrior cult.

 

[MikeK]

You're welcome to check it for yourself.

sorry Lone.....i dont trust stats from any organization that is dead set against OR dead set for what they are rallying about...who should you believe?.....the DEA?....NORMAL?....to biased Orgs....or an independent study?.....♠

Can you show a study that contradicts the ones the DEA's listed?

Go here: Exposing Marijuana Myths - A Review of the Scientific Evidence

 

[MikeK]

this is true.....thats why i said i never encountered shit like this....we had a guy one time try and sell us pot that smelled like it was soaked in Ammonia or something....we told him...thanks but no thanks....

That smell is mold. It typically results from being baled over long periods of time, especially in the bilge of a boat.

Smoking moldy weed can be damaging to the respiratory system -- which is another good reason for legalizing it. Quite a bit of bootleg pot is analogous to the bootleg liquor sold during prohibition called, "bathtub gin," which very often contained deadly toxins such as anti-freeze and it killed a lot of people.

 

[MikeK]

After 35 years of smoking 2-3 packs a day, I quit 5 years ago. It is not that hard. But I started smoking when I was 14. Why? Probably because everybody smoked. Then, years later, it became fashionable to quit.

My experience with cigarettes is similar. I started at age fifteen, smoked for 35 years (two pack-a-day habit), quit in 1985 (with the aid of Nicorette gum). Still have an occasional craving because, unlike marijuana, nicotine is biologically addictive.

But I do know someone who has to smoke pot everyday. She told that those who say it's not addictive are lying. She said she hasn't gone a day in the last 10 years without smoking weed.

See my message on psychological "addiction." Your friend has an addictive personality. If she wasn't convinced that she's "addicted" to marijuana it would be something else.

Try smoking pot just walking around in public if you think it's harmless. You can't do it in public buildings because smoking anything there is illegal.

Why would anyone want to walk around smoking pot? That's like walking around drinking wine. The whole point of using cannabis is to relax. It's a euphoric tranquilizer.

Why do people need to smoke it at all? How does it improve their lives?

I don't know about improving one's life but it feels really nice.

 

[MikeK]

Just like ending prohibition stopped the moonshine business.

You really need to get out more.

Are you saying moonshine is still being made and sold?

If so I'm not challenging the truth of it but it must be a regional thing. Because I am seventy-four years old, I've lived in the NorthEast all of my life (except for a couple of years in North Carolina) and I have never heard of anyone selling, buying or drinking "moonshine."

If it's true -- why? Is it sold in liquor stores? If not, why not? If it's true it's something I am totally ignorant about.

 

[MikeK]

Can you show a study that contradicts the ones the DEA's listed?

yea.....i mentioned NORMAL....they will contradict every one of those with studies done by "reputable" places.....so who you going to believe?.....

I believe the sources listed on the site I cited.

Because you want to believe those sources. Your mind is made up and you don't wish to be annoyed by any facts.

 

[johnrocks]

Just like ending prohibition stopped the moonshine business.

You really need to get out more.

Are you saying moonshine is still being made and sold?

If so I'm not challenging the truth of it but it must be a regional thing. Because I am seventy-four years old, I've lived in the NorthEast all of my life (except for a couple of years in North Carolina) and I have never heard of anyone selling, buying or drinking "moonshine."

If it's true -- why? Is it sold in liquor stores? If not, why not? If it's true it's something I am totally ignorant about.

It's made but in such small amounts to render it not even worthy of discussion, I'm 49 and have seen it once.