The Environmental Costs of drug use and addiction

Most of us have some awareness of the cost of our various drug problems in terms of the deaths and ruined lives among individuals, the impact on their families and communities, and on society in general. Those broader societal costs include those arising from law enforcement, health and social care expenditure and higher insurance premiums linked to drug-related crime. Less-well understood or known are the environmental costs of the human quest for chemical intoxication. Such costs are in fact considerable.

Most readers are likely to assume that the main culprits when it comes to damage to our environment are synthetic drugs and it is true that the manufacture of such products results in significant pollution, not only of land, but also water resources because of the nature of the chemical reagents involved. Most of the evidence for such damage relates to amphetamines, including MDMA (ecstasy) because the Netherlands and Belgium are home to the main sites of synthesis and EUROPOL has been proactive in highlighting the dangers and costs involved.

In 2015, four Belgian children were hospitalised with chemical burns after cycling through a pool of liquid caustic waste. The figures above do not include waste generated in the production of precursor and pre-precursor chemicals, leading to one source estimating a total waste generation of up to 9,000 tons, most of which has been found to be harmful to soil fauna such as worms, to aquatic life when it leaches into water sources, and to cattle.

The estimated cost of dismantling and cleaning up these production sites was €5.76 million, the bulk of which was accounted for by 322 Dutch sites. Similar problems have been reported by the UN from the Golden Triangle of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, where ‘Yabba’ (amphetamine) synthesis is replacing opium processing, but those countries lack the resources for adequate clean-up, adding to the ecological damage.

You might be forgiven for thinking that the production of natural intoxicants from plant sources might be more eco-friendly, given that said plants use atmospheric CO2 in those photosynthetic reactions that lead to the biosynthesis of drug molecules such as morphine, cocaine and THC. You could not be more wrong, as the cultivation of these plants results in massive destruction of habitats, depletion of often-scarce water resources and toxification of waterways by agro-chemicals, including unapproved anticoagulant rodenticides and herbicides.

According to a paper in the Global Societies Journal and a report by Germany’s international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, in October last year, more than 300,000 hectares, or 741 million acres, of forest have been cleared in Colombia since 2001 to grow coca bushes.

Some 50,000 hectares of that has been in the precious Amazon region. During the same period, 292,000 hectares of Peruvian Amazon rainforest has been lost to coca cultivation. How much carbon sequestering has been lost as a result is unknown. The subsequent extraction of coca paste and its processing into cocaine means that several million litres of ammonia, acetone, and HCl end up in soils and rivers each year, leading to further losses of aquatic plants and animals. Therefore, you cannot blame all of the devastation in the Amazon on greedy Brazilian beef farmers. Everyone who uses cocaine has to share the blame for the loss of biodiversity and ability to absorb CO2.

In the case of heroin, the UN estimates that the equivalent of 337,000 football pitches, or an area 23 times the size of Paris, is used to grow opium poppies, mainly in Afghanistan. Thanks to the intensive irrigation needed that uses 50,000 solar-powered pumps, ground water levels in Afghanistan are lowered by three metres a year. Wells now have to be drilled to a depth of 130 metres. In Yemen, 60 per cent of arable land is devoted to the growing of the amphetamine-like Khat plant, and up to 30 per cent of the ground- water supply goes into irrigating the trees. One cannot help feeling that growing food crops might be a better option in a country beset by famine, civil war and Covid-19.

Similar heavy demands on water supplies arise from the large-scale growing of cannabis. According to a 2018 report from Swansea University for the Global Drug Policy Observatory, titled The environmental impacts of the legalisation of Cannabis in California, one cannabis plant requires 23 litres of water per day, which is double that needed by grapes or tomatoes, and this in a state that suffers from chronic droughts and devastating forest fires. Light and heat used to grow legal cannabis in commercial indoor plantations involves an enormous energy requirement at 1 per cent of total US energy consumption, at a cost of $6 billion and resulting in 15 million metric tons of CO2 being emitted. This is the equivalent of emissions from three million cars!

