Marijuana Use Can Be Addictive, While Also Damaging the Lungs
While clearly not as habit-forming as smoking crack-cocaine, for example, marijuana does appear to have the potential to addict its users by causing continuing, chronic use despite harm. In an article published in Nature in 2000, Tanda and colleagues demonstrated that squirrel monkeys will self-administer the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, in doses equivalent to those used by humans who smoke the drug (Tanda et al 2000). Additionally, other findings have showed that some heavy users of marijuana develop withdrawal symptoms -- restlessness, loss of appetite, trouble with sleeping, weight loss, etc. -- when they stop using the drug. (Budney et al 2001). Budney’s conclusions on withdrawal are established in the marijuana literature (Beardsley et al. 1986; Holson et al. 1989; Huestis et al. 2001; Jones, 1983; Kouri et al, 1999).
Research has well demonstrated that marijuana users can quickly slide into dependency. Data show that about half of those who use marijuana daily become dependent for some period of time (use of the drug daily could itself bring major health problems regardless of users being scientifically diagnosed as “dependent”). About one in ten people in the United States who have ever used marijuana become dependent at some time. In Britain, drug treatment centers have reported a rise in the number of marijuana cases they are dealing with (Jha 2004).
Crowley and colleagues report that marijuana use by teenagers with prior antisocial problems can help escalate use to dependence (Crowley et al 1998). The study found that, for these troubled teenagers using tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, progression from their first use of marijuana to regular use was about as rapid as their progression to regular tobacco use and more rapid than the progression to regular use of alcohol.
Even MacCoun and Reuter, two drug policy analysts who do not favor current marijuana policy, conclude that “… (marijuana) dependence occurs frequently, almost as frequently as for alcohol amongst those who start using the drug. However, dependence seems to have modest adverse consequences.” They base the latter notion on outdated research, much of it coming from the mid-late 1980’s and very early 1990’s when Jones showed that withdrawal symptoms were mild and generally passed in a few days (Jones 1987) and when Compton and colleagues reported that dependence was not a major issue with marijuana (Compton, Dewey and Martin 1990). It appears that the literature on withdrawal has shifted in the past few years -- it seems that withdrawal is not only becoming a common phenomenon but a serious one.
Additionally, using the drug frequently (even if one has not yet become dependent) may contribute to respiratory problems and lung changes consistent with precancerous states (Tashkin 1990). The British Lung Foundation, outraged at Britain’s casual attitude toward the drug, published a report entitled “A Smoking Gun” in 2002 showing that smoking three or four marijuana cigarettes affects your lungs negatively in a similar way as would twenty tobacco cigarettes (British Lung Foundation 2002). And although marijuana users probably smoke less marijuana in one sitting than habitual tobacco smokers, these studies are troubling. As expected, smoking tobacco and marijuana adds to the harm associated with lung damage (Taylor et al 2002).
Dr. Sarah Nuttall and colleagues at the University of Birmingham found that smoking marijuana for three or four times a week in each of six years caused a marked deterioration in lung function and robbed the body of antioxidants that can lead to heart disease and cancer (Nuttall et al 2003). “Smoking marijuana on a regular basis actually depletes your lung of protective antioxidant substances...and this may have chronic long-term implications for young individuals,” Dr. Nuttall told Reuters news agency.
Sign up for the OV Daily Newsletter
OV Social
So if smoking is damaging to the lungs, can there possibly be any other way to ingest THC?
Say perhaps "Brownies" or herbal teas? Opponents need to rethink their arguments, because these, along with vaporizers side-step the health issues of smoking.
