Cannabis and Mental Health

Wot no Alumgoon?

For an abstainer there's nothing very attractive about either a drunk or a skunk. I don't believe it's necessary to 'pig out' on either and in moderation it's almost certainly possible to enjoy without making a fool of oneself.

pining are you George?

'And oh - this has just occured to me... are there any stats (cos we all know how fabulously reliable and unmalleable stats are) that show whether people who smoke weed are previously tottering on the loony ledge anyway?' My Mum works on a psychiatric ward, and she told me that a lot of the young guys on there are heavy cannabis users... *BUT* it's their mental problems that lead them to self-medicate with non-prescription drugs, rather than the other way round. Of course, those - like 1leg - who already have an agenda will be quick to seize upon it as evidence of the opposite: that cannabis use causes psychosis. 'The biggest campaigners against this drug now are psychiatrists and mental health workers who have to professionally deal day to day with the human misery that this cannabis is responsible for...' Any evidence to back this assertion up, 1leg? Many psychiatrists I know would not only disagree with you but are also recreational users. I think the professional jargon for your position is 'utter bollocks'.

Ok I do over egg my point for emphasis... as for 'utter bollocks' perhaps you ought to read the above linked article and particularly the second last paragragh then come back again.

I have much more of a problem with anti depressants. Prozac et all.. the ssri's. Far FAR more dangerous, I have seen them change people beyond all reason. You can take the "reward state" argument you use there, and apply it to these. People who have truly shit lives, are being prescribed these drugs willy nilly... men and women who have foul partners and relationships are being given these doses of sunshine, when what they should really do is tell the partner to stick it and then walk out. What do you think about anti depressants Leg? Would you be happy to see a loved one use them?

No, not pining, far from it, I hope he's OD'd as it happens. It's just that it's the kind of thread that he can't resist. >> Many psychiatrists I know... << How many do you know, Tim? Not being a user, I feel I can't really add anything constructive to this discussion, so I'll do what I can to inject some humour, without diverting the obviously serious direction it's gonna take.

"I find Gerry/Leg's post on this thread the most sanctimonious of all, and this is a shame because I know in real life he isnt anywhere near as pompous and arrogant as he appears so often online." I don't want to be too personal but I can't help the feeling that the crux of the matter lies somewhere here: "And I have based that assertion too on my own first hand experience speaking to psychiatrists when I have led my dribbling brother to mental wards." ...and that the cannabis thing might be something of a projection. Just a thought. [%sig%]

'pot smoking makes stupid people stupider' I just thought it made them laugh more and sleep better. Ah well. Oh, but beer drinking does make overbearing bullies more aggressive, so maybe you are onto something. Tim, I agree with your mum.

I was prescribed Prozac and then Seroxat for over five years. Everytime I went to the doctor he said how much better I was, and that the drugs would soon have me sorted out. I was eventually seen by a consultant psychiatrist who said there was nothing wrong with me, and the drugs were a waste of time. I never actually admitted to either of them that I took the Prozac for a month, decided I didn't like what it did to me, and never took another 'sunshine' pill during the five years. Too many doctors distribute anti-depressants without the qualified knowledge they need to know they are doing what is best for the patient. In my opinion Prozac et al should only prescribed on the advice of a properly qualified psychiatrist and then, only under his/her supervision.

And I have based that assertion too on my own first hand experience speaking to psychiatrists when I have led my dribbling brother to mental wards. As for young people and mental and emotional problems... I agree, but further contend that... We are 'ALL' potentially at risk at some stage in our lives... the point is that the brain allowed to get on with it finds ways and strategies to cope around these problems... it is called maturation. If unduly interfered with (and I have singled out cannabis for reasons I have already given, but this applies to all powerful psychoactive prescribed or proscribed drugs).. during these stages it prevents nature from taking its course... thwarts learning of any kind... leaves you where you started from even if you give up 20 years down the road... it fucks up any chance of you solving your problems in a meaningful way. It is a simple and commonsensical point really. Cannabis is powerful and has a high risk (not a low one) of fucking up your brain long term. Now what do you excatly disagree with?

Having re-read the thread top to bottom it occurs to me that all forms of stimulation have different effects on different people and maybe cannabis is gonna be lethal to some. On the other hand as the 'experienced' among you say, it may also be harmless. I've known alcoholics, and also life-lng 'herbalists'. I have to confess that the drunks come out worse in a head to head comparison. Personally I don't think either alcohol or grass is necessary to live a fulfilling life, BUT it's a free'ish world, we're all allowed to make our own decisions. I have a swig from the Brandy bottle now and then, and here's the really important factor, 'now and then'. I don't abuse the bottle on a daily basis and know if I did I'd be an alcoholic with a serious liver problem. I tried grass 32 years ago and decided that the effect wasn't worth the curiosity. I guess I'm not an addictive person but those that are probably get something from it. I DO however believe it should be a serious offence to give either to kids (except sleepless babies!).

I grasp your point Leg, but - let me put it in the words that Stormy once so flawlessly used to you a long time ago - "You seem to think that no one understands your very clever point Gerry. The trouble is, we do understand it, we just think that it is bollocks" Or words to that effect.

