cannabisnews.com: Grass is Looking Greener 





Grass is Looking Greener 
Posted by CN Staff on July 24, 2004 at 22:14:00 PT
By Elizabeth Cohen
Source: Binghamton Press & Sun
Like ice cream or lip gloss, you can get marijuana in different flavors these days -- cherry, mango, grape or a legendary blueberry first popularized in the 1970s. And that is only one thing that is different about the illegal drug that baby boomers are rediscovering. "I like to say it's not your mama's marijuana," said Binghamton-based Shari Wells-Weiss, a substance abuse counselor who has worked for five years in the treatment field in Central New York. "The concentrations of THC are far stronger, the result of plants being cross-pollinated over and over through sophisticated horticultural practices; people have literally bred the plant to be more potent."
Almost 70 years since it was criminalized by Congress, studies show marijuana abuse and dependence is more prevalent than ever. A Journal of the American Medical Association report this spring states that there has been a 355 percent rise in the rate of habitual use among adults ages 45-64. That is a big increase in use of what is already the most popular illegal drug in the country; more than 65 million Americans have used it -- just under a third of the U.S. population age 12 and older. Marijuana use is also common among teens and young adults. While the rate of dependence and abuse among 18- to 29-year-olds remained stable among whites, it grew about 220 percent among blacks and by almost 150 percent among Hispanics, according to the JAMA report. In Broome County, 18 percent of 11th-grade males and 5 percent of 11th-grade females said they use marijuana daily, according to the 2002 Teen Assessment Report published by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County. "It is definitely the most frequently abused drug we see," said Ronald J. Dougherty, a board-certified addiction specialist and medical director of a drug treatment facility in Tully, where some Southern Tier residents seek rehabilitation. "We have long seen people who may smoke a cigarette or drink with their kids; now we have parents who smoke pot with their kids," Dougherty said. A whole new marijuana Today's marijuana is not the same as that of the 1970s. Boomers may be coming back to a drug they did as teens and young adults, but it is definitely not the same drug they knew then. Back in the '70s, when many of today's mid-lifers were smoking pot for the first time, it was not uncommon to smoke a fat joint. Today, little more than a single inhalation -- known more colloquially as a hit -- is needed to obtain a strong effect, Wells-Weiss said. Today's marijuana plants are taller, bushier, can be flavored and are bred to produce different "highs." Boutique varieties with subtle differences are popular, say middle-aged marijuana smokers. There are more than 300 varieties. Seed companies that advertise in magazines such as High Times and Grow America describe strains of cannabis that produce different effects, ranging from mild euphoria to "transcendental highs," "time distorting highs," "body highs," etc. The places you can obtain marijuana are changing, too. The drug is still sold on urban street corners and in parks, but today you can also obtain it over the Internet and through elite home delivery services. And an ever-increasing number of people grow their own. "People have learned how to grow a quarter pound of good marijuana in their closet now," said Barry Schecter, a coordinator in an addiction treatment program of United Health Services in Binghamton. "They buy the best seeds, special grow lights, they use hydroponic technology and nobody knows. It is a cottage industry." Many boomers want to obtain it in politically correct ways, without exploiting foreign laborers or supporting drug cartels. There is also an economic incentive. With inflation, the drug they loved as kids has gone up in price. Way up. "Thirty years ago a pound of marijuana ran between $150 and $200 dollars; today a pound can fetch as much as $2,000 dollars," Schecter said. What's the appeal? So what attracts aging boomers to the now-expensive drug? One answer may be simple nostalgia. Popular weekly television series such as That '70s Show picture kids smoking dope in the family basement and goofing around. Boomers, seeing the drug they once used portrayed in films and other media, may have raised children, achieved career goals, become financially stable and see pot as a welcome diversion they can go back to now for recreation after years of being responsible adults. But there are likely far deeper reasons than that. "People experienced a lot of stress after 9/11; seeing the daily color codes flip back and forth between yellow and orange, the threat of another terror attack has a toll," Schecter said. "Marijuana could be relieving some of that stress." Another reason may be that boomers are suffering age-related ailments that marijuana effectively addresses. "Marijuana is a very good pain killer," Wells-Weiss said. Strains such as the "white widow" are renowned for pain relief. "It works very well for headaches, for example." "I use it for an appetite stimulant," said one middle-aged regular marijuana smoker, a Chenango Bridge grandmother who suffers from a wasting disorder associated with HIV AIDS. "I usually smoke a few hours before a meal, and it really does increase my ability to eat." Smoking marijuana works better than Marinol, the drug her doctor prescribed for her that contains some of the agents in marijuana, she said, because "the pill form takes longer than smoking." Marijuana is better than alcohol at treating pain, too, she said. "It is so much better for you than regular drinking, which kills your liver." Better on the psyche, too. "You don't see mean pot smokers, usually." She said she can definitely tell the difference between today's marijuana and the pot she smoked in college. "You don't need as much," she said. Boomers who smoke say that it is also effective in treating stomach disorders and nausea. Its effective treatment of glaucoma is well-documented. It is the drug's medicinal qualities that have fueled the medical marijuana movement, which has resulted in the legalization of the drug for medical purposes in nine states, including California, Oregon and Washington. Another reason for the drug's newfound popularity among older Americans may be the perception that it is a less harmful substance than alcohol, pharmaceutical drugs or street opiates. "Many people think of it as 'natural' and 'mild,' " Wells-Weiss said. "Unlike ecstasy, methamphetamines or heroin, they think pot isn't such a big deal. You don't have to inject it." There are very few public information campaigns targeting marijuana today, Wells-Weiss said, compared to the number targeting tobacco, for example. "Who are you going to go after if you have limited funds for public information campaigns?" Wells-Weiss asked. "You will go where the lawsuit money is; there is no major manufacturer of marijuana to sue for any kind of compensation." Addictive or not? The idea that marijuana is harmless is simply not true, say experts. "First of all, any substance that you burn and inhale is bad for you," Schecter said. "If you regularly breathed fumes from a barrel of burning leaves it would hurt you." Some smokers combine marijuana with other substances and use it as a delivery device, experts say, which in some cases can be lethal. "They mix it with tobacco -- that is called a blunt; they smoke it with cocaine, that is a woolies." Some, said addiction specialist Dougherty, even soak it in embalming fluid, an incredibly toxic substance that gives the smoker a hallucinogenic experience. "That mix is called a 'woos,' " Dougherty said. Another toxic combination is the smoking of marijuana in combination with angel dust or PCP. Some street varieties are soaked in chemicals and a shellac that improve the visual appeal. "These additives can be very dangerous," Wells-Weiss said. Despite some who say otherwise, said Schecter and others, marijuana use does have an addictive effect on some users. It depends on the individual's brain chemistry. "It is not this 'evil killer' drug, and I have never heard of anyone dying from marijuana use," Schecter said. But it can seriously and adversely effect life for some people, he added. "Cheech and Chong might have been stereotypes people laughed at, but that is exactly what many potheads become. They do lose motivation. Many have strong cravings to smoke." Neuropharmocological research on the brain shows the drug affects brain chemistry. "If it didn't, people wouldn't smoke it; that is what makes them get high," Schecter said. "Marijuana is not like crack or cocaine, where you get into them for a month and you sell your TV; it subtly and insidiously changes the way a person thinks." For some people, vulnerable to addiction, that can bring about problems. "How many people can afford $200 to $300 a month for pot?" he asked. "If you are a lawyer or a professional like many boomers, maybe." One of the main problems with marijuana, Schecter points out, is that it is illegal. "Many more people die of the effects of nicotine, which is the most harmful drug we have," he said. And nowadays, more and more drug treatment professionals are seeing that it is cigarettes, not marijuana, that serve as the so-called "gateway drug." Sidebar: N.Y. Marijuana Laws The state has decriminalized marijuana to some degree. Typically, decriminalization means no prison time or criminal record for first-time possession of a small amount for personal consumption. The conduct is treated like a minor traffic violation. If you smoke marijuana in New York: Fine for first offense -- 25 grams or less -- is a civil citation and fine of $100. Second offense -- $200. Subsequent offenses are misdemeanors, with a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail and a $200 fine. Possession of over 25 grams and under 2 ounces, or any marijuana use in public, is a misdeamor, with a potential penalty of three months in jail and a $500 fine. Possession of over 8 ounces and under 16 ounces is a felony with a potential penalty