cannabisnews.com: Cannabis Poses Risks But Shows Medicinal Promise Cannabis Poses Risks But Shows Medicinal Promise Posted by FoM on February 01, 2001 at 08:11:14 PT Reuters Source: New York Times Cannabis is not the harmless recreational drug many users think it is but a dangerous substance that can cause paranoia, psychosis and severe anxiety and panic, psychologists warned on Thursday. A review of research into the drug that first appeared in China nearly 5,000 years ago shows it can impair perception, motor skills and reaction times but it also has medicinal qualities for a range of illnesses. ``Cannabis affects almost every body system. It combines many of the properties of alcohol, tranquilizers, opiates and hallucinogens,'' said Professor Heather Ashton, of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Ashton reviewed studies on the recreational use of cannabis, its potency and impact on the body and brain. Her research, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, shows it is still popular among young people. Sixty percent of university students in Britain have tried the drug and 20 percent use it regularly. In a recent survey some users admitted to smoking up to 15 joints or more a day. Although most people smoke cannabis occasionally for its euphoric feeling, regular use has more serious side effects including impairment in memory, attention and the ability to process complex information. ``Whether there is permanent cognitive impairment in heavy long-term users is not clear,'' Ashton added. And contrary to common belief, chronic users can develop a tolerance and dependence on cannabis which can lead to withdrawal effects similar to those of alcohol and opiates, she added. Using the drug also increases their risk of developing bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking three or four joints a day is the equivalent of about 20 cigarettes. But in a separate report in the journal, Dr. Philip Robson, a psychiatrist at the University of Oxford, focused on the medical benefits of the drug, which was traditionally used to treat malaria, rheumatic pains and during childbirth and later used for insomnia, asthma and gout. THC, the compound in cannabis which causes the high, can relieve vomiting and nausea in cancer patients. The drug also reduces muscle pain in multiple sclerosis patients and stimulates appetite and cuts weight loss in cancer sufferers. ``Cannabis itself, clearly from anecdotal reports, is useful across many conditions. There is a certain amount of scientific evidence to back that up but it is limited in its quality and scope because it is difficult to do research on illegal drugs,'' Robson said in a telephone interview. ``There is a consensus... that these are a group of drugs that are well worth studying in a range of medical conditions for which standard treatments are really unsatisfactory.'' he added. Robson acknowledged there were side effects but he said they must be weighed against the unpleasant effects of toxic drugs prescribed for many medical conditions.Source: New York Times (NY) Published: February 1, 2001Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company Address: 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212) 556-3622 Contact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/Related Article:Reefer Madness http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8531.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by mungojelly on February 02, 2001 at 03:31:58 PT: something's unclear, alright "Whether there is permanent cognitive impairment in heavy long-term users is not clear" -- in fact it's so unclear that in at least one study the cognitive test scores of heavy long-term users declined LESS over time than those of non-users. It's unclear whether marijuana causes permanent cognitive impairment the same way it's unclear whether it turns you into a frog. Sure, there haven't been any studies showing that weed turns you into a frog, but you never know, the next one might turn something up. Ah but don't forget, a joint causes as much lung damage as five cigarettes, or seven cigarettes, or a pack of cigarettes (never mind that it's not clear what data they're talking about -- that just makes it that much easier to make up a number), and it's twelve times more potent than it was in the sixties, or thirty times, or sixty times (never mind that there is absolutely no data on THC levels from the sixties -- and that this argument negates the other one). I've heard it seriously contended by antis that the one and only reason why we should not smoke marijuana is that it will land us in jail. That may be true -- studies show that marijuana is a thousand million billion times more likely to land you in jail than cigarettes -- but it's obviously an argument with no legs, folding in on itself into meaninglessness. I personally think that for almost everyone, taking marijuana every once in a while is MORE healthy (physically, mentally and spiritually) than abstaining -- but I don't intend to make any laws to enforce my beliefs on those who disagree with them. As far as I am concerned, everyone is perfectly welcome to risk their health and sanity by not consuming marijuana. I'd just like the right to make my own damn decision. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Peter on February 01, 2001 at 14:50:18 PT: Dangerous Drug? What a nice review of reefer madness.Dangerous drug! They need to compare it to over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Cannabis has been more efficatious and had fewer side effect than any other drug I've used for my basilar migraines. No stomach bleeding, no constipation, no weight gain, no seizures, no tics, no rebound, no dangerous high blood pressure, no passing out from low blood pressure, no being drugged unconscious, no addiction, ... to name a few of the side effects of my prescribed medications.As to lung problems - I notice they indicate a joint is equal to 5 to 7 cigarettes. I thought it was one joint was equal to a pack of cigarettes! When medical users start using high-potency strains to reduce respiratory problems, the government tells people that this marijuana is much more dangerous due to its high THC contennt. If they smoke ditch weed, it dangerous become of respiratory effects. Vaporizers are discouraged by the paraphernalia laws.Oh well, at least the article admitted medicle uses. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by observer on February 01, 2001 at 14:34:22 PT Trotting Out the Hired Shrinks how it was played in the UK, in one paper: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1146000/1146752.stmThe BBC also included this:''Scientists say must these be weighed against any possible health benefits if there is to be a change in the law.''Which, of course, is the whole point of this "news": to attempt to counter the positive things being said about cannabis elsewhere, with a little modern-sounding classic reefer madness.As other have noted, Ashton never mentions the effects of (the threat of) jail... ... The German experience, however, raises the question of who needs treatment at all. Jewish neurologist Arnold Merzbach studied hundreds of Jewish children during the first eighteen months of the Nazi regime. In the first half of 1933 he found "restlessness, irritability, and increased squabbling. Some youths were refusing to eat; the more intelligent ones were sleeping fitfully and given to brooding." Similar behavior continued throughout the year, "as well as many neurotic symptoms." He noted, "older children thought themselves objects of special attention when outdoors."51 We typically find Jewish adults, too, drawing into themselves, exhibiting despair, and developing problems in relating with people as one formerly supportive group after another (employers, insurers, landlords, police) prevented them from living normally in society. These sorts of Jewish behavior mimic the "drug user personality," suggesting that the behavior may be a response to persecution from society rather than an expression of someone's inherent personality -- particularly since most users of socially approved drugs such as alcohol and nicotine do not exhibit "drug user symptoms" despite those drugs' potency and danger. In many cases, the proper course of treatment of drug users may simply be to cease persecuting them.Drug Warriors and their Prey, Richard Miller, pgs.173-174http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425 [book] Whores of the Court: The Fraud of Psychiatric Testimony [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on February 01, 2001 at 12:33:48 PT More lies and propaganda >>Using the drug also increases their risk of developing bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking three or four joints a day is the equivalent of about 20 cigarettes. OK, never mind that there's no proof for this evidence. Let's just focus on the absurdity of comparing a illicit substance to a licit substance. No herb smoker I know is concerned about bronchitis or emphysema, even if it is a real risk... they're concerned about being ARRESTED, harrassed, and stigmatized! People smoke 20 cigarettes a day and aren't arrested - why should someone who smokes four joints a day be any different? If either smoker commits some other crime, then they should be treated as a criminal - but if they smoke their smoke in a peaceful fashion, even if they're smoking straight tar with no filter, do they deserve incarceration? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Duzt on February 01, 2001 at 10:10:09 PT Imagine any other plant......... If some scientist were to find a new species of plant in the Amazon that has all of the medicinal properties of cannabis with the almost no side affects of cannabis, this person would become famous. It would be heralded as a miracle plant. But because of the lies that have been bred into generation after generation by our government, we have the situation that we have today. Fortunately, enough people are coming forward and spreading the truth. People are also much more willing to listen. A public debate is going to help our cause by bounds, I hope this will happen soon. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Toker00 on February 01, 2001 at 09:49:21 PT Be all that you can be!!! Don't join the army!!! Just kidding, FoM. The military is fine for some. Yes, that is their motto, alrighty. Hope they don't hold you up too long. Good luck to your hubby.Cannabis is like a good brandy. You have to WANT to find the good side. Learning that paranoia is just temporary and can be altered by changing your surroundings, and the G*d damned laws that make it illegal, can put you on a journey of enlightenment, realization that euphoria is not a BAD thing, and for some, better health. But Cannabis tastes a hell of a lot better than brandy, and will not ravage your body and brain like alcohol.So now Cannabis can do all the things the other illegal and legal drugs do, combined? "It combines many of the properties of alcohol, tranquilizers, opiates and hallucinogens."This proves it. There's only one reason it is illegal. COMPETITION!!!!!Peace. Realize, then Legalize. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 01, 2001 at 08:43:52 PT Just a Note Hi Everyone, My husband has a Doctor's appointment at the VA today and this is our first visit so it could take a long time. I think an old Army motto goes something like this: Hurry up and wait. If I remember that correctly I might not get any more news posted until this evening but I will get it done then and until then talk amongst yourselves! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Robbie on February 01, 2001 at 08:36:25 PT Your brain on the truth >>Cannabis is not the harmless recreational drug many users think it is but a dangerous substance that can cause paranoia, psychosis and severe anxiety and panic...There are very few in the MJ law reform movement who think that smoking MJ is harmless. Most know that smoking anything is going to cause harm to lungs. However, these sorts of people NEVER discuss the other option, which is eating MJ. There is absolutely no evidence, "anecdotal" or otherwise that suggests that eating MJ will lead to any harm.The other point of that paragraph was to suggest that the harm is in the mental effects of cannabis. In the final analysis, marijuana does not make you crazy, it does not fry your brain, and, while some people do get very anxious while high, the fact is that the anxiety is usually caused by fear of being arrested.It seems that anyone who does a study of cannabis for medicinal effects will caveat their statement with the usual sidecar of marijuana's dangers. Can researchers get past the societally imposed propaganda? Will they recognize the ultimate hypocrisy involved in stigmatizing such a benign drug? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on February 01, 2001 at 08:19:21 PT: Cannabis: Dangerous Drug? It is illuminating to review the history of cannabis and note the many attempts to paint it with a brush connoting evil, danger, etc. This has been most apparent the last 60 years. It has not succeeded, and for very important reasons. Firstly, in the grand scheme of relative risk, cannabis is a very benign substance, and one for which the salient risk (pulmonary) can be essentially eliminated by harm reduction techniques (potent strains, vaporizers, alternative delivery systems). When cannabis is compared to virtually any standard pharmaceutical for a similar medical indication, it comes out smelling like another plant, the proverbial rose.Thus, when we have dueling opinions as above, one may ask what is the agenda of the speaker. I do not know Dr. Ashton, but one may be interested in her source of funding and support. With Dr. Robson, I can vouch for his motivation: helping treat patients with recalcitrant conditions where "conventional medicine" has left them unimproved, or even iatrogenically impaired. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: