cannabisnews.com: First-Time Marijuana Users Risk Serious Addiction First-Time Marijuana Users Risk Serious Addiction Posted by CN Staff on August 28, 2002 at 20:17:52 PT By Tal Abbady, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press Fewer adolescents are first-time marijuana users than in previous years, but those that are risk succumbing to long-term drug addiction, according to a federal report released Wednesday.John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, released the report after touring The Village, a drug treatment center in Miami. The study, based on the 1999 and 2000 National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse, indicates that first-time marijuana use among the young is often a pathway to marijuana addiction or addiction to more potent drugs such as cocaine or heroin, Walters said."Marijuana is not the soft drug," Walters said. He said government, community agencies and parents must marshal their powers to prevent and treat marijuana abuse.According to the study, 62 percent of cocaine users aged 26 or older were first-time marijuana users by the age of 14.But advocates of legalizing marijuana call Walters' gateway theory one of the oldest myths in drug policy.According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, based in Washington D.C., only one out of every 104 first-time marijuana users ever use heroin or cocaine. The research is based on numbers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse."The theory that once you use marijuana your brain craves harder drugs is the perpetuation of a long tortured myth," said Allen St. Pierre, the group's executive director.St. Pierre said Walters was manipulating federally funded research to preserve the status quo."If you want good drug war coverage," St. Pierre added, "you go to Miami."But Matthew Gissen, founder of The Village, said all of the adults at his center grappling with drug addiction first used marijuana."At one time or another everyone we've treated here has used marijuana and progressed onto other drugs that eventually brought them to our doorstep," Gissen said.Gissen founded the cloistered center, decked with a fountain and street signs reading "Serenity Place" and "Gratitude Place," on the site of a Sea Horse Motel in the 1970s.The center currently treats 200 people for drug abuse.Despite officials' emphasis on teens at risk, federal statistics show there was an overall decline in the number of first-time marijuana users aged 12 to 17 in 1996-1999, and the average age of first-time use in 1999 was 17, up from 16 in the mid-90s.Approximately 2 million Americans ages 12 or older used marijuana for the first time in 1999, down from 2.5 million the previous year, but higher than the 1.4 million recorded in 1989.The rate of first-time marijuana use declined through the late 1990s among most ethnic groups except American Indians and Alaska Natives, whose initiation rates have shown a continuous increase.Florida ranks among nine states with the lowest rate of new marijuana users. New Mexico has the highest rate, and Louisiana the lowest.Analyst Jim Hall said there's been an overall decline of first-time use among adolescents in Miami-Dade County since county officials started tracking and addressing initiation rates in 1995.But he said there's a rise in the use of "club drugs" such as ecstasy that have acquired a dangerous nightlife cachet. Complete Title: Feds: First-Time Marijuana Users Risk Serious AddictionSource: Associated Press Author: Tal Abbady, Associated Press Writer Published: Wednesday, August 28, 2002Copyright: 2002 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Early Marijuana Use Linked to Adult Dependence http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13914.shtmlTeens Say Buying Marijuana Is Easy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13818.shtmlSurvey: Teens Say Marijuana Easy To Gethttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13814.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #28 posted by schmeff on August 30, 2002 at 12:14:06 PT ONDCP Operation to Nurture and Disseminate Cannabis Propaganda. [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by kaptinemo on August 30, 2002 at 06:04:43 PT: McGoohan was a visionary The Prisoner was largely his idea, to showcase what was quite evident, even back then, of the dangers to freedom posed by privacy- and humanity-destroying technology placed in the hands of a self-appointed Elite. (In one of the episodes, "Number 6" corners a vunerable, young idealistic member of this Elite group that seems to have run the Cold War as some kind of incredible shadow play, as people from the Communist Bloc apparently were also shipped there. During the conversation, she lets slip that The Village was set up "after the War". "Number 6", with no small degree of horror as well as anger practically barks at her: "Which war?" but never gets and answer...but the implication is plain that the Village...and the Elite...have been around for a long time. Decades, at least. Interesting, no?)All in all, what McGoohan and his writer friends came up with was a warning...which, sadly, few have heeded. In "Number 6"'s Village, you are literally