of four years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Possession of over 16 ounces and under 10 pounds is a felony offense with a maximum penalty of seven years and a $5,000 fine. Anything over 10 pounds brings a maximum penalty of 15 years and a $5,000 fine. Source NORML - http://www.norml.org/ Teens: Forced drug treatment is also a way many teens avoid juvenile detention after a drug arrest. Most children who smoke marijuana are occasional users, experts said. And there is little evidence that a heavy marijuana user who quits the habit will experience the kind of physical withdrawal symptoms reported by heroin or cocaine users. Because marijuana seized by federal authorities today is about twice as potent as it was in the 1980s, health officials are taking the drug more seriously. Although some scientists doubt that marijuana induces real physical dependence, many top drug researchers have concluded otherwise. "There is no question marijuana can be addictive; that argument is over," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The most important thing right now is to understand the vulnerability of young, developing brains to these increased concentrations of cannabis." More than 50 government-funded studies of cannabis are under way, and Volkow has pledged agency funds to investigate areas related to regular marijuana use. Note: Marijuana use is up among aging population.Complete Title: Grass is Looking Greener as Boomers Head Over The HillSource: Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (NY)Author: Elizabeth CohenPublished: Sunday, July 25, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Binghamton Press & Sun-BulletinContact: ecohen pressconnects.comWebsite: http://www.pressconnects.com/Related Articles:U.S. Drug Czar Warns of Potent Pot Here http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19209.shtmlAs Pot Gets Stronger, US Officials Change Policyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19203.shtmlAn End To Marijuana Prohibition http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19112.shtmlFree Weeds: The Marijuana Debatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19103.shtml 
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Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on July 27, 2004 at 06:54:28 PT:
Ah, but here's the problem
Government doesn't GIVE you your rights; those are (supposedly) enshrined in the Constitution. As an American, you are born with them.The only thing government has shown itself capable of doing has been to TAKE your rights. Unfortunately, most people keep forgetting this...to the peril of those who haven't forgotten. It all comes back to The Question. You know The Question in your hearts, even if you haven't heard it before.The Question has *never* been: "Do you want to be free?" As in the kind of freedom to decide what you want to put in your bodies?The Question has *always* been: "WHEN do you want to be free?"Don't ask the government if you can be free. Force it to acknowledge that you already ARE. At the ballot box. I've harped on this plenty, before; we have always numbered in the scores of millions, while DrugWarriors and their allies number in the tens of thousands. We are the single largest minority in this country, whose base crosses all lines of race, gender, faith, political persuasion, you name it. The compositions of those who write here regularly are living proof of that fact. In short, WE HAVE THE POWER. Mr. Kucinich knows this, and I am sure Kerry is well aware of that huge number of people who were posting on *his* site for the longest time; it was the hands-down largest section of it. We *could* be the single largest, potentially the strongest, voting bloc in America. If Mr. Kerry will be such a fool as to not recognize that such a huge bloc is waiting to deliver an election to him, then he'll learn afterwards that same bloc is capable of working against his aims. A bloc that numbers in the scores of millions. A bloc that sees the (to the public at large, invisible) creeping slide into DrugWar originated despotism every day, and knows there's little time left to stop it.The cannabis community has this bad habit of accepting the 'victimhood' status conferred upon us by the DrugWarriors. Like little kids on the playground, we've let the single bully divide us and convince us we were weak. When we've had the power to coldcock him at any time.Will we use that power? Hmmm. Perhaps I should rephrase that question: Will YOU use that power?
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Comment #12 posted by John Tyler on July 26, 2004 at 20:42:58 PT
So many users
The thing I got from this article was that more and more people are using weed. Aging boomers are going back to it to releieve achs and pains, etc. Weed may or may not be getting stronger or should that be called getting better. I don't know. When you get where you want to be, stop smoking. Simple as that. With so many people supposedly using weed, as ths article says then the answer is leagalize it. Give the people what they want, freedom to choose. 
