Cannabis - General Ignorance.

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JBO
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16 Nov 2012, 2:59 pm

Despite it not being physically addicting, it can still be psychologically addicting. I don't think enough research has been done on the physical effects of it and its effects on the brain, but I'm sure occasional use is probably fine or even possibly a good thing.

The only thing that gives me pause is the connection to psychotic breaks, schizophrenia, etc, in people who have a predisposition for that. I actually know a handful of people who were/are heavy weed smokers who developed serious mental issues (schizophrenia, bipolar/mania, crippling psychosomatic problems with feet/hands, etc). Anecdotal evidence and it's impossible to say whether the weed CAUSED those things or whether they would have surfaced on their own eventually... And it's also impossible to say if it was the physical effects of the weed or simply the thoughts it induced (ie, LSD flashbacks are basically just PTSD, not a physical thing as is commonly thought).

But either way I don't think weed is quite as harmless as people would like to think.

CannabisForAutism
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16 Nov 2012, 3:36 pm

JBO wrote:

Actually, the psychosis / schizophrenia myth has been disproven: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19560900

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CannabisForAutism
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16 Nov 2012, 3:41 pm

Stoek wrote:

Rascal77s wrote:

I think the illegal status of it accounts for much of the anxiety and paranoia some people report. If it were legal for recreational use and people didn't worry that they would be 'discovered' I think a lot of the anxiety would go away. I've had my rec for over 4 years now and it's a game changer.

The hell, being caught has never ever ever been a worry of mine.

It's the fact that even a regular person seems more autistic when high, I seriously think your in denial if you think it actually helps.

In my experience people that say that are usually in a form of dependency.

Most research sugguests for spectrum folk, it makes thing much worst on the long term and only appears to lessen the symptons.

Granted I'll try to keep an open mind, and now that I'm less paranoid of my autistic traits will try again.

Maybe you're in denial if you think it doesn't help some people with autism? I don't trust my own judgement, but I believe it when my mum and my friends and colleagues say that they definitely prefer the way I am when I use cannabis, and I prefer it too (but I don't mind being sober either).

As for anxiety and depression, please try ashtanga yoga for these - then try cannabis if you can't do that.

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chris5000
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16 Nov 2012, 4:13 pm

its going to be legal everywhere in under 10 years
the leaky dam is going to burst

the goverment does not have the money to stop it

ADoyle90815
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16 Nov 2012, 4:50 pm

chris5000 wrote:

its going to be legal everywhere in under 10 years
the leaky dam is going to burst

the goverment does not have the money to stop it

That's what I think, as it could be taxed, as when the legalization thing was on my ballot a couple of years ago, my city had one for a tax that would only be affected if it was legalized. In the end, the legalization measure was defeated. Now, I wonder if it will be tried again now that a couple of states have passed it. Medical marijuana has been legal in this state for years, just as it was in Colorado which was one of the first states to legalize it for recreational use.

1000Knives
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16 Nov 2012, 5:06 pm

I tried it and didn't like it. It just made me feel dumb for a couple hours. The only positive effect was it made food taste good. I don't see why other people like it at all. I'd rather drink any day of the week over have pot. At least drinking gives me liquid courage.

That said, I support legalization. Just I wouldn't smoke it as I don't like it.

1000Knives
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16 Nov 2012, 5:08 pm

windtreeman wrote:

Hey hey, look here...I've never drank to the point of being drunk, have only drank a handful of times in my life despite three years of college living, have never done a single drug ever and won't smoke weed even when it's properly legal despite living in Washington...because I'm a crazed control freak. As calming as drinking is supposed to be in social situations, the second I notice any change in my perception, I start to panic for fear of 'losing control.' Yeah, it's a problem. Anyway, if cannabis seriously benefits those with an autism spectrum disorder, then I'm all for its uses being legalized.

That's how I am, too. In fact I do the opposite and have a bunch of energy drinks so I can just be like "MORE CONTROL, YES!!" in social situations/etc. I still do like alcohol, but I've never had over like 2 beers in a social situation, though alcohol trades some control for courage, but pot doesn't trade control for courage for me, so...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0q8Oho_RjM[/youtube]

Chaos_Epoch
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16 Nov 2012, 5:14 pm

can I get a link to your study, OP?

JBO
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16 Nov 2012, 5:28 pm

CannabisForAutism wrote:

Actually, the psychosis / schizophrenia myth has been disproven: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19560900

Well, I don't think it's been solidly disproved. You could still argue over it, but the fact that weed use is supposedly increasing but incidence of schizophrenia is not, is fairly convincing.

I think this from Erowid sums it up well:

http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/c ... _psychosis

Erowid wrote:

Does Cannabis Cause Psychosis? #
There are several distinct types of "causes": necessary, sufficient, and component. A necessary cause is one that must be present before the result can occur. A sufficient cause is one that is, by itself, enough to cause the result. A component cause is one that is part of a "constellation" of causes that work together to bring about a result.

All of the recent research into this issue has found that cannabis is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause schizophrenia by itself.5 Rather, it is most likely a component factor when combined with a variety of other potential issues such as genetic pre-disposition or difficult childhood. Cannabis use, along with its attendant lifestyle and subculture, probably worsens symptoms in some of those vulnerable to psychotic disorders. The same is commonly said of the psychedelics such as LSD or psilocybin. As we don't know what causes schizophrenia, determining how important a factor cannabis use is cannot be determined.

