Weeds Wicked Ways
As our world takes a downward slide in morality and
related behaviors, there are many who seem to be on the bandwagon to legalize
the use of marijuana due to its medicinal properties. Eighteen states, and the District of Columbia
have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. In so doing, they have opened Pandora’s Box,
leading to mainstream acceptance with the majority of people in today’s time
seeing no harm/no foul.
A newspaper article said:
It
is a moment in America that is rife with contradictions:
—People
are looking more kindly on marijuana even as science reveals more about the
drug's potential dangers, particularly for young people.
—States
are giving the green light to the drug in direct defiance of a federal
prohibition on its use.
—Exploration of the potential medical benefit is limited by high
federal hurdles to research.
States which have approved the measures to make the
use of the drug legal have placed great constraints and guidelines for the
growth and sale of the drug. In so
doing, the state appears to be monitoring the activity and use, but in reality
the question remains, “Is it controlled, now that it is legal?”
Additionally there are the unknown factors, the
incomplete research, and the continual abusive factors involved with this, or
any drug that has some form of medical benefits. Some lawmakers, with faulty and confused
ideologies, claim that to make the use of marijuana legal will aid in control
of the drug. Others have stated the
economical factor as the driving point for legalization. Still others take the “damn the torpedoes”
approach and say, “If it feels good, let’s do it.”
Lawmakers, policy advocates, and the like need to
slow up a bit and face reality. They
need to stop and take a moment to consider the principles which apply to this
drug, a drug that has been abused and used for introduction to other more
deadly and more disastrous drugs.
Before we go any further let us take a moment and
examine the history and definitions of the drug marijuana.
Marijuana is a drug which comes from the Cannabis
plant. Cannabis is an annual,
dioecious,
flowering herb. The stem, which is used as hemp, is included
in various industrial and foodstuff products.
The seeds and oil are also used in various forms, not related to drug
usage.
Cannabis is
most often consumed for its psychoactive and physiological effects which include euphoria, relaxation, and increase in
appetite. Unwanted side-effects include
decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, reddening of
the eyes, paranoia and anxiety.
Cannabis or marijuana is used for the aforementioned
purposes. It makes the user feel good,
relaxed and mellow. Some users, which I
have dealt with through the years, claim that after a stressful, difficult day,
the use of a joint on the drive home gives them the ability to deal with the
day and prepares them for a quiet evening.
Cannabis has
psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed. The immediate desired
effects from consuming cannabis include relaxation and mild euphoria (the
"high" or "stoned" feeling), while some immediate undesired
side-effects include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor
skills and reddening of the eyes. Aside
from a subjective change in perception and, most notably, mood, the most common
short-term physical and neurological effects include increased heart rate,
increased appetite and consumption of food, lowered blood pressure, impairment
of short-term and working memory, psychomotor coordination, and
concentration. Long-term effects are less clear. In humans, relatively few adverse clinical
health effects have been documented from chronic cannabis use.
Marijuana, while giving the user that mellow
feeling, also gives the feeling of speed as well. There is documented evidence that leads to
the understanding of a mixture of results from the use and/or abuse of this
drug.
While many
psychoactive drugs clearly fall into the category of either stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogen, cannabis exhibits a mix of all properties, perhaps leaning the
most towards hallucinogenic or psychedelic properties, though with other effects quite pronounced as well.
THC is typically considered the primary active component of the cannabis plant;
various scientific studies have suggested that certain other cannabinoids like CBD may
also play a significant role in its psychoactive effects.
The user may see things which are not real, may feel
a floating feeling, and at the same time feel that the world is caving in on
them or that someone is after them.
These may last for a few moments or for a few hours, but the long term
effects are to be considered as a warning of much more problems with continual
use.
Though the
long-term effects of cannabis have been studied, there remains much to be
concluded. Many studies have investigated whether long-term use of cannabis can
cause or contribute to the development of illnesses such as heart disease, bipolar disorder, depression, mood
swings or schizophrenia. Its effects on intelligence, memory, respiratory functions and
the possible relationship of cannabis
use to mental disorders such as schizophrenia, psychosis, depersonalization disorder and depression are still
under discussion.
Since these things are still “under discussion” does it not stand to reason that there is a real problem with this “herb” and long term potential problems? Even though there is not a definitive study involving the connection between use of weed and the problems which may or not be caused by such use, we need to side with the negative potentials of the use of marijuana.
