Beer, Cigarettes & Marijuana -- What's the difference?

[boedicca]

The issue with pot, imo, is not so much the cancer threat but how it affects behavior.

People who smoke a lot of pot have motivation and productivity issues. Students who use it do less well in school, and workers have a host of problems:

Workers who smoke marijuana are more likely than their coworkers to have problems on the job. Several studies associate workers’ marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers’ compensation claims, and job turnover. A study of municipal workers found that those who used marijuana on or off the job reported more “Withdrawal behaviors”—such as leaving work without permission, daydreaming, spending work time on personal matters, and shirking tasks—that adversely affect productivity and morale(12). In another study, marijuana users reported that use of the drug impaired several important measures of life achievement including cognitive abilities, career status, social life, and physical and mental health(13).

http://www.theroadout.org/drug_info...uana_use_on_learning_and_social_behavior.html

 

[JBeukema]

A friend of mine died from lung cancer at age 47. He was a heavy pot smoker and didn't smoke tobacco. I've read that marijuana smoke is actually more cancer-causing than tobacco.

smoke one marijuana cigarette and you have smoke a pack of cigarettes.

The overwhelming majority of clinical studies disagree, but don't let reality intrude- you never have before...

 

[Foxfyre]

Here, I'll even follow up on one of the sources cited for you:

Combination of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Incentives Enhance Treatment for Marijuana Addiction
For Release April 1, 2006

New research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, indicates that people who are trying to end their addiction to marijuana can benefit from a treatment program that combines motivational incentives with cognitive-behavioral therapy. The study is published in the April 2006 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

"Demand for effective treatments for marijuana addiction increased significantly in the United States during the 1990s," says NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow. "Marijuana remains one of the most widely used drugs of abuse. Heavy use of the drug impairs a person's ability to form memories, recall events, and shift attention from one thing to another. Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illnesses, and a heightened risk of lung infections. Thus, treatments to reduce and eliminate marijuana abuse will offer substantial public health benefits." . . . .


NIDA - Newsroom - Combination of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Incentives Enhance Treatment for Marijuana Addiction

Hey.....dipshit.........I told you that it wasn't PHYSICALLY addictive.

And, for the record, you can become psychologically addicted to just about anything....porn, people, sex, etc.

Ooooo, the more the evidence goes against a pro-legalization person, the more hostile they get. Is that a side effect of the drug?

Rebuttal to your latest, increasingly insulting debate offering:

Aside from the legal, moral, social, financial, personal, or political consequences marijuana can have on people using it, the drug is addictive, physically, as well as mentally. It is more addictive mentally, because of the drugs snail-like release rate from fat cells. Marijuana is lipophillic, meaning it has a tendency to deposit in fats cells, and can hang out in the body for a few days, (infrequent users), to several weeks for chronic long-term users. If a chronic user experienced the rapid release of THC from the body like narcotics, and benzos do, they would likely experience similar withdrawals as if doing harder drugs.
Substance Abuse 101: Is marijuana physically addictive?

If you knew my background on this stuff Biker, I think you might choose to back off at this point.

Marijuana is less addictive than tobacco or alcohol and of the three, tobacco is the most addictive. But marijuana is addictive which is why it is a controlled substance. The pro-legalization crowd puts out a lot of stuff and can even cite studies backing them up. But, given the large amount of research done in the last couple or three decades, you won't be able to prove cannabis is not physically addictive because it is.

But those who so desperately want to believe that you cannot be come physically as well as mentally addicted to cannabis just can't make that case via any really credible source. We've learned a whole lot in the last couple of decades

 

[ABikerSailor]

Wrong answer. It's not addictive.

But......like I said, this is the internet, and you can get anyone to agree with you if you're willing to go for the really obtuse studies.

Shit........there's one GOP idiot that makes money by creating web sites that say shit like cigarettes are good for you and cholesterol won't hurt you.

Nope, you've not convinced me yet. And, like I said, your "sources" are suspect.

