Illegal drug taking crisis

reply to post by DeathShield


The effects of cannabis are a lot stronger nowadays.

I know countless people who have been smoking cannabis for 10-20 years or more and they all say skunk has a lot stronger effects than it used to.

You have to remember that there are other products in cannabis that create effects other than THC such as cannabinoids.

reply to post by TechUnique


Yes i am well aware that there are other cannibinoids in play, some of which mimic Endocannibinoids.

However in 2008 U-Miss data revealed this nugget of information: The average THC in domestically grown marijuana — which comprises the bulk of the US market — is less than five percent, a figure that’s remained unchanged for nearly a decade. (See: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov... page 12)


First, it’s worth noting that police and lawmakers made these same alarmist claims about the suddenly not-as-dangerous-or-strong-as-we-once-said-it-was pot of the 1960s, ’70s, and 80s. These allegations were false then and they are still false now.

Second, THC — regardless of potency — is virtually non-toxic to healthy cells or organs, and is incapable of causing a fatal overdose. Currently, doctors may legally prescribe a FDA-approved pill that contains 100 percent THC, and curiously, nobody at the University of Mississippi or at the Drug Czar’s office seems to be overly concerned about its potential health effects.

Third, survey data gleaned from cannabis consumers in the Netherlands—where users may legally purchase pot of known quality—indicates that most cannabis consumers prefer less potent pot, just as the majority of those who drink alcohol prefer beer or wine rather than 190 proof Everclear or Bacardi 151. When consumers encounter unusually strong varieties of marijuana, they adjust their use accordingly and smoke less.


Is there more potent pot available today? Well yes, largely because there are breeders in Canada, The USA and the netherlands that have been manipulating and creating potent cannabis strains.

As far as your friends claim of "skunk" being more powerful you do realize that Skunk is not an actual strain right? Skunk refers to any high grade cannabis, There is an actual strain named skunk that claims to be a descendant of the original Skunk but that claim is dubious at best.

"Skunk" refers to strains of potent cannabis, grown through selective breeding and often hydroponics. It is a cross-breed of Cannabis sativa and C. indica (although other strains of this mix exist in abundance). Skunk cannabis potency ranges usually from 6% to 15% and rarely as high as 20%. Thus your friends claim is not an accurate descriptor of how potent todays commercial weed is versus yesteryears weed.

reply to post by mr-lizard


Well i can only speak for most people i know in Scotland, while smoking green is becoming more popular i would say alot of people mix it up with resin as as it is usually always available while grass is not. People living in city areas will have easier access to green of course, but from what i have seen and know soap bar resin is still very much widely used. I personally believe it is still the most common form of cannabis smoked, people can obviously disagree with that.


[edit on 29-3-2010 by Solomons]

reply to post by DeathShield


WOW.

I'm not going by government data or scaremongering this is fact..

Weed IS stronger in the UK nowadays because more and more people know how to grow it better. I'm NOT saying there wasn't stronger strains in the past i'm saying that generally weed is stronger MOST OF THE TIME nowadays in the UK.

This is well known to anyone who blazes green in the UK.

I can see this debate ain't going anywhere DeathShield...

[edit on 29-3-2010 by TechUnique]

reply to post by TechUnique


What debate? You purposely titled a thread called Drug Taking Crisis. By using the word crisis you infer that there should be a general sense of panic over drug use. You make it sound As if somehow our world is facing some massive epidemic of drug use. Without even so much as citing facts from government or independent sources to corroborate this claim. Then you go on to say

" If this carries on (and it will) the mental health of our children and our childrens children etc is going to be seriously effected. "

Which is a usage of the classic " DEAR GOD THE CHILDREN!" tactic that i see in every branch of politics and religion. I grew up in the USA one of the toughest countries on drugs, and i grew up 20 minutes outside of my nations LARGEST CITY. You think i don't have first hand witness or anecdotal evidence of the impact drugs has had on our culture and social health? I got plenty of it dude, and i will openly state right here that my hands are not clean when it comes to this topic. If anyone on this board outside of LEO's have seen the ramifications of drug use it is ME. So don't feed me this "i'm not scare-mongering" crap.

Is the drug market massive ? Can drugs be harmful and is there a problem? Yes, and i will concede with you on this. But get your facts straight first. Using anecdotal evidence saying that "weed is more powerful these days" When in reality weed is only 1 to 10 percent stronger than it was in the 1980's (which was when we began officially recording the potency of cannabis) and then going on to say that cannabis is dangerous ( Which it is not because there is AMPLE evidence from peer reviewed journals and government AND independent studies that confirm this) because "people don't think it is dangerous" where you again fail to corroborate with any studies or other evidence to back this claim up.


This debate is going nowhere because you are using classic prohibitionist philosophy without even so much as attempting to back up your claims.

By using the word crisis you infer that there should be a general sense of panic over drug use. You make it sound As if somehow our world is facing some massive epidemic of drug use.

Actually ... there is an epidemic, from all those taking prescription drugs to counteract their bad diet and sedentary life style, to those that proclaim they can't afford health insurance .. because they have no money left after buying their weed and meth and coke and crack and alcohol and cigarettes and ... Some people are even hooked on their own endorphins, and so they go about gambling or go on credit card shopping sprees or engage in risky dangerous behaviors or binge eat .. for many, even food is a drug.

The only way we'll probably be able to fix this is to alter the human genome and get rid of those addictive brain receptors that everyone keeps trying to tickle, ha. Or hey, we could hook computers up to our brains to help regulate our behavior. We could become like the borg, a borg society. Wow, now wouldn't that be a highly desirable fix .. we'd be like the perfect humans after a medical modification like that.

Yes, we must fix this too. Lets get the scientists to work on this right away. Obama, cut another check and get those print presses warmed up .. we'll need a load of cash to cover this warranty recall fix for the human species.


..

..

(I'm being sarcastic BTW, ha .. actually, I want MASS CHAOS .. a RESET if you prefer!! that would fix so many problems on our ever growing list of problems to be fixed .. .. oh jebus, send us some ROCKS! )

reply to post by DeathShield


If as many young people carry on smoking weed (Which IS harmful to your brain) and taking drugs the way they are we ARE going to have a crisis that gets worse and worse in coming years. Period.

You live in america right?

I'm talking about the UK. You live in the UK? No? Then you don't know from personal experience IN the UK? Your only going by data that is bs?

Fair enough, i understand your point. Nice talking to you geezer. Safe.

reply to post by TechUnique


i'm 21 years old dude. and marijuana DOES NOT harm peoples brains.

There is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults. Some marijuana users experience psychological distress following marijuana ingestion, which may include feelings of panic, anxiety, and paranoia. Such experiences can be frightening, but the effects are temporary. With very large doses, marijuana can cause temporary toxic psychosis. This occurs rarely, and almost always when marijuana is eaten rather than smoked.


Question. If cannabis use is on the rise amongst youth in the UK then why isn't the rate of mental illness rising in sync with it?

reply to post by TechUnique


www.webmd.com...

reply to post by DeathShield


People who simply don't react well to cannabis...anxiety and paranoia like your example should not smoke cannabis at all, people need to understand that not everyone will smoke cannabis and be all happy and hungry. Just as people avoid anything else that is detrimental to them cannabis should be the same, i think alot continue to smoke it because it is a social norm within the groups of people around them(peer pressure). It can worsen any existing paranoia and anxiety while under the influence giving you more traumatic experiences(panic attacks etc) which can then ultimately worsen those underlying problems even when not under the influence of marijuana.