Feds issue new warning about Marijuana use

[RaceFastSafeCar]

The story here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050504/ap_on_re_us/marijuana_war).

This article is pretty interesting, though I noticed a few flaws. Here's one of them:

The Sentencing Project called for renewed national discussion of the war on drugs, an idea echoed by the conservative American Enterprise Institute. The group reported last month that despite spending at about $40 billion a year now and toughening drug sentencing laws, "America continues to experience the Western world's worst drug problems."

Apparently the author of this article has never heard of Colombia. :crazy:

[Seinatra]

Cool, we are better off than Columbia! Hooray!

[Kay Scarpetta]

I'm going to throw my two cents in here...

But questions remain about whether people who smoke marijuana at a young age are already predisposed to mental disorders, or whether the drug caused those disorders.


I believe a lot of drug users, not only marijuana users, are predisposed to mental disorders. Especially depression. Many users start to use drugs because of the fact that they feel depressed due to one reason or another. I, personally, don't think drugs of any sort cause mental disorders- can they contribute to them? Yes, greatly. Withdrawl effects of amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and opiates are a bitch and a half, both mentally and physically.

But the question is, what made the users start drugs in the first place? Curiosity kills a lot of people, as does peer pressure, etc- but most users start because of an underlying mental disorder. If you go to any psychiatric hospital, you will find that all the adolescent/adult users are in a dual program- Detox/Rehabilitation being the first part, and the second, a personalized program structured around them, consisting of diagnosing the disorder(s) and to establish a plan of treatment.

[Pus$y Galore]

I'm going to throw my two cents in here...



I believe a lot of drug users, not only marijuana users, are predisposed to mental disorders. Especially depression. Many users start to use drugs because of the fact that they feel depressed due to one reason or another. I, personally, don't think drugs of any sort cause mental disorders- can they contribute to them? Yes, greatly. Withdrawl effects of amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and opiates are a bitch and a half, both mentally and physically.

But the question is, what made the users start drugs in the first place? Curiosity kills a lot of people, as does peer pressure, etc- but most users start because of an underlying mental disorder. If you go to any psychiatric hospital, you will find that all the adolescent/adult users are in a dual program- Detox/Rehabilitation being the first part, and the second, a personalized program structured around them, consisting of diagnosing the disorder(s) and to establish a plan of treatment.

Very good point! People with mental problems look to drugs and alcohol for escape quite often. I find it odd that they haven't done the study with alcohol (or if they have, it wasn't mentioned here - possibly because it is legal and considered o.k. by the majority of the population)?
I know more people with mental issues who abuse alcohol than grass or other drugs - mainly because its more readily available and accepted.