But go ahead Faux Failure, keep trying.

 

[Foxfyre]

Dream on Biker in that strange fact-void world of yours. If you want to pretend that the sources I've provided are made-up sources, well that's your prerogative. But if you had ever sat with a person withdrawing from the drug as I have, I think you might have a different perspective.

 

[Luissa]

The issue with pot, imo, is not so much the cancer threat but how it affects behavior.

People who smoke a lot of pot have motivation and productivity issues. Students who use it do less well in school, and workers have a host of problems:

Workers who smoke marijuana are more likely than their coworkers to have problems on the job. Several studies associate workers’ marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers’ compensation claims, and job turnover. A study of municipal workers found that those who used marijuana on or off the job reported more “Withdrawal behaviors”—such as leaving work without permission, daydreaming, spending work time on personal matters, and shirking tasks—that adversely affect productivity and morale(12). In another study, marijuana users reported that use of the drug impaired several important measures of life achievement including cognitive abilities, career status, social life, and physical and mental health(13).

http://www.theroadout.org/drug_info...uana_use_on_learning_and_social_behavior.html

There is no cancer threat, no one has gotten lung cancer or any other type of cancer from smoking pot.
There is also no withdrawals from weed, and I know many people who smoke outside of work, who have no problem working and paying attention.

 

[Luissa]

Dream on Biker in that strange fact-void world of yours. If you want to pretend that the sources I've provided are made-up sources, well that's your prerogative. But if you had ever sat with a person withdrawing from the drug as I have, I think you might have a different perspective.

Marijuana is not addicting, it is habit forming. It is like chewing gum on a regular basis or chewing your nails. It has no withdrawals, and you don't "need" to do it to get over your cravings.

 

[Luissa]

Here, I'll even follow up on one of the sources cited for you:

Hey.....dipshit.........I told you that it wasn't PHYSICALLY addictive.

And, for the record, you can become psychologically addicted to just about anything....porn, people, sex, etc.

Ooooo, the more the evidence goes against a pro-legalization person, the more hostile they get. Is that a side effect of the drug?

Rebuttal to your latest, increasingly insulting debate offering:

Aside from the legal, moral, social, financial, personal, or political consequences marijuana can have on people using it, the drug is addictive, physically, as well as mentally. It is more addictive mentally, because of the drugs snail-like release rate from fat cells. Marijuana is lipophillic, meaning it has a tendency to deposit in fats cells, and can hang out in the body for a few days, (infrequent users), to several weeks for chronic long-term users. If a chronic user experienced the rapid release of THC from the body like narcotics, and benzos do, they would likely experience similar withdrawals as if doing harder drugs.
Substance Abuse 101: Is marijuana physically addictive?

If you knew my background on this stuff Biker, I think you might choose to back off at this point.

Marijuana is less addictive than tobacco or alcohol and of the three, tobacco is the most addictive. But marijuana is addictive which is why it is a controlled substance. The pro-legalization crowd puts out a lot of stuff and can even cite studies backing them up. But, given the large amount of research done in the last couple or three decades, you won't be able to prove cannabis is not physically addictive because it is.

But those who so desperately want to believe that you cannot be come physically as well as mentally addicted to cannabis just can't make that case via any really credible source. We've learned a whole lot in the last couple of decades

How about you prove it is addictive through a credible source?
I have done drugs, I used to do coke, I also used to drink a lot, and I have smoke pot for years. Trust me, pot is addicting. You know why I know this? Is because you don't have a come down, you don't get sick when you don't use it, and I have never had a problem going long periods of time without doing it.
And many doctors agree with me. You know nothing about marijuana, and shouldn't pretend that you do.

 

[Foxfyre]

Well all the evidence I've posted from quite credible sources apparently hasn't phased you, Luissa, so I doubt any additional ones I came up with would phase you either.

You want to believe Marijuana isn't addictive because you weren't addicted? Nine out of ten people who use alcohol regularly don't become addicted either, but one out of ten will be.

