As Voters Ponder Prop. 64, Experts Cite the Effects Pot Can Have on Young Users. SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - Devan Fuentes made it all the way through San Clemente High School without drinking or using drugs. He vividly remembers the first time he smoked pot. He was visiting a friend at Occidental College, and decided the moment had come. "They brought out a giant three-foot bong," Fuentes told me the other day in a rustic coffee shop tucked into this town's historic Los Rios neighborhood. "I heard a lot of people don't get high their first time, so I held it in for a long time, one large hit. Immediately, I couldn't feel my legs." [continues 1001 words]
D.C. Tenants Face Eviction As 'Drug Nuisances' Even When No One Is Charged With a Crime For eight years, Rajuawn Middleton, an assistant at a major downtown law firm, lived in a four-bedroom red-brick home she rented on a quiet tree-lined street in Northeast Washington - until she was forced out over a few cigarettes containing a "green leafy substance." In March 2014, police arrested her adult son on charges of possessing a handgun outside a nightclub. He had not lived with Middleton for years, but two weeks later, D.C. police looking for more guns raided her home. [continues 3063 words]
Re: DEA is blowing more smoke over marijuana, Fresno Bee editorial Aug. 14. We are like the frogs in the pot of water. Only we the frogs are turning up the heat on ourselves by passing Proposition 64 and making marijuana legal for recreational use. According to the National Institutes of Health, there are at least three problems with marijuana use: It may cause the user to become paranoid schizophrenic. [continues 108 words]
Why are the Liberals thinking of legalizing marijuana? Is it possible that they don't know what's on their own website where Health Canada has posted serious warnings against its use, particularly, for anyone under the age of 25 (Health Canada consumer information cannabis). Is the government blind to the following detrimental effects of legalization in places like Colorado? A) Increased use: An April 2016 report by the Colorado Department of Public Safety found that although high school use dropped slightly, use by 18 to 25 year olds increased from 21 per cent in 2006 to 31 per cent in 2014 while use by adults doubled. [continues 267 words]
If a referendum was held on legalising cannabis for personal use, would you support it? You'd have to be off your scone. The New Zealand Drug Foundation (NZDF) has been crowing about the results of its self-selecting poll, indicating broad public support for decriminalising cannabis for personal use. Rebecca Reider made history over the weekend by bringing the first legal raw cannabis flower into New Zealand, campaigners say. The NZDF has steadily become a strident proponent for law reform, to the point that they now sound more like glorified pushers, campaigning for "the removal of criminal penalties for drug use, possession and social supply." [continues 544 words]
Both National and Labour have distanced themselves from a survey reported in the Herald that a majority of New Zealanders want the laws relating to cannabis to change. The Prime Minister explained that supporting a change in our drug laws would send the wrong message to our youth. Key is correct to be concerned. Cannabis is increasing in potency. It can cause psychosis in some people and be a gateway drug in some instances. If a person becomes addicted, it has the capacity to diminish their life over the long term. Although cannabis does not cause as much damage as legal drugs like alcohol or tobacco or illegal drugs like methamphetamine, it still comes with clear risks. [continues 659 words]
For several years, cannabis researchers have been zeroing in on the health benefits of a marijuana extract known as cannabidiol, a.k.a. CBD. It's long been believed that CBD does not get people stoned, unlike the plant's psychoactive and better-known extract, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. And it has been argued that this helps patients who might be seeking relief from pain and other conditions but who don't want to get high every time they take their medication. [continues 839 words]
At the request of the Canadian Medical Association, I recently completed a survey on the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Should marijuana be legalized for recreational use? It's hard to argue against the responsible use of a plant product which has been around for thousands of years and has been used as a social and personal lubricant since time immemorial. History teaches us that mankind has always sought respite from the stresses of daily life through chemicals, and that much of the time we have turned to psychoactive plants for relief. [continues 506 words]
Preventing, treating are our only hopes to stem drug abuse, says Margret Kopala. The deadline for the City of Ottawa's supervised injection site consultations was Monday, but Ottawans may be forgiven for finding the whole exercise moot. With drug abuse reaching epidemic proportions in our cities, injection facilities, whatever their merits, are a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed. Even British Columbia, devoted to harm reduction protocols and, since 2003, the home of Canada's first injection site, Insite, is worried. According to the Coroners Service of British Columbia, illicit-drug overdose deaths have increased from 200 in 2007 to a projected 800 in 2016. The introduction of the designer drug fentanyl isn't solely to blame. Heroin overdoses - on their own or laced with fentanyl - are a major factor. [continues 524 words]
Today's pot is typically four times stronger than the marijuana of just a couple of decades ago. That's timely to note in the current push to legalize the drug, because much of the research showing marijuana has only modest health effects on adults is based on weaker strains that have been largely bred out of the marketplace. That means that, as Californians prepare to vote this November on a recreational marijuana initiative, they'll do so without conclusive answers from the medical community on how today's pot may affect mental health and the debate over the gateway drug theory. [continues 1080 words]
Regarding the July 30 editorial "One reason for cannabis caution": A 1967 study reported that THC (the major psychoactive component of marijuana) caused psychotic-like effects in some normal human subjects. An ever-increasing number of scientific studies show that cannabis use has triggered symptoms involving psychosis and schizophrenia. Today's cannabis with extremely high THC content helps account for that. The editorial noted the increase in children being treated for cannabis-induced symptoms in Colorado and stated that it is important for the District to wait to see what further harmful effects are found. One needs only to study the existing literature. Not only can those with developing brains lose up to 10 IQ points, but also brain anomalies have been found in users of all ages. One out of six youths and one out of 10 adults who use marijuana become addicted. Research shows that marijuana use impairs DNA. Secondhand marijuana smoke is more harmful to cardiovascular functioning than cigarette smoke. What more proof could one require? [continues 61 words]
Last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law reductions in the criminal penalties for minor marijuana possession in Illinois. Previously, those convicted of marijuana possession faced possible jail time; now, just a citation and a fine. This reminds us of an age-old admonition: "Just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you necessarily should." Critics of this more liberal (or libertarian, depending upon your political persuasion) policy toward marijuana have reason to worry. As reported by the New England Journal of Medicine, there is an inverse correlation between the perceived risk of marijuana and the incidence of people's use of it. Simply put, the less risky people view marijuana, the more likely they are to use - and abuse - it. [continues 443 words]
Marijuana Is Anything but Harmless Voters in at least five states, including California, will be asked whether they want to legalize marijuana for casual use on Election Day. Four states and Washington D.C. have already taken this step. "This is really a watershed year for marijuana legalization," said F. Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Proponents like the Drug Policy Alliance claim that legalization should occur partially for "health" reasons. The Marijuana Policy Project has called pot "harmless." Others say it is "safe" and even "healthy." Nearly all proponents seem to deny or minimize its risks. Popular culture reinforces this view portraying use generally as a risk-free endeavor. And big business looking to cash in on legalization is all too happy to propagate this claim. [continues 627 words]
CLINTON - Local organizations hosted a town hall on marijuana Monday, hoping to educate the community about the negative effects of the most commonly used drug. The event, hosted by the Camanche-DeWitt Coalition, Gateway Impact Coalition and the Abbey Treatment Center, discussed the myths and facts relating to marijuana use in the community. Steve Cundiff, co-chairman of the Camanche-DeWitt Coalition, said while working on a drug task force for 10 years, the force often arrested the same people multiple times and even arrested children of the people they had previously arrested. [continues 430 words]
CBD Oil Reduces Seizure Activity but Without the Side Effects of Cannabis Preparations of the leaves and resin of the cannabis plant have been in use for more than 2,000 years. First introduced into western medicine in the mid-19th century, cannabis was prescribed in the past for a diverse range of complaints including anxiety, arthritis and rheumatic disorders, migraine and painful menstruation. A cannabis derivative, nabilone, is effective in treating nausea and vomiting brought on by chemotherapy treatment in cancer patients. The benefits of cannabis in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been well described. It reduces muscle cramps and relaxes bladder and bowel sphincters. And it has been shown to reduce the pressure in the eyeball that leads to glaucoma. [continues 371 words]
Sizing up the legal use of marijuana I recently completed a C.M.A. survey on the legalization of cannabis (marijuana) for recreational use. I would like to share my responses with you. It's hard to argue against the responsible use of a plant product, which has been around for thousands of years and has been used as a social and personal lubricant since time immemorial. Mankind has always sought respite from the stresses of daily life through chemicals, and often we have turned to psychoactive plants. Relief has included meditation, exercise, religion, collegial organizations, psychotherapy, and illicit psychoactive drugs such as cocaine, heroin and LSD, licit drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, as well as the consumption of fine foods. [continues 387 words]
Prescription Drug Rates Drop As More Patients Turn to Cannabis Recent findings show that medical marijuana not only saves state and federal governments millions of dollars on Medicare but it may help curb prescription drug use too. A new study reports that in states where medical marijuana is available, prescriptions for painkillers have dipped drastically. There's been a spate of studies on how overdose and painkiller abuse - - particularly among chronic pain patients - are lower in medical marijuana states, but the researchers have largely hypothesized that these patients are picking pot over prescription drugs. Now, a recent report in the journal Health Affairs suggests that the link between prescriptions and marijuana is no longer just a hypothesis. [continues 950 words]
Dear Editor: Why are the Liberals thinking of legalizing marijuana? Is it possible that they don't know what's on their own website where Health Canada has posted serious warnings against its use - particularly, for anyone under the age of 25? (Health Canada consumer information cannabis) Is the government blind to the following detrimental effects of legalization in places like Colorado? - - Increased use: An April 2016 report by the Colorado Department of Public Safety found that although high school use dropped slightly, use by 18 to 25 year olds increased from 21 per cent in 2006 to 31 per cent in 2014 while use by adults doubled. [continues 263 words]
Patients Can Get Anything They Want at Ottawa's Illegal Marijuana Dispensaries Inside Weeds Glass & Gifts on Bank Street, store manager Nick Dumond spots a man outside, smoking a joint. "Hey, man, are you smoking in front of my store?" he yells. "I'm trying to run a clean business here! This looks bad! Children could be walking by!" The toker had just left the store after dropping off pamphlets from the Cannabis Rights Coalition and imparting news of an upcoming rally hosted by the cannabis "community." "Sorry," he says sheepishly. "I medicate everywhere." [continues 4329 words]
Researchers at the University of Georgia have published a study in the July issue of Health Affairs showing that Medicare's prescription drug benefit program saves money in states that have legalized marijuana for medical use. Authors Ashley Bradford and Dr. David Bradford - daughter and father, BTW - calculate that in 2013, patients using medical marijuana in 17 states enabled Medicare Part D to save US taxpayers $165.2 million that would have been spent on prescription drugs. As reported by the university's media office, the Bradfords [continues 654 words]
