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News & ArtsMonday, December 14, 2009
Drugs Good News About Teenagers and Drugs
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 8:38 AM
AP:
Smoking marijuana is becoming even more popular among U.S. teens and they have cut down on smoking cigarettes, binge drinking and using methamphetamine, according to a federal survey released Monday.... The increase of teens smoking pot is partly because the national debate over medical use of marijuana can make the drug's use seem safer to teenagers, researchers said.
Smoking marijuana is safer than smoking cigarettes, binge drinking (any kind of drinking), and using meth, so American teenagers should be praised for their good sense and good judgment.
3
Driving 90 miles per hour is safer than driving 150 miles per hour, but I wouldn't praise either with good sense and good judgement.
Pot should be legal or at least decriminalized, but I don't think it should be encouraged (nor should cigarettes, alcohol, or meth).
Pot should be legal or at least decriminalized, but I don't think it should be encouraged (nor should cigarettes, alcohol, or meth).
4
Having one glass of red wine daily has more proven health benefits than smoking pot, particularly since most teens don't use vaporizers.
5
Quite irresponsible of you you to label this as good news, especially when you know that sadly you do have teenage readers.
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/eff…
http://alcoholism.about.com/od/pot/a/eff…
6
It would be kind of cool, though, to see a Pot Lobby arise alongside Big Pharma, Old People, Guns, Insurance, et al.
7
It's also interesting, how you have conveniently chosen to omit the other finding, that is how illegal use of over the counter drugs has also increased alongside pot. I'm guessing you're goin to be telling teens that's okay also since they're getting the drugs from the pharmacy.
8
@3 - Which is why proponents of marijuana legalization want to legalize it on pretty much the same terms as cigarettes. Not allowed on/near school grounds, must be 18+ to buy, heavily regulated, and anyone under 18 caught smoking would be subject to a small fine. Which makes a lot more sense than, say, ruining some young person's life over a joint.
Yes, pot isn't addictive like tobacco or likely to poison you like binge drinking, but it's probably best to keep it in adult hands. (And, of course, we should have similar rules, of course, for driving high as driving drunk.)
Yes, pot isn't addictive like tobacco or likely to poison you like binge drinking, but it's probably best to keep it in adult hands. (And, of course, we should have similar rules, of course, for driving high as driving drunk.)
9
@7=WRONG, as usual. It's the prevalence of OTC drugs from quack doctors or uncaring parents that lead to ODs and abuse of OTC drugs. THC is much safer for the control of issues such as ADHD, panic attacks, and much more. (see norml.orf). If the only side effects are red eyes, mild sloth, and increased appetite, then parents have a lot less to worry about than finding your kid dead in his own vomit thanks to getting a hold of mom and dad's lorazepam mixed with muscle relaxants from the cabinet. An overgeneralization, I'm sure, but extremes are what LC seems to absorb.
10
@7=WRONG, as usual. It's the prevalence of OTC drugs from quack doctors or uncaring parents that lead to ODs and abuse of OTC drugs. THC is much safer for the control of issues such as ADHD, panic attacks, and much more. (see norml.org). If the only side effects are red eyes, mild sloth, and increased appetite, then parents have a lot less to worry about than finding your kid dead in his own vomit thanks to getting a hold of mom and dad's lorazepam mixed with muscle relaxants from the cabinet. An overgeneralization, I'm sure, but extremes are what LC seems to absorb.
12
proves that putting something out there in the culture will increase acceptance and participation, especially among young credulous immature types. but you already know that, don't you mr 'shoving the gay agenda down the throats of American children through the popular culture'...
14
Eating marijuana is safer than smoking cigarettes, but smoking marijuana probably isn't, since most users smoke it unfiltered, inhale deeper, and hold the smoke in for far longer than the average cigarette smoker.
16
@14, half a pack a day of cigarettes (10 cigs) is considered a pretty mild habit. most people who smoke don't smoke that little. 10 joints a day, on the other hand, would be kind of ridiculous, and few people smoke that much.
to come to a point: you inhale a lot less smoke when you're smoking pot.
to come to a point: you inhale a lot less smoke when you're smoking pot.
17
Marijuana use is also an economic multiplier, as it leads to increased sales of Cheetohs, tie-dyes, and the movie "Dazed and Confused".
18
@14
Most MJ smokers smoke less than a gram or two a day, compared to Cig smokers who average much higher amounts, about 15-20 grams a day. Also, MJ isn't poisonous like tobacco is, and won't cause birth defects, like tobacco will.
Most MJ smokers smoke less than a gram or two a day, compared to Cig smokers who average much higher amounts, about 15-20 grams a day. Also, MJ isn't poisonous like tobacco is, and won't cause birth defects, like tobacco will.
