Drugs

[64 Chevy]

I don't think that people should judge things that they have never done. And people who think that all drug users act the same piss me off. some act dumb but many people could never guess if a person was high or not. the people that act dumb are immature anyway and use the drug as a excuse to be stupid.

[Route666]

Alcohol dissolves your brain much more than weed, and smoking cigarettes does the same damage to your lungs as smoking weed, especially since people who smoke cigarettes smoke them more than people who smoke pot smoke pot. The difference I notice is that weed makes you feel good, whereas cigarettes, well, don't do shit, except get you addicted to them.

[Ranger_X]

Here is an email response I sent to a friend who constantly tells me about the harmful effects of marijuana usage. Italics are statements from the page which my friend quoted. Unfortunatly, she did not provide a link to this article. Fortunatly though, there are hundreds of webpages out there that all say exactly the same things (and in many instances, the same words )


There are many long-term effects of chronic marijuana use, such as memory problems, impaired driving, immunosupression, decreased testosterone, ower splerm counts, increased heart rate and problems with attention.

These are all true for short term, not long term. Meaning near complete recovery is seen about 24-48 hours after use.

Some feel it creates a "amotivational syndrome", that is, decreased interest in energy and achieving.

Yep, during usage for some people. Personally, I used to smoke it before when I was UNMOTIVATED. I used to build model cars, clean my room etc. The apathy associated with smoking may actually help motivate some people by interrupting thier depressed state of mind when sober... here's an interesting peice:

"The "amotivational syndrome" (i.e., apathy). Sure enough, dopers tend to be apathetic. But it's never been proven that marijuana causes apathy. In fact, the panel found, it may well be the other way around--maybe apathy causes you to use marijuana. On a related subject, the panel noted that atrophy in the brains of 10 heavy marijuana users had been reported some years ago by a British researcher. Another scientist at Tulane said he found "dramatic" changes in the brains of monkeys subjected to carloads of cannabis. But both studies were sharply criticized for methodological deficiencies. Other scientists have found no brain damage. This led the NAS panel to conclude, predictably, that "much more work is needed." A 1995 review of marijuana's effect on the brain said pretty much the same thing and as far as I can tell the question remains unsettled today. As for "reefer madness," there is little evidence that marijuana per se causes psychosis, but it may trigger psychotic episodes in people who have mental problems to start with."

from http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_225.html

But by far the most dangerous side effect of regular pot use is its effect on the lungs. It contains 5 to 15 times the amount of benzpyrene, a known carcinogen, than tobacco smoke. It is associated with increased rates of bronchitis, upper respiratory infections as well as cancer of the mouth. Regular smokers of pot also develop the same type of damage to the cells lining the airways and lungs that occurs with cigarette smoke. This damage can lead to obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Very true, VERY!! When I smoked though, i used a water filter, getting rid of a lot of those nasty things. Also, I would smoke very small quantities at a time. Most "potheads" get about 6-10 joints from an 1/8th ounce, meaning they smoke unfiltered marijuana cigarettes and get high 6-10 times from how much they buy. In contrast, I get about 30-40 usages out of my smoking method, spread out over more than 3 months. When comparing to cigarettes, you have to also acknowledge that the heaviest pot smokers maybe smoke 1/8th ounce a day, ie, 6-10 joints, while the heaviest tobacco smokers smoke about 25-50 cigarettes in a day.

"Heart and lungs. Marijuana smoke contains about 50 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than cigarette smoke. Tests with lab animals and whatnot indicate that marijuana-induced lung cancer is a real possibility. (They also indicate that smoking both marijuana and tobacco is worse than smoking just one or the other.) Still, as of 1982, there had never been a case of lung cancer attributable solely to dope smoking--possibly, according to the panel, "because marijuana has been widely smoked in this country for only about 20 years, and data have not been collected systematically in other countries with a much longer history" of heavy dope use. A somewhat alarmist 1992 report from Australia claimed that marijuana had been implicated in cases of mouth, jaw, tongue, and lung cancer. I would be skeptical of claims that marijuana was the sole cause of these cancers, however. Even if one assumes the worst, marijuana as a carcinogen pales in comparison to tobacco.

Dope smoking places extra stress on the heart, the panel said. This is probably harmless to healthy people, but if you have high blood pressure or hardening of the arteries, or if you're prone to strokes, you should lay off. Heavy dope users are also prone to respiratory problems such as pharyngitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, and asthma."

again from the same page.

Researchers have found that THC changes the way in which sensory information gets into and is processed by the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a component of the brain's limbic system that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivations.

Under the influence, yep!

Investigations have shown that neurons in the information processing system of the hippocampus and the activity of the nerve fibers in this region are suppressed by THC. In addition, researchers have discovered that learned behaviors, which depend on the hippocampus, also deteriorate via this mechanism.

Yes, you can't learn as much under the INFLUENCE of marijuana because the delta-9 THC mimicks anandimide, thus surpessing ability to create effective short term memories and thus convert them to long term.

Recent research findings also indicate that long-term use of marijuana produces changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term use of other major drugs of abuse.

This is a statement used in almost every "war on drugs" person says. Seriously, type that exact statement into a google search, word for word and you'll find so many right winger pages. Just goes to show that the people who constantly view dope as such a threat all don't know how to say things in thier own words and can only copy and paste statements made prior because they have absolutly no understanding of this drug other than the propoganda they've read in republican party fliers (cbass knows ) Anyway, I think this statement is true for one or two studies, but see the quote I put in here formerly stated that there are very conflicting results due to the varience in study parameters. Keep in mind as well that when a study comes out with any proof that THC causes deterioration of brain structures, they have administered the study subjects (rats, monkeys etc.) sickening amounts of THC, like the equivalent of a person constantly inhaling marijuana smoke from the time they wake up till they go to sleep, or more.

Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers. These individuals may have daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds. Continuing to smoke marijuana can lead to abnormal functioning of lung tissue injured or destroyed by marijuana smoke.
Regardless of the THC content, the amount of tar inhaled by marijuana smokers and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed are three to five times greater than among tobacco smokers. This may be due to the marijuana users' inhaling more deeply and holding the smoke in the lungs and because marijuana smoke is unfiltered.

I already adressed this issue.

Recent findings indicate that smoking marijuana while shooting up cocaine has the potential to cause severe increases in heart rate and blood pressure. In one study, experienced marijuana and cocaine users were given marijuana alone, cocaine alone, and then a combination of both. Each drug alone produced cardiovascular effects; when they were combined, the effects were greater and lasted longer. The heart rate of the subjects in the study increased 29 beats per minute with marijuana alone and 32 beats per minute with cocaine alone. When the drugs were given together, the heart rate increased by 49 beats per minute, and the increased rate persisted for a longer time. The drugs were given with the subjects sitting quietly. In normal circumstances, an individual may smoke marijuana and inject cocaine and then do something physically stressful that may significantly increase the risk of overloading the cardiovascular system.

I don't know many people who shoot up cocaine, and anyone that does is stupid anyways. As for the heart rate increasing, perhaps, but I doubt it increases to the point of ever becoming harmful. As well, many things could cause an increase in heart rate that are external, correlation does not equal causation.

A study of college students has shown that critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily, even after discontinuing its use for at least 24 hours. Researchers compared 65 "heavy users," who had smoked marijuana a median of 29 of the past 30 days, and 64 "light users," who had smoked a median of 1 of the past 30 days. After a closely monitored 19- to 24-hour period of abstinence from marijuana and other illicit drugs and alcohol, the undergraduates were given several standard tests measuring aspects of attention, memory, and learning. Compared to the light users, heavy marijuana users made more errors and had more difficulty sustaining attention, shifting attention to meet the demands of changes in the environment, and in registering, processing, and using information. These findings suggest that the greater impairment among heavy users is likely due to an alteration of brain activity produced by marijuana.

Once again, very conflicting experimental results here, many confounding factors. I would say based on personal experience, yes heavy users generally don't perform as well as they should, but after they stop, they recover quickly. As well, I highly doubt there can ever be found a measuarble degree of difference in test scores between light and non-smokers, in a repeatable experiment.

Longitudinal research on marijuana use among young people below college age indicates those who used marijuana have lower achievement than the non-users, more acceptance of deviant behavior, more delinquent behavior and aggression, greater rebelliousness, poorer relationships with parents, and more associations with delinquent and drug-using friends.

These are not necessarily a reprecussion of the drug, in fact common sense tells me they are certainly not.

Youth that use drugs or consume alcohol are at higher risk than nonusers for mental health problems, including depression, conduct problems, personality disorders, suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, and suicide.

I would think so, but these behaviors are probably present before drug use in many cases, and drug use starts in an attempt to help deal with these problems, once again, probably very rarely a result of the drug use.

Marijuana which is a drug commonly used by youth has been shown to interfere with short-term memory and learning.



Of course, I went over that before.



Marijuana side effects include physical problems like breathing difficulties and deteriorating physical abilities. Despite a popular belief, marijuana side effects speed up the heart, blood and breathing rate. The body is taxed more and this speeds up the aging process just like methamphetamines do. The marijuana side effects from this extra exertion on the body include a higher risk for lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes.



Jogging increases your heart rate and breathing rate too, so should no one do excercise? I would very much like to see the actual experiment, and relating experiments that have studied the increase of heart and breathing rates, and see if they rate they increase to would be harmful at all.

Marijuana side effects also wreak havoc on the brain when the drug is used habitually. The natural chemical balance of the brain is disrupted affecting the pleasure centers and regulatory systems. The ability to learn, remember and adapt quickly to changes is impaired by marijuana use.

Define "wreak havok" LOL. Yes under the influence, these things happen to your brain... Much like "natural chemical balance of the brain is disrupted affecting pleasure centers and regulatory systems" when you're having sex.

Depression often occurs with marijuana usage, which feeds into the cycle of more drug use to treat the pain created by drug use. This cycle of addiction is very powerful and users soon find that they cannot stop using the drug even if they want to.

Marijuana is not physically addictive. Psychologically, it certainly is for some people. I know from personal experience that it is, however, it is extremely easy to quit. I find the line "users soon find that they cannot stop using the drug even if they want to" absolutly laughable. I'd like to see some emperical evidence confirming this bold statement.

Marijuana intoxication and chronic daily use has been linked to depression, anxiety and diminished motivation. It has also been noted that those with concurrent ongoing marijuana abuse/anxiety are much less likely to respond to treatment of these disorders.

Once again, correlation (especially a very weak one) does not equal causation. A lot of people start using marijuana in an attempt to treat these already existing disorders. Is it an effective treatment? I don't know, probably not for the vast majority of people.

Multiple medical problems have also been associated with marijuana use including significant cardiopulmonary impairment.

Refer to above. Shit this article is disorganized :P



Marijuana is known to cause mood swings, sleepiness or sluggishness, and, sometimes, decreased motivation. In higher doses, hallucinogenic effects are possible, which may be expressed through anxiety or rapid changes in mood.



Mood swings? I would say there is certainly a possibility there during usage because there are many anandamide receptors in the amygdala, which is a region involved in processing strong emotion. Sleepiness? Probably for some people under certain situations, but I'm sure it can just as easily prevent you from going to sleep, as it interferes with the sleep/wake cycle.



The thing I find unsettling about marijuana usage is its effect on the cerebellum, which your "very educated" article completely missed... hmmmm... I wonder if whoever wrote that knows a thing about neuroscience. Anyway, it interferes with balance and coordination. coupled with its inhibiting effect on short term memory, and decreasing of reaction times, I would say this is a very dangerous combination for someone driving under the influence, or anyone operating equiptment who is responsible for the safety of others. I constantly try and spread this knowledge around, but most people who smoke seem to think they are fine drivers. I couldn't disagree more. Like I will never drive on public roads under the influence of alcohol, I will never drive under the influence of marijuana.


