We don't need to criminalize it to discourage its use. Same thing with alcohol. It is not harmless. Many hard core drug addicts start off with cannabis and move on from there. It should not be touted as having no ill effects, because it does have an effect on a lot of people. Same as alcohol. Same as tobacco. Not illegal, but not harmless.
Thanks, Gideon. I am a retired physician and people need to understand the two different definitions of addiction. Opiates are addictive in that one inevitably accommodates to a regular dose of opiate and real, physical withdrawal symptoms occur when weaning off after weeks of regular administration. Marijuana is more of a psychological and cultural addiction without the physical symptoms of withdrawal when stopped or weaned. The many liberals and conservatives who embrace the "truth" that use of marijuana is benign are entirely wrong. Physicians need to speak out more.
Thank you for sharing this story. I wish I could post this on FB but the free press requires membership. Maybe by letting stories post without membership, they could increase their membership.
I don't want this to come across as negative toward you in any way BJ, 'cause it's not meant to be. I find the $50 per year that I spend on my subscription a bargain, and I feel good about helping the site cover its costs.
I also find it a bargain. I belong. I wanted to share this article on Facebook so maybe others would read it and go to The Free Press and they might join.
Thank you for sharing your story. Thank G-d it's is a success story, but a work in progress.
By the way- your writing is way above your pay grade. It was succinct, well organized and quite good. It flowed and was easy to read.
Hope you have an easy fast. It does mean something. Cherish your parents. They won't, unfortunately, be here forever. Love your siblings. Do good in this world. Thanks again.
Anyone insisting that THC isn't addictive when it clearly is addictive is doing an enormous disservice to our youth. I am soon to be 69 years old. I personally witnessed friends in the 60s and early 70s become addicted to weed, even though it was lower in THC. They lost all motivation and never achieved their once realistic goals. Some became moody and resentful of those of us who chose to stay on track. and a few just dropped out of society. A couple of my nephews developed mental illness disorders from MUD in the 80s. They both struggled mightily and one took his life at 42. Two more nephews have also suffered from frightening episodes of THC induced mental illnesses, one born in 1996, another in 2000. All of them were addicted to THC.
My daughter is 25. Several of her friends, including her former boyfriend, have had to seek help for MUD.
Stop lying to our kids and stop rationalizing your own dependency. I have yet to meet any longtime user of THC that does not have significant mood swings and irrational behavior patterns.
The question is why, why do users insist that it is safe and not addictive? The answer is pretty apparent.
Big Pharma is a nightmare but so is MUD. Stop excusing one by pointing to the travesty of the other.
yes it is probably less harmful than alcohol so it would be tough to debate making it legal but the downside is the message it sends that smoking weed is okay. as someone who also spent 2 to 3 years partaking in daily usage of this drug other than deep conversations about aliens and actually writing a proposal about our idea of “smell-a-vision” (incorporating the smell of a scene into a movie” i cannot recall a positive benefit. if you have an addictive personality like i do channel it into something positive like working out - the endorphin release is way better than the high from THC anyways
I know that "weed" is not just addictive and dangerous, it can be deadly. Enough THC and your heart rhythm gets dysregulated and there is no treatment that works.. I wrote up a refutation of every shibboleth of the legalization crowd years ago. I tried to get it to NPR, to every news outlet I could. Scientifically, the representations of the legalization side is codswallop.
Since then, a friend's son has been a casualty. A nice neighbor mom introduced him to concentrates she used. He got to screaming at his mom and calling her "You C*NT!" He put her in a headlock on their street when she stopped him from stealing her car to sell it. He joined a gang that required him to jump 4 random Hispanics on the street and beat them up. He got "Hella loaded" to do it. He got a job delivering drugs of all kinds, he was underage. So he went into the homes of rich, rich and famous. He broke windows at home. Then he did 90 days after his mom finally asked me to help intervene.
2 years prior he was a kid who loved animals and volunteered his free time at an animal shelter for 5 years. Now, he wanted to kill cops. He wanted to become a gangster and said he'd kill anyone in his way to make his rule obeyed.
The convicts he did his 90 days with at 18 had few teeth, and all told him he was an idiot. He got out and straightened out. He went to community College and excelled. In a famous 4 year institution, not living at home, he took a dive.
Now, he lives on the street. He does meth, coke, and whatever whe he can. He's dangerous as f*@k. His mom evicted him from her garage because of it. Yes, she isn't perfect, but his dive? That was "weed". That was him doing dabs and shatter, in class with kids laughing at the teachers who gave up and put them all in the same room and lied about their tests so they wouldn't stay. But most of those kids dropped out.
He will probably end his life by 30 to 35 after destroying his mind. His mother says he is now completely psychotic from all the meth.
thank you for your honesty and testimony. they use to say weed was a "gateway" drug, leading to heavier stuff. I watched friends stay w weed and become unintentional. maybe they weren't or maybe they were addicted, but they certainly were going no where fast. sadly, that is the direction kids are going when they smoke weed and that will not change I wish adults would be mindful of the unintended consequences instead of plowing headlong into legalizing the drug
Thank you for writing this story. I work with teenagers and have seen the effects of marijuana addiction. The information about marijuana's effects on young people (eg. increased risk of schizophrenia) does not seem to be widespread. I am afraid that now that it is legal in many places and there is a lot of money to be made, this information will not be available in a way that allows people to make informed decisions.
This was great. Thank you so much for writing this. As a retired addiction treatment provider is is always gratifying get to read personal recovery stories. Blessings on this brave young man.
We don't need to criminalize it to discourage its use. Same thing with alcohol. It is not harmless. Many hard core drug addicts start off with cannabis and move on from there. It should not be touted as having no ill effects, because it does have an effect on a lot of people. Same as alcohol. Same as tobacco. Not illegal, but not harmless.
