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Meds Lies About Pot and Other Reefer Madness
- Thread starter momofthegoons
- Start date
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- cannabis cannabis lies
Three New Marijuana Myth-Busting Studies That the Mainstream Media Isn't Picking up On
While ‘reefer madness’ makes headlines, scientific refutations of these claims often go unreported.
Allegations surrounding the supposed dangers of pot are frequently reported and repeated without criticism. But these new studies cast serious doubts on three of the more prominent marijuana myths.
Cannabis dispensaries aren’t crime magnets
Claims that marijuana retailers attract crime are unsupported by the available evidence. In fact, studies show just the opposite result.
Most recently, data published in The Journal of Urban Economics reports that dispensary operators deter neighborhood crime. Researchers at the University of Southern California assessed the impact of dispensary closures on crime rates in the city of Los Angeles. Investigators identified an immediate increase in criminal activity – particularly property crime, larceny, and auto break ins – in the areas where dispensary operations were forced to close as compared to crime rates in those neighborhoods where marijuana retailers remained open for business.
“Open dispensaries provide over $30,000 per year in social benefit in terms of larcenies prevented,” researchers concluded.
Federally funded research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs reported a similar trend in Sacramento, concluding: “There were no observed cross-sectional associations between the density of medical marijuana dispensaries and either violent or property crime rates in this study. These results suggest that the density of medical marijuana dispensaries may not be associated with crime rates or that other factors, such as measures dispensaries take to reduce crime (i.e., doormen, video cameras), may increase guardianship such that it deters possible motivated offenders.”
Legal pot is not associated with increased traffic fatalities
Federal traffic safety data refutes allegations that changes in marijuana’s legal status has led to increased carnage on the roads.
Investigators from the University of Texas-Austin recently evaluated crash fatality rates in Colorado and Washington pre- and post-legalization. They compared these rates to those of eight control states that had not enacted any significant changes in their marijuana laws. Their findings appeared last month in The American Journal of Public Health.
“We found no significant association between recreational marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado and subsequent changes in motor vehicle fatality rates in the first three years after recreational marijuana legalization,” they concluded.
Authors also reported no association between adult use marijuana legalization laws and the total number of non-fatal crashes.
To those familiar with the available evidence, the findings were not surprising. In fact, a prior study published in the same journal in 2016 reported that the enactment of medical marijuana legalization laws was associated with a reduction in traffic fatalities compared to other states, particularly among drivers ages 25 to 44 years old.
Overall, traffic fatalities have fallen significantly over the past two decades – during the same time that a majority of US states have legalized marijuana for either medical or social use. In 1996, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that there were an estimated 37,500 fatal car crashes on US roadways. This total fell to under 30,000 by 2014.
There’s been no rise in problematic pot use post-legalization
Claims that the passage of marijuana regulatory laws has been associated with an increase in rates of marijuana abuse – sometimes described as ‘cannabis abuse disorder’ – remain largely unsubstantiated. In fact, the majority of studies addressing the issue find no significant changes in the number of young people or adults using cannabis in a problematic manner.
Specifically, Columbia University researchers writing last month in the journal Addiction reported “no associated increase in the prevalence of cannabis use disorder” among either adolescents or adults in the years following the enactment of medical cannabis laws. They also reported "no significant change in the prevalence of past-month marijuana use among adolescents or young adults (those ages 18 to 25)" following legalization – a finding that is consistent with numerous prior studies.
In fact, separate studies have reported that fewer young people overall are using marijuana today than were a decade ago. Perhaps even more notably, there has been a significant drop in recent years in the percentage of adolescents nationwide who say they consume pot habitually. According to data published last year in The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, “Past-year prevalence of marijuana use disorders among US adolescents declined by an estimated 24 percent over the 2002 to 2013 period.”
Separate data published in March 2016 in JAMA Psychiatry similarly reported a “net decrease” in the prevalence of marijuana-related disorders since 2002. Commenting on the study’s findings, the lead author concluded: "[O]ur survey didn't notice any increase in marijuana-related problems. Certainly, some people are having problems so we should remain vigilant, but the sky is not falling."
While ‘reefer madness’ makes headlines, scientific refutations of these claims often go unreported.
Allegations surrounding the supposed dangers of pot are frequently reported and repeated without criticism. But these new studies cast serious doubts on three of the more prominent marijuana myths.
Cannabis dispensaries aren’t crime magnets
Claims that marijuana retailers attract crime are unsupported by the available evidence. In fact, studies show just the opposite result.
Most recently, data published in The Journal of Urban Economics reports that dispensary operators deter neighborhood crime. Researchers at the University of Southern California assessed the impact of dispensary closures on crime rates in the city of Los Angeles. Investigators identified an immediate increase in criminal activity – particularly property crime, larceny, and auto break ins – in the areas where dispensary operations were forced to close as compared to crime rates in those neighborhoods where marijuana retailers remained open for business.
“Open dispensaries provide over $30,000 per year in social benefit in terms of larcenies prevented,” researchers concluded.
Federally funded research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs reported a similar trend in Sacramento, concluding: “There were no observed cross-sectional associations between the density of medical marijuana dispensaries and either violent or property crime rates in this study. These results suggest that the density of medical marijuana dispensaries may not be associated with crime rates or that other factors, such as measures dispensaries take to reduce crime (i.e., doormen, video cameras), may increase guardianship such that it deters possible motivated offenders.”
Legal pot is not associated with increased traffic fatalities
Federal traffic safety data refutes allegations that changes in marijuana’s legal status has led to increased carnage on the roads.
Investigators from the University of Texas-Austin recently evaluated crash fatality rates in Colorado and Washington pre- and post-legalization. They compared these rates to those of eight control states that had not enacted any significant changes in their marijuana laws. Their findings appeared last month in The American Journal of Public Health.