I have known people that have smoked and have lived 'healthily' to the age of 80. Do we therefore not go around saying that smoking has a high risk of damaging your health? The fact there is a link between mental health particularly Schitzophrenia and Psychosis and Cannabis is now well established in medical circles. The particulars have yet to be worked out, but day by day increasing evidence suggests that this link is a significant one and now it is being taken up by health professionals, not moralists or the religious brigade or 'govermental forces' intent on depriving people of the freedom ( to be 'slaves'.) My argument is that the whole language around 'Cannabis' has been tame for fashionable reasons dating back to the sixties. In truth, it is a powerful and highly dangerous psychoactive drug whose debilitating effects are long term and last a lifetime... and because of previous attitudes (espoused by some above) is reponsible for many of the walking damaged around our streets and for the mental impoverishment of whole communities... I do not have any issues with people making personal choices about use of drugs... I think that anything that messes with your brain (if you place any value upon yourself) you ought to do very carefully and at least with some foreknowledge... hey, just know you are pretty likely to end up unrecoverably stupider, before you start out on this journey..

>> ...saw off a leg... << But Gerry, you've already lost seven!

How boring if we had to worry whether what we said had the slightest grain of truth in it! I'd far prefer to parade my prejudices. The tedious fact is that cannabis in the form of 'grass' provides an almost identical array of nasty combustion products (minus the nicotine derivatives) to tobacco. No more and no less. If tobacco is ever banned, there might be a case for taking a similar step with cannabis. Excruciatingly boring is that fact that cannabis is exactly as likely to produce psychosis as coffee. No more and no less. If coffee is ever banned, there might be a case for taking a similar step with cannabis. But that's not what I came to tell you today. My fantasies are much more interesting. I believe that nobody can make contact with the mother ship, currently waiting in geo-stationery orbit to beam up the good people (i.e. people like me) without a good dose of cannabis. It also helps you to interpret accurately the voices in your head. When they say 'kill', does that mean just anybody, or did they have somebody specific in mind? Cannabis points the way. Oh yes, I hear (and therefore believe) that the evil terrorists are plotting to drop cannabis bombs to turn us all into peace-loving hippies (how horrible that would be!) We will wander about in a loving daze until we get run over by a passing tank. Why they choose this bizarre way to kill us, rather than the direct route of dropping high explosives, nobody in my space pod is permitted to ask. Nor would they wish to. Nothing harms a good fantasy as effectively as examining it. If you like the sound of my fantasies, please visit my website: heedthevoicesandrisetothemothership.com BTW, if anybody is really interested in the effects of cannabis, all the information is available on the web. The only trick is to avoid sites run by pressure groups, whether for or against, and to concentrate on tracking down the original research to see whether it really does bear the interpretation the XYZ group puts on it. Don't bother - it's much more fun to post your prejudices here! Now I'm off to get stoned.

I think the whole concept of 'drugs' of whatever sort to regulate behaviour is a very problematic one... I harp on about cannabis, but I think that the NHS is the biggest drug dealer around... and we will increasingly pay for this... why are increasing numbers of people in this country getting unhappier, despite unprecedented wealth, leisure time, freedom to do as they please? I have made the point elsewhere that drugs don't give you learning, as learning is forged through experience (... they give you 'emotional states'), stop them and you are back where you started. I think many people who have taken drugs even for medical uses look upon that time as 'lost' and in a very real sense it is true. How much better if they were given real experiental help and learning to tackle their problems instead... in a lot of cases just the brain maturing in its normal way would have taken its course... I used to be chronically shy as a kid and now I can be terribly overbearing and opinionated, if I want to. I can understand why the temptation is there to dispense drugs to those with severe behavioural problems.... however you put it, the real beneficiaries seem to be a quieter life for those around them rather than the person themselves... they are just easier to control that way. Using the words drug and freedom or 'freedom to use drugs' as has been done above to me is a laughable concept in the extreme... drugs of whatever form ARE the easiest way to control people if that is what you want to do... Now, how shocking is someone who says that "The 'forces' won't control me, they want us not to be free hence they criminalise cannabis .. To be free I will just smoke even more cannabis...." and they say it without even blinking. I think, "another one lost, the 'slavery is complete, the drug-brain is talking". Everything I now say puts me in the 'them' camp and I will never get through. I accept before I indulge (and I have done sometimes and do not rule it out again) that what I am about to do is stealing or cheating on a real part of me. That is what we should be telling youngsters, that should be the language of drugs... use drugs, but at least be aware beforehand, as afterwards you may not... you are indulging in something that REDUCES YOU)

'Tim, are you being ironically clever in your last post... or just dumb again.' A leetle bit of both, 1leg, a leetle bit of both.

I particularly like 1leg's point "leaves you where you started from even if you give up 20 years down the road..." This seems very pertinent and rarely made. I've had a bad day so I'm sitting here with a glass of wine (also saw Sideways last night which may have had an influence). It's a temporary escape, if I could smoke (I never quite got the knack) I would smoke cannabis because it has an equally beneficial effect. Anecdotal evidence: someone I know, still a very committed recreational drug user, started taking more than he could really cope with and freely admits he became something of a ****** (barely coherent paranoid nutcase would be how I'd put it). Folks I know who've drunk too much fuck up their insides and scare their friends but (apart from the drinking) remain quite sane. I heard once that the cannabis on sale today was far stronger than back in the sixties or whenever, but I heard that from a politician so I'm not sure if I believe it. But I do believe serious use of any drug will mess you up, cannabis is no exception. I swear I'm getting stupider just through day to day living.

"thousands of people who are led unawares (because the language around this drug is so tame) " I'm not sure this true. Large sections of society still believe cannabis is, in itself, fundamentally evil along with, and at the same level of evilness as, all drugs (apart from tobacco and alcohol, of course). I certainly don't think cannabis use is a positive thing. It is a mind-altering drug and it's logical to hypothesise that mind-altering drugs may have some long-term effect on the mind. I have many friends who use it. In general, I think its long-term affects on their mental capacity has been broadly detrimental (but this is obviously an anecdotal opinon rather than a scientific one) and in the short term, conversation tends to be more frustrating and far less interesting. But that doesn't alter my position in favour of a regulated drug market, where consenting adults are given as much objective information as possible and are then able to take decisions about what drugs they do or don't put into their bodies.

