Egzoset
Banned
Salutations everybody,
Recently on national French-speaking television some information was broadcasted during prime-time via a well-known weekly science show. Being unsure who it was primariliy addressed to i've decided to submit sample echoes right here, to gather eventual feedback from FC readers...
So, what does it do to developing brains? The commentator begins stating that "scientifics" became concerned about the "effects" of "marihuana" on children, saying recent findings aren't comforting, explaining "joints" are easy to find even for teenagers while providing strong captivating experiences to them, etc. Taking care to point out that its lasting influence on adults can be regarded as relatively trivial.
Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad, psychiatrist at Montreal university
This person argues that canabis certainly just isn't a "soft" drug to some people. Then the host commentator talks about somnolence, hallucinations, laughing and munchies wearing off after a few hours - though it's a "complex" drug causing long-term changes which are hard to study, he says. Yet mister Jutras-Aswad managed to "review" 120 scientific studies on the effects of cannabis on adolescent brains...
In terms of broadcasting time some ~12 % of this TV report served to display fire & smoke simulation scenes played by actors while zero statistical data (graphics) was ever provided in support. Anyway here's what i found almost instantly using a simple Google search:
CHUM: Le Dr Didier Jutras-Aswad gagnant du Programme d’excellence en recherche en psychiatrie (2014-Mai-9)
« Le Dr Didier Jutras-Aswad, psychiatre à l’unité des toxicomanies du CHUM et chercheur au CRCHUM, a reçu une subvention de près de 100 000 $ à titre de gagnant du Programme d’excellence en recherche en psychiatrie de Pfizer 2013. »
Translation:
Which reminds me there was some noticeable void relatively to the amplified effects of poly-intoxication (e.g. tobacco/alcohol), not to mention Ritalin which happens to be on "Schedule III" (besides LSD) in Canada...
In any case a first conclusion was reached: it's much more risky to start smoking before the age of 15. Wow!
It interferes with brain development and there can be long-term consequences, which the host seems to define as memory loss, lesser focuss, learning/social difficulties and, of course, the "gateway" thing we've all heard of... All phenomenons children are quick to ignore the guy says.
Also, according to Justras-Aswad it's not all: if/when cannabis "exposure" is sustained enough then this may cause some individuals to develop lasting troubles which may persist after weeks if not months of abstinence. Then the host picks up again: gives way to lousiness, even psychotic/nevrotic/schizophrenic symptoms.
Although it's hard to state that cannabis causes mental illness it can certainly trigger it he will argue.
That's about when the audience is given numbers at last: 1 % of population experiences psychotic/schizophrenic episodes while regular use during adolescence will multiply such risk by 4 or 5, just don't ask for more details.
Dr. Richard Bélanger, pediatrician at CHU center of Quebec city
This man is specialized in teenager medecine and complains they won't listen until he starts talking to them about direct inconveniences, such as growing tits, lesser spermatozoïd genesis, or for girls milking, lesser fertily and affected ovulation... Eye openers indeed, personally i may come to believe that premature cannabic abuse obviously promotes long front (rabbit) teeth too!
By chance the host warns this all needs to be put into perspective as only 50 % of high-school Quebec's graduates confess having tried cannabis during the last year. Or up to 60 % when it comes to adults who admit using it as least once...
This is followed by an exclamation from Bélanger stating we don't get 60 % of schizophrenics within the population, as in practical terms these risks won't affect the vast majority because most users aren't frequent enough cannabis consumers.
The host argues 80 % of young (under-age) cannabis users will quit the habit before they reach adulthood, though 10 % will become hooked and hence expose themselves to the other risks... With no way to predict who and how. Yet that's supposed to be scientific accomplishment.
Nonetheless it goes on with genetic makeup factors, for example possibly combining to anxiety that would magnify those elements of risk by 8 or 9 times - still not visible on pie charts or else by the way... Only warnings about some "negative-affect" persons, or just those genetically/psychologically vulnerable; no mention of social factors such as "toxic" parents with a potentially anxiolitic (panic) attitude that these TV shows might actually contribute to! Etc.