“We found no significant association between recreational marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado and subsequent changes in motor vehicle fatality rates in the first three years after recreational marijuana legalization,” they concluded.
Authors also reported no association between adult use marijuana legalization laws and the total number of non-fatal crashes.
To those familiar with the available evidence, the findings were not surprising. In fact, a prior study published in the same journal in 2016 reported that the enactment of medical marijuana legalization laws was associated with a reduction in traffic fatalities compared to other states, particularly among drivers ages 25 to 44 years old.
Overall, traffic fatalities have fallen significantly over the past two decades – during the same time that a majority of US states have legalized marijuana for either medical or social use. In 1996, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that there were an estimated 37,500 fatal car crashes on US roadways. This total fell to under 30,000 by 2014.
There’s been no rise in problematic pot use post-legalization
Claims that the passage of marijuana regulatory laws has been associated with an increase in rates of marijuana abuse – sometimes described as ‘cannabis abuse disorder’ – remain largely unsubstantiated. In fact, the majority of studies addressing the issue find no significant changes in the number of young people or adults using cannabis in a problematic manner.
Specifically, Columbia University researchers writing last month in the journal Addiction reported “no associated increase in the prevalence of cannabis use disorder” among either adolescents or adults in the years following the enactment of medical cannabis laws. They also reported "no significant change in the prevalence of past-month marijuana use among adolescents or young adults (those ages 18 to 25)" following legalization – a finding that is consistent with numerous prior studies.
In fact, separate studies have reported that fewer young people overall are using marijuana today than were a decade ago. Perhaps even more notably, there has been a significant drop in recent years in the percentage of adolescents nationwide who say they consume pot habitually. According to data published last year in The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, “Past-year prevalence of marijuana use disorders among US adolescents declined by an estimated 24 percent over the 2002 to 2013 period.”
Separate data published in March 2016 in JAMA Psychiatry similarly reported a “net decrease” in the prevalence of marijuana-related disorders since 2002. Commenting on the study’s findings, the lead author concluded: "[O]ur survey didn't notice any increase in marijuana-related problems. Certainly, some people are having problems so we should remain vigilant, but the sky is not falling."
Blowing Up the Big Marijuana IQ Myth—The Science Points to Zero Effect on Your Smarts
Debunking one of the oldest theories about cannabis.
By Paul Armentano / AlterNet
August 6, 2017, 12:47 PM GMT
“Marijuana makes people retarded, especially when they’re young.” So claimed conservative commentator Ann Coulter while speaking at Politicon last week.
But while such inflammatory claims by culture warriors like Coulter are to be expected – and may readily be dismissed – the notion that smoking pot will have lasting negative impacts on intelligence is a longstanding one, and a claim that is all too often made by those on both sides of the political spectrum. Yet the latest science finds little to no factual basis for this contention.
Longitudinal data just recently published online in the journal Addiction reports that pot smoking is not independently associated with adverse effects on the developing brain. A team of investigators from the United States and the United Kingdom evaluated whether marijuana use is directly associated with changes over time in neuropsychological performance in a nationally representative cohort of adolescent twins. Authors reported that “family background factors,” but not the use of cannabis negatively impacted adolescents’ cognitive performance.
They wrote: “[W]e found that youth who used cannabis … had lower IQ at age 18, but there was little evidence that cannabis use was associated with IQ decline from age 12 to 18. Moreover, although cannabis use was associated with lower IQ and poorer executive functions at age 18, these associations were generally not apparent within pairs of twins from the same family, suggesting that family background factors explain why adolescents who use cannabis perform worse on IQ and executive function tests.”
Investigators concluded, “Short-term cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to cause IQ decline or impair executive functions, even when cannabis use reaches the level of dependence.”
They’re not alone in their conclusions. In 2016, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Minnesota performed a similar longitudinal analysis regarding marijuana’s potential impact on intelligence quotient in a separate cohort of adolescent twins. They reported no dose-response relationship between pot exposure and IQ decline at age 20, and observed no significant differences in performance among those who used marijuana and their non-using twins.
Investigators concluded: “In the largest longitudinal examination of marijuana use and IQ change, … we find little evidence to suggest that adolescent marijuana use has a direct effect on intellectual decline. … [T]he lack of a dose–response relationship, and an absence of meaningful differences between discordant siblings lead us to conclude that the deficits observed in marijuana users are attributable to confounding factors that influence both substance initiation and IQ rather than a neurotoxic effect of marijuana.”
The UCLA findings mimicked those of separate longitudinal data published earlier that year in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Investigators in that study assessed IQ and educational performance in a cohort of 2,235 adolescent twins. They too reported that after adjusting for potential confounds (such as the use of tobacco and alcohol), teens who used cannabis “did not differ from never-users on either IQ or educational performance.”
Florida State researchers similarly examined the issue earlier this year. Writing in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, they reported on the impact of marijuana exposure on intelligence scores in subjects over a 14-year period (ages 12 to 26). They concluded, “[O]ur findings did not reveal a significant association between cumulative marijuana use and changes in intelligence scores.”
Nonetheless, political opponents of cannabis policy reform continue to opinethat pot smoking “reduces IQ by 6-8 points.” This claim is derived from a widely publicized 2012 New Zealand study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It reported that the persistent use of cannabis from early adolescence to adulthood was associated with slightly lower IQ by age 38.
However, a followup review of the data published later in the same journal suggested that the observed changes were the result of investigators’ failure to properly control for confounding variables, primarily the socioeconomic differences between users and non-users, and were not unduly influenced by subjects’ cannabis use history.
A later paper by the lead investigator of the New Zealand study similarly reported that the presence of confounders make it difficult to impossible to attribute changes in teens’ academic performance on pot use alone, finding that the effects of persistent adolescent cannabis use on academic performance are “non-significant after controlling for persistent alcohol and tobacco use.”
Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and serves as a senior policy advisor for Freedom Leaf, Inc. He is the co-author of the book, Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? (Chelsea Green, 2013).
Debunking one of the oldest theories about cannabis.
By Paul Armentano / AlterNet
August 6, 2017, 12:47 PM GMT
“Marijuana makes people retarded, especially when they’re young.” So claimed conservative commentator Ann Coulter while speaking at Politicon last week.
But while such inflammatory claims by culture warriors like Coulter are to be expected – and may readily be dismissed – the notion that smoking pot will have lasting negative impacts on intelligence is a longstanding one, and a claim that is all too often made by those on both sides of the political spectrum. Yet the latest science finds little to no factual basis for this contention.
Longitudinal data just recently published online in the journal Addiction reports that pot smoking is not independently associated with adverse effects on the developing brain. A team of investigators from the United States and the United Kingdom evaluated whether marijuana use is directly associated with changes over time in neuropsychological performance in a nationally representative cohort of adolescent twins. Authors reported that “family background factors,” but not the use of cannabis negatively impacted adolescents’ cognitive performance.
They wrote: “[W]e found that youth who used cannabis … had lower IQ at age 18, but there was little evidence that cannabis use was associated with IQ decline from age 12 to 18. Moreover, although cannabis use was associated with lower IQ and poorer executive functions at age 18, these associations were generally not apparent within pairs of twins from the same family, suggesting that family background factors explain why adolescents who use cannabis perform worse on IQ and executive function tests.”
Investigators concluded, “Short-term cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to cause IQ decline or impair executive functions, even when cannabis use reaches the level of dependence.”
They’re not alone in their conclusions. In 2016, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Minnesota performed a similar longitudinal analysis regarding marijuana’s potential impact on intelligence quotient in a separate cohort of adolescent twins. They reported no dose-response relationship between pot exposure and IQ decline at age 20, and observed no significant differences in performance among those who used marijuana and their non-using twins.
Investigators concluded: “In the largest longitudinal examination of marijuana use and IQ change, … we find little evidence to suggest that adolescent marijuana use has a direct effect on intellectual decline. … [T]he lack of a dose–response relationship, and an absence of meaningful differences between discordant siblings lead us to conclude that the deficits observed in marijuana users are attributable to confounding factors that influence both substance initiation and IQ rather than a neurotoxic effect of marijuana.”
The UCLA findings mimicked those of separate longitudinal data published earlier that year in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Investigators in that study assessed IQ and educational performance in a cohort of 2,235 adolescent twins. They too reported that after adjusting for potential confounds (such as the use of tobacco and alcohol), teens who used cannabis “did not differ from never-users on either IQ or educational performance.”
Florida State researchers similarly examined the issue earlier this year. Writing in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, they reported on the impact of marijuana exposure on intelligence scores in subjects over a 14-year period (ages 12 to 26). They concluded, “[O]ur findings did not reveal a significant association between cumulative marijuana use and changes in intelligence scores.”
Nonetheless, political opponents of cannabis policy reform continue to opinethat pot smoking “reduces IQ by 6-8 points.” This claim is derived from a widely publicized 2012 New Zealand study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It reported that the persistent use of cannabis from early adolescence to adulthood was associated with slightly lower IQ by age 38.
However, a followup review of the data published later in the same journal suggested that the observed changes were the result of investigators’ failure to properly control for confounding variables, primarily the socioeconomic differences between users and non-users, and were not unduly influenced by subjects’ cannabis use history.
A later paper by the lead investigator of the New Zealand study similarly reported that the presence of confounders make it difficult to impossible to attribute changes in teens’ academic performance on pot use alone, finding that the effects of persistent adolescent cannabis use on academic performance are “non-significant after controlling for persistent alcohol and tobacco use.”
Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and serves as a senior policy advisor for Freedom Leaf, Inc. He is the co-author of the book, Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? (Chelsea Green, 2013).
Kellya86
Herb Gardener.....
Some daily mail madness here....
They are hating the fact that no one is swallowing their lies anymore..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4986526/Criminals-caught-growing-drug-let-caution.html
This bit annoys me...
"Campaigners said it was wrong to decriminalise a drug linked to mental illness, organised crime, violence and road deaths."
I wonder if those campaigners ever drink alcohol... more than likely...
Hypocritical pricks...
Why are they not campaigning for alcohol to be banned... or tobacco...???
Agendas....
They are hating the fact that no one is swallowing their lies anymore..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4986526/Criminals-caught-growing-drug-let-caution.html
This bit annoys me...
"Campaigners said it was wrong to decriminalise a drug linked to mental illness, organised crime, violence and road deaths."
I wonder if those campaigners ever drink alcohol... more than likely...
Hypocritical pricks...
Why are they not campaigning for alcohol to be banned... or tobacco...???
Agendas....
herbivore21
Well-Known Member
Game, set and match!
This is the point. Alcohol also was linked to organized crime during prohibition. After all, if history has shown us anything, if you banned fucking ketchup you'd get organized criminals filling the void and killing one another over market share.
Alcohol is worse for mental and physical health than cannabis, and does not offer benefits as a treatment for mental illnesses in the same way that cannabis does. Cannabis is neuroprotective, can repair some of the damage done in areas of the brain by depression and anxiety, is correlated (this is not necessarily a causal link) with reductions in positive symptoms of psychosis in people with schizophrenia and has obvious usefulness in some eating disorders, and insomnia.