>> ...the NHS is the biggest drug dealer around... << I have to take issue with you here, Gerry. The biggest dealers in drugs are the food industry, practically everything you consume at your dinner table is laden with drugs used by the agricultural/food industry to control diseases and promote unnatural growth. I can't help thinking that a large percentage of health problems are a direct result of 'contaminated' food sold at every supermarket in the world.

"How can something that has been shown to destroy your personality/brain thus damaging your ability to make constructive decisions about your life and your dependents be 'less' harmful than anything else. No wonder there are so many damaged people around." 1leg - do you watch coronation street? Cannabis came to the US through the black immigrant railway workers. During the great depression, the yanks wanted them out and everything and anything linked to their culture was targeted, including Cannabis. If you take a trip through cannabis history, you'll find NO evidence for cannabis being mentally detrimental. There are a great deal of people who are in daily pain who swear by the weed. A friend of mine, disabled in a car accident, wouldnt live without it. Quite literally. 1leg - do your research and you'll find that aspirin is more detrimental to long term health than cannabis is. free the weed ! :)

agree with David about choice BUT I still think we should continue all efforts to educate people away from all drugs. Okay you may not be one of the unlucky few who become psychotic through cannabis but do you want to risk it. Or as 'Porcupine Tree' said "Is this Trip Really Necessary?"

Dufus, "black immigrant railway workers" ha! Where did these black immigrant railway workers immigrate from? I know, the great railway migration from the Congo in the early 30's... China was full of weed smokers before England existed! Maybe they were Black Chinese immirant railway workers. Ohhh, I know, they were the grandchildren of the underground railroad from the freed slaves of the civil war, them came down from Canada..right? Like I said earlier....I've seen some stupid people just get stupider smoking the shit. What an idiot. You're about the most stupid mo-fo I've ever seen on the internet.

That's what I was thinking to myself as I walked down the aisle.

When, at the age of 14, Luke Mitchell murdered his girl-friend Jodi Jones, he tied her up, slit her throat and then mutilated her body. Convicting Mitchell, now 16, at Edinburgh High Court last week, the judge, Lord Nimmo Smith, said it was one of the worst cases of murder he had seen for years, and he gave him the longest sentence ever passed on a youth in Scotland. This horrific crime makes you wonder how any human being could do something so inhuman. The answer is not hard to find. The court heard that Mitchell was influenced by satanism, the 'shock rocker' Marilyn Manson and by a deficiency of emotion. But the final trigger for this act of savagery was something else again. It was Mitchell's consumption of cannabis. As the judge said, cannabis can seriously damage the mental processes of those who habitually take it. And he made a key point when he told Mitchell that cannabis ‘may well have contributed to your being unable to make the distinction between fantasy and reality, which is essential for normal moral judgments'. In other words, his cannabis habit meant that when he killed Jodi Jones, Mitchell was simply unable to recognise that what he was doing was truly wicked. This devastating fact about this so-called ‘soft' drug has been systematically concealed from the public, with increasingly disastrous consequences. Cannabis is popularly thought to be relatively harmless. In fact — quite apart from the fact that it often leads on to other drug use, it is one of the most toxic and dangerous narcotics around. It has profound and long-lasting effects on the brain, it can cause people to become psychotic, and in certain circumstances it can promote violence and even murder. Most crucially, it destroys the ability to make moral judgments. That is why the claim that legalising cannabis would put a stop to the crime with which it is associated is so terribly ignorant and stupid. Onthe contrary, more cannabis means that even more crime is likely, yet instead of targeting cannabis as a prime source of dangerous mental illness, social breakdown and crime, the Government has tacitly encouraged its use by downgrading it to the same category as steroids and anti-depressants, on the grounds that the police have better things to do than pursue a relatively harmless recreational drug. The result of this appalling policy is that more young people are using cannabis, causing more addiction and mental illness and undoubtedly fuelling more crime and disorder. But the case of Luke Mitchell has another highly disturbing feature. Astonishingly, he has achieved cult status among young women. [%sig%]

denver, you prick. The US criminalized cannabis because you were all a bunch of racist cunts. That's what I really meant. Cannabis achieved it's notoriety because it was introduced by the immigrants who 'immigrated' to work on the land. The depression hit and the yocals got pissed because they wanted the work. Hence, the beginnings of cannabis notoriety in the west. Knob-end

As this discussion is now degenerating into a round of insults... let just agree to disagree. Cannabis to you is a benign drug whose effects are of little consequence... to me a highly dangerous drug that attacks the very basis of 'identity' and whose increased acceptance has caused untold damage, the horrendous consequences of which are only truly becoming obvious now. We shall see who turns out to be closer to the truth. I will just end on some more recent 'bollocks' from a government that last year embarasingly declassified the drug from Class B to Class C: "The Department of Health says it is now generally agreed among doctors that cannabis is an "important causal factor" in mental illness. " Article here: and some more here: and dozens more articles on the internet from 'dodgy' sources such as the BMJ... But don't read these Tim, as they may not be 'objective' enough for you... a conspiracy no doubt by the BBC, Mental Health Charity scum, Government, Bush, Capitalist, OIL,oil, oil polluting pigs.... In fact, a search on the internet 'Cannabis and Mental Health/Psychossis/Depression' will yield as many pages as 'Cannabis and Verrucas' as the link after all is only a tenuous one and without any foundation whatsoever...

just as the US attempted to criminalize jazz.