22
Combusting chemicals in the lungs, regardless of the form, isn't good for you. Burning plant matter, including marijuana, produces carbon monoxide. Like all smoke, pot smoke contains carcinogens and tar: filters reduce the delivery of tar, particles and smoke. Pot smoke hasn't been conclusively linked to cancer but long-term exposure to pot smoke damages the bronchial system and heavy smokers are at risk for lung cancer. Basically, there's really no such thing as a safe cigarette, joints included.
24
Kids who want to get high will get high one way or the other. If my kid is going to get high, I'd MUCH rather that they do it smoking pot than by any other means. No one has ever died from a marijuana overdose.
25
Now if we could tax it and sell it legally at say state liquor stores ... we'd have a budget surplus ...
26
Pot is definitely a "least of the possible evils" type thing. Probably not as healthy as teenagers not using any drugs at all, but way healthier than other methods of getting high.
28
Once MJ is legalized, vaporizers will go down in price and MJ infused food and drink will become more available, which are both way healthier than smoking a joint or using a traditional pipe, and of course, cigarettes, pharms, and liquor.
29
@22;
if smoking anything is unsafe, as you suggest, than isn't smoking less often and less quantity going to be an increase of safety? You aren't wrong of course, I just think you are misrepresenting the obvious truth: MJ is safer than tobacco.
Any answer to my earlier statement about poisons in cigs, or birth defects?
I would like to think that I have added years to my life by quitting cigs and smoking MJ once daily, science supports this hypothesis, don't you?
if smoking anything is unsafe, as you suggest, than isn't smoking less often and less quantity going to be an increase of safety? You aren't wrong of course, I just think you are misrepresenting the obvious truth: MJ is safer than tobacco.
Any answer to my earlier statement about poisons in cigs, or birth defects?
I would like to think that I have added years to my life by quitting cigs and smoking MJ once daily, science supports this hypothesis, don't you?
30
Once MJ is legalized, and the farming and processing of it becomes like tobacco, folks won't know WHAT'S in it! Maybe they could add some nicotine to it to keep the customers coming back for more. And some preservatives, and some additives, and some flavoring chemicals, and some antifreeze, and some Green Dye #32B...
And people who demand organic pot will be shouted down by angry rednecks and Bill O'Reilly as "elitist"?
(Hmm... now that I've brought it up... you know who could use some? Bill O'Reilly.)
And people who demand organic pot will be shouted down by angry rednecks and Bill O'Reilly as "elitist"?
(Hmm... now that I've brought it up... you know who could use some? Bill O'Reilly.)
33
@22 -- when researchers compared people who smoked marijuana daily for 20 years with people who smoked cigarettes for that long -- well, pot smokers had no greater risk of cancer than nonsmokers.
Mary Jane Trumps Joe Camel
Posted by CN Staff on May 23, 2006 at 16:07:34 PT
By Mary Beckman, ScienceNOW Daily News
http://cannabisnews.com/news/21/thread21… (copyright infringed, so read fast!)
Mary Jane Trumps Joe Camel
Posted by CN Staff on May 23, 2006 at 16:07:34 PT
By Mary Beckman, ScienceNOW Daily News
http://cannabisnews.com/news/21/thread21… (copyright infringed, so read fast!)
35
In re the post that LC put up about the dangers of marijuana:
"Buddy T. is in recovery from the experience of living with an alcoholic. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on the web site."
I don't mean to disparage the author's recovery process - I have friends who wouldn't be here today if not for organizations like AA. Still "Buddy T" has an agenda here, and it isn't to make available accurate information regarding the real consequences of marijuana use. The sources he cites all have that same agenda. Hilariously, the campaigns launched by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (which Buddy T. cites) have been, if anything, completely counterproductive in reducing teen use of marijuana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_In…
The point being? Don't take an about.com site at face value. Look into the sources. Find a scientific organization without a particular agenda that has conducted similar studies, then come back here.
"Buddy T. is in recovery from the experience of living with an alcoholic. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on the web site."
I don't mean to disparage the author's recovery process - I have friends who wouldn't be here today if not for organizations like AA. Still "Buddy T" has an agenda here, and it isn't to make available accurate information regarding the real consequences of marijuana use. The sources he cites all have that same agenda. Hilariously, the campaigns launched by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (which Buddy T. cites) have been, if anything, completely counterproductive in reducing teen use of marijuana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_In…
The point being? Don't take an about.com site at face value. Look into the sources. Find a scientific organization without a particular agenda that has conducted similar studies, then come back here.
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