Alcohol frequently leads to more violent behaviors from users than if they had not been drinking, even if we consider that since it is no longer prohibited, organized crime surrounding alcohol is now negligible. Cannabis use does not typically give rise to violent behavior, many would argue the opposite (with that said, we can't rule out the possibility of rare/novel exceptions, but there aren't any that I've ever encountered). If you don't like organized crime and cannabis mixed together, then legalize and regulate cannabis!
I don't even know if it is worth commenting on road deaths and alcohol. If they can't put two and two together there, I don't think we're gonna be able to help these folks get their fingers any closer to the pulse.
As a medical user, I think I speak for many of us when I say that I'm sick of having to justify my cannabis usage to recreational drinkers.
With all this said, its the Daily Mail. It may as well be the newspaper entitled 'I'm with Stupid'.
ataxian
In a BLACK HOLE!
AWESOME!Game, set and match!
This is the point. Alcohol also was linked to organized crime during prohibition. After all, if history has shown us anything, if you banned fucking ketchup you'd get organized criminals filling the void and killing one another over market share.
Alcohol is worse for mental and physical health than cannabis, and does not offer benefits as a treatment for mental illnesses in the same way that cannabis does. Cannabis is neuroprotective, can repair some of the damage done in areas of the brain by depression and anxiety, is correlated (this is not necessarily a causal link) with reductions in positive symptoms of psychosis in people with schizophrenia and has obvious usefulness in some eating disorders, and insomnia.
Alcohol frequently leads to more violent behaviors from users than if they had not been drinking, even if we consider that since it is no longer prohibited, organized crime surrounding alcohol is now negligible. Cannabis use does not typically give rise to violent behavior, many would argue the opposite (with that said, we can't rule out the possibility of rare/novel exceptions, but there aren't any that I've ever encountered). If you don't like organized crime and cannabis mixed together, then legalize and regulate cannabis!
I don't even know if it is worth commenting on road deaths and alcohol. If they can't put two and two together there, I don't think we're gonna be able to help these folks get their fingers any closer to the pulse.
As a medical user, I think I speak for many of us when I say that I'm sick of having to justify my cannabis usage to recreational drinkers.
With all this said, its the Daily Mail. It may as well be the newspaper entitled 'I'm with Stupid'.
@herbivore21 your so smart!
herbivore21
Well-Known Member
There's been a bee under my bonnet for a long time on this topic brother! Thanks for the kind words, my old friend! I hope that you are in the best possible health!
ataxian
In a BLACK HOLE!
My HEALTH?There's been a bee under my bonnet for a long time on this topic brother! Thanks for the kind words, my old friend! I hope that you are in the best possible health!
IN OZ it's called F^cked!
Your a nice person!
I just vaped by ass off.
DREAM QUEEN + CHEAP GLASS + VAPE = MEDICAL SITUATION
In the 70's in HAWAII before commercialization.
CALIFORNIA SURFERS smoked joints.
AUSTRALIAN'S drank beer.
Hawaiian's mushroom tea and colas. (not all)
Worked out well really!
We surfed at 6:00AM they would show at 10:00 AM.
Then guy's from SOUTH AFRICA would be even later? (I thinks it was because of sex?)
HAWAIIAN'S at 3:00PM
Last edited:
Kellya86
Herb Gardener.....
Game, set and match!
This is the point. Alcohol also was linked to organized crime during prohibition. After all, if history has shown us anything, if you banned fucking ketchup you'd get organized criminals filling the void and killing one another over market share.
Alcohol is worse for mental and physical health than cannabis, and does not offer benefits as a treatment for mental illnesses in the same way that cannabis does. Cannabis is neuroprotective, can repair some of the damage done in areas of the brain by depression and anxiety, is correlated (this is not necessarily a causal link) with reductions in positive symptoms of psychosis in people with schizophrenia and has obvious usefulness in some eating disorders, and insomnia.
Alcohol frequently leads to more violent behaviors from users than if they had not been drinking, even if we consider that since it is no longer prohibited, organized crime surrounding alcohol is now negligible. Cannabis use does not typically give rise to violent behavior, many would argue the opposite (with that said, we can't rule out the possibility of rare/novel exceptions, but there aren't any that I've ever encountered). If you don't like organized crime and cannabis mixed together, then legalize and regulate cannabis!
I don't even know if it is worth commenting on road deaths and alcohol. If they can't put two and two together there, I don't think we're gonna be able to help these folks get their fingers any closer to the pulse.
As a medical user, I think I speak for many of us when I say that I'm sick of having to justify my cannabis usage to recreational drinkers.
With all this said, its the Daily Mail. It may as well be the newspaper entitled 'I'm with Stupid'.
Brilliant post.. summed it up perfectly, better than I could have ever said it...
If they did ban ketchup, id be buying from the black market... or my kids wouldn't eat...
And your right, We all know what the daily mail is about... but my grandparents read, and believe it, religiously....
And they worry about their grandson ending up dead in the gutter, or at least a jibbering mess in the psyc ward, due to this 'harmfull, deadly' plant...
Iv realised now that I can't change there opinion, and have given up trying to...
That's so funny... I had no idea the saffers were so rampant... fair play...
I love the South African accent, that and Dutch...
Obviously closely related...
It's been years since iv had mushroom tea...
Time to buy some spores... I'll go for Hawaiian...
This article is from last May, but I thought it was pertinent to this thread. Talk about fake news.....there was NO SUCH STUDY! This one is right up there with the claim that a baby died from a cannabis overdose.
Debunking the Latest Viral Pot Paranoid Theory
Legal marijuana is not sending teens to the ER, contrary to scaremongering headlines.
"Legalized pot sends more teens to the ER in Colorado, study finds." So claimed CBS News and numerous other mainstream media outlets this month in response to a May 4 American Academy of Pediatrics press release. But in actuality, no published study exists. And the data highlighted in the AAP presser provides little evidence to substantiate these alarmist headlines.