watched while you sleep; the cameras are everywhere. Everywhere. And now look. There are places in the UK and the US where you can't blow your nose on the street without 5 cameras providing a panormaic close up of the act of you wiping your nose. Tiny cams are advertised in pop-up ads so you can surveill everything that happens in your home - for good or ill. This is getting out of hand...but few see the dangers. But McGoohan and Company did, so long ago. [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by dddd on August 29, 2002 at 20:04:01 PT ...Right on Mari!....Thank You... "Theres a man who leads a life of danger... to everyone he meets he stays a stranger... well every move he makes..another chance he takes odds are he wont live to see tomorrow.. secret...agent man...secret agent man ,,,,,,"they're givin' you a number,,and takin' way your name.." dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by goneposthole on August 29, 2002 at 19:50:37 PT Some call it treason From fraudulent financial scamdals to the war on drugs, it is all a dark page in history. [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by Mari on August 29, 2002 at 19:32:24 PT ***dddd**** " Secret Agent " [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by dddd on August 29, 2002 at 19:17:56 PT ...Ahoy Kap!... ....yes ,,as you know,,I share the distinkshun of being a vintage flatuent,,,and ,,indeed,I remember The Prisoner,,and McGoohan........didnt McGoohan have a role in another series of that British ilk?...The Avengers????,,The Saint????dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by The GCW on August 29, 2002 at 17:52:37 PT cannabis least addictive on chart. (nice color) Dependence: How difficult it is for the user to quit, the relapse rate, the percentage of people who eventually become dependent, the rating users give their own need for the substance and the degree to which the substance will be used in the face of evidence that it causes harm.http://www.drugwarfacts.org/addictiv.htm titled, Addictive Qualities of Popular Drugs, indicates caffeine is twice as addictive as cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by The GCW on August 29, 2002 at 17:49:01 PT cannabiws man, darwin Beans and Buds. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by Tim Stone on August 29, 2002 at 17:38:14 PT Kaptinemo & "The Prisoner" Yeah, I remember the series well. There were some nice touches, such as having every conversation between or among inmates always ending with the catch phrase, "Be seeing you!" Rubbing in the fact that you were there to stay and would never get away. And the phrase, "Be Seeing You!" was always accompanied by a hand signal consisting of the thumb touching the forefinger of the right hand, with the other three fingers held aloft. The hand signal is then extended toward the person you're speaking to. Inotherwords, it's the standard U.S. hand symbol for "O.K." Nice Orwellian touches. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on August 29, 2002 at 13:30:06 PT: "The Village'...how chillingly apt Being an old f- has some advantages.I would suggest that everyone who reads this go to your local vid rental center and check out the old late 1960's British series starring patrick McGoohan called The Prisoner.In the series opening credits for each episode, a man storms down a dimy lit corrider, a look of dark rage on his face as he passes under the lights. He's a secret agent who resigns from a highly classified post out of some kind of violent disagreement with his bosses, pounding on a superiors desk to make a point and storming out of whatever place he worked in. (We are never let in on exactly who he is, why he was working there, what he did, etc. save to say that it must have been a towering moral outrage to cause him to leave, as we learn he is actually a very decent, compassionate man.) He is kidnapped and transported to a hidden area of the world called The Village, a gigantic Skinner Box resembling a seaside resort where Orwellian mind f-ing games are the favorite past-time of the high tech jailors. Each episode is about the hapless yet dogged and highly intelligent ex-agent with his jailor's attempts to break him psychologically...and get him to tell them why he resigned. All in all, it's a marvellous series which shows up in places like the Sci-Fi Channel from time to time. It speaks about the value of human dignity as opposed to 'mass society', where everyone is a number (his jailors call him "Number 6", but never refers to himself as such.) It speaks about freedom, about privacy, about how technology must not be allowed to be used to enslave society for the aims of those who lead it.Now, juxtapose that with this 'Village' of Walter's & Company, where the people are probably there at court order, no privacy, peeing-on-demand like good little robots...and don't dare talk back to their jailors.Some very scary parallels, indeed.And of course, in the The Prisoner's Village, the tyrannical jailors claimed it was all done for their unwilling charge's own good. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by darwin on August 29, 2002 at 12:04:23 PT Nicley Done Congrats, CannabisMan, Alcoholism is a tough monkey to get off your back. I've steared clear of the stuff as I've seen my father slowly degrade from the disease. Coffee and Pot: the vices of the intelligent! [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by CannabisMan on August 29, 2002 at 11:30:26 PT: No wonder alcohol withdrawal was so terrible! The GCW,Looking at that chart I see alcohol withdrawal as the worst for withdrawal. I remember after I smoked some extremely potent cannabis about 6 months ago was when I quit alcohol COLD TURKEY after drinking 2 liters of whiskey (straight) per weekend.It was hell psychologically to go from alcoholism to complete sobriety. My mind went from being essentially *dead* to ALIVE once again with the miracle of potent cannabis.Cannabis is the best cure for alcoholism out there, but of course the DEA doesn't want you to know this!p.s. - The only mind-altering substances I use today are coffee & pot. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by The GCW on August 29, 2002 at 10:49:36 PT Cannabis addiction is so bad... it can lead to addiction of more potent drugs such as CAFFEINE.Stats, charts and graphs, including this one at http://www.drugwarfacts.org/addictiv.htm titled, Addictive Qualities of Popular Drugs, indicates caffeine is twice as addictive as cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by greenfox on August 29, 2002 at 09:29:42 PT and of course... "Marijuana is not the soft drug," Walters said. He said government, community agencies and parents must marshal their powers to prevent and treat marijuana abuse.That's right. So the entire country of Holland is WRONG in assuming that pot is a soft drug. They are WRONG for writing on the door of each and every coffee -shoppe.... that "hard drugs are not allowed". But of course pot is a hard drug, so they must have it all wrong.=gf [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by CannabisMan on August 29, 2002 at 08:12:07 PT: To hell with control freaks I am going to buy an 1/8th of kind bud A.S.A.P. and start smoking up even though I was laid off from my job last week. I will fight THC-testing crap till the death.I am a peaceful, kind person who is a very good worker when someone needs my help. To hell with control freaks. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by darwin on August 29, 2002 at 08:08:39 PT Pill industry CannabisMan: I'd have to say that the pharmaceutical companies are just as culpable as the alcohol industry in maintaining the war on drugs other than their own. They stand to lose more than the alcohol companies upon relegalization. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by CannabisMan on August 29, 2002 at 08:05:01 PT: THC testing bureaucracy = alcohol industry The real reason I can't go to work for a whole boatload of businesses here in America is because of the marijuana testing bureaucracy which is supported by the alcohol industry.THE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY IS THE TRUE SOURCE OF FREEDOM HINDERANCE ON PLANET EARTH. The alcohol industry is the source of what goes into human bodies to alter their minds into becoming *control freaks*.Cannabis is a plant which is probably the most healthy therapeutic substance known to humans. The main reason I cant smoke pot freely in public, at the beach, at work on breaks, is because of the alcohol industry.I support all organizations who are for taking down the worldwide alcohol industry as this would be the true start of freedom for humans on planet earth. The world's largest alcohol dealer [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by darwin on August 29, 2002 at 06:23:56 PT Alcohol Alcohol was my first drug, as well as almost ALL of my friends back in school. Then nicotine, Then in college, I found pot. Besides, the real gateway to hard drugs is depression. Depression caused by genetics, poverty, or child abuse.Everyone needs to understand this, as I predict poverty and depression increasing over the next decade, as the rightious republicans in office steal everyone's money. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by goneposthole on August 29, 2002 at 05:27:09 PT first users The first drug I ever used at a young age was tobacco. Tobacco doesn't count though, or is severely discounted.The propaganda machine probably doesn't think of the dire consequences that can take place.Germany comes to mind. Let these yahoos go, they're making a bed that will eventually be tough to sleep in. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by dddd on August 29, 2002 at 04:40:31 PT ....."News Report".... ...Unknown Pleasures comment about the "timing",is right on.....This press release article,,and the other one,(thread13914),,are specificly fabricated to target the terrible problem the czar and his cronies are facing in Nevada.......and ..just watch,,they will continue with these type press releases,,perhaps even some stories on national network TV....The Nevada initiative is the biggest threat yet,to the feds maintanance of prohibition!.. The stakes are high indeed,,because once this is passed in Nevada,,it will really put the feds on the spot.... Nevada is quite unique amongst the states.. You can go legally gamble,and rent a ho'... it would make sense that they would be the first state to actually break the tabboo facade of federal drug law mandates...... the feds are gonna get more and more desperate....They will be pulling out all the stops to try and stop this from happenning!........ ...I hope you will agree,that I am not going out of bounds with the use of profanity,,when I say that the feds are fucking assholes!............dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Ethan Russo MD on August 29, 2002 at 03:52:32 PT: Another Explanation Cannabis dependency remains an area of controversy, and a tremendous amount of NIDA-sponsored research. However, historically, various commissions and studies have failed to note an association (Siler 1933; New York Mayor's committee on marihuana 1944), or have indicated that such sequelae are mild and transient (Joy, Watson and Benson 1999). In her review of cannabis and addiction, Mathre (1997) found a low risk. She cited a New York Times article (Aug. 2, 1994, p. C3) in which Jack Henningfield of NIDA and Neal Benowitz of UCSF rated addictive symptoms of cannabis vs. other commonly used drugs including heroin, alcohol and cocaine. Overall, to summarize, she said (p. 179), "Marijuana was ranked lowest for withdrawal symptoms, tolerance, and dependence (addiction) potential; it ranked close to caffeine in the degree of reinforcement and higher than caffeine and nicotine only the degree of intoxication." Even in cases of high daily intake, any withdrawal symptoms on its sudden cessation were transient and mild. The latests analysis in the journal Addiction, calls into question the entire concept of cannabis withdrawal, saying that it could exist, but has not been adequately demonstrated by the numerous studies to date. All 4 of the Chronic Use IND Study patients (Russo et al. 2002) occasionally found themselves without cannabis medicine. None have ever experienced any withdrawal symptoms, but rather, merely an increase in symptoms that cannabis treated for them. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by p4me on August 28, 2002 at 22:33:20 PT Lie or ignorance "Marijuana is not the soft drug," Walters said.We have enough propaganda and need many investigations into violations of the Hatch Act and this author thinks that Walters fits in any discussion of facts or opinion on marijuana. Most people that are not cavemen believe marijuana to be a time tested safe substance and would try to catagorize Drug Bizarre's stupid statement as a lie or ignorance of what most of us call reality. I do not catagorize anything Walters says because I have already catagorized him as a liar which deprives him of any authority in my references. Why didn't this woman ask something relevant like the studies done on the poisons they are dropping on people and plants, and animals all over Columbia and illegally poisoning the people of Ecudor. Which I really do not care because Walters is a liar and a murderer and if I had my way they would have hung him on the steps of the Supreme Court by now and would be irrelevant.The drug wars are treason.1,2 [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Unknown Pleasures on August 28, 2002 at 22:24:58 PT Good timing for the release of this 'report' Don't you see!?? If the Nevada vote passes, all the childruuuuuun of Las Vegas will be out on the street, husslin' for blow in no time.That's why the noble government is releasing this helpful, ground-breaking report now. To spare Las Vegas the horror and inhuman suffering of a third-world hell-hole like Amsterdam. Yes! It is better to jail the childruuun! Right. To protect them... ...from cocaine addiction!? ...in jail!!!???? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 28, 2002 at 21:48:01 PT Dan I Made a Comment on the Other Thread Too http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread13914.shtml#16 [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 28, 2002 at 21:38:45 PT Thanks Richard Tom and Rollie have been on my mind for a few weeks now. I keep checking for news and I hope the South Bend Tribune does an article. They covered the whole tragic story very well. It's almost a year since Tom and Rollie were shot and killed and soon 9-11. Looking back over this last year the changes in our country are like nothing I really ever thought could happen this quickly but they sure have changed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Dan B on August 28, 2002 at 21:23:01 PT Link to other article I forgot to include a link to the other article. Here it is: Early Marijuana Use Linked to Adult Dependence [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Dan B on August 28, 2002 at 21:21:23 PT: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics In this article, we read the following: According to the study, 62 percent of cocaine users aged 26 or older were first-time marijuana users by the age of 14.But two articles down frome here we read the following: The report, "Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and Implications," found that 62 percent of adults age 26 or older who initiated marijuana before they were 15 years old reported that they had used cocaine in their lifetime.Big, huge, gigantic, humongous