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Marijuana is a topic on the minds of many people around the world. More studies involving the drug are taking place than ever have before. With medical marijuana sweeping across the United States and whispers of legalization in the streets, people want to know the facts about this drug/medicine. Marijuana is not just a topic for a America, it is a topic that the entire world is dealing with; the Unites States has been the spearhead in the creation of no tolerance drug policies that have traveled half-way around the world. The University of Queensland in Australia (a country that has modeled America's zero-tolerance policies) recently conducted a study regarding the long term effects of marijuana use. The results of this recent study are shocking as much as they are surprising, and as most studies do, will leave you with more questions than answers.
The new study indicates that the longer people use cannabis or marijuana the more mental problems they may encounter, including hallucinations, delusions, and can even suffer from psychosis. The study, lead by John McGrath, observed that individuals age 15 or younger that used marijuana had were twice as likely to develop a "non-affective psychosis", such as schizophrenia than individuals who refrained from using the drug. "Among all the participants, a longer duration since the first time they used cannabis was associated with multiple psychosis-related outcomes," the study said.
According to General Psychiatry, the study which is not the first of its kind, included 3,801 twenty-year old individuals; 17.7 percent of the test group said they had been using marijuana for three or fewer years, 16.2 percent for four to five years, and 14.3 percent for six or more. The study asserts that sixty-five individuals were diagnosed with "non-affective psychosis", i.e. schizophrenia and another 233 people had in their life experienced at least one hallucination. Past studies had come up with similar results, but, concerns were raised about the research not properly accounting for particular variables. One interesting point, according to the study: people who were more likely to have a psychotic episode, were more likely to use more marijuana, thus increasing one's chances of developing a full blown psychotic disorder.
The holidays are well known to be tough times for many people suffering from alcoholism. In Russia where alcoholism rates among men are through the roof causing a low life expectancy, the government is taking steps to curb the mass flow of alcohol. The minimum price on vodka was put into action in Russia on Friday. President Dmitry Medvedev is trying to fight back against alcoholism, the holidays in Russia are known for excessive drinking. The price of the cheapest vodka has nearly doubled and steps are being taken to triple the excise duty on beer as well as limit the places it can be sold. The Washington Post reported that, "in August, Medvedev ordered tough measures to curb alcohol abuse, saying he was shocked by official data showing the average Russian drank 18 liters (38 pints) of pure alcohol each year".
Medvedev is not the first Russian leader to tackle the alcohol question, alcohol has had an adverse effect on the country for generations. Former President Mikhail Gorbachev, the creator of Perestroika (restructuring) referring to the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system, declared war on alcoholism in 1985. Gorbachev cut alcohol production as well as set up strict controls in order to cut public alcohol consumption. Unfortunately, very little success if any came of the alcohol reforms; people began to brew alcohol illegally, low quality moonshine type alcohol.
"The average monthly salary of 18,702 roubles ($651) would have bought 368 bottles of the cheapest vodka available before the New Year in an online supermarket, but 210 bottles now," according to the Washington Post. Hopefully, Medvedev has better success than Gorbachev, but, it is highly unlikely that better results will be seen. Alcoholics will find a way around the new restrictions and price increases. An increase in price will never deter an addict from getting what they need, for an alcoholic not drinking isn't an option. Drug and alcohol treatment is a much better deterrent against alcoholism than price increases and restrictions will ever be.
New drugs that are harmful to your health are being created everyday. Drugs that are new and have not yet been tested by the government are falling into the hands of people who abuse them; this has caused many people a lot of concern, just because they are legal doesn't make them safe. The ease in which these drugs can be acquired is nothing short than alarming - just a few mouse clicks away. Gamma Butyrolactone or GBL , 'coma in a bottle', is one of the drugs in question that has authorities concerned. GBL is a paint stripper and rust remover and is harmless if used for those tasks, GBL is odorless and has no taste when it is diluted; people who have used the drug have reported that the effects are similar to ecstasy. Drugs like GBL leave very little room for error, if the dosage is not accurately measured then an overdose causing a comma or death will ensue. "'It's as if every muscle in the body is trying to work against each other,' said a young woman who has experienced and witnessed the side-effects of GBL", the Daily Mail reports.