In fact, what headline writers across the country inaccurately referred to as a "study" was no more than preliminary data presented during the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in San Francisco. These data sets, which assessed year-over-year trends in the prevalence of marijuana use among patients ages 13 to 21 who were admitted to the emergency room of a Colorado children’s hospital, have yet to be peer-reviewed or accepted for publication in a scientific journal. Yet one would have to skip to the final sentence of mainstream media coverage like this in order to be aware of these facts.
Furthermore, despite the misleading headlines, the data never addressed the question of whether marijuana played a causal role in patients’ ER admissions. Rather, researchers simply reported an increase in the number of ER patients who acknowledged either having used pot in the past or who tested positive for it on a hospital authorized urine screen. But this result is likely because Colorado hospital staff is placing a greater emphasis on marijuana detection today than they did a decade ago. Furthermore, it is likely that patients are more willing to acknowledge their use of cannabis to hospital employees now, post-legalization, than they were when pot was illegal.
Nevertheless, researchers opined that their data provides new evidence to support the claim that the legalization and regulating of marijuana for adults is having a “significant public health impact on adolescent populations.”
But more well established research casts serious doubt on this claim. For example, state survey data compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment dismisses the notion that teens’ use of marijuana has increased in the years following legalization. In fact, youth marijuana use rates in Colorado are lower today than they were in 2009 — several years prior to the establishment of adult use regulations. National survey data similarly refutes allegations that more young people are engaging in the problematic use of cannabis. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the number of adolescents reporting marijuana-related problems declined by 24 percent from 2002 to 2013.
In addition, legal cannabis products sold by Colorado retailers are seldom making their way to the underage market. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs, licensed retailers strictly adhere to statewide regulations forbidding sales to minors. It determined, "Compliance with laws restricting marijuana sales to individuals age 21 years or older with a valid ID was extremely high and possibly higher than compliance with restrictions on alcohol sales.” Authors concluded, "The retail market at present may not be a direct source of marijuana for underage individuals.” Studies from other jurisdictions also report no link between the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries and increased pot use by teens.
Moreover, studies have largely failed to identify a significant causal link between marijuana use and ER visits. Specifically, researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed patterns and correlates of drug-related ER visits in a nationally representative survey of 43,093 residents age 18 or older. They reported, "[M]arijuana was by far the most commonly used (illicit) drug, but individuals who used marijuana had a low prevalence of drug-related ED [emergency department] visits.” A Canadian study published this month in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence determined that marijuana use did not increase subjects’ likelihood of hospitalization in the hours immediately following its use. Other studies assessing drug use patterns in smaller cohorts have even reported that cannabis use is inversely associated with injury risk.
This is not to say that cannabis use is without potential risk, particularly in instances where it is consumed by younger or more naive subjects. Marijuana can elevate blood pressure and in some users trigger tachycardia (rapid heart beat). Higher potency cannabis may also cause paranoia and other feelings of dysphoria. In patients with certain pre-existing psychiatric disorders, there also lies the potential for pot to exacerbate a psychotic episode. Any of these side effects may result in an ER visit. However, these sort of severe adverse reactions to cannabis are atypical. Further, none of these conditions are life-threatening and the symptoms almost always subside after a few hours.
Nevertheless, retailers and regulators in legal cannabis states ought to take steps to try and mitigate consumers’ risk of experiencing such unpleasant reactions, many of which are the result of overconsumption. These steps include better product labeling, potential limits on THC potency per serving in edible products, and greater efforts to encourage consumers to moderate their cannabis intake — particularly if they are consuming pot-infused edibles or concentrates. Such efforts are not only in the best interest of public safety, but they will also result in greater consumer satisfaction and awareness.
Debunking the Latest Viral Pot Paranoid Theory
Legal marijuana is not sending teens to the ER, contrary to scaremongering headlines.
"Legalized pot sends more teens to the ER in Colorado, study finds." So claimed CBS News and numerous other mainstream media outlets this month in response to a May 4 American Academy of Pediatrics press release. But in actuality, no published study exists. And the data highlighted in the AAP presser provides little evidence to substantiate these alarmist headlines.
In fact, what headline writers across the country inaccurately referred to as a "study" was no more than preliminary data presented during the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in San Francisco. These data sets, which assessed year-over-year trends in the prevalence of marijuana use among patients ages 13 to 21 who were admitted to the emergency room of a Colorado children’s hospital, have yet to be peer-reviewed or accepted for publication in a scientific journal. Yet one would have to skip to the final sentence of mainstream media coverage like this in order to be aware of these facts.
Furthermore, despite the misleading headlines, the data never addressed the question of whether marijuana played a causal role in patients’ ER admissions. Rather, researchers simply reported an increase in the number of ER patients who acknowledged either having used pot in the past or who tested positive for it on a hospital authorized urine screen. But this result is likely because Colorado hospital staff is placing a greater emphasis on marijuana detection today than they did a decade ago. Furthermore, it is likely that patients are more willing to acknowledge their use of cannabis to hospital employees now, post-legalization, than they were when pot was illegal.
Nevertheless, researchers opined that their data provides new evidence to support the claim that the legalization and regulating of marijuana for adults is having a “significant public health impact on adolescent populations.”
But more well established research casts serious doubt on this claim. For example, state survey data compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment dismisses the notion that teens’ use of marijuana has increased in the years following legalization. In fact, youth marijuana use rates in Colorado are lower today than they were in 2009 — several years prior to the establishment of adult use regulations. National survey data similarly refutes allegations that more young people are engaging in the problematic use of cannabis. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the number of adolescents reporting marijuana-related problems declined by 24 percent from 2002 to 2013.
