If smoking pot has alleviated your mental illness then good for you.
For some it has the opposite effect.
BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis link to depression
THE MEDICAL DANGERS OF MARIJUANA USE
Marijuana - InfoFacts - NIDA
Schizophrenia.com - Marijuana Cannabis and Schizophrenia
These articles seem pretty even handed. As I stated,it is the high thc cannabis that imo is a problem but just how many people need to be at risk to deny you your spliff?
Where's your documentation? I don't believe you.
You no a play a the game. You a no make a the rules, angry beaver.
All right , all right I'm searching as fast as I can!
Marijuana and Mental Health
A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and schizophrenia. Some of these studies have shown age at first use to be a factor, where early use is a marker of vulnerability to later problems. However, at this time, it is not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or is used in attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence. Chronic marijuana use, especially in a very young person, may also be a marker of risk for mental illnesses, including addiction, stemming from genetic or environmental vulnerabilities, such as early exposure to stress or violence. At the present time, the strongest evidence links marijuana use and schizophrenia and/or related disorders.6 High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction; in addition, use of the drug may trigger the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals.
All right , all right I'm searching as fast as I can!
However, at this time, it is not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or is used in attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence.
Whether the use of cannabis triggers the onset of schizophrenia or depression in otherwise vulnerable people or whether it actually causes these conditions in non-predisposed people is not yet resolved.
Additional research is being conducted concerning the use of marijuana on the treatment of anxiety and mental disorders.
the younger a person smokes/uses cannabis, the higher the risk for schizophrenia, and the worse the schizophrenia is when the person does develop it.
Overall people were 4.5 times more likely to be schizophrenic at 26 if they were regular cannabis smokers at 15, compared to 1.65 times for those who did not report regular use until age 18
link 1: Marijuana - InfoFacts - NIDA
link 2: BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis link to depression
link 3: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidence99/marijuana/Health_1.html
link 4: Schizophrenia.com - Marijuana Cannabis and Schizophrenia
and furthermore:
The case is not as cut and dry as you would like it, and the final link I quoted is almost exclusively showing the elevated risk associated with usage while still juvenile. If anything it underscores the need to get marijuana usage out of the hands of our youth, something that we cannot do with an uncontrolled black market distribution
lets not kid ourselves, there are potential harms to marijuana usage, just as there are potential harms with virtually everything. As it stands currently the only thing prohibition does is compound these problems.
Well at least you agree that pot is not a completly benign drug.
There has not been a great deal of research on the long term use of cannabis but there seems to be , as I said, documented evidence to show that cannabis can exacerbate mental illness..its not cut and dried but its there.
You are certainly correct that it seems the damage seems far worse in young people.
The findings applied to heavy cannabis usersIt is the old causation versus correlation argument:
In my experience, and in discussions with other users of marijuana, marijuana use is often a self-medication situation where other previous diseases are dealt with. That this often is the case with depression and schizophrenia should be no surprise as diagnosis and treatment can be difficult, but self-medication can be relieving.
I strenuously object to the idea that smoking pot causes these diseases.
Well at least you agree that pot is not a completly benign drug.
There has not been a great deal of research on the long term use of cannabis but there seems to be , as I said, documented evidence to show that cannabis can exacerbate mental illness..its not cut and dried but its there.
You are certainly correct that it seems the damage seems far worse in young people.
MY position is grounded in reality, I do not need to distort or manipulate information.
Compared to other substances one could make an argument that marijuana is relatively benign. This is a moot point though.
My reasons for being anti-prohibition is actually rooted in the belief that drugs as a whole are too dangerous to be left unregulated.
Prohibition does nothing but cause problems, violence, crime, youth exposure, porous borders, siphoning of billions out of our country, ect, ect, ect.
It does nothing to deal with our drug problem, this exists and will exist regardless of legal status, if anything it exacerbates the problem by spreading misinformation, and exposing people to drugs before they are old enough to make responsible reasoned choices.
The reasons for ending prohibition are because of the allure and the danger of the drugs, it is too great to be left in the hands of whatever foreign criminal group happens to have clawed and shot their way to the top of the ladder.
I want drugs legal because they are dangerous. Allowing something this dangerous to be controlled by ruthless criminals is foolish and does not solve any problems, yet it creates huge problems.
I want drugs legal so that we deal with our drug problem. We are doing no such thing right now, we have created a behemoth of a criminal problem, but for what effect??
Why not go the Singapore,Malaysia and Chinese route and make drug dealing a capital punishment.
Maybe less people would be executed than the people who would die by the drugs and the violence that they create.
Just a thought to debate.
Abraham Lincoln answered that question for you already. Read my signature.
Fine words dont solve the problem.
Angrybeaver said:If you allow all drugs to be legalised you will have a strung out stoned druggies for citizens,.IMO
Angrybeaver said:If you ban drugs you have a organised criminals making money from what should be a non crime in your opinion.
They apply specifically to people who were heavy users in their adolescence:The findings applied to heavy cannabis users
They apply specifically to people who were heavy users in their adolescence:
"The first paper, by doctors in Australia, found frequent cannabis use among teenage girls in particular can trigger depression."
"Their study of more than 50,000 men found those who had smoked the drug in the late 1960s were 30% more likely to have developed schizophrenia"
Also note that the way it is phrased:
"Frequent cannabis use can trigger depression, a study suggests."
Both have been pointed out by marduc and myself earlier.
No they do not, but they do answer the question you posed to me.
I have been saying this repeatedly, after we get a grip on our criminal problem caused by prohibition, we will then be in a position to deal with our DRUG problem.
That is, as you stated, your opinion, it is not backed by real life data however. I could list a ton of studies and a ton of quotes backing the position that legal status of drugs have little to NO impact on rates of usage, but I will just provide one.
if you are really wanting to be honest in your evaluation of this issue look here:
Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies | Glenn Greenwald | Cato Institute: White Paper
If you want to take the lazy way out then just read the intro and the conclusion of the paper that is at that link, although in its entirety it is very revealing.
Since 2001 All drugs have been decriminalized in Portugal. This includes Heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, you name it, they ALL can be used with ZERO legal repercussions. 9 years for the drug crazed zombification of their nation to develop, and it did not occur, the drug problem did not get worse, it got BETTER, significantly so.
If you want to do even more leg work, look at Swiss heroin distribution (as an interesting aside there is a thread here at DP wondering why they have the lowest crime rate of any nation ), or even at the more recent UK model of government sanctioned heroin distribution, look at how both countries are ecstatic over how successful the programs are at actually dealing with and addressing the problem
Not just my opinion, but yes, we are making crimes out of things that are not crimes - just as Abe points out in my signature with his "Fine words"
You can tell who the potheads are by their fervent defense of legalization.
Well, I can take American's remark as humour, and at least it's related to the topic, but your suggestive comment crosses the line.So true,...
Just as you can pretty much tell (in the abortion threads) who has and who has not hired someone to,....
Oh... look at the time,...
:2wave:
Well, I can take American's remark as humour, and at least it's related to the topic, but your suggestive comment crosses the line. I find this rather insulting.
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