Truth in Media : Cannabis as Medicine.

[symyjym]

A friend of mine is currently beating "incurable" cancer. She swears it's down to cannabis oil.

Is she also having any other treatment?

 

[Guy Fawkes]

Cannabis causes paranoia. In other news, alcohol makes people drunk.

If alcohol and cigarettes were new(-ish) consumables or had been illegal for a long time, then i doubt very much that they would be legalised now due to the adverse health effects they have which have come to light in recent years. (cancer, etc) To use them as an excuse to bring in something else which causes adverse health effects is a bit of a poor argument.

If it were legal, usage would become more widespread as it won't just be the current users that are the only ones to use it after legalisation. Other issues to consider then is the effect it may have on everything from Productivity, to driving safety, to increase in numbers of house fires caused by joints and so on.

Some people want it legalised because they enjoy using it, usually it's not to do with medicinal purposes but for their own desire to use it and don't care about any issues it may cause because of their own selfish demands. (So what if it causes mental health issues, as long as i can use it i don't care)

 

[wakeytom]

If alcohol and cigarettes were new(-ish) consumables or had been illegal for a long time, then i doubt very much that they would be legalised now due to the adverse health effects they have which have come to light in recent years. (cancer, etc) To use them as an excuse to bring in something else which causes adverse health effects is a bit of a poor argument.

If it were legal, usage would become more widespread as it won't just be the current users that are the only ones to use it after legalisation. Other issues to consider then is the effect it may have on everything from Productivity, to driving safety, to increase in numbers of house fires caused by joints and so on.

Some people want it legalised because they enjoy using it, usually it's not to do with medicinal purposes but for their own desire to use it and don't care about any issues it may cause because of their own selfish demands. (So what if it causes mental health issues, as long as i can use it i don't care)

Wow what a deluded post, I especially love the house fires bit, what a sensible argument that is

 

[Notters]

If alcohol and cigarettes were new(-ish) consumables or had been illegal for a long time, then i doubt very much that they would be legalised now due to the adverse health effects they have which have come to light in recent years. (cancer, etc) To use them as an excuse to bring in something else which causes adverse health effects is a bit of a poor argument.

If it were legal, usage would become more widespread as it won't just be the current users that are the only ones to use it after legalisation. Other issues to consider then is the effect it may have on everything from Productivity, to driving safety, to increase in numbers of house fires caused by joints and so on.

Some people want it legalised because they enjoy using it, usually it's not to do with medicinal purposes but for their own desire to use it and don't care about any issues it may cause because of their own selfish demands. (So what if it causes mental health issues, as long as i can use it i don't care)

I disagree on this point (and all the others to be fair). I think it's completely reasonable to compare it to the safety/harm of other drugs. Personally, I believe either alcohol and tobacco SHOULD be made illegal, or cannabis (and other illegal drugs) should be legalised, otherwise the law is a bit of a joke, and those who make the laws (the Government) and enforce them (the Police) will have a much harder time trying to be taken seriously.

 

[dingodan]

 

[OzMike]

Cannabis is a drug, medicines are drugs.
Still think it's the tip of the iceberg.

 

[wakeytom]

Cannabis is a drug, medicines are drugs.
Still think it's the tip of the iceberg.

The tip of what iceberg - if your talking about it been a gateway that is one of the most flawed arguments ever (not necessarily aimed at yourself unless thats what you meant)

 

[Guy Fawkes]

There is nothing to suggest that legalisation would lead to more widespread usage, in fact there is evidence that it could have the opposite effect and lead to a reduction.

So are you suggesting people only smoke it because it is illegal. (otherwise, why would demand drop?)

If legal, there would be distribution outlets making it easier for those who don't know dealers to be able to get ahold of it and if deemed legal, they are more likely to think it's harmless and to give it a go.

Secondly, the issues such as productivity, driving, and other problems like you suggest already exist, millions of people in this country smoke cannabis. If it were legal there would surely be more positive action against these problems, if they really are problems.

So problems exist but that isn't an excuse to stop it becoming legal then? - really, surely in this H&S age we shouldn't be looking to introduce more things that could cause people harm and could also make current issues more widespread or do you think that because some do it now, it would be acceptable to everyone if it became more common.

