Cannabis News

[MinnBobber]

@cybrguy Well said.

Not saying opiates should be done away with but with zero deaths from cannabis and 16,000 from pain killers, they have chosen the wrong substance for regulation. Opiates seem to be handed out like candy while cannabis is reluctantly given out like it is heroin/ or in many states like mine---not given out at all for pain.

In states with med MJ, opiate deaths have dropped by 24.8%----an incredible/miraculous decrease which clearly shows that cannabis is an "exit drug" which allows opiates users to cut back on opiate use or best case scenario, get off altogether.

 

[Gunky]

Opiates have their uses. Prohibiting them or limiting them to tightly controlled prescription use has sure given the medical establishment a lock on one of natures handiest analgesics, hasn't it? Opium is easy and cheap to produce and refining it is no big deal either. That creates a big challenge to the medical profession's monopoly on the products of the poppy. Prohibiting opiates has never done much damage to the black market for them. I know it's heresy, but I think education regarding opiates would be better than prohibition.

 

[grokit]

In europe there have been numerous studies done, that show even heroin addicts can be healthy and functioning members of society as long as said heroin is administered under a doctor's care.

 

[u bwade wunner]

Old news now but worthy of space in the news section.

Irish Government To Decriminalize Heroin, Cocaine, And Marijuana

Edit: link fixed.

 

[His_Highness]

I've had two people in my life who had serious issues with heroin and prescription opiates. Thanks to their experiences and seeing them first hand....I have never touched heroin and know what to keep an eye on if I'm ever prescribed opiates.

The person with the heroin problem was a hardcore intravenous addict for 5 years. I watched as the person went through two episodes trying to kick the addiction cold turkey. Each time it was brutal to watch....sweats, puking, muscles cramps that seemed to lock and gyrate on their own causing massive amounts of pain. Looked supernatural. As I remember it lasted over 24 hours before the relief of just passing out from exhaustion occurred. I remember thinking to myself after watching the first cold-turkey attempt 'the person will never touch heroin again after going through that'. And yet there was another episode of cold-turkey and re-addiction before getting into a program that was based on using methadone that worked. Here's another quote I'll never forget 'Heroin is the most wonderful, warm feeling there is and I was addicted after just two uses'. It's that quote that kept me from ever touching the stuff even though I've experimented with everything else.

Another person with a history of alcoholism fell and cracked his back badly and was put on opiates. I had already been there for the person when they went into two programs to beat the alcohol problem. Within two months the person was addicted to the pain killers and was nodding out at different events. Many of us believed it was the stress and hours at work causing the person to look tired due to lack of sleep because .... that's what the person told us. After several car accidents caused by nodding out and ending up in front of a judge the person got right .... again. So far so good....here's hoping the love of a good woman and a new found belief in God keep the person safe.

In each case the person had a history of addiction and an addictive personality. For some, depending on the drug, there is no such thing as a 'one and done'. I'm still surprised by the doctor who prescribed the second person opiates with a documented background like that...but I've come to understand that pain killers are the first line of care before surgery in these cases.

Education worked for me but it was a front row seat in the class that made it work. If I had read it or been told it by a doctor....I don't think education would have worked for me.

 

[Gunky]

No one disputes that opiates are heavy drugs, physically addictive, overdose is easily possible, etc. Here are some questions I think are important to ask: Does criminalization deter people from consumption? Does it push addicts into the shadows and make them susceptible to health dangers because they are afraid of getting busted? Does arresting addicts and convicting them of crimes help them recover? By forcing opiate users into the black market, do we foster gangs, violence and criminality? Is our current approach to these things working?

I even dare to think maybe smoking opium or taking it in tea would be a good alternative to a lot of expensive and mainly ineffective health interventions that are mounted these days in the last months of life.

 

[His_Highness]

Does arresting addicts and convicting them of crimes help them recover?

In the case of the person I referred to who got addicted to pain killers - It's been over a year since the person got put in front of the judge and yes, arresting him worked. This person had two accidents where he plowed into the back of two cars when he nodded out. The person was EXTREMELY well versed in addiction and treatment when these accidents occurred. IMO the person belonged in jail because of the danger to the public.

So while I might agree with your statements I would also state the obvious....some need to be removed from the general public before they kill someone. Harsh statement for sure but I had a front row seat and I didn't like the view.......the third time.

 

[Gunky]

In the case of the person I referred to who got addicted to pain killers - It's been over a year since the person got put in front of the judge and yes, arresting him worked. This person had two accidents where he plowed into the back of two cars when he nodded out. The person was EXTREMELY well versed in addiction and treatment when these accidents occurred. IMO the person belonged in jail because of the danger to the public.

So while I might agree with your statements I would also state the obvious....some need to be removed from the general public before they kill someone. Harsh statement for sure but I had a front row seat and I didn't like the view.......the third time.

I think it is not necessary to prohibit opiates to solve the problem you mention. This is the same problem as alcohol DUI. There is no significant difference between the case you mention and someone addicted to alcohol who continues to drive under the infl.