In conclusion, this article was crap. I copied and pasted many of those lines into several google searches and came up with many websites that all supported the same opinion. The people who write these simply have no working knowledge of what actually goes on with marijuana usage. They rely on the most primitive form of information regurgitation (or plagiarism) : the all handy computer tool of copying and pasting . Which has unfortunatly given many idiots out there the ability to make it sound like they know what they're talking about.

[TexasF355F1]

Thats a nice post Ranger. The majority of information out there about marijuana is totally bogus and not true. What about the anit-drug commercials. These are totally fictional and bogus. They claim on the newest one that 4 out of 5 accident victims tested positive for marijuana in their system. Well just b/c its in there system doesn't mean they were under the influence at the time, they could have smoked 4 days prior. Theres just too much false info out there and the govt. should really consider legalizing it, they could make a lot of money if they did.

[Ranger_X]

Originally posted by TexasF355F1
Thats a nice post Ranger. The majority of information out there about marijuana is totally bogus and not true. What about the anit-drug commercials. These are totally fictional and bogus. They claim on the newest one that 4 out of 5 accident victims tested positive for marijuana in their system. Well just b/c its in there system doesn't mean they were under the influence at the time, they could have smoked 4 days prior. Theres just too much false info out there and the govt. should really consider legalizing it, they could make a lot of money if they did.

Agreed on the information available to most people, lots of abuse of empericism and bad science are used by the goverment in an attempt to put "proof" on the harmfulness of this drug. I'm not saying it's harmless, it certainly isn't, but it's not what the US government has made it out to be.

I don't believe legalizing marijuana is the answer, following in the lead of several european countries who have decriminalized it would be a wise approach.

[seth 90DX/ZC]

Aight... This is an extreamly biased and un opend minded thread. Here is what i have to say.
Im 21 I havent done drugs for over a year. This includes coffie beer and anything els that could even be remotly considered a drug (I still smoke cigerets, its legal) I began smoking marajuana when I was nine years old, I continued to smoke even though my grades began to fall and I had to be put into a special school because the teachers thought I was stupid when i was realy just stoned. I got smart about alot of things that most people arent aware of. I told myself I would NEVER do any of those other drugs because they were bad, and pot was just ok. That idea didnt sit to long by the time I was fifteen I had moved out of my parents house and moved half way across california so i could grow the erb in peace. I have done every drug imaginable... shit you never even heard of like DieMythlTriptimine and Ketimine and loads of other shit. My whole viewpoint is STAY AWAY! Stay away from it all! It will fuck you up and fuck up your whole perseption on life and you will never find happiness in life after you have tried certan drugs (Like haroin, crack aint so bad... At least it wasnt for me. Meth is a nasty little trick along with cocain) I have done alot of LSD, I have eaten whole 1/10 grams of raw crystal lsd and triped for months at a time. I cant say if I could go back and change it all I would. I enjoyed alot of it, but look at me now... 21 busting my ass to get by and just barley makin it. No diploma a little colledge but not enough to get a resonable job. I make $2000 a month and as any adult here knows thats barley enough to scrape by. I want to have a family and shit, this cant happen because of my irisponcabilities. This is not a sob story so dont take it that way, this is information from one persons view of his life. All the guys I used to hang out with are still fucked up and are twice as bad off so I dont have the right to pitty myself, I made the choices and Im living with the consecuences.

[TexasF355F1]

In a way your view point is biased but not really. You are just telling people to stay away, and for those who are in their early teens, we who have "experimented" in the past can help lead them in the right direction. I personally have to disagree with you on the part that pot will lead you to harder drugs. It's all in a persons personallity and will power. I smoked on occasion from 18 to just recently(i quit for b/c I'm 21 and ill be in the working world in a few years, and circumstances I will not say, I just had an eye opening experience). I however will be honest in the fact that if marijuana was decriminalized/legalized I probably would smoke again on occasion. Another thing that I feel causes people to move to other drugs is the people they hang around(i.e. peer pressure and not having the will power to say no). But seth, i thank you for sharing your experience and hopefully it may help the younger kids in the forum to stay away.

[bigfrit]

Well, It's nice to see some comments that actually make sense.