The additional carbon footprint and water utilisation by the still-thriving illicit cannabis industry is unknown. One joint has the same footprint as three kilos of potatoes. In terms of CO2, that means the average joint involves around 2.5kg of CO2 emissions. Those who smoke or eat edible cannabis concentrates and who believe that because they are using ‘natural’ weed that they are respecting the planet need to be informed that such a delusion is a drug-fuelled fallacy.

for complete article go to The Environmental Costs of drug use and addiction — Irish Pharmacist January 2021

There was no joy in putting together this program, \”The Fight for the Soul of Seattle\”.  I never wanted to do a follow up to \”Seattle is Dying\”. I\’m not comfortable putting my opinion out into the open. I\’m a news guy, and as such, bias is my enemy.

And yet… here we are.

\”The Fight for the Soul of Seattle\” is an essay, really. It\’s a stark, frank look at a philosophy that has taken hold in Seattle, one that I believe is destroying not only our city, but countless lives that are left to languish in misery all around us.

My hope is that the show doesn\’t become a political football. A blame game. An us-versus-them talking point that results in nothing but division.

Feeling safe and protected in a beautiful city that takes care of its most vulnerable isn\’t the exclusive domain of either the left or the right. It\’s what we all want and deserve.

I didn\’t want to make \”The Fight for the Soul of Seattle\”. But look around. Look at the suffering. Look what has happened to our beautiful home. How could I not make it?

Eric Johnson — Journalist   

Prohibition is not \’killing\’ or \’criminalizing\’ or kids and communities. Let us be perfectly clear, it is PERMISSION models that are facilitating these tragedies.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15th, 2020

CONTACT:  Colton Grace [email protected] (864)-492-6719

Benchmark Youth Drug Use Survey Finds Ongoing Upward Trends in Daily Marijuana Use Over Time, While Other Use Remains Steady Versus 2019

COVID-19 likely mitigating use levels among teens when compared to last year

(Alexandria, VA) – New data released today from the University of Michigan\’s Monitoring the Future study has found stagnant levels of drug use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders this year, as social disruption and more parental monitoring from the COVID-19 pandemic are likely partial reasons for this finding. But several statistics were nonetheless alarming.

Increases in daily marijuana use among 12th graders continue to trend upwards, at 6.9% in 2020, versus 5.8% in 2018. And daily use among 8th graders is still 50% higher than it was just two years ago, and 30% higher among 10th graders. When looking at even longer-term trends, the numbers get more disturbing.

Near-Daily Use of Marijuana by 12th Graders, 2018-2019

\”It\’s good to see youth drug use rates overall remain steady, probably at least partially as a result of the pandemic. But the daily marijuana use rates among students are still extremely concerning. Not only are 12th graders, for example, using at a 300% higher rate than when the survey started in 1991, the kind of marijuana used today is nothing like yesterday\’s product.\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. \”Additionally, rates of marijuana vaping among young people remain shockingly high, especially given the continued drop in rates of perceived harm. This report continues to make the case for the need for further investment in education as to the harms of high potency marijuana use and a moratorium on marijuana legalization efforts.\”

The 2020 Monitoring the Future survey, compiled by researchers at the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institutes of Health, is the benchmark for student drug use in the country.

Versus 2019, marijuana vaping among 8th graders and 12th graders trended up non-significantly. Among 8th graders, 8.1% report annual use of pot vapes (a 15.7% increase over the previous year), 10.2% report lifetime use (a 13.3% increase over the previous year), and 4.2% report past-month use of marijuana vapes (a 7.7% increase over the previous year).

Furthermore, only 36% of 10th graders believe regular use of marijuana to be harmful, a 8.8% decline over the previous year, while 65% of 10th graders disapprove of regular use, a 3.1% decrease over the previous year.

