Thursday, March 23, 2017

The Terrible Truth About Cannibis

The terrible truth about cannabis: Expert's devastating 20-year study finally demolishes claims that smoking pot is harmless

  • One in six teenagers who regularly smoke the drug become dependent
  • It doubles risk of developing psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia 
  • Heavy use in adolescence appears to impair intellectual development
  • Driving after smoking cannabis doubles risk of having a car crash 
  • Study's author said: 'If cannabis is not addictive then neither is heroin' 
  • The drug is currently legal in two states - Washington and Colorado 
  • A further 21 states have allowed it to be used for medicinal purposes  
  • Obama said earlier this year cannabis is not as dangerous as alcohol  
By Ben Spencer, Science Reporter for the Daily Mail and Wills Robinson for MailOnline
 
A definitive 20-year study into the effects of long-term cannabis use has demolished the argument that the drug is safe.
Cannabis is highly addictive, causes mental health problems and opens the door to hard drugs, the study found.
The paper by Professor Wayne Hall, a drugs advisor to the World Health Organisation, builds a compelling case against those who deny the devastation cannabis wreaks on the brain. 
Scroll down for video 
Users can find themselves in a downward spiral. They drop out of school, fail to find employment, grow alienated from family and friends and become fully dependent on not just drugs but also welfare benefits (File photo) 
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Lasting effects: One in six teenagers who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it and cannabis users do worse at school. Heavy use in adolescence appears to impair intellectual development (File image)
Professor Hall found: 
  • One in six teenagers who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it
  • Cannabis doubles the risk of developing psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia
  • Cannabis users do worse at school. Heavy use in adolescence appears to impair intellectual development
  • One in ten adults who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it and those who use it are more likely to go on to use harder drugs
  • Driving after smoking cannabis doubles the risk of a car crash, a risk which increases substantially if the driver has also had a drink
  • Smoking it while pregnant reduces the baby's birth weight
Widespread: Teenagers and young adults are now as likely to take cannabis as they are to smoke cigarettes. Regular use, especially among teens, leads to long-term mental health problems and addiction (File image)
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Widespread: Teenagers and young adults are now as likely to take cannabis as they are to smoke cigarettes. Regular use, especially among teens, leads to long-term mental health problems and addiction (File image)
Last night Professor Hall, a professor of addiction policy at King's College London, dismissed the views of those who say that cannabis is harmless.
'If cannabis is not addictive then neither is heroin or alcohol,' he said.
'It is often harder to get people who are dependent on cannabis through withdrawal than for heroin – we just don't know how to do it.' 
Those who try to stop taking cannabis often suffer anxiety, insomnia, appetite disturbance and depression, he found. Even after treatment, less than half can stay off the drug for six months.
The paper states that teenagers and young adults are now as likely to take cannabis as they are to smoke cigarettes.
Professor Hall writes that it is impossible to take a fatal overdose of cannabis, making it less dangerous at first glance than heroin or cocaine. 
He also states that taking the drug while pregnant can reduce the weight of a baby, and long-term use raises the risk of cancer, bronchitis and heart attack.
But his main finding is that regular use, especially among teenagers, leads to long-term mental health problems and addiction.
Support: Thousands of supporters of decriminalised marijuana smoke at the Civic Centre Park in Denver, Colorado in 2012, ahead of the vote to legalise the drug. The bill was passed
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Support: Thousands of supporters of decriminalized marijuana smoke at the Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado in 2012, ahead of the vote to legalize the drug. The bill was passed
Since being legalized in Colorado six months ago, the cannabis industry has boomed. Tax revenue is up $11million, crime is down... but politicians warn the long-term effect have yet to be felt (file picture)
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Since being legalized in Colorado six months ago, the cannabis industry has boomed. Tax revenue is up $11million, crime is down... but politicians warn the long-term effect have yet to be felt (file picture)
'The important point I am trying to make is that people can get into difficulties with cannabis use, particularly if they get into daily use over a longer period,' he said. 'There is no doubt that heavy users experience a withdrawal syndrome as with alcohol and heroin.
'Rates of recovery from cannabis dependence among those seeking treatment are similar to those for alcohol.'
Mark Winstanley, of the charity Rethink Mental Illness, said: 'Too often cannabis is wrongly seen as a safe drug, but as this review shows, there is a clear link with psychosis and schizophrenia, especially for teenagers.
'The common view that smoking cannabis is nothing to get worked up about needs to be challenged more effectively. Instead of classifying and re-classifying, government time and money would be much better spent on educating young people about how smoking cannabis is essentially playing a very real game of Russian roulette with your mental health.'   
Cannabis has been legalized in two states - Washington and Colorado both passed the laws in 2012 - while a further 21 states have regulated so it can be used medicinally.
Marijuana and cannabis-infused products are displayed for sale at a marijuana dispensary in Denver, Colorado
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Marijuana and cannabis-infused products are displayed for sale at a marijuana dispensary in Denver, Colorado
Since January 1, 2014, more than 200 licensed marijuana ‘dispensaries’ in Denver, Colorado’s biggest city — along with 100 more in other parts of the state — have been allowed to sell the drug to anyone aged 21 and over for purely ‘recreational’ rather than medicinal use. 
Yesterday Colorado's Democrat Governor John Hickenlooper admitted state voters had been 'reckless' when they legalized recreational marijuana two years ago.
Speaking during a debate he said: 'I think for us to do that without having all the data, there is not enough data, and to a certain extent you could say it was reckless.'
A number of other states, including Oregon and Alaska, will vote this year on whether to take the same step, and polls from the Pew Research Center and Gallup have shown a majority of Americans support legalizing the drug. 
Use in the U.S. has been on the rise since 2007, possibly due in part to a perception of diminishing risks. In 2008, research found that 42 per cent of people surveyed in the U.S. had tried marijuana at least once.
In his paper, published in the journal Addiction, Professor Hall wrote that the rise of medical treatment for cannabis 'dependence syndrome' had not been stopped by legalisation. 
The number of cannabis users seeking help to quit or control their cannabis use has increased during the past two decades in the United States, Europe and Australia,' he wrote. 'The same increase has occurred in the Netherlands, where cannabis use was decriminalised more than 40 years ago.'
David Raynes, of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, added: 'There is no case for legalisation and we hope that this puts an end to the matter. The two main parties agree that cannabis needs to remain illegal – we hope the Liberal Democrats see this research and re-examine their policies.'
 
