Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Marijuana The Safe Drug?
There are many illegal drugs being abused by people throughout the United States today, methamphetamines, cocaine, crack, heroin, benzodiazepines, opiates, alcohol, etc.; of all of these drugs, marijuana is the most common. Often described as the 'gateway' drug, the myths surrounding marijuana abuse are many. This article is written to debunk those myths and expose the truth behind the dangers of marijuana use.Marijuana has been described as a "safe" drug that is no more harmful than alcohol, that it is a normal part of the coming of age process. Marijuana abuse has become so common place in today's society that it has become socially acceptable. These ambivalent attitudes towards marijuana usage have led many people to be lulled into the belief that it is harmless. The facts surrounding marijuana are quite different than what one would expect.
Marijuana is not the same drug that was introduced to today's adults in the 1960's. Advances in technology as it relates to cultivating, harvesting, and preparing the drug for sale has led to dramatic increases in THC levels. THC levels have risen from 6% in 1975 to as high as 33% in 2003. Modern marijuana is a much more dangerous drug than it was when it was first introduced many years ago. Parents need to keep this in mind when they are educating their children about the harmful effects of its use.
Marijuana dealers have also introduced far more dangerous substances into the drug; recent tests have revealed an ever increasing amount of codeine, formaldehyde, cocaine, and PCP. As worldwide marijuana distribution becomes much more commonplace, users have little to no knowledge as to where their drug of choice is originating from and would have no idea that it could be enhanced with lethal drugs such as the ones mentioned above.
The affects of marijuana can be felt almost immediately after ingestion, either by smoking or eating. Some physiological effects can include increased heart rate, blood shot eyes, enhanced feelings of hunger or thirst, and heavy breathing.
Psychological effects can include intensification of sound, sight, and physical touch, extreme relaxation, along with impaired motor skills. These feelings can last any length of time, depending upon method of ingestion and the amount of THC levels in the marijuana. Usually the effects last from 1 to 4 hours.
Marijuana is psychologically addictive and is very harmful to the health; any statement to the contrary is false. Extended use of marijuana leads to extreme cravings combined with compulsive use of the drug without regard to the consequences. After a relatively short time of habitual use, the marijuana user will require ever more increased amounts of the drug, combined with using it more frequently throughout the day, sometimes ingesting the drug up to 10 times per day. This habitual use often leads to mixing the drug with even more dangerous drugs such as heroin, cocaine, alcohol, etc. in order to increase the effects. This is why marijuana is the 'gateway' drug and nothing to shy away from when it comes to treating the habitual user and educating the casual user.
Labels: drug abuse, drug myths, Marijuana
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Campus life's choked with pills - study
College kids might as well be majoring in pharmacology these days, with students illicitly popping pills in record droves, according to a new report.
Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse's four-year "Wasting the Best and Brightest" study says 49% of U.S. college students binge drink or abuse drugs, both prescription and illegal. And more than 22% of students meet drug/alcohol addiction criteria - almost three times the national average among all ages, the study found.
The biggest popularity increase is among prescription painkillers OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet and tranquilizers Xanax and Valium. Student abuse of these drugs increased three to four times from 1993 to 2005, the study found. During that time, the number of students reporting daily marijuana use doubled to 310,000. And while the number of binge-drinking students hasn't changed, it's happening 16% more of the time.
Joseph Califano, the center's chairman and president, called on universities to identify high-risk students and limit alcohol exposure on and near campus. He added that parents should "look at themselves in the mirror." "Three-fourths of the kids who drink and use drugs in college were doing so in high school or middle school," he said yesterday.
Rutgers University substance abuse program director Lisa Laitman, who founded the nation's first on-campus addiction recovery home in 1988, says most student users buy pills on the street. "We have to get the message across that they don't know what they're taking," she said. "We've got kids who see themselves as pharmacists."
Students say universities turn a blind eye to drug use. "At one of my friend's schools, they all smoke [pot] on the lawn in the middle of the day - they know the administration won't do anything about it," said Juliane Corman, 19, a Columbia sophomore. And at Columbia, "I know people who'll smoke pot before going to class," she added.
jkesner@nydailynews.com
Labels: College, Marijuana, OxyContin, Percocet, Valium, Vicodin, Xanax