Look at the effects on driving: Cannabis usage has been shown to have a negative effect on driving ability. The British Medical Journal indicated that "drivers who consume cannabis within three hours of driving are nearly twice as likely to cause a vehicle collision as those who are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol" - Your assuming that those using will be the same as those who already drink or drug drive and that no new users will drive whilst affected by cannabis.

Thirdly, I can only speak for myself, but I haven't smoked cannabis in years and have no real intention to again. However I know that for a vast majority of people it is absolutely harmless, there is no doubt in my mind that a legal and regulated cannabis would be a positive thing in almost every way.

But there are people it is harmful (as you said, There is evidence however that it can harm the development of children's brains) then there are other areas it could also affect (driving, etc) but if you are going to have that attitude, then lets ignore binge drinking (think of all that money that can be raised in taxes on alcohol), speeding in built up areas (getting to work quicker, no need to Police it anymore), etc because for the majority of the time / cases, there is no harm done.

Finally, there is no evidence that cannabis "causes" mental health issues, exacerbates existing ones perhaps. There is evidence however that it can harm the development of children's brains, but again this is a problem that occurs excessively because it is an illegal and unregulated market.

All in all, I find your post really ignorant about the subject.

So are you claiming that the evidence that it can harm the development of children's brains is only caused by cannabis being illegal? & if it was legal, then no childrens brain would or could be affected detrementally? -

We are not going to agree, so it's pointless continuing.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

I disagree on this point (and all the others to be fair). I think it's completely reasonable to compare it to the safety/harm of other drugs. Personally, I believe either alcohol and tobacco SHOULD be made illegal, or cannabis (and other illegal drugs) should be legalised, otherwise the law is a bit of a joke, and those who make the laws (the Government) and enforce them (the Police) will have a much harder time trying to be taken seriously.

Look at it a bit like asbestos in buildings, you wouldn't build new properties using it, but would you spend all that time and money in forcing its removal from every property that has it, knowing it's going to be very unpopular in terms of generating a cost to the home owner, distruption etc, and the risk to health of removing it (it's not deemed a hazard if let undisturbed).

Alcohol and cigarettes were introduced before the risks we now know about were discovered (smoking is good for your throat adverts, etc) but it is so ingrained into society now that it's hard to reverse that.

The trouble with a lot of drugs, like cannabis is that a lot of studies are inconclusive and what if it was legalised and a lot of potential problems are discovered / suspicions confirmed? - Users would be able to sue the Government / industry for damages (smokers suing tobacco firms, people suing asbestos manufacturers, etc)

Surely better to wait until more is known. Some risks / side effects may be caused by the methods of use (smoking it) as carcinogens exist in all smoke and could be what causes the harmful effects, and not the cannabis but not enough is known. Would they release a drug onto the market without testing it properly?

Maybe it might get legalised one day but to claim the truth is that it's completely safe (point of this thread) is jumping the gun a bit as that is just not known (yet).

 

[John Bumlick]

So are you claiming that the evidence that it can harm the development of children's brains is only caused by cannabis being illegal? & if it was legal, then no childrens brain would or could be affected detrementally? -

I refuse to believe that you honestly think that's what he was saying. If you do believe that, I have to ask..... are you on drugs?

 

[dingodan]

"I apologize because I didn't look hard enough, until now. I didn't look far enough. I didn't review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis.

Instead, I lumped them with the high-visibility malingerers, just looking to get high. I mistakenly believed the Drug Enforcement Agency listed marijuana as a schedule 1 substance because of sound scientific proof. Surely, they must have quality reasoning as to why marijuana is in the category of the most dangerous drugs that have "no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse."

They didn't have the science to support that claim, and I now know that when it comes to marijuana neither of those things are true. It doesn't have a high potential for abuse, and there are very legitimate medical applications. In fact, sometimes marijuana is the only thing that works. Take the case of Charlotte Figi, who I met in Colorado. She started having seizures soon after birth. By age 3, she was having 300 a week, despite being on seven different medications. Medical marijuana has calmed her brain, limiting her seizures to 2 or 3 per month.

I have seen more patients like Charlotte first hand, spent time with them and come to the realization that it is irresponsible not to provide the best care we can as a medical community, care that could involve marijuana.

We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that."

- Sanjay Gupta, M.D. (CNN)