i'll never understand this (drug content)

[tallybee]

This has turned into quite a good thread, obviously we all agree that smoking anything in childrens' presence/airspace is not on, but the views on the rest of it are interesting. I think it might be better in the news and debates section? Anyone else?

 

[cherryglitter]

what did i start

i must admit, my brother used to smoke a lot of weed, A LOT. and he really changed, his whole personality, everything.
it was really scary at the time and im so glad he's packed it all in now.

 

[MizzDeeDee]

This has turned into quite a good thread, obviously we all agree that smoking anything in childrens' presence/airspace is not on, but the views on the rest of it are interesting. I think it might be better in the news and debates section? Anyone else?

 

[ShanandBoc]

How about the effects on ur lungs for those that smoke it? Inhaling smoke into ur lungs is deadly, any doc will tell u that. And i dont buy into the 'it doesnt affect ur mental health', its a mind altering substance so it has to have some effect whether u like to admit it or not.

Just my 2 cents, carry on

 

[MizzDeeDee]

How about the effects on ur lungs for those that smoke it? Inhaling smoke into ur lungs is deadly, any doc will tell u that. And i dont buy into the 'it doesnt affect ur mental health', its a mind altering substance so it has to have some effect whether u like to admit it or not.

Just my 2 cents, carry on

There is absolutely no evidence that it effects your mental health unless you have a predisposition to mental issues... just like alcoholics usually have depression, people that do coke are usually Manic......etc. It is all a form of self medication anyway.

Did you know that Nicotine is known to combat ADHD? Now, I wouldn't give it to my kid because I don't think the benefits outweigh the risk.. and that is what it comes down to.. does the benefits it gives a person outweigh the risk.

I guess I feel the way I do because when I was a CPHT (Certified Pharmacy Technician) and had to deal with people with AIDS and Cancer it was sad that they had to fight so hard the stereotypes of people who treated them like they're addicts while they sat in front of my Pharmacy crying from pain... feeling like they were dying...not being able to eat.. wasting away.. while a Impersonal Government or Insurance Company dictated whether they thought they were hurting enough to get their medications or not or denying them a natural herb that would stop their pain and suffering.

 

[ShanandBoc]

Thanks for ur reply MizzDeeDee although my opinion still stands

So how about inhaling the smoke into ur lungs? And the health effects from that?

 

[ShanandBoc]

I found this.....opinions??

“Claims that cannabis is harmless have been undermined by a new report which warns that the drug is becoming more powerful and can lead to severe long-term health damage,” reports The Independent of London. Professor Heather Ashton of Newcastle University, England, says: “Cannabis affects almost every body system. It combines many of the properties of alcohol, tranquillisers, opiates and hallucinogens.” It is known to seriously impair driving skills. It can also provoke acute mental illness, including schizophrenia; does five times more damage to the lungs than do cigarettes; may cause rare throat cancers; and may bring on fatal heart attacks in some young users. In the 1960’s, one marijuana cigarette typically contained 10 milligrams of THC, a chemical affecting the brain. “Now, with more sophisticated cultivation and plant breeding, a joint may contain 150mg of THC and up to 300mg if it is laced with hashish oil

Cancer

Dr.*Forest S. Tennant,*Jr., surveyed 492 U.S. Army soldiers who had used marijuana. Nearly 25*percent of them “suffered sore throats from smoking cannabis, and some 6*percent reported that they had suffered from bronchitis.” In another study, 24 out of 30 marijuana users were found to have bronchial “lesions characteristic of the early stages of cancer.”

Brain

note the warning of the Institute of Medicine: “We can say with confidence that marijuana produces acute effects on the brain, including chemical and electrophysiological changes.” At present, there is no conclusive proof that marijuana permanently damages the brain. Nevertheless, the possibility that marijuana might in any way do harm to brain should not be dismissed lightly.

AND

Six doctors from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, in a letter to the editor of the New York Times, explained:
“Marijuana contains toxic substances.... which are only soluble in fat and stored in body tissues, including brain, for weeks and months, like DDT. The storage capacity of tissues for these substances is enormous—which explains their slow deleterious effects in habitual smokers. Anyone using these substances more than once a week cannot be drug free.”