difference between these two statements, and anyone with an ounce of analytical skill can see it a mile away. It is one thing to say that 62% of cocaine users smoked cannabis before the age of 15, and it is another thing entirely to say that 62% of those who tried cannabis before age 15 went on to use cocaine. This kind of conflation is common among prohibitionists, and I thought the statement was wrong when I first read it. The fact is that more than 90% of those who try cannabis never go on to use hard drugs at all. Combine this fact with the fact that Walters used "lifetime use" as the statistical equivalent of "addiction," and you have one big ass lie popping out for all to see.When we realize that the other article was written by PR Newswire, the picture is complete. If you would like a crash course on how PR screws with statistics to make them say what they do not say, read Toxic Sludge is Good For You, or Trust Us, We're Experts by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber. PR is simply the art of telling lies and getting away with it.Let's not let them get away with it this time.Dan B [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Richard Lake on August 28, 2002 at 20:35:10 PT: Remembering Activist Martyrs Tom Crosslin and Roll Remembering Activist Martyrs Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm - as well as the Rainbow Farm Campground. Rainbow Farm owner Tom Crosslin, 46, and his partner, Rolland Rohm, 28, were killed by police Labor Day weekend last year during a four-day standoff at the farm. Crosslin was shot to death Sept. 3, 2001 by two FBI agents, allegedly after he pointed a gun at them. Rohm was killed by Michigan state police in a similar scenario early the next morning.Details are at the Rainbow Farm memorial website:http://www.rainbowfarmcamp.comThis weekend and next week we remember Tom and Rollie. Here are some events and links of interest. If I have missed any please drop me a note so I can do an update.-----Rainbow Farm Tributes:Friday, August 30th at 12 Midnight CDT, Cultural Baggage Radio at 90.1 FM in Houston or online at http://www.kpft.org will feature Doug Leinbach, the long time friend and associate of Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm. Also featured will be Atty. Greg Schmid, another close friend. Friday Midnight to 1 AM Saturday Central time - Thats 1 a.m. Eastern, 11 p.m. Mountain, or 10 p.m. Pacific. Listeners are invited to call in their questions at 713-526-5738Sunday, Sept. 1 at 9 p.m. EDT, 8 CDT, 7 MDT and 6 PDT, Drug Sense Chat room, with guests Doug Leinbach and Greg Schmid. 60-90 Minutes. http://www.drugsense.org/chatTuesday, Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. EDT, 7 CDT, 6 MDT, 5 PDT, New York Times Drug Policy Forum, scheduled for 60-90 Minutes. See: http://www.cultural-baggage.com/schedule.htm and 'Instructions: Participate in NY Times Forum & Drugsense Chat' http://www.cultural-baggage.com/instruct.htm-----Tom Crosslin & Rollie Rohm Memorial Page http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/rb.htm-----Federal and state police kill owner of Rainbow Farm http://www.november.org/razorwire/oct-nov-dec2001/page1.html-----A 9 minute video tribute from High Times magazine to Tom Crosslinhttp://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-911.html-----Musical Tribute http://www.sandiegonorml.org/Rainbow_Farm.htm-----Rainbow Farm news clippings: http://www.mapinc.org/find?200The ten most read clippings:US IL: PUB LTE: Justice Department Priorities Skewed URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1070/a10.htmlUS MI: Column: Was Rainbow Farm 'Our Own Little Waco'? URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n187/a06.htmlUS MI: Was Rainbow Farm Another Waco? URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n130/a05.htmlUS MI: Rainbow Farm Fallout URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1850/a09.htmlUS MI: Westland Lawyer Questions Deadly SWET Raid URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1808/a04.htmlUS MI: Rage Over Slain Pot-Pushers URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1682/a09.htmlUS IN: More Questions Than Answers at Rainbow Farm URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1667/a08.htmlUS MI: Rainbow Farm - What Others Are Saying URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1653/a11.htmlUS MI: 10 PUB LTEs: Rainbow Farm Outcry URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1645/a02.htmlUS MI: Martyers or Menaces? URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1637/a07.html-----Hemp Aid 98! from Hemp Magazinehttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98/n691/a08.html-----Linked from the http://www.rainbowfarmcamp.com homepage.Rainbow Farm Mailing List http://www.rainbowfarmcamp.com/mlist.htm sign on/off webform.The list is a one way announcement list. As such during average months there should be less than a dozen email announcements. It's purpose is to alert list members of events, activities, webpages, and news related to remembering activist martyrs Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm - as well as the Rainbow Farm Campground. Memorial Website [ Post Comment ] Post Comment