Mephedrone is another drug that can be easily acquired that produces similar effects to methamphetamines and ecstasy. 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC), according to Darlington Drug and Alcohol Action Team it can cause: nose bleeds, nose burns, hallucinations, blood circulation problems, rashes, anxiety, paranoia fits, and delusions. BBC News reported that "one person who used the drug regularly for 18 months had to be admitted to a psychiatric unit after he started experiencing hallucinations, agitation, excitability and mania. Due to the short history of the use of Mephedrone nothing is known about long‐term effects".
New designer drugs like these are especially dangerous and already have caused numerous deaths. We can only assume that the longer drugs like these can be sold legally and attained easily more deaths will occur. Steps are being taken in several countries to make drugs like these illegal. We can only hope that this happens with haste in our country. Legal does not mean safe!
The medical cannabis wave has been sweeping across the country with increasing speed; there is not a day that goes by without buzz about it in the media. States that have legalized medical marijuana have essentially opened the door for everyday people to become pharmaceutical manufacturers; let's face it, classifying marijuana as a medicine means some one has to produce and distribute the drug. New grow ops are going up every night and people who don't even smoke marijuana are witnessing the profit margins in that business. In Michigan, you can now attend pot college in order to learn crucial skills for participating and succeeding in the marijuana industry. Med Grow Cannabis College, located in Southfield, offers a wide variety of classes covering everything from soil nutrients to cannabutter; upon graduation you should have the skills required to grow and sell marijuana legally. Med Grow offers new classes every month and on their website they ask you if "you're ready to begin your new career"; medical marijuana is truly becoming less about medicine and more about money.
Every year pharmaceutical companies profit from selling legal drugs, some of those drugs are narcotics and are legal. Marijuana is now considered a medicine in many states but federally it is illegal. This discrepancy in classification is probably leading a lot of people down a path that could wind them in jail. People should not be led to believe that the marijuana enterprise is a particularly safe path. If marijuana is going to be taken seriously as a pharmaceutical then it needs to be treated that way before people start running off to start their new career in the drug game. According to the New York Times, "the students are a diverse group: white and black, some in their 20s, some much older, some employed, some not. Some keep their class attendance, and their growing plans, close to the chest". It's not just pot heads and drug addicts going into the marijuana industry, have people forgot that when you make drugs you have to sell them. How many forty year old accountants have ever sold drugs, pot or not?
It appears that the progression with medical marijuana, almost naturally, has transitioned towards business; it's now more about making money than it is about treating illness. Marijuana has become legalized under the guise of medicine and well being; people are hopping on board not fully understanding what is actually taking place. Is marijuana a medicine, economic relief, or just a way to make a buck? It's becoming all those things, but it is also one more thing too - addictive.
The brutal war in Mexico wages on over territory and drug trafficking routes from Mexico into the United States. The Zetas, who number about 4,000 according to U.S. Intelligence, are a cartel of Mexican Army Special Forces soldiers, who have dominated northern Mexico and the United States through murder and intimidation of public officials. It hasn't been proved, but, it is reported that some of the Zetas' members were trained in the United States. The Zetas' have a lot of influence as a result of their size and power; they operate throughout Mexico and the U.S. trafficking large amounts of narcotics and will let nothing stand in their way as is evident from the outrageous death toll. There is very little question that the Zetas are the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world.
"The cartel was founded in the 1970s but emerged in its modern form in the mid-1980s, led by Juan García Abrego (now in a Colorado jail) and thereafter Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who founded the Zetas and who is now awaiting trial in Houston, Texas. The Zetas are now led by Heriberto Lazcano – "El Lazco" or "Z3" – wanted in both Mexico and the US. It is Lazcano and the Zetas who control the cartel's drug operations and exercise the savagery with which its power is enforced and its terrain expanded", according to the Observer. Mexico's President Felipe Calderon focused the most energy on the Zetas' cartel with very little success. Peace in Mexico is when one cartel has total control over a given area. "The cartel and the Zetas have held their terrain and are broadening it, despite the high-profile arrests of key members of the group such as Jaime González Durán, alias "El Hummer". A spokesman for Calderón, Alejandra de Soto, told the Observer that "the army is proud of what it has achieved in Tamaulipas" – where the Zetas are based – "there is relative peace in the area. It has been brought under control".
Unfortunately, the Mexican government still has very little if any control over the cartel situation. Reports show that cartels like the Zetas are growing and their territory continues to spread with very little impediment. It still seems like there is a whole lot of talk and very little action directed towards the drug war and peoples' lives continue to be affected. Hopefully a solution can be found between the U.S. and Mexico.
About 37 percent of people who need and seek out drug and alcohol treatment do not get it because they cannot afford it. Sadly, many people end up in jail or prison before they ever go to treatment. In a lot of cases getting caught up in the legal system is a direct result of states not providing adequate drug treatment availability. In the last year a number of states have even cut spending on drug treatment. What is interesting about cutting spending on drug treatment is that sending someone to treatment is significantly less expensive than prison. New York has become a testing ground for the potential to expand treatment programs.
The Rockefeller drug laws enacted in the 70's were reformed this year, this is a huge step in the right direction and will save more lives. Now, nonviolent offenders who would have faced long, mandatory prison terms will be provided treatment and New York will be injecting $50 million in the treatment programs state wide. "An estimated 80 percent of the 60,000 offenders in New York's prisons have substance abuse problems", according to the Associated Press. Expanding drug treatment is the most logical decision and makes clear that the disease concept of addiction is starting to make sense to politicians.
Unfortunately, California recently cut $250 million designated for rehabilitation services throughout the prisons and jails. This has done nothing but cost California more money in the long run by contributing to recidivism, in a prison full of addicts there is only one solution that has proven to work - treatment. Congress recently passed a bill that will in the near future prohibit insurance companies from denying insurance based on pre-existing health conditions. This will allow more people to get health insurance thus giving more addicts the option of life saving drug treatment - hopefully. Sadly, many insurance companies do not cover the cost of detox or treatment despite it being classified and accepted as a disease; perhaps, when this bill in Washington is completely worked out, that will no longer be the case. It is time to give people the care they deserve, treatment is always a better choice than prison.
Medical marijuana in California has created a wave of people who have started growing the drug with the hopes of making a fortune. People are traveling from all over the country to get their foot in the door before it is closed. People think that because there are medical marijuana laws that it will protect them from the authorities. That is not the case, if you break the law and profit from growing pot under the guise that the plants are grown for medical purposes you will be incarcerated. There are more marijuana growers in the United States today than ever before, especially in California where laws are more relaxed. Unfortunately, the majority of marijuana grown in California is not for medical use and is being sold illegally. Marijuana is quickly becoming the next gold rush; the idea of growing marijuana for profit without the threat of punishment is inviting more people into the drug war. Federal officials plan to announce today 4.4 million plants have been seized since last summer, which is up 52%.
Since medical marijuana cuts into the Mexican cartels profits, they have become more aggressive with their guerrilla operations. The idea that legalizing pot would stop the cartels is not proving true. The United States legalizing medical marijuana will mean more pot will be grown to be sold illegally. Marijuana is an addictive drug that affects the lives of many people, more pot equals more addicts. Sadly, the Mexican cartels are using our national forests to grow marijuana, destroying our pristine habitats. According to the LA Times, "in 2008, 2.9 million plants were found, worth an estimated $11.6 billion. About 70% was grown on public lands. The campaign also seized 2.9 million plants in 2007".
The numbers are staggering and unfortunately they are our future. More people will be exposed to the drug than ever before, inevitably we will see addiction rates spike in America. It will be interesting to see how California goes about this transition and responds to the changes.
