Global: Cannabis & Childhood Cancer

Listen to Podcast with Professor A.S. REECE on extensive seminal evidence-based peer-reviewed research on the genotoxicity of Cannabis and the intergenerational impact

Click Image to Listen

\"\"April 3, 2022 \”Cannabis & Childhood Cancer\” – Dr. Stuart Reece 

UK: Cannabis & Cancer – It\’s Causal NOT Curative!

Merseyside\’s worst \’pot spots\’ revealed

Far more people in Merseyside were caught in possession of cannabis than in other neighbouring

The worst area for people being caught in possession of cannabis in Merseyside has been revealed. Government statistics released by the Home Office, show that there were 4,989 crimes recorded by police in Merseyside where someone was in possession of marijuana last year

The figure was up from 4,030 in 2017, and 3,659 in 2016 and is twice as high as cannabis -related crimes recorded in Manchester and Chester.

The statistics revealed the areas in Merseyside where cannabis-related crimes were most often recorded by Police in 2018. (Complete article Merseyside\’s worst \’pot spots\’ revealed – Liverpool Echo

PLUS

Cancer rates in Liverpool \’highest in England\’ according to new report

PLUS

Cannabis Causing Cancer Part 1 – Epidemiological overview and survey of USA cannabis, cannabidiol and cannabinoid genotoxicity expressed in cancer incidence 2003—2017: Part 1: Complete Research here https://rdcu.be/cKfKp

  • Conclusion: Data suggest that cannabinoids including THC and cannabidiol are important community carcinogens exceeding the effects of tobacco or alcohol. Testicular, (prostatic) and ovarian tumours indicate mutagenic corruption of the germline in both sexes; pediatric tumourigenesis confirms transgenerational oncogenesis; quantitative criteria implying causality are fulfilled.

Cannabis Causing Cancer Part 2 – Epidemiological overview and survey of USA cannabis, cannabidiol and cannabinoid genotoxicity expressed in cancer incidence 2003—2017: Part 2: Complete Research here https://rdcu.be/cKfKq

  • Conclusion: Data implicate 23/28 cancers as being linked with THC or cannabidiol exposure with epidemiologically causal relationships comparable to those for tobacco. AFE-attributable cases for cannabinoids (91,677 and 48,510) compare with PAR-attributable cases for tobacco (36,450). Cannabinoids constitute an important multivalent community carcinogen.

Cannabis Causing Cancer Part 3 – Epidemiological overview and survey of USA cannabis, cannabidiol and cannabinoid genotoxicity expressed in cancer incidence 2003—2017: Part 3: Complete Research here https://rdcu.be/cKfOH

  • Conclusion: Cannabinoids including THC and cannabidiol are therefore important community carcinogens additive to the effects of tobacco and greatly exceeding those of alcohol. Reproductive tract carcinogenesis necessarily implies genotoxicity and epigenotoxicity of the germ line with transgenerational potential. Pseudoexponential and causal dose-response power functions are demonstrated.

EQUALS???

You do the math! 

And many of those in the #publichealth and #policy sector are advocating for liberalization of this #CANCER causing product.

It’s time to protect our communities and our most vulnerable citizens — our kids — from this #toxic tsunami, not promote pot.

\"\"

USA: Legalize Weed and Harms Increase – Especially for \’People of Color\’

Marijuana Legalization Linked to Addiction Dependency, Homelessness, and Youth Addiction: Rep. Good

By Tammy Hung and Melina Wisecup April 4, 2022

The enactment of a proposal to legalize marijuana nationwide would lead to a rise in addiction dependency, homelessness, and youth addiction, as seen in states that have already decriminalized the substance, according to Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.).

The Virginia Republican stated in an April 2 interview with NTD’s “Capitol Report” that “the last thing we need is more people using addictive, behavior-altering recreational drugs,” added to the challenges the United States already faces, including “the rise in violent crime,” as well as fentanyl being illegally trafficked across the southern border resulting in “100,000 Americans dying of overdoses last year.”

The legislation also wouldn’t stop vendors from selling marijuana products such as candy-like edibles or vape merchandise to children, he said.

\"\"

The measure would eliminate criminal penalties for individuals who grow, distribute, or possess marijuana, require federal courts to expunge prior convictions, open Small Business Administration funding to pot businesses, allow those who have used marijuana to gain security clearance, permit the Veterans’ Administration to prescribe cannabis for medical and mental health reasons, and authorize a 5 percent federal tax on marijuana sales.

