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December 09, 2003
Marijuana madness
Yet more evidence that cannabis -- far from being the soft, relatively harmless drug we are constantly told it is -- can be a killer. That is to say, it can make users kill other people. A teenager, Jamie Lee Osbourne, stabbed a milkman to death using a 12-inch blade after having 'delusional fantasies' as a heavy smoker of cannabis. His barrister told the court that Osbourne's personality changed as he took cannabis and turned to alcohol. 'Cannabis is a great disinhibitor. He began to have less inhibitions and almost delusional fantasies about getting money'. Indeed. There is ample evidence about the link between cannabis and psychosis, and more and more evidence that cannabis is implicated in violent death. It is not so much that users turn to crime to feed their habit; it is more that the drug 'disinhibits' them by destroying those parts of the brain that deal in cognition and produce any kind of moral sense. All this is quite clear from the research evidence. Yet the government has reclassified cannabis to be on a par with slimming pills, and has all but decriminalised it. That's surely another kind of madness. Posted by melanie at December 9, 2003
Comments
The only time I have ever felt driven to contact the BBC to complain was when my husband and I were enjoing a Sunday breaksfast with my children and watching Breakfast with Frost. Mo Mowlam, then a New Labour Cabinet minister was advocating the legalisation of cannabis arguing that "millions" of young people would have been safely taking soft drugs like ecstasy and cannabis over the weekend with no ill effects." We truly have sunk to the depths in this country if a senior politician in government is allowed to talk so irresponsibly without fear of contradiction. Well-off celebrity "recreational" drug users such as Mo make my blood boil. They should be forced to live with drug addicts in inner cities and see the misery and degradation caused by drugs to young people. It is no surprise to me that the various drugs projects operating in the front line with addicts vehemently oppose the liberalisation of our drugs laws. Why on earth would anybody want to This was known decades ago but not fashionable for the student types who now run the media. Did you see the research showing Ecstasy and Cocaine alter DNA ? I thought that fascinating....maybe we will get a group of zombies that can be used as guinea pigs like the people at Windscale in 1957. Until Chernobyl these people were the ones you could observe to see how radiation leakage affected them, through direct exposure or by drinking milk......well a few specimens to observe and see how narcotics affect DNA could be interesting and worthy of scientific research. Posted by: Romulus at December 10, 2003 07:48 AMEcstasy and Cocaine "alter DNA"?? Give me a break. I'm only a poor chemist with pretensions to Biochemistry but blimey. That is beyond absurd. Would you have any references perchance? No? I thought not. Posted by: Andrew Duffin at December 10, 2003 01:30 PMhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38680-2003Dec5.html http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L0562830.htm "ROME, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Cocaine and ecstasy not only cause addiction and raise the risk of cancer but also provoke genetic mutations, Italian scientists said on Friday. "Cocaine and ecstasy have proved to be more dangerous than we had imagined," said Giorgio Bronzetti, chief scientist at the National Centre for Research's (CNR) biotechnology department." http://uk.news.yahoo.com/031205/325/egdht.html
I don't want to spoil the party for the "Reefer Madness" crowd but did anyone notice the reference to alcohol in the clip? I'll believe cannabis is socially dangerous (smoking anything is physically dangerous) when the people who use it ALONE are found stealing to support their "addiction" and beating the shit out of one another right after closing time at the local coffee house. Posted by: Theodopoulos Pherecydes at December 10, 2003 06:34 PMTheo You are being disengenious linking canabis as a social menace only. "Ecstasy and Cocaine "alter DNA"?? "Give me a break. I'm only a poor chemist with pretensions to Biochemistry but blimey. That is beyond absurd. Would you have any references perchance? No? I thought not." Blimey!!! If YOU are indeed a "chemist" Mr. Duffin, then you should know this. Even if you are only a "pharmacist" you should know this. Go get your own references or walk into the streets and see plenty of stupid kids, and even more stupid, wasted adults who have toked for decades. It is a proven fact that MJ alters lots of things such as inhibitions and ambition, the least of which is genes. Since Romy did some of the job for you, you shant have to. However, an excellent book on the subject as well as other mind altering drugs is: "Buzzed" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393317323/104-2023099-8923902?v=glance Theo, for a man old enough to remember "Reefer Madness" you should know that we have learned much since then. Recreational alcohol poses a far lesser risk to "most" people than rec drugs! Are you a Retsina fan? ;-) Lili
Hi Melanie, First the praise Now the rest 1) The only case of violence on marijuana that I have heard or seen is in your article. I have however heard and seen firsthand many incidences of violence and psychosis relating to alcohol. Given that comparison, why should alcohol be legal and marijuana not? 2) Regarding marijuana psychosis, the only thing the evidence suggests is that it may aggravate existing psychosis. There is actually no causal evidence. 3) The defense that Jamie Lee used was that he was delusional from using marijuana. I suspect he is using this absurd claim to mitigate any judgment on him. He was clearly a loon but whether that had anything to do with marijuana is clearly debatable. 4) The disinhibitor/moral degradation theory seems strange (given that alcohol is much more effective at 'disinhibiting' and making people behave badly). Marijuana tends to make people introspective but not aggressive. Do you have any links to this 'evidence' (hopefully causal evidence rather than just circumstancial evidence). 