Everybody who tries tobacco doesn't become addicted, but the majority who use it regularly do.

But you and Biker do make a cute couple. And if like minded people are made for each other, well, there ya go.

 

[Kalam]

Marijuana is addictive? Bullshit.

I can - and have - quit smoking for a month or so at a time in order to pass drug tests. I have no difficulty whatsoever.

 

[Mr Natural]

Marijuana is addictive? Bullshit.

I can - and have - quit smoking for a month or so at a time in order to pass drug tests. I have no difficulty whatsoever.

When I'm out, I'm out and that's it. No big deal.

However, when I have, I tend to induge on a daily basis.

 

[Foxfyre]

I'll leave you guys with one more source: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency:

Exposing the Myth of Smoked Medical Marijuana
Marijuana: The Facts

Q: Does marijuana pose health risks to users?

Marijuana is an addictive drug1 with significant health consequences to its users and others. Many harmful short-term and long-term problems have been documented with its use:


The short term effects of marijuana use include: memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor skills, decrease in muscle strength, increased heart rate, and anxiety2.


In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of emergency room mentions of marijuana use. From 1993-2000, the number of emergency room marijuana mentions more than tripled.


There are also many long-term health consequences of marijuana use. According to the National Institutes of Health, studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.


Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, including most of the harmful substances found in tobacco smoke. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times more tar into the lungs than a filtered tobacco cigarette.


Harvard University researchers report that the risk of a heart attack is five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana.3


Smoking marijuana also weakens the immune system4 and raises the risk of lung infections.5 A Columbia University study found that a control group smoking a single marijuana cigarette every other day for a year had a white-blood-cell count that was 39 percent lower than normal, thus damaging the immune system and making the user far more susceptible to infection and sickness.6


Users can become dependent on marijuana to the point they must seek treatment to stop abusing it. In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse treatment primarily for marijuana abuse and dependence.


More teens are in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug or for alcohol. Adolescent admissions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew from 43 percent of all adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in 1999.


Marijuana is much stronger now than it was decades ago. According to data from the Potency Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of commercial-grade marijuana rose from an average of 3.71 percent in 1985 to an average of 5.57 percent in 1998. The average THC content of U.S. produced sinsemilla increased from 3.2 percent in 1977 to 12.8 percent in 1997.7

Exposing the Myth of Smoked Medical Marijuana

 

[Kalam]

I'll leave you guys with one more source: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency:

I guess I should believe a federal agency rather than my own lying eyes. We all know how credible and rational the US government is when it comes to cannabis, after all.

 

[Foxfyre]

I'll leave you guys with one more source: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency:

I guess I should believe a federal agency rather than my own lying eyes. We all know how credible and rational the US government is when it comes to cannabis, after all.

Using your logic, the person who imbibes alcohol and doesn't become alcoholic is proof that alcohol is not an addicting substance. But if you had read half the comments in this thread you would know better than that. Too bad that you didn't before you posted some really silly stuff.

 

[Kalam]

Marijuana is addictive? Bullshit.

I can - and have - quit smoking for a month or so at a time in order to pass drug tests. I have no difficulty whatsoever.

When I'm out, I'm out and that's it. No big deal.

However, when I have, I tend to induge on a daily basis.

Same. Even when I have some, I don't smoke much during the week, and I very rarely get high more than twice a day on weekends. I've almost always been that way... no increases in frequency of use or other telltale signs of addiction.