When someone abuses pain-killers if there is a crime then it is a crime against himself (and to a lesser degree and in a more abstract way, his family) and I don't think it should be punished with jail time any more than cutting off one's own finger or attempting suicide should result in jail time. When someone drives a vehicle under the influence of pain-killers, that's a crime against society and it makes sense to outlaw the behavior.

 

[His_Highness]

Please don't shoot the messenger

Article alludes to high potency MJ harming the brain......

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/11/...1274212/?cps=gravity_6447_4512422001152739478

 

[Gunky]

Please don't shoot the messenger

Article alludes to high potency MJ harming the brain......

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/11/...1274212/?cps=gravity_6447_4512422001152739478

The study is here . There is a kind of circularity about the reasoning in this study. It finds a possibility of an effect on brain structure, somewhat similar to effects seen in psychosis. Therefore, um....?

 

[KimDracula]

https://peterreynolds.wordpress.com/tag/dr-silvia-rigucci/

"It’s the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London, yet again, with another terrifying story about cannabis that is immediately distorted, exaggerated and misrepresented by the scientifically illiterate hacks of Fleet Street."

 

[CuckFumbustion]

Anti-Cannabis Cult At Kings College Punts Another Scare Story.

https://peterreynolds.wordpress.com/tag/dr-silvia-rigucci/
"It’s the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College London, yet again, with another terrifying story about cannabis that is immediately distorted, exaggerated and misrepresented by the scientifically illiterate hacks of Fleet Street."

This has to be at least the fifth time I've bumped into one of these hack articles from 'Fleet Street', and see it shortly debunked elsewhere by skeptics. But few 'journalists' will dig further on any topic beyond the said article and mouth-breath the misinformation to other publications. Also another case of a lie getting halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Which means, I have to do more work than the 'journalists' who cut and pasted their article (and to think they actually got paid for that! ), to get to the truth I am seeking. I can't read an single article on any single topic anymore without having to cross examining it first.
I'm forced to be a skeptic or end up being a mouth breather.

So to all of our FCers across the pond, (or the globe) I am aware of there being a propaganda movement by the British press to sensationalize and magnify any of the negatives aspects of MJ. (and young people ) Currently, I have my google news page filtered/set to get widest dichotomy of articles on any news topic that becomes available. What British news outlets (or any) should raise a red flag, if I happen to catch one of their hack articles? Since we are on the topic of misinformation....

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders use faulty data to support marijuana reform
This is a Washington Times article. Not sure who is more mis-informed? The candidates or the article. There is a lot of statistics being thrown against each other. Not in a deceitful way, But it contrasts a lot of the other statistics that I've read about MJ and the prison population.

The terrible truth about cannabis: Expert's devastating 20-year study finally demolishes claims that smoking pot is harmless
Now this older article from 'The Daily Mail' is 100% certifiable bovine bowl movement. Not at all subtle as other hack pieces, But you get the impression.



http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/29/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-support-marijuana-r/

 

[grokit]

Correlation doesn't equal causation once again, fucking idiots

 

[1DMF]

@CuckFumbustion Unbelievable anyone would even get past the first paragraph.

Cannabis is highly addictive, causes mental health problems and opens the door to hard drugs, the study found

Anyone who doesn't dismiss the article the second they read that sentence is as much an idiot as those who wrote it, here here @grokit

Or to be kind, they are at the very least totally and utterly misinformed and gullible!

 

[CuckFumbustion]

@CuckFumbustion Unbelievable anyone would even get past the first paragraph.

Anyone who doesn't dismiss the article the second they read that sentence is as much an idiot as those who wrote it, here here @grokit

Or to be kind, they are at the very least totally and utterly misinformed and gullible!

It is 2015 and the reefer madness propaganda from the 1930's hasn't entirely went away. Only it is young people that are being demonized this time instead of minorities and jazz musicians. Problem is that there are some people who read these articles at face value. Without digging any further on the matter.

In this example, AOL took the article from what was essentially a tabloid - The Daily Mail. Then someone else cut and pasted that article without source checking, much less fact checking. And so on ..... Now there is at least 20 articles pointing back to one source.

Prepare yourself for more 'gateway drug' style propaganda. A few politicians are still embracing this, despite all the contrary evidence and changing attitudes.
More badly rendered correlations between schizophrenia, mental illness and MJ to come.

But to confess. I have had skunk that took away my power of speech before.

 

[kellya86]

I'm embarrassed to be English. When the rest of the world evolves and realises that prohibition doesn't work, we stick our head up our arses and carry on, ignoring the evidence all around us, and continuing the war on evil, addictive, phycotic, deadly super skunks.

 

[His_Highness]

How many of 'us' are there versus 'them, the uninformed'? I'm using the term uninformed because even those who don't use are informed by the example we provide them when we're honest and open about using. I've recently become open about my use to my kids and some others but not to everyone. I don't know about you folks but I still feel there is a stigma attached. Maybe it's because I live in a illegal state.

My kids and those I have been open with know I have been gettin happy for four decades and have been successful in a career that requires I eat stress for breakfast and crap complex thought so they aren't likely to buy into this junk. It's not them I'm worried about.

