Britain’s Drug Disgrace — Iain Duncan Smith:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-7400859/IAIN-DUNCAN-SMITH-time-break-cycle-addiction.html

 Re:  Britain’s Drug disgrace (28/08/19)

Dear Sir,

A vital start to tackling the problem of drugs is surely to tell the public, especially the young, exactly what drugs do to our bodies.

The official Government website FRANK was created in 2003 to provide information on the harm of drug use. Not only has it failed to do this properly, the focus was and still is on harm reduction rather than prevention.

Under ‘Physical Effects of Ecstasy’ the first paragraph reads ‘because the strength of ecstasy pills are so unpredictable, if you do decide to take ecstasy, you should start by taking half or even a quarter of a pill and then wait for the effects to kick in before taking anymore — you may find that this is enough’. Ignoring the grammatical mistakes, does this not actually amount to condoning drug use? Is this not a criminal act?

Under ‘Cannabis’ there is no mention of violence, homicides or suicides, reports of which are escalating. Mass murders include The Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh who killed 168 in 1996 and Manchester terrorist Salmon Abedi blew himself up and killed 22 in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2017. Addiction is addressed but no warning that it occurs in 1 in 6 who start as teens, and so on.

Iain Duncan-Smith says, ‘It is time to grasp this issue and we must see bold and ambitious reform, from the development of effective prevention strategies in schools ………..’.

Our Government needs first to put its own house in order if we are ever to ‘Break this Cycle of Addiction’

Mary Brett, Chair,

Cannabis Skunk Sense,

www.cannabisskunksense.co.uk

Nepal: MoHA issues guidelines to curb drug abuse across the country

The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued ‘Guideline to Local Levels for Control and Prevention of Drug Abuse,’ to ensure that all municipalities and rural municipalities conduct remedial and promotional activities against growing abuse of psychoactive substances.

As per the guidelines, local levels shall launch anti-drug campaign in line with the federal and provincial laws and policies. Existing law has defined production, transportation, sale and distribution, storage and use of drugs as a punishable crime.

“Most of the drug users are youths and it is the need of the hour to keep them away from drug abuse to realise the theme of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali.’ Therefore, the campaign will focus on cities and villages to raise awareness on social, economic and psychological impacts of drug and alcohol abuse,” it read.

The guideline requires every local level to form a 13-member committee, led by its chief. The committee will consist of representatives of youths, students, women, civil society and police force. It shall maintain a tight vigil to prevent production, smuggling, possession, sale, distribution and consumption of drugs. The country has a total of 753 local levels with 6,743 wards.

The campaign will cover over 250 million population.

The guideline has stressed the need to overcome social and economic impact of drug abuse. It warned that drug abuse adversely affects health and life of the abusers, and the social well-being of the concerned family and community.

Factors such as curiosity or desire for an experimentation, desire for fun or peer pressure, family problem and study problem, are leading youth to drug abuse, it stated. The annual growth rate of drug users since 2007 has remained 11 per cent.

For complete story https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/moha-issues-guideline-to-curb-drug-abuse-across-the-country/

The Evidence of Harm — Canada One Year Post Legalization of Pot

by Pamela McColl: Op-Ed.

In 2016, I testified before the Canadian Federal Task Force charged with drafting recommendations for a legal marijuana regime. I opened with this question; “How does a responsible government legalize a drug for non-medical use when that country’s top health agency has issued the following statement:  “The courts in Canada have ruled that the federal government must provide reasonable access to a legal source of marijuana for medical purposes. Cannabis is not an approved therapeutic product and the provision of this information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes, or of marijuana generally, by Health Canada. This leaflet is designed by Health Canada for patients authorized to possess cannabis for medical purposes. When the product (medicinal) should not be used:

• are under the age of 25
• are allergic to any cannabinoid or to smoke
• have serious liver, kidney, heart or lung disease
• have a personal or family history of serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, or bipolar disorder
• are pregnant, are planning to get pregnant, or are breast-feeding
• are a man who wishes to start a family
• have a history of alcohol or drug abuse or substance dependence

The Task Force Chair Anne McLellan, in reply dismissed my question by asserting that legalization was not up for debate. I placed study after study onto the public record over my six hours before the committee, to learn at the end of the hearing that the testimony and submitted documents would be sealed from public access.  Perhaps in the future the Canadian public will be afforded access and come to appreciate more fully what transpired behind the closed doors of this government appointed entity.

The Trudeau Liberal government legalized marijuana for non-medical use,  supported by the NDP and the Greens. With the passing of this legislation, legal access was granted to pregnant women who are now using it in growing numbers, by those suffering from mental illness including substance use disorder-addiction, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bi-polar, and with a history of suicide ideation/activation. By those with liver, heart and kidney disease. By legalizing use for 18 years of age and older the government disregarded the stated age restriction by Health Canada. Scientific study establishes the serious risk to users who are under the age of brain maturation, which occurs in the mid to late 20s. Men who wish to start a family also now have legal access. Given the risk of testicular cancer, and the emerging science on reproductive health harms linked to marijuana products this could see serious generational health issues realized.