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Comment #11 posted by goneposthole on July 26, 2004 at 06:11:22 PT
must continue the ostentatious, concerted charade
must continue the ostentatious, concerted charade.must continue the ostentatious, concerted charade.must continue the ostentatious, concerted charade.Sixty-five million Americans have smoked marijuana. The other countless millions who can wish they were or had.
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Comment #10 posted by breeze on July 25, 2004 at 21:23:58 PT
siege
Thanks for the information on this- I didn't want to go into depth with the neighbor at the time, for obvious reasons, but he is a mortician, and he knows his buisness so to speak- I suppose he was referring to the stuff that they use now, maybe a different chem combonation or something different from what is on streets- I don't THINK he would mind me asking clarification on the topic, but All I do know is if it aint natural, I dont want it...
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Comment #9 posted by siege on July 25, 2004 at 20:53:06 PT
 breeze
formaldehyde is Embalming Fluid in the 70's the kids go buy it for school , then they would get little cigar's put one end in the formaldehyde and suck it to the other end then put in a baggy and freeze it till they smoke it . i never heard of them going to the hospital that said they cough have and i not know it they burned out real quick doing it .
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Comment #8 posted by breeze on July 25, 2004 at 13:09:48 PT
One more thing-
Can embalming fluid make a joint "hallucinaginic"?My neighbor is a mortician and I asked him about embalming fluid- he said smoking it, drinking it, etc. would kill you on the spot or make you sick enough to have to visit the hospital for a while- that this is a myth. I tend to believe my neighbor.
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Comment #7 posted by breeze on July 25, 2004 at 13:06:26 PT
I wonder 'bout this
I read consistently that the strains of cannabis today are much stronger than of years past, which i find extremely hard to believe nonetheless- but my question is, HOW do these people come to this conclusion, have they been smoking daily for the last 20 years? Sometimes human error, or in fact, scientific data errors occur, and the people who conduct these type of investigations reach conclussions that are in direct conflict with the truth.If these researchers had actually smoked the cannabis they are testing, it might actually mean something. It would mean that these people would start seeing the herb for what it is, instead of a harmful chemical.
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on July 25, 2004 at 12:48:25 PT:
Let's play "Spot the Talking Point"!
This is real easy:"This isn't your ______________________'s marijuana."Now, think back. Better yet, do a search. And what do you see? Instance after instance after instance of 'treatment' wonks parroting the THE EXACT SAME PHRASE. One constantly repeated by the ONDCP. And by Johnny Pee in his radio and TV diatribes.People like Ms. Wells-Weiss should show a little more care with the statements she makes; she claims that it is SHE who says that, not Johnny Pee. But I would wager half a month's pay that she began to make that statement only after receiving a packet from or attending a seminar hosted by the ONDCP!If this doesn't illustrate the incestuous relationship between ostensibly impartial government agencies and profit-making institutions such as 'treatment' centers, what does?It also proves something else; a singular lack of imagination (must be from all those martini lunches burning out brain cells). This is the best they can do? 
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Comment #5 posted by dididadadidit on July 25, 2004 at 10:42:12 PT
Thinking on Weed
Cudos, JR. Great LTE. I particularly like your observation, "If they came up with a strain of weed which made people think everything the government did was OK, do you think they'd keep that illegal? "Here, try this, I call it Fox News..." "Oh yeah! I'm so high I'm seeing Iraqi WMD!" "I have not seen research supporting the observation on weed and thinking, but personal experience over the decades (writing as a 35 year criminal) has led me to conclude that new ways of thinking are promoted by weed use. This in turn may be one basis for the unflagging prohibitionist support from elements of the unChristian Christian right. The last thing they want is some of the congregation getting high and thinking (either in new ways or maybe for the first time ever) dangerous heretical thoughts.The weed that the government wants that supports their propaganda is already out there. It may be called "corn" or "barley" or "grapes" or some other legal grain, from which the govt's drug of choice, alcohol, is brewed. The military has offered dirt cheap alcoholic entertainment at the clubs and base exchanges whereever they can. No accident here. Bar fights, domestic violence, you name it, alcohol promotes it. How better to keep the troops in a pissed off "let's kill something" mood than by making ready access to the "anger" drug.Maybe that spike in older folks use has some to do with stress relief without an accompanying reflex to kick the dog and/or beat the wife and kids.Cheers?