While marijuana use rates overall held steady, it\’s worth remembering that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the social interactions wherein youths commonly obtain marijuana. Researchers and policy makers should closely monitor these use rates once social interactions return to normal over the coming year, especially in states that have only recently liberalized their marijuana laws.

Finally, daily marijuana use among high school seniors continues a historic trend of far outpacing daily use of cigarettes and alcohol.

Today\’s marijuana is especially harmful to adolescents and is known to have a whole host of damaging effects on developing brains. Adolescent marijuana use severely impacts the ability of our youth to learn, greatly increases the risk of serious mental illness, impairs memory, and can even result in a loss of up to eight IQ points.

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About SAM:
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is the nation\’s leading nonpartisan, non-profit public health alliance of concerned citizens and professionals who oppose marijuana legalization and support science-backed marijuana policies. SAM and its 30+ state affiliates have successfully prevented marijuana legalization in dozens of state legislatures and at the ballot box.

For more information about marijuana use and its effects, visit www.learnaboutsam.org

Youth drug use increases in legalized states

State-level data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the most authoritative study on drug use conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), found significant increases in youth marijuana use in several recently legalized marijuana states versus last year.  At the same time, mental illness indicators worsened across the country while alcohol, cocaine, and tobacco use dropped, especially among young people.

“Once again, marijuana is the stubborn outlier — the only drug significantly going up in several areas across the country,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. “Weed normalization and commercialization has consequences, and unfortunately we are being hit hard while for-profit pot companies continue to enrich themselves.”

According to the data, adolescents aged 12-17 using marijuana in the past year significantly increased versus last year in the legalized states of Nevada, Oregon, and California. All other legal states showed increases as well, but versus last year they did not reach statistical levels of significance.

There were large increases not witnessed in non-legal states: Nevada experienced a 17.4% increase, while Oregon and California witnessed increases of 15.4 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively.   States should study the data before they legalize.

Data shows youth in California use more

The data additionally show a statistically significant, 25.5 percent increase in past-month use in California among those aged 12-17.  Marijuana billboard advertising on interstate highways in California leads to normalization and the false belief that pot is harmless.

The data also show us that youth use in states that have “legalized” marijuana far outstrips use in states that have not. Past-month marijuana use among young people aged 12-17 in “legal” states is 54.5 percent higher than past-month marijuana use among 12-17-year-olds in “non-legal” states (10% versus 6.47%). Past-year marijuana use among this age group in “legal” states is 41 percent higher than that of 12-17-year-olds in “non-legal” states (17.12% versus 12.14%).

And earlier this year the Colorado Healthy Kids Survey showed that teens were using the high-THC concentrates at record rates.

Washington, DC leads the way

Finally, the data also show that Washington D.C. has catapulted to the top of the list for youth first-time use, closely followed by Vermont. (We hope this fact deters the federal government from allowing pot shops in DC!) This is concerning given that Vermont’s legislature just recently passed a bill allowing for commercial sales. Maine and Nevada also witnessed statistically significant increases in this metric as well.

Versus ten years ago, legal Vermont, DC, and Maine show significant increases in past month adolescent use, while non-legal states levels are flat across the U.S. as a whole. Use among young adults aged 18-25 skyrocketed, especially in legal states. In non-legal Virginia and New York, adolescent past year marijuana use significantly fell, as it did in the non-legal Southern region of the United States.

At the same time, mental health indicators, including major depressive episodes, suicidal thoughts, and serious mental illness have worsened.

“Today’s data further cements the need to hit pause on the rush to expand the commercialization of marijuana,” said Sabet. “We call on state lawmakers across the nation to halt all efforts to legalize marijuana and we urge Congress to pass a bill to streamline the process for research on the potential health & safety impacts of marijuana. With the year over year increases in use, we cannot afford to continue this misguided approach to drug policy — an approach that puts profits over our youth.”