It's not! You cant preach like that, and slag emma off as being a typical case in point, without accepting that you might be wrong? Or is it just when you feel slighted that you huff? I'd've huffed a lot more than you, if I had been Emma! As I said earlier, I have read all of this with an open mind - can you honestly, truthfully say the same? If I appear abrasive, you must accept it is not my intention. Same as I know you once said that you are aware that you appear patronising, arrogant and overbearing... which i am sure also, is not yours.

..and? so - everyone taking it is going to turn into a violent psychotic?

I am not huffing.. but I don't think I can say any more on this as my style of delivery just seems to entrench peoples position further... I have read the replies with an open mind, I just have not heard anything new, just platitudes about freedom of choice etc... the consensus here appears to be yes regular cannabis use is not a good idea (though no one apart from me has even try to venture why).... but so what? Yet in my opinion, the recent declassification... the general thrust of the media and libertanians for too long that it is no big deal just a bit of harmless fun, better than alcohol etc.. all these have sent confused messages to young people and the resultant is that cannabis use has taken off in a big way over last 5 years... indeed UK is now the 'cannabis king' of Europe: My opening quotation shows this is now creating big problems... lots of unnecessary misery. Yet a strong anti-view is taken as unwarranted zeal. I happen to think that this is a very disturbing trend, and people should be made aware of the latest thinking on brains and the effects of drugs on them... Prof Susan Greenfield (Neuroscientist) has written some good lay books on these subjects... it astounds me that people tamper with their brains without investigating at least why drugs work in the way they do. As for Emma, I did apologise to her... I just reacted strongly because her views about "Cannabis is part of the anarchistic undercurrent that democracy has always been afraid of." is diammetrically opposite to my opinions about drugs and freedom which I have repeated oft above. My advice is be terribly worried if your kids pick up on cannabis (as I would be if mine did).

I know a few of those that don't even smoke fags!

I've only smoked it once, was too worried about getting addicted, and would rather see the world as it is, that is quite complicated and wonderful enough. The idea that you can educate children into being happy when their home life is aweful is intriguing. How do you do so? Though not the same circumstances as Funky, I also was unhappy as a child. My response to stressfulsituations was to "go into my head". While in hospital recently (for a physical reason) I did this, to a more severe degree than I can remember in the past, admittedly. (I could not move, speak etc) The doctor's response was to want to put me in a psychiatric ward. I find this very frightening. Not sure I am putting my point very well, but it is that it is not just by taking drugs that one can try to escape one's problems, and not just by taking drugs that one can be long term messed up. Some people just can't cope, can't see a way out. I go into myself. Others try the rose tinted spectacles of drugs. So, they damage your eyes. But from what Funky said and from what I can remember, at the time you DON'T CARE. You just have to get through. No amount of telling a child that at some time in the grown up future they'll regret it is going to help?

well there we are then Daily mail, conclusive proof if ever I saw it. Hitler was a vegetarian so I guess it's the gass chamber for all those animal lovers out there. (I call godwins) the pointlessness of your last post is staggering. the amount of mental health attributed to cannabis is less than one tenth of one percent, shall we look at what makes all the other nutters tick and ban fresh air and wanking? every drug has an effect on the mental state or there'd be NO POINT IN TAKING IT. violent tendencies are, as is statistically proven, subduesd under the influence of cannabis unlike alcohol, caffiene, steriods... you know all those stimulants / harmless drugs that the killer pot has recently been dumped in with. The pain killing effects are well documented. the social effects, while not something anyone should over indulge in, are minimal compared to everything else that courses round our veins these days. "it can cause people to become psychotic, and in certain circumstances it can promote violence and even murder" Yes in the mind of the over user or the mentally unstable it can be dangerous but so can a banana/beer/plan for world domination. Lets face it, if it's in you then it's in you whether it be an aptitude for addiction or the need to kill. In certain circumstances not indicating at a roundabut can make me want to kill... in certain circumstances. funnily enough, in other circumstances there are no psychotic affects brought on in the canabis user whatsoever, dont they get a mention? it CAN have long term effects on the brain function it CAN lead to mental instability it CAN be just fine... no! really? and if we're talking about chemical nightmares, alcohol is FAR worse on the body in every conceivable way, worse even than smoking. It leads to the use of harder drugs does it? damn! I'd better get a crack pipe then because I'm obviously way behind having never wanted to bother with any after years of smoking dope.