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on July 25, 2004 at 09:48:37 PT:
The Big Lie increases in volume
As it decreases in scientifically supported backing.The problem of course is when a so-called 'reporter' such as la Cohen fails to ask some very pointed questions of her government sources. The chiefest of which quite simply is: "Does government have any INCONTROVERTABLE proof of it's statements?" Because in any area in which there is argument over facts, there must be debate. Which has been noticeably absent when it comes to cannabis research. Instead, she swallows, with nary a blink, government propaganda...from a regime increasingly noted for dishonesty. If this woman went to journalism school, I'd be tempted to question whether any such graduates were worth their salaries, given this as an example of their best work.I wish I could be as sloppy in making my living as she so evidently is. This is in part why I don't subscribe to newspapers or watch much commercial TV news anymore. Not only is it insulting to one's intelligence, I can't help but wince when I see some blow-dried buffoon passing on guv'mint lies; they simply *can't* be THAT naive.
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Comment #3 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on July 25, 2004 at 08:40:48 PT
Yup
Every post I make marked LTE is a copy of something I've sent in... I encourage others not only to write the media but also to attach their LTEs to the original article in a post like this.
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Comment #2 posted by Treeanna on July 25, 2004 at 06:29:17 PT
Wow
Rare to see that much expansive BS in one spot.Nice LTE, Jr...you send it in?
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Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on July 25, 2004 at 03:33:22 PT
LTE
Sirs,  "With inflation, the drug they loved as kids has gone up in price. Way up."  A weed does not become worth its weight in gold due to inflation. The cost of cannabis is a result of supply and demand, and the legal environment. Every pound law enforcement removes from the marketplace simply drives up the price of the remainder of what's available. The law can never hope to stop it completely, because Americans have proven they will pay any cost. So if law enforcement cannot stop the drug trade, what is the practical result of the drug war? To establish a criminal monopoly, and provide it with price supports, it seems. Despite all the rhetoric about drug users supporting terrorism, it seems to me that it is the government's prohibitionist policies itself which cause this link. Beer brewers don't support terrorists - and they pay their taxes.  "There are very few public information campaigns targeting marijuana today"... and those that exist are laughable. If American pot-smokers were really as stupid as we see them portrayed in the ads from the ONDCP - those ads we all paid for with our tax dollars - then marijuana really would be a public health epidemic. But they're not, and so these ads are merely a target of derision among the youth, who know better. The intended message is ignored; what is learned is that your government will use any lie, no matter how baseless, in order to wage war. (Actually, that's not a bad lesson for today's kids.) However, once someone discovers the government has been lying about marijuana, they may logically conclude that the government has lied about heroin and cocaine.  "Marijuana is not like crack or cocaine, where you get into them for a month and you sell your TV; it subtly and insidiously changes the way a person thinks." And we arrest three-quarters of a million people a year for subtly changing the way they think? TV subtly changes the way you think, too, but the government can help program how. If they came up with a strain of weed which made people think everything the government did was OK, do you think they'd keep that illegal? "Here, try this, I call it Fox News..." "Oh yeah! I'm so high I'm seeing Iraqi WMD!"  And for that matter, with the rising costs of prescriptions nowadays, crack cocaine isn't the only drug where a month's use will leave you so broke you'd sell your TV. Big pharmaceutical companies don't like marijuana because they can't patent it so they can't profit from it, and they prefer to see it illegal so it doesn't compete with their prescription pills. Today, the average American sees through this as well - polls regularly show support for medical access to marijuana at 80% or better. The only demographic group which opposes medical access to marijuana is the federal government - Congress recently voted against a medical marijuana bill by a two to one ratio. Of course, unlike most Americans, Congress and other federal lawmakers receive money from big pharmaceutical corporations, the alcohol industry, and various law enforcement organizations - the three groups which have the most to lose when an end is finally called to the War on Marijuana.  All wars need an exit strategy. The drug war should find one as soon as possible.
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