Vaping Trends upward, despite COVID and  harms

Versus 2019, marijuana vaping among 8th graders and 12th graders trended up non-significantly. Among 8th graders, 8.1% report annual use of pot vapes (a 15.7% increase over the previous year), 10.2% report lifetime use (a 13.3% increase over the previous year), and 4.2% report past-month use of marijuana vapes (a 7.7% increase over the previous year).

Furthermore, only 36% of 10th graders believe regular use of marijuana to be harmful, a 8.8% decline over the previous year, while 65% of 10th graders disapprove of regular use, a 3.1% decrease over the previous year.

While marijuana use rates overall held steady, it’s worth remembering that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered youth marijuana use.  It’s also worth remembering that the CDC announced that 82% of those of reported vaping cases involved those who had been vaping THC.

Finally, daily marijuana use among high school seniors continues a historic trend of far outpacing daily use of cigarettes and alcohol.

Today’s marijuana is especially harmful to adolescents and is known to have a whole host of damaging effects on developing brains. Adolescent marijuana use severely impacts the ability of our youth to learn, greatly increases the risk of serious mental illness, impairs memory, and can even result in a loss of up to eight IQ points.

For complete story go to \’Protect our Future – Protect our Young

Legal Drugs Are Fashionable–and Treacherous for Children

When kids have to be put in foster care, parental substance abuse is usually the underlying reason.   By Naomi Schaefer Riley and John Walters

The U.S. election didn’t produce a blue wave or a red wave, but some are celebrating a green wave as voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota approved the legalization of recreational marijuana. Meanwhile, Oregonians decriminalized the possession of small amounts of harder drugs, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines. “Drugs, once thought to be the scourge of a healthy society, are getting public recognition as a part of American life,” the New York Times gushed.

In reality, drugs are very much a scourge, particularly in the lives of young children. In 2019 parental substance abuse was listed as a cause for a child’s removal to foster care 38% of the time, a share that has risen steadily in the past decade. Experts suggest this is an underestimate and the real number may be up to 80%.

Ms. Riley’s interviews with foster parents suggest that there are very few cases of children in the system that don’t involve substance abuse. And that doesn’t include the hundreds of thousands of children who are in the care of a single parent or other guardian because of a mother or father’s drug use. In a recent paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, three professors from Notre Dame estimated that “if drug abuse had remained at 1996 levels, 1.5 million fewer children aged 0-16 would have lived away from a parent in 2015.”

Decriminalization efforts will likely exacerbate these problems. Such measures lower the risk and the cost of doing business for drug dealers and increase the supply of these drugs on streets across the country. Drugs will be cheaper and easier to get for adults already suffering from untreated mental illness, poverty or abuse. And the effects will be felt most severely by children.

For complete article go to Wall Street Journal 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Summary of a Few Key Findings from Throughout the Report

Section One: Potency and Price of Marijuana

• Nationally, the average potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive found in marijuana, has risen in marijuana concentrates from 13.23%in 1995 to 60.95% in 2018.
• Nationally, the average potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive found in marijuana, has risen in traditional marijuana from 3.96% in 1995 to 16.16% in 2018.
• The price of a pound (lb.) of marijuana in California can vary from $100 to $2000 depending on THC potency level.

Section Two: Vaping

• Nationally, lifetime (any) vaping use among middle and high school students has increased from 2017 to 2019: 8th grade increased from 1.6% to 3.9%, 10th grade increased from 4.3% to 12.6% and 12th grade increased from 5.0% to 14.0%.
• Nationally in 2019, the daily use of nicotine vaping is higher than the daily use of smoking tobacco across all grade levels: 1.9% vs. 0.8% in 8th grade, 6.9% vs. 1.3% in 10th grade and 11.7% vs. 2.4% 12th grade.
• Nationally, the 30-day prevalence of marijuana (non-vaping), vaping marijuana and cigarette use increased across 8th, 10th and 12th graders from 2017 to 2019, with the exception of cigarette use in 10th and 12th graders in 2019 which decreased from 5% to 3.4% and 9.7% to 5.7%.
• From 2017 to 2018, national past month marijuana vaping use among college aged individuals more than doubled in those enrolled in college, while remaining relatively stable among those not in college.

