Ralph E. Jones
People are flocking
to the states where marijuana has now become big business, Colorado,
Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., Since legalizing the
drug for recreational use beginning in 2012, sales of the “weed” has
created a very lucrative market. The Ssates and D.C reporting $2.9
billion in 2014, expected to rise to $11 billion in 2017, and to $22
billion by 2020 and has already made millionaires. All of this is
occurring despite federal laws that prohibit the growing, distribution
and sales of the illicit federally scheduled drug.
The reasons for this? Simple. Sales and taxation of the drug, and increase demand for the drug as numbers of marijuana users have increased (especially among our youth); plus the changing attitudes toward marijuana of citizenry living in the states that passed the legislation. This theme has carried over to the citizenry of those four liberal minded states (plus our nation’s capital district), convincing the populous that legalization was not only wanted but warranted.
These states, burdened under the vastly increasing welfare system, needed a new taxable income base to offset the rising cost of welfare and their ever rising loss of revenue. They are convinced that taxation revenue could be found in marijuana, thus began the “Green Revolution.”
In addition, the liberal minded proponents continue to fuel the attitudes that marijuana offers many health benefits…that it is “not harmful” and that “everyone” wants to enjoy its drug affects (an unwarranted statement as, according to the recent Rand Corporation Survey only about 30 percent of the adult U.S. population have ever tried marijuana).
They seem to be oblivious to the scientific facts that have been well documented over the years.
The implications for our nation, particular our youth, are staggering. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in the Cannabis plant (Marijuana), has been studied and researched more than any other illicit chemical substance in our history; resulting in many thousands of research papers, scholarly articles in scientific journals, and other literature.
Proponents of marijuana, those responsible for most articles in magazines and other social media, would have you believe that “everyone” smokes or eats marijuana, and that it is “harmless,” they have created much harm to both adults and youth alike. Ten percent of the marijuana smoking populations are dependent/addicted to cannabis; as bore out in national surveys and by myself after treating those so addicted for over 4 decades.
Proponents of marijuana use present it as being a “Panacea” (a do all, end all) medicinal drug that is useful in treating multiple medical conditions. This is also far from the truth. Medical marijuana, now available for prescription in 23 states of our nation, has only been approved for but a limited handful of medical conditions; with only SOME of the patients receiving it having benefits of its prescription; wherein only certain very specific chemicals found in the Cannabis plant are used.
A recent study conducted by the Yale University School of Medicine, and as reported in the June issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reports that there is little evidence supporting the effectiveness or usefulness of medical marijuana to most conditions it is supposedly useful to treat. There is SOME evidence supporting the use of marijuana for nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy, specific pain syndromes, and spasticity from multiple sclerosis; but no other conditions that it has been prescribed for by the physicians in those state where it has been legislated to use, eg. Hepatitis C, Parkinson’s disease, or Tourette’s syndrome to name a few.
Researchers also found that there are also increased adverse risks associated with the marijuana treatments, as have been studied in the addictions communities for many years: dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, fatigue, euphoria, vomiting, disorientation, drowsiness, confusion, loss of balance, hallucinations, worsening of psychiatric illnesses, and of course; addiction to the substance.
Also found in the studies was that the dosing/labeling of the medical marijuana also is problematic; specifically as it pertained to the THC content of the prescriptions.
The cannabis plant is a complex of over 400 compounds, including 70 cannabinoids that have individual or interactive effects, and that the composition of cannabis preparations can vary substantially. The potency of these compounds, specifically the THC, have increased dramatically over the years due to the cultivation and hybridization of the cannabis plant; plants once containing 1-5 percent of the psychoactive substance can now have up to 30 percent the potency.
I, alongside my thousands of colleagues in the substance abuse and dependency prevention and treatment arenas, are very concerned about the legalization of cannabis for recreational use, as well as the misuse of medical marijuana for the treatment of diseases that have not been validated. We are most especially concerned about the detriment to youth, who are most assuredly are receiving the wrong messages about the drug based on faulty assumptions and mis-guided information.
We know for a fact that when children begin using marijuana that it will have a most negative impact on their physical, mental, social, and spiritual health; such as well-established proof that it affects their cognitive development and a myriad of other negative effects.
I recently came across a new article in a national magazine; quite biased I might add, written by proponents of marijuana.
I requested from the publisher to quote individuals presented in the article as well as parts of the article…they flatly denied my request. Besides giving the “big picture” of the lucrative development of the “green revolution,” along with photos of the “family businesses” wherein children are shown helping to grow, package, and distribute the marijuana. In my eyes this does not look right.