 

[Luissa]

The locations of the cannabinoid receptors are most revealing of the way THC acts on the brain, but the importance of this determination is best understood in comparison with the effects of other drugs on the brain. Neurons are brain cells which process information. Neurotransmitter chemicals enable them to communicate with each other by their release into the gap between the neurons. This gap is called the synapse. Receptors are actually proteins in neurons which are specific to neurotransmitters, and which turn various cellular mechanisms on or off. Neurons can have thousands of receptors for different neurotransmitters, causing any neurotransmitter to have diverse effects in the brain. Drugs affect the production, release or re-uptake (a regulating mechanism) of various neurotransmitters. They also mimic or block actions of neurotransmitters, and can interfere with or enhance the mechanisms associated with the receptor. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which is associated with extremely pleasurable sensations, so that the neural systems which trigger dopamine release are known as the "brain reward system." The key part of this system is identified as the mesocorticolimbic pathway, which links the dopamine-production area with the nucleus of accumbens in the limbic system, an area of the brain which is associated with the control of emotion and behavior. Cocaine, for example, blocks the re-uptake of dopamine so that the brain, lacking biofeedback, keeps on producing it. Amphetamines also block the re-uptake of dopamine, and stimulate additional production and release of it. Opiates activate neural pathways that increase dopamine production by mimicking opioid-peptide neurotransmitters which increase dopamine activity in the ventral tegmental area of the brain where the neurotransmitter originates. Opiates work on three receptor sites, and in effect restrain an inhibitory amino acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid, that otherwise would slow down or halt dopamine production. All of these substances can produce strong reinforcing properties that can seriously influence behavior. The rewarding properties of dopamine are what accounts for animal studies in which animals will forgo food and drink or willingly experience electric shocks in order to stimulate the brain reward system. It is now widely held that drugs of abuse directly or indirectly affect the brain reward system. The key clinical test of whether a substance is a drug of abuse potential or not is whether administration of the drug reduces the amount of electrical stimulation needed to produce self-stimulation response, or dopamine production. This is an indication that a drug has reinforcing properties, and that an individual's use of the drug can lead to addictive and other harmful behavior. To be precise, according to the Office of Technological Assessment (OTA): "The capacity to produce reinforcing effects is essential to any drug with significant abuse potential." Marijuana should no longer be considered a serious drug abuse because, as summarized by the OTA: "Animals will not self-administer THC in controlled studies . . . . Cannabinoids generally do not lower the threshold needed to get animals to self-stimulate the brain regard system, as do other drugs of abuse." Marijuana does not produce reinforcing effects. The definitive experiment which measures drug-induced dopamine production utilizes microdialysis is live, freely-moving rats. Brain microdialysis has proven that opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine and alcohol all affect dopamine production, whereas marijuana does not. This latest research confirms and explains Hollister's 1986 conclusion about cannabis and addiction: "Physical dependence is rarely encountered in the usual patterns, despite some degree of tolerance that may develop." Most important, the discoveries of Howlett and Devane, Herkenham and their associates demonstrate that the cannabinoid receptors do not influence the dopamine reward system.

CANNABINOID RECEPTORS Research has enabled scientists to know which portions of the brain control various body functions, and this knowledge has been used to explain the pharmacological properties of drugs that activate receptor sites in the brain. There is a dense concentration of cannabinoid binding sites in the basal ganglia and the cerebellum of the base-brain, both of which affect movement and coordination. This discovery will aid in determining the actual physical mechanism by which THC affects spasticity and provides therapeutic benefits to patients with multiple sclerosis and other spastic disorders. While there are cannabinoid receptors in the ventromedial striatum and basal ganglia which are areas associated with dopamine production, no cannabinoid receptors have been found in dopamine-producing neurons, and as mentioned above, no reinforcing properties have been demonstrated in animal studies. There is one study by Gardner and Lowinson, involving inbred Lewis rats, in which doses of THC lowered the amount of electrical stimulation required to trigger the brain reward system. However, no one has been able to replicate the results with any other species of rat, or any other animal. The finding is believed to be the result of some inbred genetic variation in the inbred species, and is both widely mentioned in the literature and disregarded. According to Herkenham and his associates, "There are virtually no reports of fatal cannabis overdose in humans. The safety reflects the paucity of receptors in medullary nuclei that mediate respiratory and cardiovascular functions." This is also why cannabinoids have great promise as analgesics or painkillers, in that they do not depress the function of the heart or the lungs.
Marijuana and the Brain


Hello, I'm Dr. Allen Battle, a psychologist with UT Medical Group and professor of psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Today we are talking about addictions.