Section Three: California Youth Marijuana Use Ages 12-17

• California youth have consistently had a lower perception of risk of smoking marijuana once a month, compared to the national average (2010-2018).
• California continues to have a higher rate of past month use of marijuana in individuals ages 12 and older (2011-2018).
• Nationally in 2019, vaping (any substance) has surpassed alcohol and marijuana use for 8th and 10th graders.

Section Four: California Marijuana Use Ages 18-25

• From 2017 to 2018, California’s marijuana use by 18 to 25 year olds continued to surpass their use of cigarettes, 25.16% vs. 14.52%.
• In California, 36.3% of adults aged 18 to 25 reported using cigarettes, e-cigarettes or marijuana in 2018.

Section Five: California Marijuana Use Ages 26 and Older

• From 2017 to 2018, California’s marijuana use for individuals 26 years and older continued to surpass the national average, 10.39% vs. 8.25%.

Section Six: California Arrests for Drug Sales, DUI and Possession of Cannabis While Driving

• In California, (state) arrests for the sale of marijuana has decreased from 2015 (8,368) to 2018 (1,857).

Section Seven: Public Health

• From 2016 (125,418) to 2019 (236,954), California Emergency Department visits and admissions for any related marijuana abuse has increased by 89%.
• From 2005 (1,412) to 2019 (16,151) there was a 1044% increase in California emergency department visits and admissions for primary marijuana abuse, with a 56% increase from 2016 (10,361) to 2019 (16,151).
• From 2005 (1,393) to 2019 (14,993) there was a 976% increase in California emergency department visits with marijuana as the primary reason for being seen.

Section Eight: Treatment

• In California in 2019, 41% of marijuana treatment admissions were amongst those 12 to 17 years of age.

Section Nine: Diversion and Eradication

• In 2019, 59% of illegal marijuana plant seizures occurred on private land (trespass grows/not by owner), which was a significant increase from 44% in 2018.
• United States Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (nationwide) marijuana seizures have increased by 176% from 59,396 lbs. in FY 2019 to 164,216 lbs. in 2020 (TD August).

Section Ten: THC Extraction Labs

• There were 194 reported clandestine lab incidents in California in 2019. Out of the 194 reported labs, 72.6% were honey oil/THC extraction (141), followed by precursor chemicals 9.3% (18).

Section Eleven: Environmental Impacts of Marijuana Cultivation

• Outdoor marijuana grow sites consume an estimated 29.4 million gallons of water per year.
• Researchers estimate over 1.4 million pounds of fertilizers and toxicants are used annually at outdoor marijuana grows sites in California.

For complete Report go to California 2020 HIDTA CA MJ IMPACT REPORT

THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA IN COLORADO: THE IMPACT

Volume 7 September 2020 Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Executive Summary: The Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA) program has published annual reports every year since 2013 tracking the impact of legalizing recreational marijuana in Colorado. The purpose is to provide data and information so that policy makers and citizens can make informed decisions on the issue of marijuana legalization.

Section I: Traffic Fatalities & Impaired Driving

• Since recreational marijuana was legalized in 2013, traffic deaths in which drivers tested positive for marijuana increased 135% while all Colorado traffic deaths increased 24%.
• Since recreational marijuana was legalized, traffic deaths involving drivers who tested positive for marijuana more than doubled from 55 in 2013 to 129 people killed in 2019.
• This equates to one person killed every 3 1/2 days in 2019 compared to one person killed every 6 1/2 days in 2013.
• Since recreational marijuana was legalized, the percentage of all Colorado traffic deaths that were marijuana related increased from 15% in 2013 to 25% in 2019.