Come on people give us something more realistic. The whole "Lung problem" comes from BURNING PLANT materials. Dry and smoke lettuce, let's see your lungs afterwards.
http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Rational_scale_to_assess_the_harm_of_drugs_ (mean_physical_harm_and_mean_dependence).svg/350px-Rational_scale_to_assess_the_harm_of_drugs_(mean_physical_harm_and_mean_dependence).svg.png
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/58013.stm
Marijuana can PREVENT cancer , it's less addictive and harmful than cigarettes and alcohol .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_ (drug)#Long-term_effects
A publication in The Lancet shows it is less addictive and harmful
"Federal researchers implanted several types of cancer , including leukemia and lung cancers, in mice, then treated them with cannabinoids (unique, active components found in marijuana ). THC and other cannabinoids shrank tumors and increased the mice’s lifespans. Munson, AE et al. Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Sept. 1975. p. 597-602."
Copied and pasted from http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/1694937/posts
In describing those studies, Dr. Sabet provided no evidence of serious addiction. There is addiction and there is addiction. If a person has a psychological craving for marijuana , which I believe affects a certain number of marijuana users, that could be called "addiction" but it's easily controllable, as evidence by the commentators above who cite examples of themselves or others easily quitting cold turkey. I myself have done this.
If that's your definition of "addiction" Dr. Sabet, that's a very weak one. To me, addiction is best exemplified by cocaine , heroin, alcohol and other hardcore drugs , where the evidence of the seriousness of the addiction can be seen in how it interferes with work performance and often leads to unemployment . While many people know someone who has lost a job due to alcohol addiction, I doubt that there are many cases of people losing a job they cannot perform anymore because of marijuana use (that is unless they get unduly fired because of a stupid drug test).
I worked in bars for years, we had a lot of what we called hippies coming in drinking water and going outside smoking their pot. The drinkers were causing trouble, loud, sometimes fighting their good friends, the smokers were always happy go lucky. The pot smokers were sticking to there joints, while alot of the hard drinkers were sneaking off to the the bathroom snorting there hard drugs to stay a wake and keep partying. I neither drink nor smoke, but give me a pot smoker anyday over a drunk. From Humboldt I've never seen pot be a gateway drug, yet I've seen alcohol a gateway drug a whole lot. The ones that are so against pot being legal have either never been around pot enough to realize how harmless it is, or someone who makes so much money off it they want it to stay illegal .
As far as health wise, I'm sure the smoking of anything is not good for your lungs. We cannot protect peoples health from smoke, coffee, to much fat, or whatever. I've known some that refuse to smoke it and bake or make soups out of it. A whole lot better for you then sleeping pills, pain pills, or just for a relaxing high than a shot of alcohol.
Marijuana is not addictive in the least bit. I smoked muliple time almost every day for a year. Then one day i got bored with it and just dropped it for more than six months. In all those months i had no thought of smoking, no desire to smoke, and i didn't miss it at all. Then one day i was with my friend who happened to be smoking and i thought eh its been forever since i smoked so ill do it for old times. I had such a fun time with my friend just hanging out and smoking that i decided to start smoking again. and that was when i was 15 so saying that teen's are more likely to become addicted is merely biased thoughts.
...with no problem, no withdrawal, no DT's, not even a second thought. Addictive my a**. It's about as addictive as Krispy Kreme donuts! Let's ban them as well!!!!
This debate should be taken to its foundations, i.e. the role of government in its citizens lives. Although it may seem viable today that the government deem something illegal at a whim, this type of legislation is immoral and unconstitutional. As human beings, we have certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, property. It can therefore be derived that we may do with our own life, freedom, and property whatsoever we want in the pursuit of happiness. It is not the government's role to protect an individual from himself. The argument "Marijuana will lead to X and A problems and antisocial behavior etc." is not a valid argument since "Happiness" and "Health" are not rights guaranteed, only the pursuit of happiness and health are guaranteed. For this same reason governments interfere in the rights of the individual when seat belt laws are made, and helmet laws are made. Sure, one who decides not to wear a seat belt when driving a motorcycle is being stubborn and stupid, but it is his decision and he will face the consequences of it, if any. In this same way are the users of marijuana acting of their own free will.