Cannabis use could be a precipitating component in several ways. Heavy cannabis use may worsen certain coping mechanisms and weaken familial or social support through social disapproval. Fear of legal problems could cause anxiety and paranoid feelings; actual legal problems could damage self-esteem, damage hopes for life goals, or cause serious life problems. Cannabis intoxication can lower inhibitions and self control, worsen some symptoms to the point of dysfunction, or be part of a lifestyle that involves irregular sleep or other instability. It is easy to imagine that the effects of frequent or high dose cannabis intoxication could exacerbate these underlying instabilities and lead to increased paranoia and delusions.

Hundreds of papers have been published in the last few years looking at the very popular issue of whether cannabis causes psychosis. This issue has received the international attention of media, governments, researchers, and the general public, all looking for answers. Yet we are still sorting through cluttered fields of data. The main anchor point in the noise is that there is a near consensus that cannabis use and psychotic disorders are correlated, but the nature of the relationship is still far from clear.

Rascal77s
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16 Nov 2012, 7:35 pm

Stoek wrote:

Rascal77s wrote:

You're absolutely right, most research indicated that cannabis is a deadly substance with nearly a 100% addiction rate that turns normal children into psychotic basket cases. The problem with the research is that for the last 80 years it has been controlled by law enforcement rather than medical professionals. If you want to talk about research link the studies and their sources. It's only in the last 10 years that unbiased research has been available on cannabis and mostly from outside of the US (which only grants approval to studies they believe will support law enforcement). I'd be happy to read the research that you mention if you will link it. The bottom line is when a person's life is upside-down because of autism are you really going to worry about trying a natural product that is safer than 99.9% of the drugs that will be prescribed to you? Will it help everyone? No, but it sure as hell isn't going to kill anyone either. I'm glad you're at least open minded and haven't fallen in with the "has no medicinal value" camp.

Magnus_Rex
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16 Nov 2012, 10:15 pm

I have no interest in trying it because I dislike the smoke. And the smell. Despite that, I think all drugs should be legal for the following reasons:
- they could generate jobs, since we would need farmers, pharmacists and traders to put them on the consumer market;
- organized crime would lose one of its biggest reasons to exist;
- I could not care less about addicted people. If you want to use drugs, it is your choice. Neither the government nor anybody else has anything to do with that.

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Sorry for this terrible joke, by the way.

pokerface
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17 Nov 2012, 7:30 pm

I have anger and aggression issues sometimes. I am also overly sensitive to all kinds of visual and auditory stimuli and prone to meltdowns and shutdowns. Cannabis calms me down and makes me see things in perspective. I find it incredibly relaxing. I only smoke one or two joints in the evening, never during the daytime.

I find it weird and indeed ignorant that so many people have a problem with cannabis becaus it is not nearly as harmful as alchohol.
I will probably smoke it for the rest of my life and I don't care what other people think of it. I see cannabis as herbal and natural medication, in stark contrast to prescription drugs. It goes wthout saying that I don't recommend cannabis to others but it's a miracle worker for me.

Jaden
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18 Nov 2012, 12:58 pm

CannabisForAutism wrote:

Hi, as you may be aware, cannabis is starting to be decriminalised all over the world (see Colorado, Washinton, Uraguay).

There is still a lot of ignorance surrounding this plant and it's constituent chemicals. Let's knock it on the head.
Let's have your myths, and I'll show you the science to knock them down.

Ok, here's science. It's been proven that cannabis effects the brain in a debilitating fashion by killing brain cells and destroying the brains capability for higher functions. And this isn't some small amount, nor temporary, we're talking about mass cell degradation on a permanent level.

The real fiction about it is "it's not that harmful".

The real fact is "it is that harmful and shouldn't be legalized".

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gretchyn
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18 Nov 2012, 1:15 pm

JRR wrote:

[...]
But, I think drugs should be fully decriminalized, like prostitution. Both have existed since before recorded history, and hell, even are throughout many mammals. All that criminalization does is create a black market which fuels dangerous, powerful, criminal organizations which would be a bunch of poor punk kids otherwise, and that was proven in the 1920s in the USA. And, statistically speaking, usage has always been level. It's always been the same, legal or not.
[...]
So, legalize it, tax it, profit from it, make the least harmful stuff as cheap as possible and you'll not only have less crime, but less usage and less harm to people's lives. I don't know why the hell anyone has an issue with what one person does in the privacy of their own home that harms no one else.
[...]

I agree!

filmismylove
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18 Nov 2012, 1:48 pm

Orr wrote:

Cannabis use makes achieving REM sleep more difficult.

That makes sense. I used cannabis for about 2.5 years in college to cope and self-medicate my insomnia. It got to the point where I would wake up with tons of energy around 3AM. Then suddenly I just went nuts and through it all away. That lead me to a withdrawal similar to mania and I had to go to the hospital.

The_Walrus
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18 Nov 2012, 3:53 pm

Jaden wrote:

The real fiction about it is "it's not that harmful".

The real fact is "it is that harmful and shouldn't be legalized".

Whether it should be legalised or not is an opinion.

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