Thus Tulane University’s Dr.Robert Heath brands the comparison between alcohol and marijuana as “ridiculous.” He states that alcohol has “a temporary effect. Marijuana is complex with a persisting effect.” Evidently even the moderate, regular use of marijuana can have bad effects, as the Detroit Free Press notes: “Medical researchers are reporting new discoveries which indicate that marijuana—and its big brother [hashish]—are indeed dangerous to physical and mental health when used regularly, even once or twice a week.”

and effects on the heart

“Middle-aged pot [marijuana] users face a fivefold increase in the risk of a heart attack in the hour after they smoke the drug,” says Canada’s Globe and Mail in a report on a new study. “Smoking marijuana causes the heart rate to increase—often doubling it—while altering blood pressure .*.*. It may also trigger a heart attack by causing the formation of a clot, blocking the flow of blood to the heart muscle.” Dr.*Harold Kalant of the University of Toronto said: “For older people, the increased workload on the heart will be a risk factor for a heart attack.” Cocaine is even more dangerous, says the report, because it increases the risk of a heart attack about 25-fold during the first hour after use.

Not trying to argue here btw just presenting some info from the other side of the debate and genuinely interested in what users feel about this info

 

[MizzDeeDee]

Thanks for ur reply MizzDeeDee although my opinion still stands

So how about inhaling the smoke into ur lungs? And the health effects from that?

You don't have to smoke it. I agree... this has always been an issue with me.. like smokers that blame the cigarette companies for them getting Cancer... I mean, come one- did you REALLY think that inhaling smoke into your lungs is "healthy"?

I agree with that. I just don't think it is any worse then alcohol .. which can also kill you btw... and it can help people medicinally. I don't believe it's illegal for health purposes.. if it was booze and cigarettes would be too.

 

[ShanandBoc]

I agree u dont have to smoke it but those on here who have admitted to using it from what i recall all smoke it in a joint. As far as it being compared to alcohol (in particular misuse of it), i agree that alcohol can have devastating effects on the body, as well as cigarettes, imo they are all bad, but as far as im concerned alcohol can be beneficial in small amounts (ie a glass of red wine here and there) smoking cannabis and cigarettes cannot.

 

[MizzDeeDee]

I agree u dont have to smoke it but those on here who have admitted to using it from what i recall all smoke it in a joint.

I think smoking it is probably not great on your lungs..but I guess my point is that smoking cigarettes is very dangerous and at least here has cancer inducing chemicals added to the tobacco and yet it's legal as well is Alcohol which is basically poison.

Doesn't anyone wonder why one is illegal while these two aren't? I think if we give people a choice to get drunk and be impaired and we give people a choice to smoke cigarettes which is equally unhealthy...why is marijuana illegal when these aren't? I think it's certainly worth thinking about. There has to be an ulterior motive there.

 

[MizzDeeDee]

I agree u dont have to smoke it but those on here who have admitted to using it from what i recall all smoke it in a joint. As far as it being compared to alcohol (in particular misuse of it), i agree that alcohol can have devastating effects on the body, as well as cigarettes, imo they are all bad, but as far as im concerned alcohol can be beneficial in small amounts (ie a glass of red wine here and there) smoking cannabis and cigarettes cannot.

Marijuana has been proven to have medicinal effects... and Nicotine has been established to help with certain mental disorders.

Both btw help with pain management... especially Marijuana. If Marijuana wasn't useful then it wouldn't be prescribed as a medication nor would THC be extracted to be used for medication either.

 

[ShanandBoc]

I did say "smoking' it cannot be harmless Marijuana has been the focus of much controversy among experts. And admittedly, much is unknown regarding this drug. For one thing, marijuana is extremely complex; a marijuana cigarette contains over 400 chemical compounds in its smoke. It took doctors over 60 years to realize cigarette smoke causes cancer. It may likewise take decades before anyone knows for sure just what marijuana’s 400 compounds do to the human body.


It may have medicinal advantages, but what disadvantages does it have? It may help one symptom but cause other health problems at the same time? Drugs evidently have their place, and a doctor may sometimes prescribe one for you because of a health problem. If you are in excruciating pain, a doctor might give you a shot of morphine to provide relief. Barbiturates and amphetamines have undoubtedly helped some patients with medical problems. Also, heroin is used in some places to relieve the suffering of terminally ill cancer patients. But, on the other hand, drugs are doing terrible harm to millions.

Millions of persons use where no treatment for illness is involved, and in large doses never intended in medical use

 

[ShanandBoc]

I agree u dont have to smoke it but those on here who have admitted to using it from what i recall all smoke it in a joint.

I think smoking it is probably not great on your lungs..but I guess my point is that smoking cigarettes is very dangerous and at least here has cancer inducing chemicals added to the tobacco and yet it's legal as well is Alcohol which is basically poison.

Doesn't anyone wonder why one is illegal while these two aren't? I think if we give people a choice to get drunk and be impaired and we give people a choice to smoke cigarettes which is equally unhealthy...why is marijuana illegal when these aren't? I think it's certainly worth thinking about. There has to be an ulterior motive there.