What I'm trying to say is .... these types of articles affect the uniformed as much as the articles in favor do and maybe more since they are scare tactic oriented. It's hard to disprove a negative!

 

[Gunky]

Our government (and most governments) have been lying their fooking asses off about this plant for several decades. The medico-pharmacological complex has lied like crazy for ages. A lot of us are alive now who have been growing and consuming weed since the sixties and seventies. We've smoked all sorts of shit, eaten it, vaped it, dabbed it... We know lots of other people who consume. We have a pretty good idea about the effects, the downsides, and the advantages of this plant.

 

[CuckFumbustion]

Pop Quiz. Which state has the highest arrest rate for MJ in the past 20 years, while other states are reporting less AND which State Governor has the most prohibitionist stance against MJ? Already had a bad feeling about this guy already. I suspect there is more to this statistic than a failed drug policy from a state suffering from a large prison population. If Christie had an agenda and behaving like a bully behind the scenes again, I would not be surprised. He probably wants to keep GITMO.
The whole MJ debate is hook for him to hang his fakey anti-liberal rhetoric on. He had not added anything new to the argument. Just holds up his straw-man and fill his prisons. Just when everybody else is starting to have an honest discussion, he continues with his diatribes. This is what it is like to be a phony 'Law and Order' type.
Marijuana Arrests In New Jersey Are At A 20 Year High
New Jersey marijuana arrests hit 20 year high
Correction: Marijuana Arrests story

EDIT --- Perhaps I mispoke and he turned over a new leaf?
N.J. school 1st in nation to allow medical marijuana for students
"New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill into law last week that authorizes parents or primary caregivers to administer non-smokable forms of medical marijuana to sick or disabled students and also protects school districts from liability."

Christie OKs medical marijuana oil at school for special ed students

 

[1DMF]

Perhaps I mispoke and he turned over a new leaf?

Perhaps he's so fat from constantly having to eat his own words

I still feel there is a stigma attached. Maybe it's because I live in a illegal state.

I know what you mean, being an expectant father and living in an illegal country, I am struggling with myself over how I deal with my self medication!

It's a few years off before they will even speak, so fingers crossed, our country will see the light (like Ireland) and it won't be an issue anymore!

 

[kellya86]

I have this problem, my kids are old enough to speak. How do you find the balance between educating them without glorifying it too much or demonising it. It's a fine line.

I feel if it's left to the schools in this country to educate, it will be false education based on lies.

 

[mikeben]

I have this problem, my kids are old enough to speak. How do you find the balance between educating them without glorifying it too much or demonising it. It's a fine line.

I feel if it's left to the schools in this country to educate, it will be false education based on lies.

Treat it like you would having a drink or taking a medication. Be honest, my parents lied to me about their pot use and it just made them look like assholes to me when I found their papers.

 

[kellya86]

Ha fair point. I don't lie to them, they know I do it. But I don't flaunt it in front of them. They rarely see or smell it.

I try to keep it away from the younger ones mainly because I worry about them going into school and mentioning anything. Not because Im ashamed of it. People are so uneducated about it that the teachers would assume I live in a crack den. When in reality I'm a respectable person with a nice house that goes to work everyday to provide the best life I can for my family.

The older (13) kid is very wise to it. Iv never really spoke about it but now there is definate curiosity.

Legalisation needs to happen to remove the stigma attached to cannabis use. Take all this bad and direct it toward something more deserving, like achohol. Which actually kills and ruins life's. But that's ok caus our government says its ok. Fucking idiots.

 

[1DMF]

Whilst I agree 99% @kellya86 , we have to be careful we don't demonise other drugs or drug takers.

Like everything in life, it's OK in moderation, just look what happened when USA tried to ban alcohol, prohibition doesn't work and it is detrimental to society to try.

I enjoy a good single barrel bourbon (my mate prefers a single malt scotch - well he is Scottish!), but I still go to work, and have a nice home, have written several albums, and try to provide for my wife and soon to be family.

Education, Education, Education... and tolerance, is the only way forward.

It's no different than the gay rights fight of the 21st century.

Judge me by my actions and how I treat other people, not by what I like to put into my body, that's no business of anyone's but those involved!

That goes for not just drugs, but everything in life, what food I like to eat, who I like to shag, the colour of my skin, any religious believe I may have...

Man I thought the days if intolerance and witch finder generals were something we just learned about in school as a dark part of our historical past...

Why does society seem to have to find some one or something to point the finger at and say 'Burn the witch, burn the witch!'

And as I type this my country's leader is trying to convince us that we should start murdering yet more innocent men, women and children, because he believes he's found a witch, while telling me I'm a bad person for consuming cannabis.

aghh... drives me insane!

 

[kellya86]

@1DMF, man your philosophical today. Well said. Maybe it caus I jus vaped but that soundedike a well thought out, prepared speech that made complete sense.

I pick on alcohol too much. I would never expect it to be banned. That would make me as bad as them. I do not drink at all now, but have drunk alot in my life.

The reason I turn on alchohol is just because my snobby family will sit and judge me for my cannabis use while sinking 3 or 4 bottles of red every night. This hypocrisy drives me mad.