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Does it matter which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Not when the result either way, is loss of our children, either by overdose or by suicide! And certainly not if you’re their parent!
Suicide takes too many of our youth, so does depression . . . whether it leads to harder drugs or not. More and more often, as users tell their peers that marijuana is medicinal, we lose more of our precious children!
Users pout and shout, that marijuana doesn’t kill anyone! Subsequently, as they draw more youth to become users, more are enslaved, anchored in depression! Some get out; some cannot.
The marijuana user is in a constant state of depression interspersed with “short bursts of feeling almost normal again.” The user, when he’s reached out and achieved that “high,” he has a temporary reprieve from that constant, marijuana-induced state of depression, but it returns as the “high” fades.
That’s the cause, the scenario . . . ; users seek, the non-depressed state, they perceive as a "high". They're wrong; it's the state they were in before - it's the absence of depression. Over and over, they’re drawn into the ‘fog of marijuana addiction’ which has caused them to perceive it wrongly. The user has unknowingly, only taken a step down a rung, on the ladder of normalcy!
Addiction can be psychological as well; the users’ “brain’s receptors” is where addiction resides - it drives the craving mechanism - the “reward sensation.” The user who seeks the “marijuana high” – he only wants that feeling of being almost normal again.
I can’t count how many parents I’ve cried with. Ian’s death is not thought to be suicide, but others are – lots of others! Most, are accidental overdoses; some are intentional.
Here's the intro to a good website - a resource.
“My son Ian died on September 10, 1996 in his sleep of an overdose. He was only twenty years old. After he died, one by one, his friends began to come to me. We were all in such pain. I sat and listened, torn between anger and agony, as slowly they began to talk about what had really been going on.
Anger doesn't help. Ian's friends and his family have to heal. We have to find the courage to speak before it is too late for so many other young people like my son who are in danger of becoming addicted to drugs. Ian was bright, handsome, athletic and popular. If this could happen to him, it could happen to anyone.”
please after you’ve read these two paragraphs from Ginger, please see: http://www.couragetospeak.org/intro_difficulttimes.htm
Comments
first, what does that kid's overdose have to do with marijuana?
second, you have obviously never smoked pot before. marijuana does not cause depression. it does not even cause a comedown or "crash" as common substances your child probably takes do. aderall, ritalin, ANTIDEPRESSANTS, caffeine, and SUGAR all cause depression when the substance leaves the system and is not replenished; and i bet your kid is on at least two of those DRUGS on a daily basis. marijuana does not cause depression when it leaves the system. period. do your research. stop putting out factually baseless propaganda.
somehow you've made the connection between death and marijuana. i've been smoking pot for well over five decades. i dont know a single person who has died from it directly or indirectly whichever way you construe the events. alchohol on the other hand, has killed quite a few of my pals over the years in many different ways. how much do you drink, john?
OK, so you're saying we should take drug policy advice from a locksmith who can't spell? It's "lose" not "loose". More than that, just what exactly are you saying anyway? Does ANY ONE know what you're talking about? This has got to be the most vaguely written, non-factual article I have ever seen. No, I take that back, this can't even be described as an article, it's a rant. Wait a second... John, have you been drinking again??? Oh boy... OK, I'm just going to say it: John, I'm concerned for your health, I really think you should seek some professional help. You're sick, the first step is admitting you have a problem. John, don't be irresponsible, DON'T DRINK AND TYPE. Please, for all our sakes, check yourself into rehab, get the help that you so desperately need before it's too late.
Please read the link that John provides:
"I found out after he died that Ian was doing PCP while he was still in high school. I had no idea that by October of his freshman year of college, he was using cocaine."
"So the Clonadine got him off the heroin. But one day I smelled marijuana. I searched his room and found a big stash of pot. I saw red and I threw him out of the house. "
A heroin addict tries to help his addiction by using marijuana as a healthier alternative and then the parents badger him to death. What a sad story.
These stories do not relate to herbal usage.