So by the time we got a fancy THC vs neuron animation it was too late: all the sudden i went short of my natural pregnenolone supply, mixed with endo-cannabinoïd neuro-mitigating enzymes depletion in brain areas associated to learning motivation!... Their 12 minutes "message" failed to reach me i guess. Now, imagine today's adolescents who are even less gullible and so much more informed than i was at that age.
So, who was the target audience exactly??
Parents? Maybe but some must have recognized a classic argument: THC concentration can be as high as 30 %! M'yeah, so that means less is required. What else?....
Teenagers then?
Maybe it was fun to watch how the young actors performed at their interpretation of the initial script but the year ain't 1970 and it doesn't really help to comment that science still doesn't know how much is too much after 120 studies on minors have been recently scrutinized via a research program sponsored by Pfizer!
...
Were they even listening when Bélanger finally concluded there can be no more safety than when driving a car, once again without anything positive to say that would refer to "Harm Reduction" - e.g. vaporizers for that matter!!
Hell no. Concerned parents, children and sympathetic citizens altogether all waited for some objective science report in vain IMO. By the time the host made a final point about cannabis visibly hurting minors even past 2 years of abstinence i must admit i had become too critical to care, because of the one-sided approach essentially, while all i retained was that the scientifics know but they don't really know yet!
...
Last but not least, not a word on the effects of anti-cannabic prohibition - or schools in prison, evidently. And about "evidence", specifically, Bélanger said there's more and more of it showing modifications in brain structures and functions, euh... Too bad they thought it would be sexier to exploit Fire & Smoke scenes on prime-time instead of using such a precious opportunity to avoid sustaining the emerging impression that SRC has definitely become a propaganda tool for the Harper office!!
M'well... Perhaps i'm dead wrong but it semed to me this was primarily focussed on pleasing some shrinking anti-cannabic warrior audience ready to vote Harper on the next elections no matter what... If not just Harper himself.
Good day, have fun!!
Recently on national French-speaking television some information was broadcasted during prime-time via a well-known weekly science show. Being unsure who it was primariliy addressed to i've decided to submit sample echoes right here, to gather eventual feedback from FC readers...
So, what does it do to developing brains? The commentator begins stating that "scientifics" became concerned about the "effects" of "marihuana" on children, saying recent findings aren't comforting, explaining "joints" are easy to find even for teenagers while providing strong captivating experiences to them, etc. Taking care to point out that its lasting influence on adults can be regarded as relatively trivial.
Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad, psychiatrist at Montreal university
This person argues that canabis certainly just isn't a "soft" drug to some people. Then the host commentator talks about somnolence, hallucinations, laughing and munchies wearing off after a few hours - though it's a "complex" drug causing long-term changes which are hard to study, he says. Yet mister Jutras-Aswad managed to "review" 120 scientific studies on the effects of cannabis on adolescent brains...
In terms of broadcasting time some ~12 % of this TV report served to display fire & smoke simulation scenes played by actors while zero statistical data (graphics) was ever provided in support. Anyway here's what i found almost instantly using a simple Google search:
CHUM: Le Dr Didier Jutras-Aswad gagnant du Programme d’excellence en recherche en psychiatrie (2014-Mai-9)
« Le Dr Didier Jutras-Aswad, psychiatre à l’unité des toxicomanies du CHUM et chercheur au CRCHUM, a reçu une subvention de près de 100 000 $ à titre de gagnant du Programme d’excellence en recherche en psychiatrie de Pfizer 2013. »
Translation:
Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad winner of excellence program in psychiatric research
« The doctor Didier Jutras-Aswad, psychiatrist at CHUM's toxicomaniac unit and researcher at CRCHUM has received approximately 100000 $ in subsides as winner of an excellence program in psychiatric research by Pfizer in 2013. »
« The doctor Didier Jutras-Aswad, psychiatrist at CHUM's toxicomaniac unit and researcher at CRCHUM has received approximately 100000 $ in subsides as winner of an excellence program in psychiatric research by Pfizer in 2013. »
Which reminds me there was some noticeable void relatively to the amplified effects of poly-intoxication (e.g. tobacco/alcohol), not to mention Ritalin which happens to be on "Schedule III" (besides LSD) in Canada...
