14 Hard Truths of Marijuana

[XtrmeToker]

(Sorry I accidently deleted it I thought i was in the wrong forum as you can see first time at this forum)

Okay so i have been doing digging on finding reliable sorces of MariJuana facts. Enjoy!

• Roger Pertwee of the University of Aberdeen explained, “It’s as if the plant contains a first-aid kit giving the body everything it needs to get bettter, and the body decides which components to employ... The endocannibnoid system begins to kick in in abnormality, in pathology. Perhaps it kicks in whether the pathology is an increase in something or a decrease in something. What it’s trying to do is get whatever that abnormality is back to homeostasis.

• There is no compelling evidence that marijuana contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities. At some doses, marijuana affects perception and psychomotor performances- changes which could impair driving ability. However, in driving studies, marijuana produces little or no car-handling impairment- consistently less than produced by low moderate doses of alcohol and many legal medications. In contrast to alcohol, which tends to increase risky driving practices, marijuana tends to make subjects more cautious.

• Marijuana does not cause overdose deaths. The number of people in hospital emergency rooms who say they have used marijuana has increased. On this basis, the visit may be recorded as marijuana-related even if marijuana had nothing to do with the medical condition preceding the hospital visit. Many more teenagers use marijuana than use drugs such as heroin and cocaine. As a result, when teenagers visit hospital emergency rooms, they report marijuana much more frequently than they report heroin and cocaine. In the large majority of cases when marijuana is mentioned, other drugs are mentioned as well. In 1994, fewer than 2% of drug related emergency room visits involved the use of marijuana.

• Many active drugs enter the body's fat cells. What is different (but not unique) about THC is that it exits fat cells slowly. As a result, traces of marijuana can be found in the body for days or weeks following ingestion. However, within a few hours of smoking marijuana, the amount of THC in the brain falls below the concentration required for detectable psychoactivity. The fat cells in which THC lingers are not harmed by the drug's presence, nor is the brain or other organs. The most important consequence of marijuana's slow excretion is that it can be detected in blood, urine, and tissue long after it is used, and long after its psychoactivity has ended.

• There have been no reports of lung cancer related solely to marijuana, and in a large study presented to the American Thoracic Society in 2006, even heavy users of smoked marijuana were found not to have any increased risk of lung cancer. Unlike heavy tobacco smokers, heavy marijuana smokers exhibit no obstruction of the lung's small airway. That indicates that people will not develop emphysema from smoking marijuana.

• Studies of newborns, infants, and children show no consistent physical, developmental, or cognitive deficits related to prenatal marijuana exposure. Marijuana had no reliable impact on birth size, length of gestation, neurological development, or the occurrence of physical abnormalities. The administration of hundreds of tests to older children has revealed only minor differences between offspring of marijuana users and nonusers, and some are positive rather than negative.

• Every serious scholar and government commission examining the relationship between marijuana use and crime has reached the same conclusion: marijuana does not cause crime. The vast majority of marijuana users do not commit crimes other than the crime of possessing marijuana. Among marijuana users who do commit crimes, marijuana plays no causal role. Almost all human and animal studies show that marijuana decreases rather than increases aggression.

• There is nothing about marijuana specifically that causes people to lose their drive and ambition. In laboratory studies, subjects given high doses of marijuana for several days or even several weeks exhibit no decrease in work motivation or productivity. Among working adults, marijuana users tend to earn higher wages than non-users. College students who use marijuana have the same grades as nonusers. Among high school students, heavy use is associated with school failure, but school failure usually comes first.

I LOVE THIS!

• None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. An early study reported brain damage in rhesus monkeys after six months exposure to high concentrations of marijuana smoke. In a recent, more carefully conducted study, researchers found no evidence of brain abnormality in monkeys that were forced to inhale the equivalent of four to five marijuana cigarettes every day for a year. The claim that marijuana kills brain cells is based on a speculative report dating back a quarter of a century that has never been supported by any scientific study.

• The Netherlands' drug policy is the most nonpunitive in Europe. For more than twenty years, Dutch citizens over age eighteen have been permitted to buy and use cannabis (marijuana and hashish) in government-regulated coffee shops. This policy has not resulted in dramatically escalating cannabis use. For most age groups, rates of marijuana use in the Netherlands are similar to those in the United States. However, for young adolescents, rates of marijuana use are lower in the Netherlands than in the United States. The Dutch people overwhelmingly approve of current cannabis policy which seeks to normalize rather than dramatize cannabis use.

• Marijuana does not cause people to use hard drugs. What the gateway theory presents as a causal explanation is a statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug.

• In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell cultures. None reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the National Commission in 1972. In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that "the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health."

• Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans - less than 1 percent - smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. Others seek help from drug treatment professionals. Marijuana does not cause physical dependence. If people experience withdrawal symptoms at all, they are remarkably mild.