I propose that legalization of marijuana for “recreational” use of the mind altering experience it provides (and pardon my non-psychological term)…is Insane! I predict that our society, most especially our new generation of children will suffer the results. Let us keep our eyes on this my fellow Texans and Valleyites…let us not be ruled by a mind altering chemical and those who bring harm to our society and are influenced by greed! Stay Healthy My Friends!
The reasons for this? Simple. Sales and taxation of the drug, and increase demand for the drug as numbers of marijuana users have increased (especially among our youth); plus the changing attitudes toward marijuana of citizenry living in the states that passed the legislation. This theme has carried over to the citizenry of those four liberal minded states (plus our nation’s capital district), convincing the populous that legalization was not only wanted but warranted.
These states, burdened under the vastly increasing welfare system, needed a new taxable income base to offset the rising cost of welfare and their ever rising loss of revenue. They are convinced that taxation revenue could be found in marijuana, thus began the “Green Revolution.”
In addition, the liberal minded proponents continue to fuel the attitudes that marijuana offers many health benefits…that it is “not harmful” and that “everyone” wants to enjoy its drug affects (an unwarranted statement as, according to the recent Rand Corporation Survey only about 30 percent of the adult U.S. population have ever tried marijuana).
They seem to be oblivious to the scientific facts that have been well documented over the years.
The implications for our nation, particular our youth, are staggering. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in the Cannabis plant (Marijuana), has been studied and researched more than any other illicit chemical substance in our history; resulting in many thousands of research papers, scholarly articles in scientific journals, and other literature.
Proponents of marijuana, those responsible for most articles in magazines and other social media, would have you believe that “everyone” smokes or eats marijuana, and that it is “harmless,” they have created much harm to both adults and youth alike. Ten percent of the marijuana smoking populations are dependent/addicted to cannabis; as bore out in national surveys and by myself after treating those so addicted for over 4 decades.
Proponents of marijuana use present it as being a “Panacea” (a do all, end all) medicinal drug that is useful in treating multiple medical conditions. This is also far from the truth. Medical marijuana, now available for prescription in 23 states of our nation, has only been approved for but a limited handful of medical conditions; with only SOME of the patients receiving it having benefits of its prescription; wherein only certain very specific chemicals found in the Cannabis plant are used.
A recent study conducted by the Yale University School of Medicine, and as reported in the June issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reports that there is little evidence supporting the effectiveness or usefulness of medical marijuana to most conditions it is supposedly useful to treat. There is SOME evidence supporting the use of marijuana for nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy, specific pain syndromes, and spasticity from multiple sclerosis; but no other conditions that it has been prescribed for by the physicians in those state where it has been legislated to use, eg. Hepatitis C, Parkinson’s disease, or Tourette’s syndrome to name a few.
Researchers also found that there are also increased adverse risks associated with the marijuana treatments, as have been studied in the addictions communities for many years: dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, fatigue, euphoria, vomiting, disorientation, drowsiness, confusion, loss of balance, hallucinations, worsening of psychiatric illnesses, and of course; addiction to the substance.
Also found in the studies was that the dosing/labeling of the medical marijuana also is problematic; specifically as it pertained to the THC content of the prescriptions.
The cannabis plant is a complex of over 400 compounds, including 70 cannabinoids that have individual or interactive effects, and that the composition of cannabis preparations can vary substantially. The potency of these compounds, specifically the THC, have increased dramatically over the years due to the cultivation and hybridization of the cannabis plant; plants once containing 1-5 percent of the psychoactive substance can now have up to 30 percent the potency.
I, alongside my thousands of colleagues in the substance abuse and dependency prevention and treatment arenas, are very concerned about the legalization of cannabis for recreational use, as well as the misuse of medical marijuana for the treatment of diseases that have not been validated. We are most especially concerned about the detriment to youth, who are most assuredly are receiving the wrong messages about the drug based on faulty assumptions and mis-guided information.
We know for a fact that when children begin using marijuana that it will have a most negative impact on their physical, mental, social, and spiritual health; such as well-established proof that it affects their cognitive development and a myriad of other negative effects.
I recently came across a new article in a national magazine; quite biased I might add, written by proponents of marijuana.
I requested from the publisher to quote individuals presented in the article as well as parts of the article…they flatly denied my request. Besides giving the “big picture” of the lucrative development of the “green revolution,” along with photos of the “family businesses” wherein children are shown helping to grow, package, and distribute the marijuana. In my eyes this does not look right.
I propose that legalization of marijuana for “recreational” use of the mind altering experience it provides (and pardon my non-psychological term)…is Insane! I predict that our society, most especially our new generation of children will suffer the results. Let us keep our eyes on this my fellow Texans and Valleyites…let us not be ruled by a mind altering chemical and those who bring harm to our society and are influenced by greed! Stay Healthy My Friends!
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