Marijuana's march toward mainstream confounds feds

[RainDog]

26. interesting article

thanks for posting! would you mind cross-posting the article in the Drug Policy Forum so that it will be easy to find in the future?

re: People are looking more kindly on marijuana even as science reveals more about the drug's potential dangers, particularly for young people.

Sabet, et all, are sad to see. But not surprising to see. He has built a career on being a drug warrior. He seems disinclined to review evidence that discounts his claims.

The issue of the dangers for young people is a scare tactic. Ask any teenager which is easier to get at school - alcohol or marijuana? If marijuana were regulated through stores in the same way that alcohol is regulated, and if we had public service campaigns geared toward adults about keeping ANY legal substance out of the reach of children for whom it is not meant - we could rationally address these fears.

The claim that cannabis causes schizophrenia in teenagers has been debunked. A meta-analysis of all scientific research on this issue indicated that only those already disposed to developing schizophrenia showed any schizo-affective symptoms. What Pertwee, GB's leading pharmacologist on this subject, had to say is that cannabis poses no threat to the general population for mental health issues. What studies indicate is that rates of schizophrenia remain stable in nations, no matter the level of cannabis use.

The issue of claims of marijuana addiction is one we need to talk about more.

Because, according to the govt itself, and as noted many times, marijuana is less addictive than caffeine. You can view a table and discussion of this from 1994 here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=HtGb2wNsgn4C&pg=PA266&dq=Henningfield/Benowitz+Ratings&ei=aheNSc3qLp-OkASdmazIBQ#v=onepage&q=Henningfield%2FBenowitz%20Ratings&f=false

The issue of substance abuse, for various substances, is often really a secondary issue. The underlying issue is one of mental health that exists before and after the use of any substance.

This reality is one reason we need to treat all substance abuse (not all substance use, btw) as a secondary condition, in most cases, and we need to realize that punishment does not address the actual reason for substance abuse. Just as we now, as a society, recognize that some people have a problem with substance abuse related to alcohol, and have created a social framework for those people to receive treatment and help, we need to extend this same model to substances that are more harmful than alcohol (marijuana, however, isn't among those.)

For the few who exhibit a psychological dependency on cannabis, treatment programs, of course, should be available for those people as well. Any substance can be psychologically addicting. No special threat needs to be assigned to cannabis in this regard. Moderation is entirely possible for many people, in regard to cannabis use, just as it is possible for many people in regard to alcohol use. Moderation is possible for many people regarding alcohol, even tho it is far more addictive than cannabis.

Addiction fear scares are not useful to actually deal with this issue, which comes down to this: Is marijuana more harmful to society as a legal or illegal product?

It appears to me it is more harmful for people to face a legal system that prohibits (just as it was with alcohol) than it is to have a legal substance (just as it was with alcohol.)

The overwhelming evidence regarding cannabis, in terms of a cost/benefit analysis to society --- the possible physiological dangers of the substance versus the harm/the harm of the punishment compared to the harm of the substance itself --- indicates that cannabis is benign for the majority of people, whatever their age or health. the costs of prohibition are more harmful than the use of the substance itself.

We can argue this, anyone who would like to do so, and, if so, I will be happy to refer to the studies (including ones indicating potential negatives) to argue this point. Or people can look for the evidence themselves, since there are 1000s of studies that are the basis for my view of this issue.