I do have to agree with the assumption that maybe in some homes and comunities drugs (and i'm talking about soft drugs here ) are seen as a devil's tool, a source of all evil. But what these people do not know, is that if you use it and have been educated about it , there should be no great risks with it.

And as to the people who plead for legalisation (as we are most likely going to have in Belgium) I say; maybe legalising it isn't such a great idea. If marijuana stays in the illegality, it might just be harder for youngsters "risk group" to get a hold of this, as for party-smokers, or relax-smokers, it's always possible to have them, but not as easy as going to the coffee shop and just order it.

Don't get me wrong, I am for legalisation ,but it should be clear that kids and youngsters are taught about consequences and abuse of drugs.

No legalisation without drug education .

0.02$

Ciao Olivier

[TheNotoriousMogg]

If I did drugs it would be punishable under the UCMJ can you say Leavenworth??????

yikes!

[HogieGT-R]

i have tried weed a couple of times....i hated the way i was acting, i was soo fuckin stupid that it wasn't funny...the same thing with alcohol...i was at a party last weekend, where people were getting drunk and they were pissing me off so bad that i wanted 2 leave, but i was stuck there, so i just hung out in their basement all night...pissed me off nicely

[Ranger_X]

Here's another source that tell you the confliciting results in test scores among users.
This study actually found that light users scored HIGHER on IQ tests than non users:

gains in IQ points for light current users

http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/article...t&artid=100921

We conclude that marijuana does not have a long-term negative impact on global intelligence. Whether the absence of a residual marijuana effect would also be evident in more specific cognitive domains such as memory and attention remains to be ascertained.

[integra818]

I take a couple shots of Vodka with my fathers aproval about once a year around new year, noo... my family is'nt messed up, I drink just for toast, that's it. I don't like drinking though. I've been piss drunk at a party when I was 15 and it was a VERY stupid mistake I made, luckily I did'nt barf, the bright side is... I've never went to sleep feling so good

[Supra650RSP]

Umm,
Did drugs for 4 years. Everything from Coke to weed to acid to shrooms. Basically everything without a needle.

It has been over 2 years since I touched them now(and that includes alchohol). The reason?
My best friend and I met when I was trying to come back into my dorm room from a weekend rave(I love raves and still go to them by the way.) I overdosed seriously on soo many drugs that I can't count that weekend. When she found me I was blacked out trying to put the key into my door(which I found out later I had been trying for over four hours). My pupils were white and I was mumbling something in Spanish or some language. We went to the hospital and while there I had a heart attack. I came back to later that day and have yet to recover fully recover from the incident.
Results: I can't taste. I've done so much coke that I can no longer taste foods and suffer from constant running nose and bloody noses. After an all-nighter or frequent all-nighters I will get acid flashbacks. At one point in Spanish class about a year ago people were speaking and I could see sub-titles. I have had a 20 percent lung colapse and still find it difficult to play sports. I went to college on a soccer scholarship.
Drugs ruined my life then. Now I am still in recovery and hopefully on my way to a complete lack of side effects. I strongly reccomend that if you do drugs at all stop. They will eventually catch up to you. When they do, you will regret it. Peace

[bigfrit]

Look, Supra 650,

I read your post, and figured that your experience was and still is horrible to you, but which doesn't mean I personally and others are going to stop with taking them.
For one to stop it isn't enough to point them to what "MIGHT" happen, but they have to want to stop doing it.

Because what happened to you doesn't happen to other people, who, in contrary of you , use drugs wisely and do not abuse them.

It sounds a bit stupid to say now, but you should have thought about it, before you took "the great leap" into hard drugs.

Also, it could be that you haven't been informed well.

We have now in Belgium by law the possibility to use weed and cannabis, wich is a good thing.
Also there will be a big budget spent on campaigns about how to use it wisely and problematic use (overuse) will be taken on by special rehabilitation-clinics, to help addicts.

So for me, this is great, the cause and the effect of abuse will be taken on in a good way

Olivier

[TexasF355F1]

America needs to adopt Belgium laws for weed.