In addition, legal cannabis products sold by Colorado retailers are seldom making their way to the underage market. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs, licensed retailers strictly adhere to statewide regulations forbidding sales to minors. It determined, "Compliance with laws restricting marijuana sales to individuals age 21 years or older with a valid ID was extremely high and possibly higher than compliance with restrictions on alcohol sales.” Authors concluded, "The retail market at present may not be a direct source of marijuana for underage individuals.” Studies from other jurisdictions also report no link between the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries and increased pot use by teens.
Moreover, studies have largely failed to identify a significant causal link between marijuana use and ER visits. Specifically, researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed patterns and correlates of drug-related ER visits in a nationally representative survey of 43,093 residents age 18 or older. They reported, "[M]arijuana was by far the most commonly used (illicit) drug, but individuals who used marijuana had a low prevalence of drug-related ED [emergency department] visits.” A Canadian study published this month in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence determined that marijuana use did not increase subjects’ likelihood of hospitalization in the hours immediately following its use. Other studies assessing drug use patterns in smaller cohorts have even reported that cannabis use is inversely associated with injury risk.
This is not to say that cannabis use is without potential risk, particularly in instances where it is consumed by younger or more naive subjects. Marijuana can elevate blood pressure and in some users trigger tachycardia (rapid heart beat). Higher potency cannabis may also cause paranoia and other feelings of dysphoria. In patients with certain pre-existing psychiatric disorders, there also lies the potential for pot to exacerbate a psychotic episode. Any of these side effects may result in an ER visit. However, these sort of severe adverse reactions to cannabis are atypical. Further, none of these conditions are life-threatening and the symptoms almost always subside after a few hours.
Nevertheless, retailers and regulators in legal cannabis states ought to take steps to try and mitigate consumers’ risk of experiencing such unpleasant reactions, many of which are the result of overconsumption. These steps include better product labeling, potential limits on THC potency per serving in edible products, and greater efforts to encourage consumers to moderate their cannabis intake — particularly if they are consuming pot-infused edibles or concentrates. Such efforts are not only in the best interest of public safety, but they will also result in greater consumer satisfaction and awareness.
ataxian
In a BLACK HOLE!
It's a shame that a harmless plant is demonized?This article is from last May, but I thought it was pertinent to this thread. Talk about fake news.....there was NO SUCH STUDY! This one is right up there with the claim that a baby died from a cannabis overdose.
Debunking the Latest Viral Pot Paranoid Theory
Legal marijuana is not sending teens to the ER, contrary to scaremongering headlines.
"Legalized pot sends more teens to the ER in Colorado, study finds." So claimed CBS News and numerous other mainstream media outlets this month in response to a May 4 American Academy of Pediatrics press release. But in actuality, no published study exists. And the data highlighted in the AAP presser provides little evidence to substantiate these alarmist headlines.
In fact, what headline writers across the country inaccurately referred to as a "study" was no more than preliminary data presented during the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in San Francisco. These data sets, which assessed year-over-year trends in the prevalence of marijuana use among patients ages 13 to 21 who were admitted to the emergency room of a Colorado children’s hospital, have yet to be peer-reviewed or accepted for publication in a scientific journal. Yet one would have to skip to the final sentence of mainstream media coverage like this in order to be aware of these facts.
Furthermore, despite the misleading headlines, the data never addressed the question of whether marijuana played a causal role in patients’ ER admissions. Rather, researchers simply reported an increase in the number of ER patients who acknowledged either having used pot in the past or who tested positive for it on a hospital authorized urine screen. But this result is likely because Colorado hospital staff is placing a greater emphasis on marijuana detection today than they did a decade ago. Furthermore, it is likely that patients are more willing to acknowledge their use of cannabis to hospital employees now, post-legalization, than they were when pot was illegal.
Nevertheless, researchers opined that their data provides new evidence to support the claim that the legalization and regulating of marijuana for adults is having a “significant public health impact on adolescent populations.”
But more well established research casts serious doubt on this claim. For example, state survey data compiled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment dismisses the notion that teens’ use of marijuana has increased in the years following legalization. In fact, youth marijuana use rates in Colorado are lower today than they were in 2009 — several years prior to the establishment of adult use regulations. National survey data similarly refutes allegations that more young people are engaging in the problematic use of cannabis. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the number of adolescents reporting marijuana-related problems declined by 24 percent from 2002 to 2013.
In addition, legal cannabis products sold by Colorado retailers are seldom making their way to the underage market. According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs, licensed retailers strictly adhere to statewide regulations forbidding sales to minors. It determined, "Compliance with laws restricting marijuana sales to individuals age 21 years or older with a valid ID was extremely high and possibly higher than compliance with restrictions on alcohol sales.” Authors concluded, "The retail market at present may not be a direct source of marijuana for underage individuals.” Studies from other jurisdictions also report no link between the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries and increased pot use by teens.
Moreover, studies have largely failed to identify a significant causal link between marijuana use and ER visits. Specifically, researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed patterns and correlates of drug-related ER visits in a nationally representative survey of 43,093 residents age 18 or older. They reported, "[M]arijuana was by far the most commonly used (illicit) drug, but individuals who used marijuana had a low prevalence of drug-related ED [emergency department] visits.” A Canadian study published this month in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence determined that marijuana use did not increase subjects’ likelihood of hospitalization in the hours immediately following its use. Other studies assessing drug use patterns in smaller cohorts have even reported that cannabis use is inversely associated with injury risk.
This is not to say that cannabis use is without potential risk, particularly in instances where it is consumed by younger or more naive subjects. Marijuana can elevate blood pressure and in some users trigger tachycardia (rapid heart beat). Higher potency cannabis may also cause paranoia and other feelings of dysphoria. In patients with certain pre-existing psychiatric disorders, there also lies the potential for pot to exacerbate a psychotic episode. Any of these side effects may result in an ER visit. However, these sort of severe adverse reactions to cannabis are atypical. Further, none of these conditions are life-threatening and the symptoms almost always subside after a few hours.