Last Friday the disease of addiction took another influential life from us. The renowned DJ AM's life was cut short as a result of a presumed drug overdose when he was found dead in his New York apartment. It has been reported that AM recently told his Sponsor that he had in fact relapsed and that was why he had been acting so erratically as of late, he agreed that he would go into treatment after he took care of a few things, including an event that was to take place in Las Vegas last Friday. Sadly, only a day after Adam Goldstein (his real name) promised his manager and sponsor that after his gig in Las Vegas last Friday, he would check himself into a rehab in California, Goldstein would never make it to that show and he was found with prescription pills and drug paraphernalia around his body in New York.
AM was taking strong painkillers after surviving a plane crash with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker in 2008. However, it is reported that he had struggled with addiction since his early twenties, but was sober for at least 10 years before the plane crash. It seems that the plane crash may have sped up the progression towards the 36 year old's untimely death. Goldstein had just finished filming the MTV show Gone Too Far last Tuesday, where he and concerned families staged interventions for drug abusers. According to Wikipedia,"Radio personality and addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky, who was a friend of Goldstein, said on his August 30, 2009 Loveline show that he was extremely shocked and saddened to learn of his relapse and death. Dr. Drew described Goldstein's sobriety as "solid", and was a "great inspiration" for those seeking addiction treatment. He then went on to endorse the argument that Goldstein did not receive proper treatment for his recent PTSD diagnosis".
Sadly, this is the disease of addiction and relapse is always terrible for the fact that when one starts actively abusing substances again it generally is much heavier than when they put them down. There is no way of knowing whether your next drink or drug is going to be your last. There are usually only three options for an addict: jails, institutions, and death; friends and families can only hope and pray that their loved one finds the two former and that it does not have to come to the point of no return.
Our heart goes out to Adam's friends and families and we can only hope that they can find strength in a time of such sadness and loss.
We encourage you all to watch this short video and please feel free to send us your thoughts...
Alcohol is the most widely used depressant in the world, and has been for thousands of years. More alcohol is consumed than any other drug on the planet, which accounts for so many fatalities every year. Alcohol's side-effects are extremely dangerous and excessive drinking will speed up the process. We saw what happened to Bret with his esophageal cancer and we witnessed alcohol strip young Gary of life with cirrhosis. I believe that alcohol consumption has become so commonplace throughout society that people either ignore or fail to take the time to understand the devastating consequences that comes along with excessive drinking.
Direct and indirect causes of death include: drunken driving, cirrhosis of the liver, falls, cancer, and stroke. Millions of Americans meet diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders and alcohol is one of the only substances that can cause death if one stops without medical supervision. Delirium tremens or the "DTs", is caused after a long period of drinking, stopping abruptly and experiencing withdrawal. According to Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia: Delirium Tremens "It is most common in people who have a history of alcohol withdrawal, especially in those who drink the equivalent of 7 - 8 pints of beer (or 1 pint of "hard" alcohol) every day for several months. Delirium tremens also commonly affects those with a history of habitual alcohol use or alcoholism that has existed for more than 10 years."
Withdrawal from other drugs such as: opiates, marijuana, cocaine, etc. do not have major medical complications and withdrawal is therefore not life threatening. It seems strange that alcohol, a legal drug, does more damage to one's heath than illicit drugs. Many people who start drinking at a young age, like Gary, rarely have a clue as to how bad alcohol is for them; ultimately, this leads to severe medical problems which there may not be any help for. Sadly, by the time the problem is discovered it can be too late to receive help or one may be denied help based on a history of alcoholism. Every year billions of dollars are made from a substance that causes so much injury and it appears that little, if any, change ever comes of it. Bret and Gary are perfect examples of why more needs to be done, Bret and Gary exemplify both sides of the spectrum; alcohol related deaths affect all age groups.
I encourage you to watch this short video of the cause of cirrhosis. Please send me your thoughts about this subject and what we might be able to do differently to avoid premature death.