In any case a first conclusion was reached: it's much more risky to start smoking before the age of 15. Wow!
It interferes with brain development and there can be long-term consequences, which the host seems to define as memory loss, lesser focuss, learning/social difficulties and, of course, the "gateway" thing we've all heard of... All phenomenons children are quick to ignore the guy says.
Also, according to Justras-Aswad it's not all: if/when cannabis "exposure" is sustained enough then this may cause some individuals to develop lasting troubles which may persist after weeks if not months of abstinence. Then the host picks up again: gives way to lousiness, even psychotic/nevrotic/schizophrenic symptoms.
Although it's hard to state that cannabis causes mental illness it can certainly trigger it he will argue.
That's about when the audience is given numbers at last: 1 % of population experiences psychotic/schizophrenic episodes while regular use during adolescence will multiply such risk by 4 or 5, just don't ask for more details.
Dr. Richard Bélanger, pediatrician at CHU center of Quebec city
This man is specialized in teenager medecine and complains they won't listen until he starts talking to them about direct inconveniences, such as growing tits, lesser spermatozoïd genesis, or for girls milking, lesser fertily and affected ovulation... Eye openers indeed, personally i may come to believe that premature cannabic abuse obviously promotes long front (rabbit) teeth too!
By chance the host warns this all needs to be put into perspective as only 50 % of high-school Quebec's graduates confess having tried cannabis during the last year. Or up to 60 % when it comes to adults who admit using it as least once...
This is followed by an exclamation from Bélanger stating we don't get 60 % of schizophrenics within the population, as in practical terms these risks won't affect the vast majority because most users aren't frequent enough cannabis consumers.
The host argues 80 % of young (under-age) cannabis users will quit the habit before they reach adulthood, though 10 % will become hooked and hence expose themselves to the other risks... With no way to predict who and how. Yet that's supposed to be scientific accomplishment.
Nonetheless it goes on with genetic makeup factors, for example possibly combining to anxiety that would magnify those elements of risk by 8 or 9 times - still not visible on pie charts or else by the way... Only warnings about some "negative-affect" persons, or just those genetically/psychologically vulnerable; no mention of social factors such as "toxic" parents with a potentially anxiolitic (panic) attitude that these TV shows might actually contribute to! Etc.
So by the time we got a fancy THC vs neuron animation it was too late: all the sudden i went short of my natural pregnenolone supply, mixed with endo-cannabinoïd neuro-mitigating enzymes depletion in brain areas associated to learning motivation!... Their 12 minutes "message" failed to reach me i guess. Now, imagine today's adolescents who are even less gullible and so much more informed than i was at that age.
So, who was the target audience exactly??
Parents? Maybe but some must have recognized a classic argument: THC concentration can be as high as 30 %! M'yeah, so that means less is required. What else?....
Teenagers then?
Maybe it was fun to watch how the young actors performed at their interpretation of the initial script but the year ain't 1970 and it doesn't really help to comment that science still doesn't know how much is too much after 120 studies on minors have been recently scrutinized via a research program sponsored by Pfizer!
...
Were they even listening when Bélanger finally concluded there can be no more safety than when driving a car, once again without anything positive to say that would refer to "Harm Reduction" - e.g. vaporizers for that matter!!
Hell no. Concerned parents, children and sympathetic citizens altogether all waited for some objective science report in vain IMO. By the time the host made a final point about cannabis visibly hurting minors even past 2 years of abstinence i must admit i had become too critical to care, because of the one-sided approach essentially, while all i retained was that the scientifics know but they don't really know yet!
...
Last but not least, not a word on the effects of anti-cannabic prohibition - or schools in prison, evidently. And about "evidence", specifically, Bélanger said there's more and more of it showing modifications in brain structures and functions, euh... Too bad they thought it would be sexier to exploit Fire & Smoke scenes on prime-time instead of using such a precious opportunity to avoid sustaining the emerging impression that SRC has definitely become a propaganda tool for the Harper office!!
M'well... Perhaps i'm dead wrong but it semed to me this was primarily focussed on pleasing some shrinking anti-cannabic warrior audience ready to vote Harper on the next elections no matter what... If not just Harper himself.
Good day, have fun!!
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