Nevertheless, retailers and regulators in legal cannabis states ought to take steps to try and mitigate consumers’ risk of experiencing such unpleasant reactions, many of which are the result of overconsumption. These steps include better product labeling, potential limits on THC potency per serving in edible products, and greater efforts to encourage consumers to moderate their cannabis intake — particularly if they are consuming pot-infused edibles or concentrates. Such efforts are not only in the best interest of public safety, but they will also result in greater consumer satisfaction and awareness.
Where were U born?
That may affect your believe system?
Economy? (rich or poor)
Propaganda?
Some wear Black Tee-shirts? (and TAT's)
Alcohol is legal but not pot?
This is getting very stupid at this point in history.
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I think it's all about the money. The closer legalization gets, the more ridiculous the claims of what it does. The article above and the claim of the baby overdose were within the last 7 months.
There's a long list of companies that will suffer; Big Pharma and the cotton industry being two. Better to scare us with the 'consequences' of that 'devil drug' and treat medical patients like criminals than to lose profits...
ataxian
In a BLACK HOLE!
We share the same POLITICAL view?I think it's all about the money. The closer legalization gets, the more ridiculous the claims of what it does. The article above and the claim of the baby overdose were within the last 7 months.
There's a long list of companies that will suffer; Big Pharma and the cotton industry being two. Better to scare us with the 'consequences' of that 'devil drug' and treat medical patients like criminals than to lose profits...
The ‘Gateway Drug’ is Alcohol, Not Marijuana
Researchers at the University of Florida have found that the theory of a “gateway drug” is not associated with marijuana – results from the Guttman scale indicated that alcohol represented the gateway drug, leading to the use of tobacco, marijuana, and other illicit substances. Furthermore, students who used alcohol “exhibited a significantly greater likelihood of using both licit and illicit drugs”.
In an interview with Raw Story, co-author Adam E. Barry said that his studies were intended to correct some of the propaganda that has infected American culture since the “Reefer Madness” era.
“Some of these earlier iterations needed to be fleshed out, that’s why we wanted to study this. The latest form of the gateway theory is that it begins with [cannabis] and moves on finally to what laypeople often call ‘harder drugs’. As you can see from the findings of our study, it confirmed this gateway hypothesis, but it follows progression from licit substances, specifically alcohol, and moves on to illicit substances,” Barry said. These findings walk hand-in-hand with a 2012 study from Yale that found that alcohol and cigarettes were much more likely than marijuana to precede opiate abuse.
Researchers used a nationally representative sample of high school seniors, evaluating data collected through the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future survey, which tracks drug use trends among youth in the US. Barry’s study focused on data collected from 14,577 high school seniors from 120 public and private schools in the United States.
By comparing substance abuse rates between drinkers and non-drinkers, the researchers found that seniors in high school who had consumed alcohol at least once in their lives “were 13 times more likely to use cigarettes, 16 times more likely to use marijuana and other narcotics, and 13 times more likely to use cocaine”.
In the sample of students, alcohol also represented the most commonly used substance, with 72.2 percent of students reporting alcohol consumption at some point in their lifetime. Comparatively, 45 percent of students reported using tobacco, and 43.3 percent cited marijuana use.
“The findings from this investigation support that alcohol should receive primary attention in school-based substance abuse prevention programming, as the use of other substances could be impacted by delaying or preventing alcohol use. Therefore, it seems prudent for school and public health officials to focus prevention efforts, policies, and monies, on addressing adolescent alcohol use,” the study concluded.
Scientists had earlier discovered that cannabis, a therapeutic healing herb, may actually reduce brain damage caused by alcohol. A 2013 study from the University of Kentucky and the University of Maryland concluded that a chemical in marijuana called cannabidiol could be used to treat alcohol-induced neuro-degeneration.
Results of a very recent study has led to the conclusion that ‘illegal’ marijuana is far and away the safest ‘legal’ drug. Based on the findings, the researchers agreed that weed is 114 times less deadly than alcohol.
Researchers at the University of Florida have found that the theory of a “gateway drug” is not associated with marijuana – results from the Guttman scale indicated that alcohol represented the gateway drug, leading to the use of tobacco, marijuana, and other illicit substances. Furthermore, students who used alcohol “exhibited a significantly greater likelihood of using both licit and illicit drugs”.
In an interview with Raw Story, co-author Adam E. Barry said that his studies were intended to correct some of the propaganda that has infected American culture since the “Reefer Madness” era.
“Some of these earlier iterations needed to be fleshed out, that’s why we wanted to study this. The latest form of the gateway theory is that it begins with [cannabis] and moves on finally to what laypeople often call ‘harder drugs’. As you can see from the findings of our study, it confirmed this gateway hypothesis, but it follows progression from licit substances, specifically alcohol, and moves on to illicit substances,” Barry said. These findings walk hand-in-hand with a 2012 study from Yale that found that alcohol and cigarettes were much more likely than marijuana to precede opiate abuse.
Researchers used a nationally representative sample of high school seniors, evaluating data collected through the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future survey, which tracks drug use trends among youth in the US. Barry’s study focused on data collected from 14,577 high school seniors from 120 public and private schools in the United States.
By comparing substance abuse rates between drinkers and non-drinkers, the researchers found that seniors in high school who had consumed alcohol at least once in their lives “were 13 times more likely to use cigarettes, 16 times more likely to use marijuana and other narcotics, and 13 times more likely to use cocaine”.
In the sample of students, alcohol also represented the most commonly used substance, with 72.2 percent of students reporting alcohol consumption at some point in their lifetime. Comparatively, 45 percent of students reported using tobacco, and 43.3 percent cited marijuana use.