I see what ur saying, but legal or not doesnt make a difference as to whether they are bad for ur health.

 

[NIfirsttimer]

Could u source those quotes for me so I can read the full
Reports?

 

[ShanandBoc]

Some quotes are from literature i have and some links for you below, full studies may be obtained if u research enough or contact the organisations i mentioned

Newcastle University, England - Professor Heather Ashton
Institute of Medicine
Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeon
Tulane University’s Dr.Robert Heath
Dr.*Harold Kalant of the University of Toronto
Macquarie University




https://ncpic.org.au/ncpic/publications/research-briefs/

https://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/drug-facts/cannabis

https://www.morelandhall.org/images/stories/education/Factsheets/CANNABIS.pdf

https://www.drugfree.org.au/resources/fast-facts/cannabis/

https://www.drugfree.org.au/resources/links/

https://www.ukcia.org/research/Pharm/index.php

https://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1981/05/the-marijuana-epidemic

In a world first," reports The Sydney Morning Herald of Australia, "Sydney researchers have demonstrated what many people have long suspected—that memory loss and lack of concentration caused by smoking marijuana persists long after people stop using the drug." The research, conducted at Macquarie University, confirmed that the damage marijuana causes is proportional to the amount smoked and the duration of the practice. The news gets worse: "These impairments may not be reversible." The study showed that former users suffered the same "cognitive impairments" as those who still smoked marijuana. More than memory is affected, especially for those who have used the drug for five years or more. Such individuals were found to be slower in processing information and less able to focus their attention and avoid distractions. The report concludes that, according to the combined evidence, smoking marijuana actually changes the brain’s physiology[/.

I 100% believe this to be true as ive experienced it first hand and am now very anti cannabis


Out of curiosity, you said it doesnt make you 'high' what does it do for you then? Are u saying it has no effect on u at all? What do ur GP and HV say about u smoking? That its harmless? Just wondering.....not trying to attack you. I 100% repsect ur rights as an adult to choose and dont think u are a bad parent because u use cannabis x

an important point to note is that there are ZERO deaths recorded as attibuted to cannabis use

.

Can u prove this tho? This seems like a huge sweeping statement also

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

my FIL smokes it as its the only drug he has tried that will enable him to continue in work after having an arm amputated and still suffering nerve pain.
So many of the strong drugs have massive side effects greater than those of anything else (sickness, drowsiness etc).

 

[NIfirsttimer]

Yep, that statement is easy enough to back up, but I'm in work and using my phone so will have to link after work, leave that with me!
My dr doesn't say anything, we had a discussion about it recently where he actually told me that his son used to smoke but had to stop due to drug testing at work! My hv just said it wasn't any concern to her as she can see ruby has all of her needs met and more, and is way ahead of herself!
Saying that it doesn't make me high doesn't mean it has no effect. It has an effect not dissimilar to smoking a few cigarettes, or having half a glass of wine probably would, while still allowing me to function completely, and IMO poses less risk to my health!

 

[NIfirsttimer]

Ps, I've been smoking for more Than 5 years and have a memory like an elephant lol, I remember all kinds of crap that astounds people lol, as for brain function, I'd been smoking for more than 5 years when I did both of my degrees, and in fact got the highest score in my year on my postgrad. I now work in a level 3 job in a banking environment and have no issues dealing with numbers and figures all day! I'm not bragging at all, just pointing out that that statement above clearly doesn't apply to everyone!

 

[ShanandBoc]

Thanks for sharing Midnight Fairy and NIfirsttimer, like i said i dont judge those who do use it, thats their prerogative. But i dont agree with it, nor do i think it poses a small health risk.

That link would be great NIfirsttimer, but wouldnt it be hard to say. zero deaths have been caused by cannabis, i mean someone who smoked and then quit and later in life got cancer, whos to say that cannabis didnt contribute to it or cause it? I just find that difficult to understand as how do we really know?

 

[ShanandBoc]

Ps, I've been smoking for more Than 5 years and have a memory like an elephant lol, I remember all kinds of crap that astounds people lol, as for brain function, I'd been smoking for more than 5 years when I did both of my degrees, and in fact got the highest score in my year on my postgrad. I now work in a level 3 job in a banking environment and have no issues dealing with numbers and figures all day! I'm not bragging at all, just pointing out that that statement above clearly doesn't apply to everyone!

How often do u smoke it? The 5 years could have more impact on heavy users, it may take longer to have these effects on light or occasional users or be less obvious x