Last but not least my MOST favorite fact of them all and i actually did a big speech and debate paper on this in College.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=650 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2><CENTER>HOW DANGEROUS IS MARIJUANA

COMPARED WITH OTHER SUBSTANCES?

</CENTER>
Number of American deaths per year that result directly
or primarily from the following selected causes nationwide, according
to World Almanacs, Life Insurance Actuarial (death) Rates, and
the last 20 years of U.S. Surgeon Generals' reports.

</TD></TR><TR><TD height=35>TOBACCO</TD><TD height=35>340,000 to 450,000</TD></TR><TR><TD height=35>ALCOHOL (Not including 50% of all highway

deaths and 65% of all murders)

</TD><TD height=35>150,000+</TD></TR><TR><TD height=35>ASPIRIN (Including deliberate overdose) </TD><TD height=35>180 to 1,000+</TD></TR><TR><TD height=35>CAFFEINE (From stress, ulcers, and triggering

irregular heartbeats, etc.)

</TD><TD height=35>1,000 to 10,000 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=35>"LEGAL" DRUG OVERDOSE (Deliberate

or accidental) from legal, prescribed or patent medicines and/or
mixing with alcohol - e.g. Valium/alcohol

</TD><TD height=35>14,000 to 27,000 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=35>ILLICIT DRUG OVERDOSE (Deliberate or accidental)

from all illegal drugs.

</TD><TD height=35>3,800 to 5,200 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=35>MARIJUANA</TD><TD height=35>0 </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=100>(Marijuana users also have the same

or lower incidence of murders and highway deaths and accidents
than the general non-marijuana using population as a whole. Crancer
Study, UCLA; U.S. Funded ($6 million), First & Second Jamaican
Studies, 1968 to 1974; Costa Rican Studies, 1980 to 1982; et al.
LOWEST TOXICITY 100% of the studies done at dozens of American
universities and research facilities show pot toxicity does not
exist. Medical history does not record anyone dying from an overdose
of marijuana (UCLA, Harvard, Temple, etc.).

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- / message -->

Now if you read all of these can you not tell me that these are true? I meen in my own personal experiance with Marijuana users they are some of the coolest, most fun, and nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. None that I know has ever died from it; my grandpa (good ol' fashion babyboomer) who has used for 40 years now has not had a single negative side effect, aside from burning himself with fire. This is open to discussion wanna see what you guys and gals have to say. Are you a believer or non-believer in cold hard facts.

[glass_girl420]

LOL I thought it was my mind playing tricks{baked}, one minute it's there and then it just vanished!

[youngandstupid]

From the research I've done two of those are slightly false. This is from my Developmental Psychology book, "The infants of twice-weekly marijuana smokers suffer from tremors and sleep problems. They seem to have little interest in their surroundings for up to 2 weeks after birth. (Brockington, 1996). Moreover, at age 6, children who experienced prenatal exposure to marijuana are shorter on average than 6-year-olds whose mothers did not use marijuana during pregnancy (Conrelius, Goldschmidt, Day, & Larkby, 2002)." I also recall that prenatal exposure may be linked to an increased risk of ADHD (but my memory is shaky). Regardless of whether or not these studies are correct, most responsible pot smokers are against having minors smoking since it isn't bright for a developing mind to be using psychoactive drugs. So a mother smoking is doing exactly that so it's extremely irresponsible on the part of the mother IMO.

The other mistake is that it isn't physically addictive. Anything that is mentally addictive is physically addictive solely based off of the knowledge that everything involved in cognition and mental facets is because of the brain and the chemistry involved in synaptic transmission. That's a physical activit, so in essence it is physically addictive.

Neither is even close to a reason to keep it illegal but we can only win with 100% true facts, the good and the bad.

Edit: I have also just come across a large longitudinal study done in the Netherlands associated with the increase risk of developing or worsening a psychosis being related to cannabis use. It basically said that increased frequency of use of cannabis has been directly linked to an increased risk in developing or worsening a psychosis.

[XtrmeToker]

Well i was reading my Health book and yes i found the same thing with the children but it is rare for long term effects to take place. you also have to think about the reliablity of your book. Mine said Marijuana can give you cancer in the mouth if you smoke it, and we all know thats bullshit. Second you are saying mental addiction is a chemical thing but its not. Its where you think you have to have it but unlike physical addiction your body does not need it to survive. ex) alchoholic can not go with out having alchohol in higher and higher consentrations. My friend from years ago was an alchoholic and tried to just stop doing it and died from it. Got the quakes the night he decided to stop and died in his sleep...pretty sad.

[youngandstupid]

Mental addiction supposes that the mind is addicted not that there are physical symptoms. My point is that physical reactions are taking place in your mind for you to be able to think. Cognition is a chemical process, nothing more IMO. And regardless there are withdrawl symptoms for marijuana. I've seen at least one, there are probably more, thread that was a few pages long of people talking about a loss of appetite and mild insomnia once they stopped smoking. Again that's no reason to keep it illegal. I think that alcohol is one of the, if not the only, drugs that has a withdrawl that can kill you. That really blows, my condolences.

[stew12]

As far as i see it, marijuana isn't good for a persons body. WHich means it has to have negative effects, which im willing to accept. They use the WAR ON DRUGS knowing marijuana will always be available, its retarded.

[XtrmeToker]

Well breathing in smoke will never be good for you but some people will eat it which is 100x better for you and from my own exsperiances has no negative effect. (for me)

[Sage of Salvia]

Seems like when you cook buds into ricekrisbies(spelling) or brownies, you stay high ALOT longer, sure it might take 30mins-1hr to kick in but damn, i'v never been so baked in my life...

[-mu]

"They" are trawling out the psychosis study in the UK, too, but it sounds to me like pure shite. Think about it; people suffering from mental health problems turn to cannabis, for help*. The study is so blindingly obviously back-to-front thinking that it could well make it all the way to a revertion of the recent UK cannabis reclassification law before anyone spots the fatal flaw. *sigh*

It's like...

Mullah Nasrudin is on his hands and knees in the street, shuffling around when one of his students approaches him.

"What are you doing Mullah?"
"I'm looking for my lost keys"

So the student gets down on his knees and rakes about, looking for the keys. After a while he says,

"Did you really lose them out here?"
"No", replies the Mullah, "in my house".

Spluttering, the student protests, "So why are you looking for them in the street?!?"

"The light is better."

-mu

---
* And they will often turn to cannabis for help when their symptoms are still embyonic (i.e. not yet "diagnosed"), sensing something of use in the cannabis chemistry. But schwagg and adulterated street hash (most common in UK) just doesn't do the business. If that person had access to a quality medical strain (grown by yet-to-be-perfected biogenic methods), the "psychosis" would likely take a different course altogether.

[cannabis king12]

The only one of those facts that I think is partly false is that marijuana doesn't cause lung cancer and other respiratory problems. It is just hard to find people that smoke marijuana and not tobacco to prove for sure that marijuana can be a sole cause. I don't believe that marijuana is worse than cigarettes like your drug counselors may say, either. But if youre really worried about getting lung cancer or any of that, just invest in a vaporizer. There goes one more argument to keep it illegal.

[Prea]

about it being physically addictive
i personally think that it can be, i hear a number of marijuana users who use pot daily say that if they go a day without it (after using it continuously), that they can't get to sleep and such

[Tokin_Smokin_69]

About babies and small children, can you imagine what tobacco or alcohol would do to them? It would really screw them up and both of those things are perfectly legal. And about addiction, sometimes it isn't a bad thing. Take sex for instance. People get addicted to it but its not hurting them. People are addicted to weed and sex because they want it so bad, not because they need it. People are addicted to heroin, alcohol, meth, etc. because they have to have it to prevent their bodies from severe physical pain if they don't have it.

[Tokin_Smokin_69]

Originally Posted by Prea

about it being physically addictive
i personally think that it can be, i hear a number of marijuana users who use pot daily say that if they go a day without it (after using it continuously), that they can't get to sleep and such

That is me but for the opposite reason. I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping and nothing I took seemed to work. If it did, I felt like shit the next day because it made me feel drowsy too long. Then I started smoking weed and I noticed that I got a full night of sleep when I did. The rest is history and I now use it every night to help me sleep. Would I be able to sleep without it tonight? Yes, but I wouldn't get much and it wouldn't be quality sleep. However, weed isn't the cause of the problem. It is the cure. Especially a really good indica like Black Domina. That shit used to knock my ass out after 2 hits.

[dose-in-a-rose]

your my hero

[Randolphus]

Originally Posted by -mu

"They" are trawling out the psychosis study in the UK, too, but it sounds to me like pure shite. Think about it; people suffering from mental health problems turn to cannabis, for help*. The study is so blindingly obviously back-to-front thinking that it could well make it all the way to a revertion of the recent UK cannabis reclassification law before anyone spots the fatal flaw. *sigh*

It's like...

Mullah Nasrudin is on his hands and knees in the street, shuffling around when one of his students approaches him.

"What are you doing Mullah?"
"I'm looking for my lost keys"

So the student gets down on his knees and rakes about, looking for the keys. After a while he says,

"Did you really lose them out here?"
"No", replies the Mullah, "in my house".

Spluttering, the student protests, "So why are you looking for them in the street?!?"

"The light is better."

-mu

---
* And they will often turn to cannabis for help when their symptoms are still embyonic (i.e. not yet "diagnosed"), sensing something of use in the cannabis chemistry. But schwagg and adulterated street hash (most common in UK) just doesn't do the business. If that person had access to a quality medical strain (grown by yet-to-be-perfected biogenic methods), the "psychosis" would likely take a different course altogether.

Hey Dude, I like you.