“The findings from this investigation support that alcohol should receive primary attention in school-based substance abuse prevention programming, as the use of other substances could be impacted by delaying or preventing alcohol use. Therefore, it seems prudent for school and public health officials to focus prevention efforts, policies, and monies, on addressing adolescent alcohol use,” the study concluded.
Scientists had earlier discovered that cannabis, a therapeutic healing herb, may actually reduce brain damage caused by alcohol. A 2013 study from the University of Kentucky and the University of Maryland concluded that a chemical in marijuana called cannabidiol could be used to treat alcohol-induced neuro-degeneration.
Results of a very recent study has led to the conclusion that ‘illegal’ marijuana is far and away the safest ‘legal’ drug. Based on the findings, the researchers agreed that weed is 114 times less deadly than alcohol.
I have read excerpts of this in other explanations of why cannabis was made illegal... but never saw all the quotes in one place. SMH.... what a delusional thought process....
ataxian
In a BLACK HOLE!
CANNABIS is safer than most thing’s!
CARL SAGAN my hero is smarter than most?
Why would any modern civilized nation demonize cannabis and not beer?
CANNABIS is very mild compared to most vices!
ataxian
In a BLACK HOLE!
Didn’t William Randal HEARSE have something 2 do with passing false judgment on CANNABIS!
Its so HARMLESS?
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Marijuana Doesn’t Turn People Into Lazy ‘Stoners’ As Stereotyped On TV, Study Finds
Another new study is debunking the stereotype of marijuana consumers as lazy and unmotivated “stoners,” with researchers finding no difference in apathy or reward-based behavior between people who use cannabis on at least a weekly basis and non-users. What’s more, these frequent marijuana consumers actually experience more pleasure than those who abstain.
The research, published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, looked at data on 274 adults and adolescents who reported using cannabis 1-7 times per week over the course of three months.
While there’s long been a stigma attached to cannabis users, with legalization opponents routinely suggesting that marijuana contributes to laziness and overall apathy, the researchers at the University of Cambridge and University College London said their findings “are not consistent with the hypothesis that non-acute cannabis use is associated with amotivation.”
“Our results suggest that cannabis use at a frequency of three to four days per week is not associated with apathy, effort-based decision-making for reward, reward wanting, or reward liking in adults or adolescents,” the study says. “Cannabis users had lower anhedonia than controls, albeit at a small effect size.”
Study participants took four assessments to measure anhedonia (the inability to experience pleasure), apathy and reward-based motivation and general reward responses. Their results were compared to a control group of non-users.
What the researchers found was that marijuana consumers were slightly more capable of experiencing pleasure, regardless of the frequency of use, and there was not a statistically significant difference between the groups when it came to apathy.
“We were surprised to see that there was really very little difference between cannabis users and non-users when it came to lack of motivation or lack of enjoyment, even among those who used cannabis every day,” Martine Skumlien of the University of Cambridge, said in a press release. “This is contrary to the stereotypical portrayal we see on TV and in movies.”
“A common stereotype of cannabis users is the ‘stoner’—think Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad, The Dude in The Big Lebowski, or, more recently, Argyle in Stranger Things. These are individuals who are generally depicted as lazy and apathetic.”
About half of the study participants were also asked to perform several behavioral tasks, like pushing buttons to earn chocolate and sweets. That experiment involved three difficulty levels, and then the participants were asked to rate how much they wanted the rewards.
There was no measurable difference between the cannabis consumers and control group in that experiment, the study found.
“We’re so used to seeing ‘lazy stoners’ on our screens that we don’t stop to ask whether they’re an accurate representation of cannabis users,” Skumlien said. “Our work implies that this is in itself a lazy stereotype, and that people who use cannabis are no more likely to lack motivation or be lazier than people who don’t.”
“Unfair assumptions can be stigmatizing and could get in the way of messages around harm reduction,” she said. “We need to be honest and frank about what are and are not the harmful consequences of drug use.”
Barbara Sahakian of the University of Cambridge added that this and previous studies strongly signal that “cannabis use does not appear to have an effect on motivation for recreational users.”
“The participants in our study included users who took cannabis on average four days a week and they were no more likely to lack motivation,” she said. “However, we cannot rule out the possibility that greater use, as seen in some people with cannabis-use disorder, has an effect.”
The researchers also found that young people are no more likely to experience the potential negative effects of cannabis measured in the study than adults are.
“There’s been a lot of concern that cannabis use in adolescence might lead to worse outcomes than cannabis use during adulthood,” said Will Lawn of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London. “But our study, one of the first to directly compare adolescents and adults who use cannabis, suggests that adolescents are no more vulnerable than adults to the harmful effects of cannabis on motivation, the experience of pleasure, or the brain’s response to reward.
“In fact, it seems cannabis may have no link—or at most only weak associations—with these outcomes in general,” he said. “However, we need studies that look for these associations over a long period of time to confirm these findings.”
The study concludes that “the collective evidence does not support an amotivational syndrome in cannabis users non-acutely, despite persistent ‘stoner’ stereotypes,” adding that “future research should use longitudinal designs and diverse assessments of reward processing, examine ecological validity of reward measures, and investigate daily or near-daily users and even younger participants.”
In a separate stereotype-busting study that was published last year, researchers found that frequent marijuana consumers are actually more likely to be physically active compared to their non-using counterparts.
In 2020, a study of older Americans found that cannabis consumers tended to do more formal exercise and engage in more physical activities than non-consumers during the course of a four-month trial.
Most people who use marijuana report that consuming before or after exercising improves the experience and aids in recovery, a 2019 study separately concluded. And those who do use cannabis to elevate their workout tend to get a healthier amount of exercise.
Fat Freddy
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