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All the reports go from statistics to conclusion in a straight to video fashion that should shock any hafway intelligent person.
I don't suppose that it occured to anyone that cannabis smokers use it to reduce their symptoms?
I also wonder what type of schizoid behaviour was most evident in the people commited. Some links say psychotic. They all assume that schizophrenia is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, which is not actually true in all/many cases.
And finally I wonder if the type of person most likely to be attracted to drug use (in general) and other "underground" activities isn't already likely to be considered "mentally ill" by those who don't think the same way*. Certainly in the tragic suicide case there is a strong undertone of foisting the blame onto drugs.
* In soviet Russia there were no criminals, everyone who didn't obey the law was considered mentally ill. Because it was such a paradise, apparently
Just an observation...the supposed "signs" of mental illness mentioned in those links are mostly ordinary effects of pyschedelics...i.e. hallucinations, paranoia, delusions etc...which are half the fun.
If you're smoking a shitload every day, and have been for a substantial period of time, then you're obviously going to exhibit such symptoms day-to-day.
Studies on cannabis use in the UK will always be infallible anyway...the reason being the majority of "cannabis" on sale isn't actually cannabis at all...rather a mixture of other drugs (I would hazard a guess at mainly tranqs, going by the effect).
It seems somewhat absurd that it's fairly recently that mental health-related issues are becoming prevelent...when the majority of so-called cannabis smokers are not in fact what could be described as cannabis users. Looking back to the '60s/'70s/early '80s - when hash was largely of a comparatively high quality - the lack of people from this era suffering mental health problems through cannabis use seems very strange indeed.
OK, taking the one decent source, it also says
I have no doubt that cannabis causes mental health problems in a minority of users. For some people it can cause anxiety and paranoia (which is why I quit), but these mild symptoms go away after stopping smoking. For some people it can precipitate longer lasting mental health problems, but these are in the minority. Personally I think the cannbis debate is too polarised. The pro-cannabis lobby deny any harm at all and the anti-cannabis lobby massively over exaggerate the damage.
Let me refresh your memory.
Earlier you said this:
And I asked you this:
"I trust you believe people who drink alcohol should be treated exactly the same?"
Well?
In Holland research has shown that 13% of all schizpphrenia cases are attributable to regular cannabis use. With increased use, the age of first use falling, and the stregnth of cannabis increasing, the figure will increase significantly.
The first hints of possible long-term harm came from Jamaica in the 1960s, where doctors noticed that Rastafarians who were heavy dope smokers seemed unusually prone to psychotic illnesses. The suspicion grew in the 1980s, when studies led by Robin Murray of the Institute of Psychiatry in London showed that patients with schizophrenia or some other kind of psychosis, were twice as likely as those without mental illness to be regular cannabis users.
But it wasn't until a major Swedish study was published in 1987 that a link between cannabis and long-term mental health problems was established. A team from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm analysed the records of all the young men who had done national service in the Swedish army in 1969 and 1970 - 50,087 in total, representing about 97 per cent of the male population aged 18 to 20. The records included details of the men's experiences with drugs before being called up, including age at first use, what they had taken and how often.
The team then checked out each man's medical history up to the mid-1980s. They found that those who had smoked cannabis before being called up were six times as likely to end up in hospital with schizophrenia as non-users. This, the team concluded, provided clear evidence that smoking cannabis was a risk factor for psychosis.
regualr cannabis use = increased risk of mental illness BE WARNED.
Have you got any evidence for that?
Most sedatives wouldnt smoke anyway, and would be harder to get your hands on, and would smell differently.
I have heard reports that Salvia has been mixed in but thats quite a rarity.
So I'll ask you again Rich Kid: Do you believe that alcohol users, like cannabis users, should be forced to enter detox programmes to help them get off that "disgusting habit" that causes so many problems and costs the NHS so much money?
Yes or no?
Though whether cannabis causes mental health problems or just makes them worse is definately not certain.
And that is exactly why we should educate people in a sensible and open way.
The truth is cannabis is socially far less damaging than alcohol, it does have personal health concerns but so do many other things.
Your statement "cannabis is socially far less damaging than alcohol" requires a lot more empirical research and evidence before such a claim can be substantiated.
A) What is the social cost of anal sex?
You look in an A&E department on the weekend and tell me who is stonned.
Or is there any other reason why you don't want to answer a simple question?
Try to save some face, if you can- though I fear is far too late for that now.
So what makes users of alcohol and cannabis so different then?
And did you fancy answering my questions?
What questions?
It is sinful and against the Natural Order. So, alcohol is sold in pubs, clubs, off-licences etc, it is widely available and widely abused.
Society may one day turn against alcohol just as it is doing against cannabis and other drugs.
Well I do beg your pardon.
Now I was going to ask you why the different treatment but I see that bongbudda has already done so and you have answered to it.
But it doesn't make any sense I'm afraid. Firstly it's wrong. What makes you believe that "normal decent society" (I thought you didn't believe in society anyway) accepts the use of alcohol but not cannabis?
What society would this be, exactly?
And secondly, and more importantly, you claim that cannabis should be kept illegal and its users punished or forced into detox programmes on health grounds. Yet alcohol is a drug far, far more damaging than cannabis to both individuals and society as a whole. Surely you should be campaigning for alcohol to be banned and its users forced into detox?
Or could it be that like with oral sex, your sense righteousness ends at your doorstep and does not apply to those activities and habits you indulge in?
fantastic idea dick!
Most people accept its relatively harmless, in fact in many polls the majority come out in favor of decriminalising.
But again I say thats not the point, the law is there to minimise harm, by making the sentances harder you increase the harm.
I love your selective quotation. Blind yourself to anything that doesn't back up your claims.
P.S.
Its good manners to include a reference if you're going to quote something
So if alcohol is so dangerous, would you like to see it banned?
Can I refer you to this
http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=814048&postcount=246
Define "Normal decent society"? (I didn't think you believed in society anyway).
Cannabis use is socially acceptable in a lot of places amongst a lot of people. Alcohol is not accepted in a lot of places by a lot of people...