The celebrities and campaigners who claimed cannabis should be legalised... and the president who said it was safer than alcohol 
For years, activists and celebrities trying to decriminalise cannabis have campaigned on the claim that the real health damage to users is done by the legal ban on drugs. 
They have dismissed the growing evidence that smoking cannabis is a serious risk to mental health and have suggested taking away the prohibition would help the economy - providing more tax dollars and spending less on prisoners.
Prominent supporters of decriminalisation in the United States have included actor Woody Harrelson, rapper Snoop Dogg and singer-songwriter Willie Nelson.
Robert Downey Jr. participated in an AARP 'Smoke-In' to support marijuana legalization in 2005.
Policy: President Obama notoriously admitted to smoking cannabis as a youngster and told New Yorker magazine: 'I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol' 
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Policy: President Obama notoriously admitted to smoking cannabis as a youngster and told New Yorker magazine: 'I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol' 
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Advocates: Prominent supporters of decriminalization in the United States have included actor Woody Harrelson while Robert Downey Jr attended an AARP 'Smoke In' in 2005 
Jack Nicholson told the Daily Mail in 2011 that he still occasionally smokes marijuana, adding, 'I don't tend to say this publicly, but we can see it's a curative thing. 
'The narcotics industry is also enormous. It funds terrorism and — this is a huge problem in America — fuels the foreign gangs. 
Jack Nicholson told the Daily Mail in 2011 that he still occasionally smokes marijuana, and if the government 'were really serious about the economy, there would be a sensible discussion about legalisation'
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Jack Nicholson told the Daily Mail in 2011 that he still occasionally smokes marijuana, and if the government 'were really serious about the economy, there would be a sensible discussion about legalisation'
'More than 85 percent of men incarcerated in America are on drug-related offences. It costs $40,000 a year for every prisoner. If they were really serious about the economy, there would be a sensible discussion about legalisation.'
President Obama notoriously admitted to smoking cannabis as a youngster. 
He also told the New Yorker that marijuana was no more harmful than alcohol and was concerned about the effect of drug laws on the poor and ethnic minorities.
He told the magazine: 'As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.'
When asked, Bill Clinton said: 'I experimented with marijuana a time or two.'
Actor Danny Glover told the Huffington Post in 2010: 'The draconian laws … impact African-Americans and Hispanics inordinately.'
While promoting 'Savages' in 2012, director Oliver Stone told the Associated Press, '[Legalisation] can be done legally, safely, healthy, and it can be taxed and the government can pay for education and stuff like that. Also, you can save a fortune by not putting kids in jail.'
Jack Black is a panellist at the Marijuana Policy Project, which aims to reform drug laws.
In July, The New York Time's editorial board on Saturday endorsed a repeal of the federal ban on marijuana, becoming the largest paper in the nation to back the idea as it compared the U.S. government's stance on America's most widely used illicit drug to the prohibition on alcohol from 1920 to 1933. 

WHO'S NEXT? WHICH STATE WILL TAKE STEPS TO LEGALISE MARIJUANA?