Both advocates and opponents of cannabis are able to call upon
numerous scientific studies supporting their respective positions. For
instance, while cannabis has been implicated in the development of various
mental disorders in some studies, these studies differ widely as to whether
cannabis use is the cause of the mental problems displayed in heavy users,
whether the mental problems are exacerbated by cannabis use, or whether both
the cannabis use and the mental problems are the effects of some other cause.
The addictive nature of the use of marijuana is of great discussion. Most discussions assume this drug is one which can be cut off at any time. Recreational users state they can take it or leave it. Others state that the use is something they do with certain people in their circle of friends, while others do not do it and therefore they can abstain with those friends.
The problem with these issues is that whether these individuals use or do not use, the issue of the introduction to more addictive and dangerous drugs is a greater potential than for those who do not use. Some say otherwise but from my viewpoint these are laced with flawed understanding.
Yes, behind caffeine and nicotine, cannabis may be
the least addictive, but it is still addictive and the results of introduction
to others drugs is present.
Dr. Jack E.
Henningfield of NIDA ranked the
relative addictiveness of 6 substances (cannabis, caffeine, cocaine, alcohol,
heroin and nicotine). Cannabis ranked least addictive, with caffeine the second
least addictive and nicotine the most addictive.
The Gateway Hypothesis is something that seems to be
of greatest argument here. Many, and I
am one in this camp, believe that cannabis is a gateway drug leading to other
more dangerous and destructive drugs.
Through various situations I have seen this to be true. One incarcerated individual after another has
confessed that the life of drugs ruled and ruined their lives, starting with
marijuana. Further, these same
individuals stated that the process that started with marijuana was an innocent
experimentation, which began a lifelong use of drugs and alcohol, starting as
early as thirteen years old on the average (one individual said that they
started drinking alcohol at the age of six and took their first joint at
nine).
Some studies
state that while there is no proof for this gateway hypothesis, young cannabis
users should still be considered as a risk group for intervention programs. Other findings indicate that hard drug users
are likely to be "poly-drug" users, and that interventions
must address the use of multiple drugs instead of a single hard drug.
Poly drug use refers to the use of two or more psychoactive drugs in combination to achieve a particular effect. In many cases
one drug is used as a base or primary drug, with additional drugs to leaven or
compensate for the side effects of the primary drug and make the experience
more enjoyable with drug synergy effects, or to
supplement for primary drug when supply is low.
From my informal studies I have found that marijuana
users will step up to the next available drug.
These include but are not confined to these drugs or in a definitive
order: prescription drugs, Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, etc. The most disturbing part of this study finds
that alcohol is a part of the mixture.
When one thinks of the factors of alcoholism and diseases
attributed to the use thereof, adding the problems and long term effects of
marijuana and other drugs, we have a serious problem. Anyone with knowledge of the effects of drug
abuse on family, jobs, friends, and society in general need to see the seriousness
of this situation of legalizing such a drug as marijuana.
A 35-year
cohort study published August 2012 in Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences and funded partly by NIDA and other NIH institutes reported an
association between long-term cannabis use and neuropsychological decline, even
after controlling for education. It was found that the persistent, dependent
use of marijuana before age 18 was associated with lasting harm to a person's
intelligence, attention and memory, and were suggestive of neurological harm
from cannabis. Quitting cannabis did not appear to reverse the loss. However,
individuals who started cannabis use after the age of 18 did not show similar
declines.
Results of the study came into question when in a new analysis,
published January 2013 in Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Oslo's Ragnar
Frisch Center for Economic Research noted other differences among the study
group including education, occupation and other socioeconomic factors that
showed the same effect on IQ as cannabis use. From the abstract: "existing
research suggests an alternative confounding model based on time-varying
effects of socioeconomic status on IQ. A simulation of the confounding model
reproduces the reported associations from the [August 2012 study], suggesting
that the causal effects estimated in Meier et al. are likely to be
overestimates, and that the true effect could be zero". The researchers
pointed to three other studies which showed cannabis did not cause a decline in
IQ. The studies showed that heavy smokers had clear reductions in IQ, but they
were not permanent.