Marijuana Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. A dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, it usually is smoked as a cigarette (joint, nail), or in a pipe (bong). It also is smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, often in combination with another drug. Use also might include mixing marijuana in food or brewing it as a tea. As a more concentrated, resinous form it is called hashish and, as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor. There are countless street terms for marijuana including pot, herb, weed, grass, widow, ganja, and hash, as well as terms derived from trademarked varieties of cannabis, such as Bubble Gum®, Northern Lights®, Juicy Fruit®, Afghani #1®, and a number of Skunk varieties. The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The membranes of certain nerve cells in the brain contain protein receptors that bind to THC. Once securely in place, THC kicks off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana. Extent of Use There were an estimated 2.6 million new marijuana users in 2001. This number is similar to the numbers of new users each year since 1995, but above the number in 1990 (1.6 million). In 2002, over 14 million Americans age 12 and older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, and 12.2 percent of past year marijuana users used marijuana on 300 or more days in the past 12 months. This translates into 3.1 million people using marijuana on a daily or almost daily basis over a 12-month period(1). The percentage of youth age 12 to 17 who had ever used marijuana declined slightly from 2001 to 2002 (21.9 to 20.6 percent). Among adults age 18 to 25, the rate increased slightly from 53.0 percent to 53.8 percent in 2002. The percentage of young adults age 18 to 25 who had ever used marijuana was 5.1 percent in 1965, but increased steadily to 54.4 percent in 1982. Although the rate for young adults declined somewhat from 1982 to 1993, it did not drop below 43 percent and actually increased to 53.8 percent by 2002(1). Forty-two percent of youth age 12 or 13 and 24.1 percent age 16 or 17 perceived smoking marijuana once a month as a great risk. Slightly more than half of youth age 12 to 17 indicated that it would be fairly or very easy to obtain marijuana, but only 26.0 percent of 12- or 13-year-olds indicated the same thing. However, 79.0 percent of those age 16 or 17 indicated that it would be fairly or very easy to obtain marijuana(1). Prevalence of lifetime, past year, and past month marijuana use declined among students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades in 2003. However, the declines in 12-month prevalence reached statistical significance only in 8th-graders; past year use has declined by nearly one-third since 1996(2). All three grades showed an increase in perceived risk for regular marijuana use. This finding represents a welcome turnaround in this perception, which has been in decline in all grades over the past 1 or 2 years(3). In 2002, marijuana was the third most commonly abused drug mentioned in drug-related hospital emergency department (ED) visits in the continental United States. Marijuana mentions rose significantly (24%) from 2000 to 2002, but showed no significant increase since 2001. Taking changes in population into account, marijuana mentions increased 139 percent from 1995 to 2002(4). Effects on the Brain Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain. In the brain, THC connects to specific sites called cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement(5). The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate. Research findings for long-term marijuana use indicate some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term use of other major drugs of abuse. For example, cannabinoid (THC or synthetic forms of THC) withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system(6) and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine(7). Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse. Effects on the Heart One study has indicated that a user’s risk of heart attack more than quadruples in the first hour after smoking marijuana(8). The researchers suggest that such an effect might occur from marijuana’s effects on blood pressure and heart rate and reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of blood. Effects on the Lungs A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers(9). Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses. Even infrequent use can cause burning and stinging of the mouth and throat, often accompanied by a heavy cough. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, a heightened risk of lung infections, and a greater tendency to obstructed airways(10). Smoking marijuana increases the likelihood of developing cancer of the head or neck, and the more marijuana smoked the greater the increase(11). A study comparing 173 cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals produced strong evidence that marijuana smoking doubled or tripled the risk of these cancers. Marijuana use also has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because it contains irritants and carcinogens(12, 13). In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke(14). It also produces high levels of an enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form—levels that may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells(15). Marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which increases the lungs’ exposure to carcinogenic smoke. These facts suggest that, puff for puff, smoking marijuana may increase the risk of cancer more than smoking tobacco. Other Health Effects Some of marijuana’s adverse health effects may occur because THC impairs the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases and cancer. In laboratory experiments that exposed animal and human cells to THC or other marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing reactions of many of the key types of immune cells were inhibited(16). In other studies, mice exposed to THC or related substances were more likely than unexposed mice to develop bacterial infections and tumors(17, 18). Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use on Learning and Social Behavior Depression(19), anxiety(20), and personality disturbances(21) have been associated with marijuana use. Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person’s existing problems worse. Because marijuana compromises the ability to learn and remember information, the more a person uses marijuana the more he or she is likely to fall behind in accumulating intellectual, job, or social skills. Moreover, research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on memory and learning can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off(22, 23). Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their non-smoking peers(24, 25, 26, 27). A study of 129 college students found that, for heavy users of marijuana (those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the preceding 30 days), critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired even after they had not used the drug for at least 24 hours(28). The heavy marijuana users in the study had more trouble sustaining and shifting their attention and in registering, organizing, and using information than did the study participants who had used marijuana no more than 3 of the previous 30 days. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level all of the time. More recently, the same researchers showed that the ability of a group of long-term heavy marijuana users to recall words from a list remained impaired for a week after quitting, but returned to normal within 4 weeks(29). Thus, it is possible that some cognitive abilities may be restored in individuals who quit smoking marijuana, even after long-term heavy use. Workers who smoke marijuana are more likely than their coworkers to have problems on the job. Several studies associate workers’ marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers’ compensation claims, and job turnover. A study of municipal workers found that those who used marijuana on or off the job reported more “withdrawal behaviors”—such as leaving work without permission, daydreaming, spending work time on personal matters, and shirking tasks—that adversely affect productivity and morale(30). In another study, marijuana users reported that use of the drug impaired several important measures of life achievement including cognitive abilities, career status, social life, and physical and mental health(31). Effects on Pregnancy Research has shown that babies born to women who used marijuana during their pregnancies display altered responses to visual stimuli, increased tremulousness, and a high-pitched cry, which may indicate neurological problems in development(32). During infancy and preschool years, marijuana-exposed children have been observed to have more behavioral problems than unexposed children and poorer performance on tasks of visual perception, language comprehension, sustained attention, and memory(33, 34). In school, these children are more likely to exhibit deficits in decision-making skills, memory, and the ability to remain attentive(35, 36, 37). Addictive Potential Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction for some people; that is, they use the drug compulsively even though it interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities. Drug craving and withdrawal symptoms can make it hard for long-term marijuana smokers to stop using the drug. People trying to quit report irritability, sleeplessness, and anxiety(38). They also display increased aggression on psychological tests, peaking approximately one week after the last use of the drug(39). Genetic Vulnerability Scientists have found that whether an individual has positive or negative sensations after smoking marijuana can be influenced by heredity. A 1997 study demonstrated that identical male twins were more likely than non-identical male twins to report similar responses to marijuana use, indicating a genetic basis for their response to the drug(40). (Identical twins share all of their genes.) It also was discovered that the twins’ shared or family environment before age 18 had no detectable influence on their response to marijuana. Certain environmental factors, however, such as the availability of marijuana, expectations about how the drug would affect them, the influence of friends and social contacts, and other factors that differentiate experiences of identical twins were found to have an important effect. Treating Marijuana Problems The latest treatment data indicate that, in 2000, marijuana was the primary drug of abuse in about 15 percent (236,638) of all admissions to treatment facilities in the United States. Marijuana admissions were primarily male (76 percent), White (57 percent), and young (46 percent under 20 years old). Those in treatment for primary marijuana use had begun use at an early age; 56 percent had used it by age 14 and 92 percent had used it by 18(41). One study of adult marijuana users found comparable benefits from a 14-session cognitive-behavioral group treatment and a 2-session individual treatment that included motivational interviewing and advice on ways to reduce marijuana use. Participants were mostly men in their early thirties who had smoked marijuana daily for more than 10 years. By increasing patients’ awareness of what triggers their marijuana use, both treatments sought to help patients devise avoidance strategies. Use, dependence symptoms, and psychosocial problems decreased for at least 1 year following both treatments; about 30 percent of users were abstinent during the last 3-month followup period(42). Another study suggests that giving patients vouchers that they can redeem for goods—such as movie passes, sporting equipment, or vocational training—may further improve outcomes(43). Although no medications are currently available for treating marijuana abuse, recent discoveries about the workings of the THC receptors have raised the possibility of eventually developing a medication that will block the intoxicating effects of THC. Such a medication might be used to prevent relapse to marijuana abuse by lessening or eliminating its appeal. Percentage of 8th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana: Monitoring the Future Study, 2003 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Ever Used 16.7% 19.9% 23.1% 22.6% 22.2% 22.0% 20.3% 20.4% 19.2% 17.5% Used in Past Year 13.0 15.8 18.3 17.7 16.9 16.5 15.6 15.4 14.6 12.8 Used in Past Month 7.8 9.1 11.3 10.2 9.7 9.7 9.1 9.2 8.3 7.5 Daily Use in Past Month 0.7 0.8 1.5 1.1 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.0 Percentage of 10th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana: Monitoring the Future Study, 2003 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Ever Used 30.4% 34.1% 39.8% 42.3% 39.6% 40.9% 40.3% 40.1% 38.7% 36.4% Used in Past Year 25.2 28.7 33.6 34.8 31.1 32.1 32.2 32.7 30.3 28.2 Used in Past Month 15.8 17.2 20.4 20.5 18.7 19.4 19.7 19.8 17.8 17.0 Daily Use in Past Month 2.2 2.8 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.8 3.8 4.5 3.9 3.6 Percentage of 12th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana Monitoring the Future Study, 2003 1979 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Ever Used 60.4% 36.7% 32.6% 35.3% 38.2% 41.7% 44.9% Used in Past Year 50.8 23.9 21.9 26.0 30.7 34.7 35.8 Used in Past Month 36.5 13.8 11.9 15.5 19.0 21.2 21.9 Daily Use in Past Month 10.3 2.0 1.9 2.4 3.6 4.6 4.9 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Ever Used 49.6% 49.1% 49.7% 48.8% 49.0% 47.8% 46.1% Used in Past Year 38.5 37.5 37.8 36.5 37.0 36.2 34.9 Used in Past Month 23.7 22.8 23.1 21.6 22.4 21.5 21.2 Daily Use in Past Month 5.8 5.6 6.0 6.0 5.8 6.0 6.0 These data are from the 2003 Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey, funded by National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, and conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The survey has tracked 12th-graders’ illicit drug use and related attitudes since 1975; in 1991, 8th- and 10th-graders were added to the study. The latest data are online at www.drugabuse.gov. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 NSDUH (formerly known as the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) is an annual survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Copies of the latest survey are available from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686. 2 These data are from the 2003 Monitoring the Future Survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, and conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The survey has tracked 12th-graders’ illicit drug use and related attitudes since 1975; in 1991, 8th- and 10th-graders were added to the study. The latest data are online at www.drugabuse.gov. 3 These data are from the 2003 Monitoring the Future Survey. 4 These data are from the annual Drug Abuse Warning Network, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS. The survey provides information about emergency department visits that are induced by or related to the use of an illicit drug or the nonmedical use of a legal drug. The latest data (2002) are available at 1-800-729-6686 or online at www.samhsa.gov. 5 Herkenham M, Lynn A, Little MD, Johnson MR, et al: Cannabinoid receptor localization in the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci, USA 87:1932-1936, 1990. 6 Rodriguez de Fonseca F, et al: Activation of cortocotropin-releasing factor in the limbic system during cannabinoid withdrawal. Science 276(5321):2050-2064, 1997. 7 Diana M, Melis M, Muntoni AL, et al: Mesolimbic dopaminergic decline after cannabinoid withdrawal. Proc Natl Acad Sci 95:10269-10273, 1998. 8 Mittleman MA, Lewis RA, Maclure M, et al: Triggering myocardial infarction by marijuana. Circulation 103:2805-2809, 2001. 9 Polen MR, Sidney S, Tekawa IS, et al: Health care use by frequent marijuana smokers who do not smoke tobacco. West J Med 158:596-601, 1993. 10 Tashkin DP: Pulmonary complications of smoked substance abuse. West J Med 152:525-530, 1990. 11 Zhang ZF, Morgenstern H, Spitz MR, et al: Marijuana use and increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 6:1071-1078, 1999. 12 Ibid ref 10. 13 Sridhar KS, Raub WA, Weatherby, NL Jr, et al: Possible role of marijuana smoking as a carcinogen in the development of lung cancer at a young age. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 26(3):285-288, 1994. 14 Hoffman D, Brunnemann KD, Gori GB, et al: On the carcinogenicity of marijuana smoke. In: VC Runeckles, ed, Recent Advances in Phytochemistry. New York. Plenum, 1975. 15 Cohen S: Adverse effects of marijuana: selected issues. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 362:119-124, 1981. 16 Adams IB, Martin BR: Cannabis: pharmacology and toxicology in animals and humans. Addiction 91:1585-1614, 1996. 17 Klein TW, Newton C, Friedman H: Resistance to Legionella pneumophila suppressed by the marijuana component, tetrahydrocannabinol. J Infectious Disease 169:1177-1179, 1994. 18 Zhu L, Stolina M, Sharma S, et al: Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits antitumor immunity by a CB2 receptor-mediated, cytokine-dependent pathway. J Immunology, 2000, pp. 373-380. 19 Brook JS, et al: The effect of early marijuana use on later anxiety and depressive symptoms. NYS Psychologist, January 2001, pp. 35-39. 20 Green BE, Ritter C: Marijuana use and depression. J Health Soc Behav 41(1):40-49, 2000. 21 Brook JS, Cohen P, Brook DW: Longitudinal study of co-occurring psychiatric disorders and substance use. J Acad Child and Adolescent Psych 37:322-330, 1998. 22 Pope HG, Yurgelun-Todd D: The residual cognitive effects of heavy marijuana use in college students. JAMA 272(7):521-527, 1996. 23 Block RI, Ghoneim MM: Effects of chronic marijuana use on human cognition. Psychopharmacology 100(1-2):219-228, 1993. 24 Lynskey M, Hall W: The effects of adolescent cannabis use on educational attainment: a review. Addiction 95(11):1621-1630, 2000. 25 Kandel DB, Davies M: High school students who use crack and other drugs. Arch Gen Psychiatry 53(1):71-80, 1996. 26 Rob M, Reynolds I, Finlayson PF: Adolescent marijuana use: risk factors and implications. Aust NZ J Psychiatry 24(1):45-56, 1990. 27 Brook JS, Balka EB, Whiteman M: The risks for late adolescence of early adolescent marijuana use. Am J Public Health 89(10):1549-1554, 1999. 28 Ibid ref 22. 29 Pope, Gruber, Hudson, et al: Neuropsychological performance in long-term cannabis users. Archives of General Psychiatry. 30 Lehman WE, Simpson DD: Employee substance abuse and on-the-job behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology 77(3):309-321, 1992. 31 Gruber, AJ, Pope HG, Hudson HI, Yurgelun-Todd D: Attributes of long-term heavy cannabis users: A case control study. Psychological Medicine 33:1415-1422, 2003. 32 Lester, BM; Dreher, M: Effects of marijuana use during pregnancy on newborn cry. Child Development 60:764-771, 1989. 33 Fried, PA: The Ottawa prenatal prospective study (OPPS): methodological issues and findings—it’s easy to throw the baby out with the bath water. Life Sciences 56:2159-2168, 1995. 34 Fried, PA: Prenatal exposure to marihuana and tobacco during infancy, early and middle childhood: effects and an attempt at synthesis. Arch Toxicol Supp 17:233-60, 1995. 35 Ibid ref 33. 36 Ibid ref 34. 37 Cornelius MD, Taylor PM, Geva D, et al: Prenatal tobacco and marijuana use among adolescents: effects on offspring gestational age, growth, and morphology. Pediatrics 95:738-743, 1995. 38 Kouri EM, Pope HG, Lukas SE: Changes in aggressive behavior during withdrawal from long-term marijuana use. Psychopharmacology 143:302-308, 1999. 39 Haney M, Ward AS, Comer SD, et al: Abstinence symptoms following smoked marijuana in humans. Psychopharmacology 141:395-404, 1999. 40 Lyons MJ, et al: Addiction 92(4):409-417, 1997. 41 These data from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) 1992-2000: National Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services, November 2001, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, DHHS. The latest data are available at 1-800-729-6686 or online at www.samhsa.gov. 42 Stephens RS, Roffman RA, Curtin L: Comparison of extended versus brief treatments for marijuana use. J Consult Clin Psychol 68(5):898-908, 2000. 43 Budney AJ, Higgins ST, Radonovich KJ, et al: Adding voucher-based incentives to coping skills and motivational enhancement improves outcomes during treatment for marijuana dependence. J Consult Clin Psychol 68(6):1051-1061, 2000. Revised 3/04 [InfoFacts Index] This page has been accessed 1859539 times since 11/5/99. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NIDA Home | Site Map | Search | FAQs | Accessibility | Help | Privacy | FOIA (NIH) | Employment | Print Version -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _ The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Questions? See our Contact Information. Last updated on Tuesday, February 1, 2005.

