Sunday, July 23, 2006

Reefer Madness Roundup One of the biggest problems with the treatment community is the fact that so many of them are willing to blatantly lie in order to increase their profits. There are undoubtedly legitimate, principled treatment organizations. It's time to call upon them to step up to the plate and make a statement when others in their industry are so irresponsible. 1. From a business-promoting press release from the folks at Scientology's Narconon, and uncritically spread around by perennial wanker Jim Kouri: Most experts agree that there is enough THC in one gram of high grade marijuana to produce a lethal overdose that could result in death if swallowed by a toddler. Of course, they neglected to include even one "expert" because that's simply not true. I particularly like the poetic "lethal overdose that could result in death" redundancy. 2. The Weyburn Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse says This article is not intended as a scare tactic, rather a truthful look at marijuana and it's effects on the human body. Yeah, right. Let's see... Marijuana ... is currently 500 per cent more powerful now than it was 10 years ago, therefore the dangers of smoking marijuana now are much more serious than they were in the 1960's. [...] Marijuana smoke causes cancer more than cigarette smoke. [...] Marijuana is called a "gateway" drug, because it often leads to subsequent use of even harsher drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and crystal meth. [...] The dangers of marijuana include: impaired perception, diminished short-term memory, loss of concentration and coordination, impaired judgment, increased risk of accidents, loss of motivation, diminished inhibitions, anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia, hallucinations, damage to respiratory systems, damage to reproductive organs, damage to immune system, increased risk of cancer, and psychological dependency. [...] its use can lead to risky sexual behaviour, resulting in exposure to STD's like AIDS. Thank goodness they just stuck with lies and didn't use "scare tactics." [Thanks, Travis] 3. Libby at LastOneSpeaks gives us an interesting quote from the University of Vermont Treatment Research Center. Dr. Budney is concerned at how insidious marijuana dependence is. In fact, it's really hard to spot -- almost as if they weren't addicted at all, which of course we know isn't true. People often fail to notice that a friend or neighbor has a marijuana problem because the consequences of cannabis use are less striking than those associated with other drugs, according to Dr. Alan J. Budney of the University of Vermont's Treatment Research Center. "You don't see the severe acute consequences you get with alcohol or cocaine," Budney said. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, marijuana is the most widely abused drug in the world. Just like windows are the most widely abused things for looking through in the world because lots of people... look through them. You can't tell they're abusing windows -- that's what's so dangerous about it. 6:16:11 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Studies Encourage Behaviors that they Study? This is interesting. Some researchers did a study where they asked one group of college students how often they used drugs and another group how often they exercised. Later, they did a follow up and the first group was more likely to have increased drug use and the second group was more likely to have increased exercising. It's not enough to make too much of it yet, and there's little doubt that there's some amount of normal suggestibility in behavior (cigarette smokers will tell you that anti-smoking ads often make them want to light up). And this doesn't make those who didn't already use drugs/exercise start up. But it does add a wrinkle to the whole notion of doing behavioral surveys: Since the study appeared in the June issue of the academic journal Social Influence, Fitzsimons' research team has fielded calls from health practitioners concerned that asking patients about depression and possible thoughts of suicide might make matters worse. I don't have time to think about it. I'm busy conducting a survey -- asking women how often they've slept with red-bearded men. 9:28:48 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []