1. Are there any groups pushing for Decriminalization of Marijuana which EMPHASIZE the need to address drug abuse, addiction, and crime AS A PRIORITY and DON'T DENY or playdown the dangers and addictions associated with marijuana use?
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Please provide some specifics about the "dangers and addictions associated with marijuana use."
Study: Fatal Car Crashes Involving Marijuana Have Tripled « CBS Seattle
Here's another article:
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/pot_driving.htm
1. I found many references online to the stats my bf also cites that "car crashes from marijuana influence have tripled," and he blames this increase on the "growing propaganda" that encourages use as safe, nonaddictive, or less dangerous than alcohol.
If we can't even get drunk driving to stop while alcohol is legal
how is it going to help to make marijuana legal to add to this problem?
Shouldn't we address addiction and abuse FIRST, get that problem UNDER CONTROL,
BEFORE we legalize anything else?
We've got people dying from prescriptions and alcohol, abusing cough medicine, etc.
So I'm NOT saying this or that type is MORE dangerous,
I'm saying we need to get SERIOUS and UNIFIED about resolving ALL abuse and
addiction issues; and the other issues will take care of themselves.
We won't be clouding up the arguments and clogging up the criminal justice system,
and we'd also solve problems with health care resources if we nip this addiction/abuse
issue in the bud.
2. from my personal experience, my friends with pot and alcohol addictions are the most resistant to getting help. I think the alcohol addiction is worse, but they are both abusive.
I notice that with my friends who decide to quit smoking pot, they become more confident and natural about taking and talking about responsibility for changes in their lives, when before they were rebellious and resistant. They tend to follow the same patterns as other people who go from denial and addiction, to recovery and responsibility for change.
That is just from my own observations.
I do have friends who admit they were addicted to pot. One artist said she decided to quit when she realized the pot impaired her judgment and cost her work. The last straw was when she had spent hours creating a digital image, but she made a simple computer error and destroyed her work that she could not recreate.
Another one was addicted to cigarettes, pot and other things. As he made the commitment to give up each one in succession, he showed more and more effort to take steps to recover his health, and to follow doctor's instructions. So i can't tell which addiction to which thing was worse, they were all affecting his health and mental state.
I just know to address the addictive compulsion, and conflicts from the past these are attached to, and then whatever habits are related get resolved as a result.
Again it's not an issue of saying "this is worse than that" but curing the root conflict causing the addiction and DENIAL in the first place.
so after what I've seen my own friends suffer through
NO, I would not recommend smoking drinking or any substances to ANYONE who has an addiction or abuse issue. there is too much risk of creating an "external dependence" instead of addressing the root cause. So I support taking care of that first, and not argue or punish people for all the symptoms, but not encourage that either as if it doesn't matter.
3. as for cancer and carcinogens
a. When I looked online for studies comparing the carcinogenic effects of smoking pot or tobacco,
I found this study that cited 1 area where pot smoke had "four times the tar" of tobacco smoke,
but in the other areas tobacco caused greater risk and incidence of cancer and other conditions that pot did not:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1277837/
This article clarified that "Depending on what part of the plant is smoked, marijuana can contain more of these harmful ingredients [carcinogens']:
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20051017/pot-smoke-less-carcinogenic-than-tobacco
Smoking EITHER ONE has higher carcinogenic effects than "not smoking at all."
So I would still recommend NOT SMOKING AT ALL to eliminate adding any risk at all of exposure to carcinogens found in both.
I think that is pretty obvious; and anyone who is fixated on trying to compare one to another
and NOT comparing "not smoking at all" is leaving that out for some other purpose besides maximum concern for health.
b. I believe that the effects to fight cancer using extracts do not require smoking it
and I read that some of the altered forms are even more potent as medicine.
I believe there is more good that can be derived from it, but not by smoking.
ADDED: article I found on medical studies of "reducing tumors" by cannabis oil
http://www.collective-evolution.com...-studies-that-prove-cannabis-can-cure-cancer/
NOTE 1: this does not mention curing the cause, as with spiritual healing that
addresses root conflicts in the mind and spirit that if left unresolved, suppressed and unforgiven
block natural healing which affects the mind, body, spirit and also relations with others in society
(so spiritual healing therapy removes the unnatural blocks and restores natural self-healing of the mind and body, including the ability to cure cancer, diabetes, RA, schizophrenia, and other diseases.).
cannabis does not cure these levels, but only reduces tumors (or in cases of other conditions, the positive effects still depend on continuing medication, where it doesn't cure the cause)
spiritual healing, when it works, addresses the root cause so the person is not necessarily dependent on drugs to placate or reduce symptoms if these disappear altogether.
that is why i would recommend trying that first, and always include it in addition to any other treatment, but not leave it out.
NOTE 2: spiritual healing cures a wider range of issues, including addiction, abuse and criminal illness
cannabis does not cure addictions or criminal issues; only one person on here cited a case where someone
who already made the decision to detox used cannabis to reduce her withdrawal as the patient recovered.
however, again, compared with spiritual healing, I also heard of cases where this process got someone off heroin, within 3 days, with no withdrawal symptoms at all.
So I would still say spiritual healing is more natural and comprehensive in its applications, compared with cannabis, which I would still promote the use
of in cases where spiritual healing or other natural treatments do not work to get rid of the cancer or cause of disease at the root.
c. I believe that spiritual healing is more natural without risk of harm or side effects;
and it can cure addiction, abuse and more diseases than than cannabis which is limited in scope.
from the meeting I went to, the mothers' activist movement was pushing for more uses of cannabis than just the very limited cases currently introduced (they cited studies that autistic children were responding to it, and studies on the reduction of cancer tumors). I would have less problem if the research was equally open to studying all sources of natural cures, especially spiritual healing which can permanently cure ROOT CAUSES of conditions internally that medications only placate externally. so if we are going to get rid of the internal CAUSES of addictions (and the build up of cancer cells because the body is blocked from naturally healing or shedding these), the process and methods used in various forms of spiritual healing are a more effective focus with greater impact. It is an added bonus that these same methods then also reduce or eliminate symptoms of a wide range of other diseases, once a person's natural ability to self-heal is restored. Many other physical and mental conditions can be overcome once this healing ability is boosted (by removing the unnatural blocks to healing in the mind-body connection).
so regardless if this or that causes cancer or reduces tumors, etc.
I am concerned that only focusing on that deflects from natural methods of eliminating the root CAUSE of cancer (and other diseases), not just placating symptoms with external medications after the fact.