I'm all in favour of a ban on wanking, Ian. No, wait a minute, he spends too much time here already, and he reckons he wanks every day. I propose that hourly wanking is compulsory, especially in the West Midlands.

SOME people enjoy copious amounts of alcohol..on a friday..or saturday..or whatever..whatever day suits..every day if it suits your lifestyle. Some people enjoy smoking weed. The fact is...leggyspidery....alcohol is more detrimental than cannabis...so detatch yourself from the society that you live in which legitimises destructive pursuits that strengthen the economy, and SEE what you are debating! To say that you are mislead, is an understatement..agghhhhhhhhh.....youre impossible to reason with, because you're BRAINWASHED!!!! exterminate!!

It makes me psychotic...genetic thing I guess, because it does the same to my bros. But I don't have aproblem with others using it. Peanuts can kill people with alergies but I don't think they should be banned.

Someone once said to me take a breathylyser before going down the aisle otherwise you'll say "I do" then spend the rest of your life saying "I don't"

I'm such a little love.

you just wanna stay now and hug and kiss me

Yeah... all very well and good... * thinks: hee.. hee.. "brainwashed" * Me? I am going to light up a spliff as big as a bus.

FOR LEGLESSPIDER Well, they'll stone ya when you're trying to be so good, They'll stone ya just a-like they said they would. They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to go home. Then they'll stone ya when you're there all alone. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned. Well, they'll stone ya when you're walkin' 'long the street. They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to keep your seat. They'll stone ya when you're walkin' on the floor. They'll stone ya when you're walkin' to the door. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned. They'll stone ya when you're at the breakfast table. They'll stone ya when you are young and able. They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to make a buck. They'll stone ya and then they'll say, "good luck." Tell ya what, I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned. Well, they'll stone you and say that it's the end. Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again. They'll stone you when you're riding in your car. They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar. Yes, but I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned. Well, they'll stone you when you walk all alone. They'll stone you when you are walking home. They'll stone you and then say you are brave. They'll stone you when you are set down in your grave. But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned. Bob Dylan -

Sometimes life gets you down. Sometimes you just become exhausted by trying to be rational and in control and trying to find sensible ways to help yourself. Sometimes you just need something to soften the whole feeling of weight that you are dragging around with you. Who on earth has the authority to say that all of us should standardise ourselves into what the state deems is a good or healthy way to live out our lives? Who are we living for? What is this mysterious rightness in living that you preach 1leg?Who has the right to burden anyone else with the guilt that comes with wanting to have some release? What the state is fundamentally concerned about is not our well being, but that some day we'll all realise that our lives are manipulated from before conception to after death by the greed of capitalism and power and that more and more of us will opt out and seek alternatives. Cannabis is part of the anarchistic undercurrent that democracy has always been afraid of. There'll never be anarchism or utopia, there'll always be tyrants and politicians and multinationals and globalisation and genocide. Let me out. Give me some cannabis.

I rather like the cut of pschmitts cloth. That last post of his/hers is bloody brilliant. *gawps admiringly*

"There'll never be anarchism or utopia, there'll always be tyrants and politicians and multinationals and globalisation and genocide. Let me out. Give me some cannabis." Sorry Emma... you are the perfect example of what I am talking about. You will never know that you are speaking from the cannabis drug-brain because you are now it. Your 'insights' whilst quite rational and 'true' to you are all bollocks... the same 'potted' outlook of peolpe who have sunk themselves into a slavery with them knowing. The funny thing is people like you are the easiest to manipulate by the same 'forces' you speak of. You have opted out, do nothing, never change anything.. Here now.. have a toke on this and ypu will feel much better and even the insults I have heaped on you above won't matter at all.

<> Oops! I've never tried it, Jerry. All I've had this week is a glass or two of red wine. That's all I ever have. My post above was written to open up the debate a little more with the bias in it that I tend towards. Has it ever occurred to you that you can't see outside of your own perspective because you are likewise duped by 'the powers that be'. Non of us are 'free', Jerry. <> ...so you admit that the forces ARE manipulative then, Jerry? My point exactly, you have supported my point fully in making that admission. I am not easy to manipulate, quite the opposite. I have not 'opted out' - I work full time, am raising three children on my own and pay a mortgage, but nor would I be opting out or disengagin if I chose to smoke canabis, I observe my world extremely closely and try to remain open to as much analysis as possible, what Purplehaze once described as 'reading bollocks into everything'. I don't take anything lying down. I like to think about what everything I see is attempting to do to me and how capitalism and all its attendant manipulations actually reduce my ability to think for myself. I am a very strong person, and won't be duped by anyone lately, nor will your insults mean a thing to me, because I know you've never met me, not because I dull the effect with drugs - don't flatter yourself!

Surely this is about choice. I don't take drugs apart from alcohol which I might put down as well. Not only did they make me a bit nuts but my hair fell out, I was depressed and paranoid and not happy. If it does something good for you fine...this is always going to have to be an agree to disagree issue. It is here to stay, legal or not...at least the government can't tax it this way!

I think it is fairly accepted that cannabis isn't harmless for a certain number of people - schizophrenics don't tend to do too well on it. But likewise, alcohol isn't harmless for a certain number of people and it is established medical fact that alcohol is toxic and kills brain cells. I wouldn't want to champion cannabis as being a marvellous substance, but what I would champion is people's right to do whatever they want with their own body. Hopefully they also make the decision on an informed basis - proper research as to the long and short term effects of a number of drugs undertaken without a social or political agenda as to the result would be a damn good thing, I think. As to the causal link between cannabis and mental illness generally - it is very hard to assess this without considering the self-medication point. People with mental illness often find the world a tough and unpleasant place (more so than the rest of the population) and are perhaps more likely than others to seek a respite from it in the form of chemical stimulation, whether that be alcohol or substances.