A July 2012 article in Brain
reported neural-connectivity impairment in some brain regions following
prolonged heavy cannabis use initiated in adolescence or young adulthood.
A 2012 study conducted by researchers at UC San Diego failed to
show deleterious effects on the adolescent brain from cannabis use. Researchers
looked at brain scans taken
before-and-after of subjects aged 16–20 years who consumed alcohol and compared
them to subjects of the same age who used cannabis instead. The 92 person study
was conducted over an eighteen-month period. While teen alcohol use resulted in
observable reduced white matter brain
tissue health, cannabis use was not linked to any structural damage. The study
did not measure the subjects' cognitive performance. Publication is scheduled
for April 2013 in Alcoholism: Clinical and
Experimental Research.
Some ask how the introduction of other drugs, moves
the casual cannabis users to the next level.
Drug dealers and users alike know the value of a dollar. Therefore, they may give marijuana in order
to get the consumer to purchase another dime bag of weed or the next drug of
choice. Samples are common practice of
dealers, introducing a potential client to a drug, once they get them hooked,
then they have a customer and a life line to that customer’s money.
In researching marijuana alone, the money is good.
The price or street value of cannabis varies widely depending on
geographic area and potency.
In the United States, cannabis is overall the #4 value crop, and
is #1 or #2 in many states including California, New York and Florida,
averaging $3,000/lb. It is believed to generate an estimated $36 billion
market. Most of the money is spent not on growing and producing but on
smuggling the supply to buyers. The United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime claims in its 2008 World Drug Report that typical U.S. retail
prices are $10–15 per gram (approximately $280–420 per ounce).
Street prices in North America are known to range from about $150 to $400 per
ounce, depending on quality.
The European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
reports that typical retail prices in Europe for cannabis varies from 2€ to 20€
per gram, with a majority of European countries reporting prices in the range
4–10€. In the United Kingdom, a cannabis plant has an approximate street value
of £300, but retails to the end-user at about £160/oz.
The problems with legalization have been
recent. Problems which are rift with
many other problems. Take for an example
the reduction of penalties for possession or distribution in some places, which
leads to the fact that if one gets caught, then they are slapped on the hand
and sent on their merry way to use and/or sale weed again. This is part of the process to push all
states toward legalization that causes more problems, more struggles, more
situations than we can detail here.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, most countries have
enacted laws
against the cultivation, possession or transfer of cannabis. These laws have
impacted adversely on the cannabis plant's cultivation for non-recreational
purposes, but there are many regions where, under certain circumstances,
handling of cannabis is legal or licensed. Many jurisdictions have lessened the
penalties for possession of small quantities of cannabis, so that it is
punished by confiscation and sometimes a fine, rather than imprisonment,
focusing more on those who traffic the
drug on the black market.
In some areas where cannabis use has been historically
tolerated, some new restrictions have been put in place, such as the closing of
cannabis coffee shops near
the borders of the Netherlands, closing of coffee shops near secondary schools
in the Netherlands and crackdowns on "Pusher Street" in Christiania, Copenhagen in
2004.
Some jurisdictions use free voluntary treatment programs and/or
mandatory treatment programs for frequent known users. Simple possession can
carry long prison terms in some countries, particularly in East Asia, where the
sale of cannabis may lead to a sentence of life in prison or even execution.
More recently however, many political parties, non-profit organizations and
causes based on the legalization of medical cannabis and/or legalizing the
plant entirely (with some restrictions) have emerged.
On December 6, 2012, the U.S. state of Washington became
the first state to officially legalize cannabis in a state law (but still
illegal by federal law), with the state of Colorado
following close behind. On January 1, 2013, the first marijuana
"club" for private marijuana smoking (no buying or selling, however)
was allowed for the first time in Colorado. The California Supreme Court
decided in May 2013 that local governments can ban medical marijuana
dispensaries despite a state law in California of 1996 state law that permits
the use of weed for medical purposes; at least 180 cities across the state and
Bay Area have enacted bans in recent years.
I am against legalization of cannabis. There are a number of other reasons related
to my objection, but I will end with this statement, one which comes from true
life experiences. I have seen the
troubles and problems which come from the use of marijuana. Families have been destroyed, children have
been affected with long term effects, and the accelerated use of drugs has been
witnessed. We must stand up and say no
to the legal use of a dangerous drug.
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