The sales tax collected on marijuana products would be reinvested into programs that help “marijuana licensing and employment for the individuals most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs,” according to a May 2021 statement released by Nadler’s office.

If enacted, that means individuals who were prosecuted for their involvement in the drug trade would be prioritized to develop their own “legal marijuana operation,” with the help of federal government resources and funds, Good said.

While critics have argued that the proposed tax on marijuana sales would generate revenue for states, Good said “it’s terrible for the government to try to profit off its citizens using a product that is harmful for them.”

He said that law enforcement officials “will tell you that the criminals and the drug cartels will put their efforts into harder drugs and more dangerous drugs when they lose the profit incentive or the profit opportunity with marijuana.”

A year after the legalization of marijuana, Colorado reportedly saw an 8 percent rise in homelessness, to which then-Gov. John Hickenlooper proposed reinvesting tax revenues from pot sales into homelessness programs, according to statements obtained by The Guardian.

“There’s no question that marijuana and other drugs–in combination with mental illness or other disabling conditions–are essential contributors to chronic homelessness,” Hickenlooper stated, according to the Guardian’s 2017 report.

“It can result in difficulty finding employment, difficulty finding housing, denial of access to federal benefits, denial of financial aid at colleges and universities, and denial of the right to vote,” Hoyer said. “That’s why we’re dealing with this.”

However, the MORE Act will need to gain 60 votes in the evenly divided Senate, an outcome widely seen as unlikely, given the lack of Republican support for the measure.

For complete article https://www.theepochtimes.com/marijuana-legalization-linked-to-addiction-dependency-homelessness-and-youth-addiction-rep-good_4381063.html

Global: The RISKS of Marijuana – Many, Varied & Not Going Away!

\"\"

for complete resource click below

Risks of Marijuana Use (AALM) 

Global: Why Unaccountable Harm Reduction Vehicles Fail All of Community

Overdose Surge Sparks SF Debate Over Harm Reduction

San Francisco has long embraced a philosophy of harm reduction in its drug treatment programs.  The goal is to prevent deaths and disease by providing clean syringes, medications that help curb addiction, and other judgment-free treatment support. Studies show that this approach does save lives. But now the city is in the midst of a fentanyl-fueled overdose crisis, with more than 1300 deaths over two years. In response, some officials are questioning the effectiveness of the harm reduction model, calling for other options like abstinence-only treatment programs. We’ll discuss the history, science and politics of drug treatment in San Francisco.

\"\"

For complete conversation go to  https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101888161/overdose-surge-sparks-sf-debate-over-harm-reduction

Also see

  1. This is NOT Compassion – This is Carnage & Chaos: \’Harm Reduction\’ That Is NOT!

  2. San Francisco\’s Deadly Compassion 

  3. Why Everything We Thought About Drugs Was Wrong! 

 

USA: The Disturbing Cost of Drug Use – And it\’s Not Just Staggering Amounts of Money!

How Does Drug Abuse Affect Society?

Drug abuse is dangerous, not just for the person misusing the drug. The harm from drug abuse extends to family, friends, and society as a whole. When it comes to drug abuse, there are costs, and the prices aren’t only monetary. Drug abuse costs lives, destroys familial and community bonds, and erodes societal trust and productivity.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the cumulative effects of drug abuse and addiction to tobacco and alcohol cost the United States over $740 billion each year due to crime, lost work productivity, and health care. The abuse of prescription opioids, on its own, accounts for over $78 billion, with approximately $26 billion of that money in healthcare costs.4

These costs are monetary funds that could be allocated to other needs, such as education, food, and preventative healthcare. Instead, $740 billion of the nation’s money is diverted to the cost of drug abuse.4

\"\"

Overdose Deaths Among Demographics

Drug overdose deaths occur at varying rates in specific demographics. The following reflects one example of how disparities and demographics can affect opioid abuse

A study published in 2021 in the American Journal of Public Health found that opioid deaths within the black community rose by 38%, despite robust efforts to prevent and treat opioid abuse. The highest increases in opioid deaths in blacks were found in Kentucky, with a 46% increase. Ohio came in second with a 45% increase. No increases were found in any other racial demographics.18

\"\"

And most tragically of all – The ever growing substance us amongst adolescents that is only fuelled by the ever increasing tacit and overt \’permission\’ models in play. So called \’grown ups\’ demanding their \’right\’ to get \’stoned\’ with impunity.