Typical "John the Locksmith" diarhea running of at the mouth again. Of course marijuana is to blame when you overdose on pcp, heroin, or cocaine. Heaven forbid parents kicking their sick sick children out onto the street would have any consequences. Oh wait, John advocated that very thing in a previous drunken rant didn,t he? Can you imagine being related to this man? Now that would be reason for depression and suicide. Here's an idea John, if you hate the world you live in so much why don't you and your godwad churchies follow the Reverend Jim Jones example and drink the grape koolaid? A lot of people would be a lot less depressed.
Uhhh, John? If you're going to fix your misspellings, you might want to fix this one too: "we loose more of our precious children!" Don't you find it a little bit queer that the stupid marijuana activist is fixing your mistakes for you? I guess it's a good thing you're not teaching all those precious children to spell, eh? So, let me know if you need any help with spelling... Or facts, for that matter. Never mind, facts might just get in the way of your rants. I'd hate for any of your "articles" to contain any REAL info. And I use the term article INCREDIBLY losely (you like what I did there?). Well, I bid you farewell until your next "article", John. Enjoy your brief reprieve (or you could, you know... Just stop writing bull****).
I have had countless young patients who have seriously antagonized their depression with marijuana. I recommended them to treatment for both their marijuana use as well as their exacerbated depression. Many of them are now dead, either from harder drugs or suicide. I can say, with near certainty, that if many of them had turned to counseling rather than marijuana, many of them would be alive today. So never say that marijuana doesn't kill: I have seen marijuana directly lead to deaths in troubled youths' lives.
Hamish Turner,president of the Coroners' Society, said that the drug, which is often portrayed as harmless, has increasingly been behind deaths that have been recorded as accidents or suicides. In the past year, he estimated that cannabis was a significant contributory factor in about 10 per cent of the 100 cases that he had dealt with in south Devon...
Recent examples...include the case of James Taylor, a 31-year-old, who was found hanged in his Torquay flat. The inquest heard that he had started smoking cannabis when he was about15 and was a habitual user. The drug was blamed for the depression and mental health problems that later plagued him and which led to his death.
Mary Taylor, his mother, said that there was no doubt in her mind that cannabis had killed her son. "The cannabis made him paranoid from the word go. He went from a good-looking, artistic, talented chap to someone who did not trust anyone, not even his sister, who he was very close to."
The mother goes on to say:
"People who insist that cannabis is harmless are talking rubbish. We had years of hell when James was on cannabis, and that was all he was taking. Now he is dead and our family life has been devastated."
For What and Kristin: Marijuana does exacerbate and possibly causes depression. Moreover, when one is smoking marijuana and has depression, doctors typically don't prescribe anti-depressants, so the condition remains and could lead to suicide. Even supposing one does not die from marijuana, that does not mean that it is not toxic or harmless.
An increase in emergency room visits for marijuana alone or in combination with other drugs, although less numerous than other drugs, shows that marijuana is not harmless. For example, in combination with alcohol, it can contribute to alcohol poisoning as the pot counteracts the nausea that causes vomiting which saves some from death by alcohol poisoning.
Lynn: I never argued that it didn't exacerbate mental illness, I never said it was harmless, but it certainly does not cause mental illness. And I have said on MANY occasions that minors shouldn't be allowed to use drugs of any kind. Compared to other drugs, however, marijuana is by far the least dangerous. You talk about it exasperating mental illness, let's talk about what alcohol does: "Study: Alcohol Tied to Nearly 1 in 25 Deaths. Approximately 4% of global deaths may be linked to alcohol, according to a new study. The study, published in The Lancet, estimates the percentage of alcohol-related deaths based on accidents, alcohol abuse, and various health conditions -- including certain cancers, high blood pressure, and liver problems -- in which alcohol may play a role." Yet it's perfectly legal.