Q: Is marijuana addictive?

Dr. Battle: No, marijuana is not addictive. It isn't addictive because the active ingredient in it, THC, does not become a part of the body chemistry. So that then, that body, would be dependent on it just as it is dependent on water or food. That is the essence of addition; it is physiological!

Gambling, food, sex, are not addictive. To use the word addiction in connection with these activities is to pervert the meaning of the word addiction. These things can become obsessions, that is to say, thoughts that repeat and repeat in spite of the individual not desiring to have them. They can become compulsions, in which the individual must act upon those thoughts. They can become habitual. They may be used as a way of escaping from problems in the here and now. But none of these things are physiological.

UT Medical Group, Inc. - Web Chat on Addictions

It is very simple, Marijuana is not physcially addicting.
And the only site you will find saying so, are government run.

 

[Luissa]

I'll leave you guys with one more source: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency:

Exposing the Myth of Smoked Medical Marijuana
Marijuana: The Facts

Q: Does marijuana pose health risks to users?

Marijuana is an addictive drug1 with significant health consequences to its users and others. Many harmful short-term and long-term problems have been documented with its use:


The short term effects of marijuana use include: memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor skills, decrease in muscle strength, increased heart rate, and anxiety2.


In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of emergency room mentions of marijuana use. From 1993-2000, the number of emergency room marijuana mentions more than tripled.


There are also many long-term health consequences of marijuana use. According to the National Institutes of Health, studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.


Marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, including most of the harmful substances found in tobacco smoke. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times more tar into the lungs than a filtered tobacco cigarette.


Harvard University researchers report that the risk of a heart attack is five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana.3


Smoking marijuana also weakens the immune system4 and raises the risk of lung infections.5 A Columbia University study found that a control group smoking a single marijuana cigarette every other day for a year had a white-blood-cell count that was 39 percent lower than normal, thus damaging the immune system and making the user far more susceptible to infection and sickness.6


Users can become dependent on marijuana to the point they must seek treatment to stop abusing it. In 1999, more than 200,000 Americans entered substance abuse treatment primarily for marijuana abuse and dependence.


More teens are in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug or for alcohol. Adolescent admissions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew from 43 percent of all adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in 1999.


Marijuana is much stronger now than it was decades ago. According to data from the Potency Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of commercial-grade marijuana rose from an average of 3.71 percent in 1985 to an average of 5.57 percent in 1998. The average THC content of U.S. produced sinsemilla increased from 3.2 percent in 1977 to 12.8 percent in 1997.7

Exposing the Myth of Smoked Medical Marijuana

Show me a site that isn't put out by the government.
The same government that said it killed monkeys, when in reality they cut off their oxgen supply. And the only reason why people usually seek treatment is because they are made to by family or by the court.

 

[Luissa]

It also is not much stronger than it was decades ago, that is also a myth.
Like I said, stop listening to the government, they don't know shit.

 

[Luissa]

And marijuana in some people has shown to open up the air ways, and many studies show you are not prone to lung infections.

 

[Kalam]

Using your logic, the person who imbibes alcohol and doesn't become alcoholic is proof that alcohol is not an addicting substance. But if you had read half the comments in this thread you would know better than that. Too bad that you didn't before you posted some really silly stuff.

No, that isn't an extension of my logic at all.

Alcohol causes a physical dependency to develop in frequent users. Marijuana does not. Both sides of my family have a history of substance abuse and I'm well aware of what a physical addiction feels like; I'm no special case. Any typical marijuana smoker can quit smoking at any time without suffering any consequences. Maybe if you had any first-hand experience with the herb you polemicize against you'd know this. Too bad you don't and your recourse seems to be peddling government bullshit.