5) Finally, when Euro 2000 (football competition) was Legalise all drugs for those of us who are over eighteen years of age.We are all adult enough to know whether to indulge or not.Prohibition always fails in the long run.And it only benefits the criminal. Posted by: Prof. J. Edwards at December 11, 2003 05:01 PM"Legalise all drugs for those of us who are over eighteen years of age.We are all adult enough to know whether to indulge or not.Prohibition always fails in the long run.And it only benefits the criminal" Complete free-for-all ? Surgeons, pilots, train-drivers can use them as they work ? May as well abolish Health & safety laws and Road Traffic Acts while we are at it. Do buy lots of insurance....no reason for taxpayers to pay medical costs of druggies....when there are people who need medical treatment rather than recreational druggies. Posted by: Trace at December 11, 2003 06:13 PMPlenty of money to solve all ills.Tobacco,Alcohol and All Drugs heavily taxed. Posted by: Rock and Roll at December 12, 2003 04:59 PMCocaine and X causing genetic mutations? hmm. I dont see anywhere in the articles where they say how DNA was being mutated by ingestion of cocaine or X. How much of the drug and how often were they given to these animals? If often I could see a decreased appetite lowering the amount of energy available to the organism and not so important biochemical processes such as DNA repair mechanisms being shutdown to conserve energy. Point being that this is only 1 study making this claim. Not until other studies validate this claim should it be taken as fact. Also scientists have a way of making their data say what they want it to say in order to get funding for their research. Data can be interpreted in many ways. Id also be interested in knowing how mutations were measured between the experimental group and control group. Also how these rates of mutations compare to such things as living in a smoggy city or eating a high fat diet Posted by: joe at December 23, 2003 01:01 AMTrace: Alcohol is "legal". That does not mean one can drink and drive, or fly a plane while drunk. It is extremely disingenuous to pretend that legalising pot or any other currently illegal drug would mean that it would thus not be illegal or conractually prohibited to be high while doing certain things, or (as I've seen other people argue) that this would mean that, unlike tobacco and alcohol, there could be no age-related prohibitions on their sale, use, or possession. (While such prohibitions are not amazingly effective, they do have some effect, and could not be less effective than the current illegal free-for-all at keeping drugs out of the hands of children.) (And medical costs? No reason for trim people to pay medical costs of the overweight, is there? I suggest we ban all fat-filled or sugar-filled food, too, as well as mandate - at pain of prison - that everyone exercise daily, if our objective is to keep the welfare state from going bankrupt paying for things it should probably never pay for to begin with. If you believe this example is somehow "different", please say how. If not, you may wish to reconsider using that sort of argument. It leads to very bad places.) Posted by: Sigivald at January 14, 2004 06:13 PMI use Marijuana on a regular basis for recreation, but am increasingly baffled by the lack of coherent results and consistent tests of Marijuana. Have there there been any tests, observations or experiments carried out where the subjects have ONLY used cannabis and no other substance(s)? About alcohol... It is said that you shouldn't mix alcohol with ANY substance, legal or taxed. Now, forgive me for having a biased opinion, but any mental problems I have, have come from having no father and being ridiculed for years from being a child to today. Wouldn't it make sense to decriminalise pot so we (as has been said before me) can make adult, rational decisions... There's nothing worse than an overprotective 'Mother'. Bill Hicks (RIP) had some 'interesting' things to say on the topic of drugs. He commented that Marijuana, with it's introspective quality, makes people more critical and analytical and enables people to see the fact that society isn't working as it should. I feel that the whole reason Marijuana users become 'paranoid' or develop a 'psychosis' is because of the outside world, not Marijuana. And finally, we all know stress and depression are rife in today's modern world. Is Marijuana making us more sensitive to it? After all, it seems to make other senses more acute. OK. I'm off my soapbox, now. Posted by: Stinley at January 28, 2004 10:42 PMI'm sorry, I realise now I was wrong. I actualy read the facts and I am deeply sorry for writing such inacurate rubbish. Posted by: melanie at February 2, 2004 02:35 AMHi, you can now downward an mp3 version of a BBC radio program featuring Melanie Phillips debating current cannabis law with ex drug smuggler Howard "MR NiCE" Marks. HERE: http://www.ukcia.org/mp3s/moral_maze_cannabis_28_01-04.mp3 Posted by: Andrew at February 2, 2004 04:10 AMCannabis Psychosis
[ii] Impurities in black market cannabis. There is a type of very cheap hashish that comes from Morocco into Spain, known as soap bar. This is a particular type of cannabis compound is made specifically for the European black market. This often contains lot of impurities, including glue which may be harmful. Also some cannabis is sprayed with insecticide, although cannabis is a robust plant and does not need to be sprayed, some growers still spray it. and the residue of insecticide can cause hallucinations. [iii] User has mental problems already. Some users take cannabis to suppress the symptoms of a mental condition they already have, though the cannabis could exacerbate a latent mental problem. Because a proportion of people who are under mental health care also take illegal drugs, some drug and social support agencies now employ specialists in ‘dual diagnosis’ whose task it is to distinguish between the inherent mental problems a patient may have and the problems caused by illicit substance use. [v] Dependence. Cannabis is not addictive, but there have been cases where people have developed a dependence, and then have decided to give up and have found this a difficult thing to do. People who are concerned about their dependence should go to the www.marijuana-anonymous.org website. This is run by a support group which is for people who want to give up cannabis but can’t.