Let's talk about cigarettes: "Tobacco kills one person every ten seconds, and is set to kill 10 million people a year by 2025. Each year, more Americans die from smoking related diseases than from AIDS, drug abuse, car accidents, and homicides combined. Smoking has been responsible for 16% (or 1 in 6) of all deaths in the U.S. each year. Road accidents, suicide, murder, AIDS and drugs and solvents all kill. Smoking kills five times more people before their time than all these other causes of put together." Yet again, perfectly legal. You're missing the big point, it's not worth putting people in PRISON!!! Health affects aside, it should be up to an adult to choose to use a substance that is OBVIOUSLY less harmful than the legal options that we are given. The point is that the government should have no right to tell a responsible adult that they can drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes till they die, but they can't smoke marijuana. It's not their choice to make.
For crying out loud, more people die from Aspirin every year, but we can buy that stuff OTC. People who support prohibition have yet to offer up a logical reason why control and regulation is a good model for alcohol and tobacco, but prohibition is a good model for marijuana. Does anyone here look back at alcohol prohibition as a good idea? No, because it caused far more problems then it solved. And yes, we still have problems in our society caused by alcohol, but do you see drug dealers on the corners of streets selling alcohol to minors? Do you see cartel members smuggling alcohol over the borders? Using the money they make to buy guns, grenades, and bribing corrupt political figures? Do you see people gunning each other down in the streets over alcohol? No, it doesn't happen anymore, we got rid of that when we got rid of alcohol prohibition. How exactly is marijuana prohibition any different?
I see John is very concerned about teenagers, depression, and suicide. Should we tell him about the documented facts showing the use of commonly-prescribed anti-depressants (SSRI's) can lead to suicide among teens, and if so, will he argue to lock up anyone in possession of Paxil?
Kip Kinkle - Springfield OR - Prozac
Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold - Columbine CO - Luvox
Jeff Weise - Red Lake MN - Prozac
Jason Hoffman - California - Effexor & Celexa
Cory Baadsgaard - Washington - Paxil & Effexor
...and many more.
Teenagers should not use cannabis. People with mental illness should not use cannabis. This is why it needs to be legal, so the sellers of marijuana will be forced to check IDs and the producers of marijuana will be required to list possible side effects and contra-indications.
As a depression sufferer myself, I know firsthand that marijuana has saved my life. Thousands of doctors who recommend marijuana for depression agree with me.
John I am mystified at your reefer madness. You provide no science to back up your accusations but instead turn to fear mongering. If it wasn't for liars like yourself, millions of drug addicts might have had a chance. People like you lie to children and tell them cannabis is the devils weed, then when they try it and see how little it affects them compared to alcohol and tobacco, they come to the conclusion that you have lied to them about all drugs. So then they might try something that IS addictive unlike marijuana.
If marijuana was regulated like alcohol, there would be lower usage rates, especially by children. Recent studies show mj is easier to access than alcohol for teens. Explain that one!
Even the UN has called for decriminalization recently. After seeing how well it went in Portugal, the whole world is changing their views from criminal act to public health problem. Stop lying to our children John!
John, I usually don't comment to the kind of 'reefer madness' you seem to enjoy spreading, but your un-educated rambling's prompt me to do so..
Before ever speaking or exercising your freedom of such speech, may I suggest you gather some education with respect to the issues around marijuana. You spread lies and deception, and should be ashamed of yourself. I am embarrassed that there are people like you out there that believe their own lies. It is people like you that help weaken this country with lies like this and others you have written. Again sir, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Want a good laugh? Read John English's bio.
"John English, a retired professional locksmith of 27 years and a member of Drug Watch International, has worked against illicit drug use for a quarter century, and with the help of committed friends, has contributed to positive changes in his community and surrounding cities. He has instituted a new approach of bringing his former out-of-control drug community to be family-friendly."
Obviously your "positive changes" have led to your state passing medicinal marijuana and the constant decriminalization right? Keep on posting your bs, I think you are doing a wonderful job getting the public informed on misconceptions.
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