ALASKA (legalisation)
Alaska may seem like an unlikely place to follow the lead of liberals in Colorado and Washington, but the state's libertarian electorate may provide a good look at how a different breed of voters will respond to marijuana legalisation.
It's early, but proponents have a big head start on fundraising and organisation, led by the Marijuana Policy Project based in Washington, D.C. Marijuana legalisation failed in Alaska in 2000 and 2004, but advocates say the landscape has changed markedly since then.
If the measure is approved, adults could use marijuana legally and purchase it at state-licensed stores, but use in public would still be illegal.
OREGON (legalisation)
Oregonians rejected legalisation just two years ago but are all but certain to have a chance to reconsider this November. State elections officials haven't yet validated the signatures turned in last week, but advocates submitted far more than they needed. Oregon has long been on the leading edge of the decades-long push to loosen marijuana laws.
It was the first state to decriminalise small-scale marijuana possession in 1973 — a step that's been taken in more than a dozen other states.
Marijuana use remains illegal, but possession of a small amount of the drug is punished with a citation and fine rather than a criminal charge. 
Oregon was also among the first states to approve medical marijuana. Unlike Oregon's 2012 effort, the team behind the current initiative has strong backing from many of the groups and individuals who helped bankroll the successful campaigns in Colorado and Washington.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (legalisation)
The D.C. Cannabis Campaign says the group submitted 55,000 signatures for a legalisation initiative on Monday — twice the number required to put the issue before voters. The measure would allow possession of up to two ounces of marijuana in the nation's capital. But the effort could be frustrated by Congress, which reviews all new laws in the District and has moved to block its other recent efforts to ease up on marijuana laws.
Last month, the Republican-controlled House took a big step toward blocking a decriminalisation bill passed by city lawmakers. That measure would make marijuana possession a civil offence subject to a $25 fine, one of the lowest in the nation. Congress used a similar amendment to block the District from implementing its medical marijuana program for 10 years.

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This is a garbage article.
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Isn't the problem that if you take anything in excess then it's harmful? Some people drink to excess, and that causes harm, often to others as a result of violence, some people eat a lot of food high in saturated fats and end of with heart attacks and strokes, some people smoke a lot of cigarettes and get cancer. I see no harm in cannabis in moderation.
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The study the story is talking about is legit, but this is not. It's drawing conclusions that are in complete opposition to those actually in the paper, by cherry picking statements and using them out of context. Professor Wayne Hall has already publicly said that his findings have been skewed by prohibitionist media bias and that these are not the conclusions he reached in the study. Look it up, and read the study yourself. It simply adds to our current understanding that cannabis is one of the least harmful substances known to man. It's amazing that the media can take a study such as this and try to use it as prohibitionist propaganda. Cannabis is going to be legalized (at least medically) within the decade whether they like it or not, and unfortunately for them they're on the wrong side of history, and will be remembered as such.
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Where is it possible to read professor Hall's statement and the original study?
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All this might be true, but you can't beat a good toke every now-and-then.
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So where is this alleged 20 year study?
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I was shocked that the title claimed there was a study and then didn't mention it once?! Did anyone else notice that all the supposed bad effect apply to alcohol as well....why isn't that illegal?! And medicines used for pain....not illegal. And what about caffeine? I am so addicted to it, seriously addicted. I have given it up many times in the last 5 years. It gives me withdrawal symptoms. I keep using it again once I quit. I don't think the question is whether its not great for you, we all know that. Just like we know fat, fast foods, our overuse of salt, caffeine and so many other things. The questions is, why would you work so hard to make it illegal? Its a plant. Seriously. People use it anyway, illegal or not. Fast food is legal even though our country has a ridiculous obesity problem. That's just people, they do great things and they do stupid things. In case you were wondering, I am 34 years old and have never once used marijuana.
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Im not even going to argue with the anti cannabis supporters on here...... There is no winning against these prunes
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This article is loaded with propaganda lies. Don't feed in to it. Where is this alleged 20 year study? What is the name of that study? In which medical journal is it published? Finally, are we talking about Professor Wayne Hall from the University of Queensland? If so, since he's only been in the field for 20 years (according to the University of Queensland,) is this article then alleging that this research paper is the only paper or work he's ever done? Considering the listing of his work on the University's website, I'd say he's been doing other things... Again, where's this alleged research published?
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This article paid for by your friendly neighborhood DEA agent. LEGALIZE WORLDWIDE. It's one of the most amazing plants in the world.
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Yeh, if you want to stay wasted, eat too much, be lazy and damage your neurology. Sure, keep at it.
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^ You know nothing, Jon Snow. "Where I can dream, but never have, United States"
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Seems so many reporters are referencing Professor Hall's report on studies dating back 20 years ago. I only smoked 3 years of my life and no longer smoke, but wasn't the best herb back then far worse than KB or Chronic? We're at medical-grade Kush at this point... He may as well have researched smartphone addiction...
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