Whats new? Cigarettes are legal and the harm they do has been proven countless times. Should we ban tobacco because its 'bad for you'? Nicotine is very addicting also, just ask the millions who try to quit on a practically regular basis. When the government can tell people what to do because of its affects on their health its a sad day. With the case of cigarettes and alcohol we can inform people of their bad effects and give them a way out but we would never think of placing a blanket ban (again) on everyone.
Your argument that marijuana is addictive and harmful fails to consider that the two most common legal drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, are ALSO addictive and harmful. Unless you can show that marijuana is worse than those, this argument is completely irrelevant.
As a retired nurse, I can say that every drug addict I ever knew started out on cigarettes, went to alcohol and then graduated to hard drugs. If you're going to use the arguement that it's unhealthy then we should also ban tobacco and alcohol. Tobacco has been proven to be equal in addiction to cocaine but marijuana does not. Some people are predisposed to addiction. Are we going to nanny state everyone? You can't say ban one recreational drug while ignoring two others that are legal. Alcohol causes permanent damage to the fetal brain. Cigarette smoking causes low birth weight babies. I use to work in an NICU. I saw full term newborns who's mother's were three pack a day smokers. These babies frequently came to our unit for observation for fetal distress and meconium staining. These babies all looked like they just came out of some concentration camp. They were scrawny and edgy. Well, they hadn't had their fix. We had one mother who while still on the delivery table asked if she could have a cigarette. Tobacco smoking also increases spontaneous abortion.
I smoked pot for over forty years without problems. Then one day I just quit. I'll put a pot smoker up against an addicted tobacco smoker anyday and see who tolerates withdrawl. You may miss smoking pot put you sure won't go and put a bullet into someone for asking you to not smoke around them and yes, there are documented cases of that happening.
Drunk driving causes millions of dollars in healthcare costs, property damage, death, and disability every year. Almost half of the domestic violence cases that come through ER's are related to alcohol abuse. Gee, and you try to sell us on the idea that pot is so bad for us. If you get high on pot all one has to do is eat food or have a sugary drink and you're good to go. Try that after three or four beers!
If we're going to ban one soft drug than we should ban both of the others. Of course it won't work. We tried it with alcohol and then had to overturn that bad law. Let's stop treating marijuana like it's a hard drug because it isn't. It may be psychologically addicting for a small percentage of people but not like alcohol or nicotine is. People who treat addictions state that nicotine addiction is more difficult to break than any other drug.
Marijuana smokers are prosecuted because of their lifestyle not because they are causing crime.
If people are concerned about our well being they would quit stealing our property and putting us in jail!
I watched liquor kill my father and grandfather both were addicted to this legal drug believe me it is addictive the side affects are dt's and death. They also smoked cig another addictive drug that will kill you yet legal, regulated, taxed and sold everywhere and the producers are not arrested and jailed..
MJ is not addictive unless you consider a hot bath addictive I enjoy a hot bath every day so am I addicted no stupid I just enjoy it.
Marijuana use can be psychologically addictive so can any positive stimulus coffee, chocolate, love, sex, progress, etc . As far as it being physiologically addictive I will tell you this I know countless people who have altogether quit marijuana or go on breaks to bring down their tolerance. In the context of marijuana the government sees no distinction between use and abuse. They also see very little distinction between use and addiction. In my eyes a real addict will do things out of there character to posses their substance, and absolutely can't feel normal with out their substance. I highly doubt this is a case for over 90% percent of marijuana users.
I smoked marijuana almost daily for ten years and upon forming a relationship with someone that did not approve with marijuana use I dropped it like, well, a bad habit! No withdrawals, no cravings, nothing. You can not do that with alcohol or nicotine.
Granted abstaining from marijuana for twenty-eight years has benefited me greatly and any significant introduction of any kind of smoke to the lungs can not be healthy. But, the illegality of the substance is far more harmful than the substance itself.
This raises a moral question of the government taking my tax dollars and prosecuting people involved with any aspect of marijuana use or distribution. You are just putting my tax dollars into a program that is systematically siphoning our economy into the coffers of criminals.