Thanks, Gideon. I am a retired physician and people need to understand the two different definitions of addiction. Opiates are addictive in that one inevitably accommodates to a regular dose of opiate and real, physical withdrawal symptoms occur when weaning off after weeks of regular administration. Marijuana is more of a psychological and cultural addiction without the physical symptoms of withdrawal when stopped or weaned. The many liberals and conservatives who embrace the "truth" that use of marijuana is benign are entirely wrong. Physicians need to speak out more.
Gideon, you are so brave! Thank you for sharing your story.
Some of the best writing I’ve read in a while. Not “for a 16 year old” but period. Wow
Thank you for sharing this story. I wish I could post this on FB but the free press requires membership. Maybe by letting stories post without membership, they could increase their membership.
I don't want this to come across as negative toward you in any way BJ, 'cause it's not meant to be. I find the $50 per year that I spend on my subscription a bargain, and I feel good about helping the site cover its costs.
I also find it a bargain. I belong. I wanted to share this article on Facebook so maybe others would read it and go to The Free Press and they might join.
Oh, I am so sorry. You meant that you need to be a member on *Facebook* to post. Egg on my face.
Thank you for sharing your story. Thank G-d it's is a success story, but a work in progress.
By the way- your writing is way above your pay grade. It was succinct, well organized and quite good. It flowed and was easy to read.
Hope you have an easy fast. It does mean something. Cherish your parents. They won't, unfortunately, be here forever. Love your siblings. Do good in this world. Thanks again.
Thank you so much for sharing your story
Bravo for sharing your story.
Anyone insisting that THC isn't addictive when it clearly is addictive is doing an enormous disservice to our youth. I am soon to be 69 years old. I personally witnessed friends in the 60s and early 70s become addicted to weed, even though it was lower in THC. They lost all motivation and never achieved their once realistic goals. Some became moody and resentful of those of us who chose to stay on track. and a few just dropped out of society. A couple of my nephews developed mental illness disorders from MUD in the 80s. They both struggled mightily and one took his life at 42. Two more nephews have also suffered from frightening episodes of THC induced mental illnesses, one born in 1996, another in 2000. All of them were addicted to THC.
My daughter is 25. Several of her friends, including her former boyfriend, have had to seek help for MUD.
Stop lying to our kids and stop rationalizing your own dependency. I have yet to meet any longtime user of THC that does not have significant mood swings and irrational behavior patterns.
The question is why, why do users insist that it is safe and not addictive? The answer is pretty apparent.
Big Pharma is a nightmare but so is MUD. Stop excusing one by pointing to the travesty of the other.
Winning THE DRUG WAR ?
my feeling on legalizing marijuana:
yes it is probably less harmful than alcohol so it would be tough to debate making it legal but the downside is the message it sends that smoking weed is okay. as someone who also spent 2 to 3 years partaking in daily usage of this drug other than deep conversations about aliens and actually writing a proposal about our idea of “smell-a-vision” (incorporating the smell of a scene into a movie” i cannot recall a positive benefit. if you have an addictive personality like i do channel it into something positive like working out - the endorphin release is way better than the high from THC anyways
I know that "weed" is not just addictive and dangerous, it can be deadly. Enough THC and your heart rhythm gets dysregulated and there is no treatment that works.. I wrote up a refutation of every shibboleth of the legalization crowd years ago. I tried to get it to NPR, to every news outlet I could. Scientifically, the representations of the legalization side is codswallop.
Since then, a friend's son has been a casualty. A nice neighbor mom introduced him to concentrates she used. He got to screaming at his mom and calling her "You C*NT!" He put her in a headlock on their street when she stopped him from stealing her car to sell it. He joined a gang that required him to jump 4 random Hispanics on the street and beat them up. He got "Hella loaded" to do it. He got a job delivering drugs of all kinds, he was underage. So he went into the homes of rich, rich and famous. He broke windows at home. Then he did 90 days after his mom finally asked me to help intervene.
2 years prior he was a kid who loved animals and volunteered his free time at an animal shelter for 5 years. Now, he wanted to kill cops. He wanted to become a gangster and said he'd kill anyone in his way to make his rule obeyed.
The convicts he did his 90 days with at 18 had few teeth, and all told him he was an idiot. He got out and straightened out. He went to community College and excelled. In a famous 4 year institution, not living at home, he took a dive.
Now, he lives on the street. He does meth, coke, and whatever whe he can. He's dangerous as f*@k. His mom evicted him from her garage because of it. Yes, she isn't perfect, but his dive? That was "weed". That was him doing dabs and shatter, in class with kids laughing at the teachers who gave up and put them all in the same room and lied about their tests so they wouldn't stay. But most of those kids dropped out.
He will probably end his life by 30 to 35 after destroying his mind. His mother says he is now completely psychotic from all the meth.
Who is supporting legalization for minors...
thank you for your honesty and testimony. they use to say weed was a "gateway" drug, leading to heavier stuff. I watched friends stay w weed and become unintentional. maybe they weren't or maybe they were addicted, but they certainly were going no where fast. sadly, that is the direction kids are going when they smoke weed and that will not change I wish adults would be mindful of the unintended consequences instead of plowing headlong into legalizing the drug
Well done! The writing is informative, touching, and relevant.
Thank you for writing this story. I work with teenagers and have seen the effects of marijuana addiction. The information about marijuana's effects on young people (eg. increased risk of schizophrenia) does not seem to be widespread. I am afraid that now that it is legal in many places and there is a lot of money to be made, this information will not be available in a way that allows people to make informed decisions.
This was great. Thank you so much for writing this. As a retired addiction treatment provider is is always gratifying get to read personal recovery stories. Blessings on this brave young man.