Section II: Marijuana Use

Since recreational marijuana was legalized in 2013:

• Past month marijuana use (ages 12 and older) increased 30% and is 76% higher than the national average, currently ranked 3rd in the nation.
• Past month adult marijuana use (ages 18 and older) increased 19% and is 73% higher than the national average, currently ranked 3rd in the nation.
• Past month college age marijuana (ages 18-25) use increased 6% and is 50% higher than the national average, currently ranked 3rd in the nation.
• Past month youth marijuana (ages 12-17) use decreased 25%and is 43% higher than the national average, currently ranked 7th in the nation.

Section III: Public Health

• Marijuana only exposures more than quadrupled in the seven-year average (2013-2019) since recreational marijuana was legalized compared to the seven-year average (2006-2012) prior to legalization.
• Treatment for marijuana use for all ages decreased 21% from 2009 to 2019.
• The percent of suicide incidents in which toxicology results were positive for marijuana has increased from 14% in 2013 to 23% in 2018.

Section IV: Black Market

• RMHIDTA Colorado Drug Task Forces (10) conducted 278 investigations of black-market marijuana in Colorado resulting in:

237 felony arrests

49 tons of marijuana seized

68,600 marijuana plants seized

29 different states the marijuana was destined

• Seizures of marijuana reported to the El Paso Intelligence Center in Colorado increased 17%from an average of 242 parcels (2009-2012) to an average of 283 parcels (2013-2019) during the time recreational marijuana has been commercialized.

Section V: Societal Impact

• Marijuana tax revenue represent approximately 0.85% of Colorado’s FY 2019 budget.
• 67% of local jurisdictions in Colorado have banned medical and recreational marijuana businesses.

For complete data go to… Volume 7: Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area — 2020 RMHIDTA-Marijuana-Report

As goes the Youth, so goes the nation – This is a war for our children, or future – not a war against drugs!

steptowardstruth  December 7, 2020
The future and progress of any country rests on the youth of the country. If the young generation of the country goes the wrong way, then surely their life goes into darkness. The youth of the country have a desire to live every aspect of life and explore it on their own terms. The youth consider drugs to be their pride or coolness quotient. The youth today are intoxicated by alcohol, gutkha, tobacco, bidi, cigarettes. Their celebrations & parties are incomplete without intoxication.

The person with the drug addiction is financially strapped. Due to drug addiction, a person loots his financial wealth, gets intoxicated and acts on society and work place, which causes his honor to get hurt.

Drug addiction is an irony of Indian society. Low-income group of people often spend their daily work money drinking alcohol. If they use that money in their children’s education, then their future can be bright. Sadly, it never happens, for two moments of happiness and fun, a person loses everything. Young people and many other people get drowned in addiction when they are deceived in love affairs. Humanity in total has to bear its consequences.

The Indian government has established several de-addiction centers to get relief from de-addiction. There are several types of de-addiction centers that treat people suffering from addiction. Many people have come to these de-addiction centers and have given up the addiction, which is quite a good thing. Doctors advise the patient to stay away from intoxication such as alcohol and cigarettes.

Public awareness program like Quit Drug Abuse with meditation and selfless service, quitting drugs to save the country are being run by Dera Sacha Sauda time to time for this.
Drugs are an unholy weapon in the proxy war waged by terror outfits against the country. The youth are becoming physically unfit and unproductive because of drugs. When the children and youth are entrapped in intoxicants, the country will clearly spiral downwards. Also, it is well known that the trade in drugs is fuelling narco-terrorism. This is clearly a war that the whole world needs to win in order to defeat terrorism as well.

At last but not least we can say proudly that Dera Sacha Sauda playing a lead role for drug free society since last few years and the result also comes up for these types of campaigns. Millions of people say bye bye to different types of drugs and living a healthy drug free life and say thanks to Dr. MSG for this.

In future, we hope that Dera Sacha Sauda works in this field more rapidly with blessings of saint Dr. MSG.

Writing credits — Shafi Jindal For complete article go to  Step Towards Truth – Addiction, Depression and Narco-Terrorism