Why They Call it Dope

Our heavily indoctrinated, propagandized and, possibly, perpetually stoned local pot advocates are, once again, spewing their nonsense in the SP&T reader forum (which, virtually nobody reads anymore).

So, it is time, once again, to remind them of some “inconvenient truths”:

1) Click here and understand how others pay the ultimate price for your narcissistic indulgences.

Even if you buy it “home grown”, you are still willfully part of a culture that results in the mass murder of innocents. There is NO EXCUSE and you CANNOT escape your personal culpability in this slaughter. And, FOR WHAT?

2) Pot? Harmless? Not even close!

Each of the following quotes is derived from peer reviewed science on the subject of so-called Medical Marijuana. EVERY quote was published by the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, which is a branch of the National Academies.

Click here for the IOM "about" page.

Click here for the source of the quotes below.

I always select the first quote as being particularly relevant to those attempting to advocate for pot:

"The most obvious behavioral abnormality displayed by someone under the influence of marijuana is difficulty in carrying on an intelligible conversation"

"A study of experienced airplane pilots showed that even 24 hours after a single marijuana cigarette their performance on flight simulator tests was impaired. Before the tests, however, they told the study investigators that they were sure their performance would be unaffected."

Can we say "fat soluble = perpetually stoned (and, in denial)"?

"Cognitive impairments associated with acutely administered marijuana limit the activities that people would be able to do safely or productively. For example, no one under the influence of marijuana or THC should drive a vehicle or operate potentially dangerous equipment."

"Tolerance to most of the effects of marijuana can develop rapidly after only a few doses"

"Tolerance to large doses has been found to persist in experimental animals for long periods after cessation of drug use"

"A distinctive marijuana and THC withdrawal syndrome has been identified"

"The symptoms of marijuana withdrawal include restlessness, irritability, mild agitation, insomnia, sleep EEG disturbance, nausea, and cramping (Table 3.2). In addition to those symptoms, two recent studies noted several more. A group of adolescents under treatment for conduct disorders also reported fatigue and illusions or hallucinations after marijuana abstinence"

"The withdrawal syndrome is pronounced, and the behavior of the animals becomes hyperactive and disorganized"

"4.2% of the general population were dependent on marijuana at some time"

"4.4% of adults have, at one time, met the criteria for marijuana dependence"

"7.3% of 1,201 adolescents and young adults in suburban New Jersey at some time met the criteria for marijuana dependence"

"About 83% of those [adolescents previously diagnosed as dependent on at least one substance (including nicotine and alcohol)] who had used marijuana at least six times went on to develop marijuana dependence"

"Anxiety and paranoia are the most common acute adverse reactions; others include panic, depression, dysphoria, depersonalization, delusions, illusions, and hallucinations"

"there is reasonable evidence that heavy cannabis use, and perhaps acute use in sensitive individuals, can produce an acute psychosis in which confusion, amnesia, delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, agitation and hypomanic symptoms predominate"

"There are clinical reports of marijuana-induced psychosis-like states (schizophrenia-like, depression, and/or mania) lasting for a week or more"

"The scientific literature indicates general agreement that heavy marijuana use can precipitate schizophrenic episodes "

"people with schizophrenia or with a family history of schizophrenia are likely to be at greater risk for adverse psychiatric effects from the use of cannabinoids"

"Given a cigarette of comparable weight, as much as four times the amount of tar can be deposited in the lungs of marijuana smokers as in the lungs of tobacco smokers"

"The gas and tar phases of marijuana and tobacco smoke contain many of the same compounds. Furthermore, the tar phase of marijuana smoke contains higher concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as the carcinogen benzopyrene. The higher content of carcinogenic PAHs in marijuana tar and the greater deposition of this tar in the lung might act in conjunction to amplify the exposure of a marijuana smoker to carcinogens. For those reasons the carcinogenicity of marijuana smoke is an important concern."

"Reports indicate an unexpectedly large proportion of marijuana users among people with lung cancer and cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract--that is, the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus--that occur before the age of 45. Respiratory tract cancers associated with heavy tobacco and alcohol consumption are not usually seen before the age of 60,"

"cellular and molecular studies have provided strong evidence that marijuana smoke is carcinogenic."