It is often said that cannabis is stronger now than it was in the 60s. The Indian hemp plant, The strongest part of the cannabis plant is the unfertilised bud of the female plant. Which can go up to 10% THC. This gives out a yellow powder which, if shaken off and collected, is used to form into hashish. This is the strongest form of cannabis. Cannabis Indica is the Indian plant, and it has now been cross bred with the North European plant, cannabis Sativa, and this has increased the THC level of the sativa plant. This is the plant known as ‘skunk’ These plants are often grown indoors with a ‘hydroponics’ cultivation arrangement, using chemical fertilizers. There is no way of telling how strong the plant is unless it is professionally analysed. In the current black market, dealers tend to assume their customers are looking for strength. In the 60s, the usual herbal cannabis available was a mixture of leaf and bud, thus reducing the strength of the dose. Government research on samples collected by the police have been found on the whole to be no stronger than in the 60s. If there are 4 million cannabis users, and 400 a year get referred to the mental health services, then the chance of a cannabis user getting referred for cannabis related mental illness is only 1 in ten thousand. This is a lot lower that the rate for psychosis in the general population. Some problems are caused by stress within the family if parents find their children are taking drugs. Cannabis use can put a young person in a suggestible state , and violent and hostile anger on behalf of a parent can be damaging within itself. In an interview with leader of a drugs counselling team, he explained to me how he would discuss the issue with a new referral. ‘First I would ask them about their drug use, then I would ask them if they are happy with that level of drug use, or whether they want to change it. Then I would give them suggestions as to how they could manage their drug use better. This way they can start thinking about controlling their drug consumption rather than having it controlling them. Also, this way I can find out whether they really do want to give up taking drugs. If they do, or if they want to reduce their use, then this can be done in stages, and we can work on it together. In this way, I can establish a working relationship with the client, and build up trust’
Cannabis Psychosis
[ii] Impurities in black market cannabis. There is a type of very cheap hashish that comes from Morocco into Spain, known as soap bar. This is a particular type of cannabis compound is made specifically for the European black market. This often contains lot of impurities, including glue which may be harmful. Also some cannabis is sprayed with insecticide, although cannabis is a robust plant and does not need to be sprayed, some growers still spray it. and the residue of insecticide can cause hallucinations. [iii] User has mental problems already. Some users take cannabis to suppress the symptoms of a mental condition they already have, though the cannabis could exacerbate a latent mental problem. Because a proportion of people who are under mental health care also take illegal drugs, some drug and social support agencies now employ specialists in ‘dual diagnosis’ whose task it is to distinguish between the inherent mental problems a patient may have and the problems caused by illicit substance use. [v] Dependence. Cannabis is not addictive, but there have been cases where people have developed a dependence, and then have decided to give up and have found this a difficult thing to do. People who are concerned about their dependence should go to the www.marijuana-anonymous.org website. This is run by a support group which is for people who want to give up cannabis but can’t.
It is often said that cannabis is stronger now than it was in the 60s. The Indian hemp plant, The strongest part of the cannabis plant is the unfertilised bud of the female plant. Which can go up to 10% THC. This gives out a yellow powder which, if shaken off and collected, is used to form into hashish. This is the strongest form of cannabis. Cannabis Indica is the Indian plant, and it has now been cross bred with the North European plant, cannabis Sativa, and this has increased the THC level of the sativa plant. This is the plant known as ‘skunk’ These plants are often grown indoors with a ‘hydroponics’ cultivation arrangement, using chemical fertilizers. There is no way of telling how strong the plant is unless it is professionally analysed. In the current black market, dealers tend to assume their customers are looking for strength. In the 60s, the usual herbal cannabis available was a mixture of leaf and bud, thus reducing the strength of the dose. Government research on samples collected by the police have been found on the whole to be no stronger than in the 60s. If there are 4 million cannabis users, and 400 a year get referred to the mental health services, then the chance of a cannabis user getting referred for cannabis related mental illness is only 1 in ten thousand. This is a lot lower that the rate for psychosis in the general population. Some problems are caused by stress within the family if parents find their children are taking drugs. Cannabis use can put a young person in a suggestible state , and violent and hostile anger on behalf of a parent can be damaging within itself. In an interview with leader of a drugs counselling team, he explained to me how he would discuss the issue with a new referral. ‘First I would ask them about their drug use, then I would ask them if they are happy with that level of drug use, or whether they want to change it. Then I would give them suggestions as to how they could manage their drug use better. This way they can start thinking about controlling their drug consumption rather than having it controlling them. Also, this way I can find out whether they really do want to give up taking drugs. If they do, or if they want to reduce their use, then this can be done in stages, and we can work on it together. In this way, I can establish a working relationship with the client, and build up trust’
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