A Society is supposed to model best-practice to it\’s emerging generation. Instead we only model self-indulgence, entitlement, carelessness and point blank recalcitrant hedonism – Who pays? Our children, and at ever increasing rates

\"\"For complete article go to Concise Recovery – Drug Abuse Statistics

USA: Foxes In Charge of the Hen House – Marijuana Industry \’Spin\’ on Youth Use

\"\"

Smart Approaches to Marijuana: A Response to a Tobacco and Alcohol Industry Funded “Study” of Youth Marijuana Use A new policy paper released on March 16, 2022 by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), funded by Molson Coors, Altria (Philip Morris), private cash and other companies is highly flawed and does not advance the discourse on the effect of state marijuana laws on youth marijuana use.

\"\"

Conclusion: The literature on the effect of recreational marijuana laws on youth marijuana use is concerning–and at best mixed. It likely will not be resolved until longer-term, higher quality data is made available.

Consequently, the debate on the effect of state marijuana legalization on youth marijuana use is far from resolved. The limited evidence presented in the CPEAR paper does not meaningfully contribute to that discourse. On the other hand, as the CPEAR paper concedes, there is growing and substantial evidence that recreational marijuana laws are associated with increased marijuana-related harms among adolescents and young adults.9

The CPEAR press release headline——that recreational marijuana laws are not associated with youth marijuana use——should be ignored, and instead, policymakers and advocates should focus on the observed increase in marijuana-related harms among adolescents.

For complete Release  CPEAR-Youth-Use-Debunked.pdf (learnaboutsam.org)

UK: There\’s Never Been A War on Drugs – Time There Was?

Being soft on drugs has FAILED, it\’s time to get Nasty!

BORIS Johnson this week launched a ten-year plan to help fight the war on drugs. What war on drugs? There\’s never been a war on drugs in this country.

“Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war.”

Ernest Hemingway.

By CAROLE MALONE Dec 11, 2021

There absolutely should have been because maybe the 3,000 people who died of drug overdoses last year might not have (that death toll is more than all the stabbings and car crash deaths put together. And if there had been a war on drugs we may not now have 300,000 drug users whose lives have been torn apart by their savage addiction.

But even with drugs deaths in England and Wales at their highest since records began and despite Boris’s 10-year strategy ‑ which doesn’t go anywhere near far enough as he seems to just want to provide rehab for addicts as opposed to stopping them becoming addicts ‑ the decriminalisation mob are still out there shouting for dangerous drugs to be legalised.

And for the life of me I just don’t understand why. We have rocketing drug deaths and they say “Hey here’s a plan ‑ let’s legalise them.”

Sorry, but drugs are illegal precisely because they’re dangerous. If someone can make cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy safe, I’d say fine ‑ let everyone have them. But they can’t.

The decriminalise mob keep citing Portugal as their trump card: “It worked there,” they scream.

Well, yes, it did for a couple of years. Drug deaths did go\"\" down. But then they rocketed again as did drug use especially among teens. As did opportunistic thefts and robberies.

So No, Portugal didn’t work. And unless you can reduce the number of people taking drugs decriminalise you can’t reduce the harm.

The fact drugs are illegal stops many people taking them.

Decriminalisation of drugs will never chase away the dealers

“But alcohol and tobacco are drugs and they’re legal,” scream the decriminalisers. “Yes, they are and both kill huge numbers every year. And even if drugs are regulated it doesn’t mean they’re safe and won’t harm people. It just means they’ll be easy to get. And the money spent buying them will go into big business and on taxes as opposed to the drug dealers. So, why is that any better?

And of course, decriminalisation will never chase away the dealers. They’ll just sell stronger, more dangerous stuff at rock bottom prices ‑ undercutting those selling them legally.

Just look at alcohol and tobacco. Both are legal but it doesn’t stop HM Revenue and Customs from spending millions every year trying to catch the gangs smuggling in cheap (illegal) booze and fags.

The fact is that in countries like Japan and Singapore drug use has been virtually eliminated. And that’s because of incredibly tough drug laws and aggressive enforcement.

Boris wants to spend millions treating people who are already addicted instead of properly smashing the supply of drugs and throwing the book at dealers.

His idea of getting tough is for police to seize the dealers’ phones and then text middle-class lifestyle users to scare them. He’s also suggesting we take away their passports or      dr\"\"ivers’ licences.

And it might be good if police forces actually started taking drug abuse seriously. Many have admitted they don’t even pursue cases of drug possession anymore and fixed penalty notices for cannabis ‑ which causes psychosis, schizophrenia, respiratory problems ‑ have halved in recent years.

As Priti Patel said this week, drugs ruin our children’s lives. They destroy families, relationships, and communities. They cause a massive increase both in violent and petty crime. So why the hell would we want to legalise them?

 

We’ve had crackdowns before and none of them worked for the simple reason we’ve never really cracked down. This time MUST be different. For our children\’s sake.

For complete article go to Being soft on drugs has FAILED, it\’s time to get nasty – says CAROLE MALONE Express.co.uk

Global: After 20 Years – The Science Has Not Made Weed Any Better!

The Real Danger of Cannabis

It is folly to legalise a drug that is known to leave users with permanent damage to their ability to reason, argues Susan Greenfield, the distinguished expert on brain processes

Sun 18 Aug 2002

Now that those anxious to look cool can puff cannabis freely in the street without fear of arrest, perhaps those of us who have argued that relaxing the laws on cannabis is irresponsible and dangerous should retreat gracefully behind our chintz curtains. Yet the downgrading of the classification of cannabis perpetuates the same tired old myths and the same serious problems.

Take the myth that cannabis is \’just the same as\’ alcohol. A glib yet logical riposte might be that if the drugs are truly identical why not just stick with the booze? What is the distinct appeal of cannabis that can be ignored in equating the two drugs? Such sophistry is inappropriate because alcohol and cannabis work on the brain and body in very different ways. Alcohol has a range of non-specific actions that affect the tiny electrical signals between one brain cell and another; cannabis has its own specialised chemical targets, so far less has a more potent effect. Moreover, although drinking in excess can lead to terrible consequences, there are guidelines for the amount of alcohol that constitutes a \’safe\’ intake. Such a calculation is possible because we know alcohol is eliminated relatively quickly from the body.

\"\"

With cannabis, it is a different story. The drug will accumulate in your body for days, if not weeks, so, as you roll your next spliff, you never know how much is already working away inside you. I challenge any advocate of cannabis to state what a \’safe\’ dose is. Until they do, surely it is irresponsible to send out positive signals, however muted?

Another notion is that cannabis is less harmful than cigarettes. I\’m not sure how this idea came about, certainly not as the results of any scientific papers. We do know cannabis smoke contains the same constituents as that of tobacco: however, it is now thought that three to four cannabis cigarettes a day are equivalent to 20 or more tobacco cigarettes, regarding damage to the lining of the bronchus, while the concentration of carcinogens in cannabis smoke is actually higher than in cigarettes.

And if cannabis were \’just the same\’ as alcohol and cigarettes, why are people not taking those already legal drugs for the much-lauded pain-relief effects? After all, another case for the relaxation of the laws on cannabis is the \’medical\’ one that it is an effective analgesic. But there is a world of difference between medication prescribed in a hospital, where the cost-benefit balance tips in favour of pain relief, compared to a healthy person endangering their brain and body needlessly.

Even the most loony of liberals has not suggested tolerance for morphine or heroin abuse, because they are prescribed clinically as potent painkillers. And think about it: if cannabis brings effective relief from pain, then how does it do so? Clearly by a large-scale action on the central nervous system.

Further wishful thinking is that, because cannabis doesn\’t actually kill you, it is OK to send out less negative legal signals, even though the Home Secretary admits that the drug is dangerous. Leaving aside the issue that cannabis could indeed be lethal, in that the impaired driving it can trigger could well kill, there is more to life than death. It is widely accepted that there is a link between cannabis and schizophrenia: as many as 50 per cent of young people attending psychiatric clinics may be regular or occasional cannabis users. The drug can also precipitate psychotic attacks, even in those with no previous psychiatric history. Moreover, there appears to be a severe impairment in attention span and cognitive performance in regular cannabis users, even after the habit has been relinquished. All these observations testify to a strong, long-lasting action on the brain.

\"\"
Some attempts have been made in laboratories to work out what cannabis could actually be doing to brain cells. So far, some data have suggested that there can be damage to neurons, and at doses comparable to those taken on the street. None the less, others argue that the experimental scenario of isolated neurons growing in a lab dish are hardly a natural situation, and that such data have to be interpreted with caution. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The effects on the brain in real life are most probably subtle and therefore hard to monitor: it\’s not so much that cannabis will create great holes in your brain, or deplete you wholesale of all your best neurons. Instead, by acting on its own special little chemical targets (and because it will therefore work as an impostor to a naturally occurring transmitter), the drug is likely to modify the configuration of the networks of brain cell connections.

for complete story The real danger of cannabis | Drugs | The Guardian

Scroll to Top