On departing the hearing, McLellan sent a parting shot my way, stating that it must have been uncomfortable for me to be the only one at the meeting of my persuasion. As I had recently attended meetings at the UNODC and UNGASS I assured her that I was often in company with many who shared my views and that my position was grounded in a solid understanding of the science and the evidence. I also reminded her that I was but the messenger, cited the warnings of Health Canada.

*Health Canada provides further statements regarding serious warnings and precautions associated with the use of marijuana for a medical purpose including: The use of this product involves risks to health, some of which may not be known or fully understood. Studies supporting the safety and efficacy of cannabis for therapeutic purposes are limited and do not meet the standard required by the Food and Drug Regulations for marketed drugs in Canada. Smoking cannabis is not recommended. Do not smoke or vapourize cannabis in the presence of children.

The government dismissed child rights advocates who called for a ban on smoking marijuana in the homes of children, and in doing so the federal government violated the most ratified piece of international human rights legislation — The Rights of the Child Treaty.

Just another short list of the growing issues:

• Could a cannabis substance replace opioid pain relievers?

• Adults who mix cannabis with opioids for pain report higher anxiety, depression:

• Legalising marijuana in Colorado has increased the number of youth being treated for addiction — study:

• Vaping linked to marijuana use in young people:

• BMJ Rapid Response based on the work of Professor Stuart Reece:

• Marijuana and Driving video

• Legalisation proving to be a public health disaster:

• Marijuana may boost risky effects of drinking alcohol:
• State’s highest court rules that marijuana odor can be part of evidence for a search warrant

• Weed when pregnant — far more common and concerning than people realise:

• CIVEL: Cannabis Industry Victims Industry Educating Litigators:

• Ruined minds, wrecked lives — the terrible cost of cannabis;

• Government appoints Jo Churchill as new pharmacy minister:

• Health Alert Issued on Severe Pulmonary Disease Associated With Cannabis Vaping:

• Cannabis=based health products are going mainstream — do they work?

• Cannabis means more crazy people:

• Montreal hospital sees spike in children with cannabis intoxication:

• Illegal \’Amsterdam style\’ cannabis café operating in plain sight in east London is raided in massive operation as police handcuff dozens:

• FBI investigating possible corruption in US cannabis industry:

• It’s a year since Alfie Dingley changed the law on medical cannabis. But the jury is still out on whether it really works:

• Poppot has published Janie’s tory, sent round in the last batch:

Chocolate muddles cannabis potency testing

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 25, 2019 — In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. Since then, several other states have joined them, and cannabis-infused edibles, including gummy bears, cookies and chocolates, have flooded the market. But these sweet treats have created major headaches for the scientists trying to analyze them for potency and contaminants. Researchers now report that components in chocolate might be interfering with cannabis potency testing, leading to inaccurate results.

The researchers will present their results at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2019 National Meeting & Exposition. ACS, the world\’s largest scientific society, is holding the meeting here through Thursday. It features more than 9,500 presentations on a wide range of science topics.

\”My research focuses on cannabis potency testing because of the high stakes associated with it,\” says David Dawson, Ph.D., the project\’s principal investigator. \”If an edible cannabis product tests 10% below the amount on the label, California law states that is must be relabeled, with considerable time and expense. But it\’s even worse if a product tests 10% or more above the labeled amount — then the entire batch must be destroyed.\”

Their results were surprising. \”When we had less cannabis-infused chocolate in the sample vial, say 1 gram, we got higher THC potencies and more precise values than when we had 2 grams of the same infused chocolate in the vial,\” Dawson says. \”This goes against what I would consider basic statistical representation of samples, where one would assume that the more sample you have, the more representative it is of the whole.\” These results suggested that some other component of the chocolate — a matrix effect — was suppressing the signal for Δ9-THC.

\”Simply changing how much sample is in the vial could determine whether a sample passes or fails, which could have a huge impact on the producer of the chocolate bars, as well as the customer who might be under- or overdosing because of this weird quirk of matrix effects,\” he notes.

For complete story https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/acs-cmc072219.php?utm_source=topbuzz

Study finds that teens are using a highly potent form of marijuana

Nearly one in four Arizona teens have used a highly potent form of marijuana known as marijuana concentrate, according to a new study by Arizona State University researchers.

Among nearly 50,000 eighth, 10th, and 12th graders from the 2018 Arizona Youth Survey, a biennial survey of Arizona secondary school students, one-third (33%) had tried some form of marijuana, and nearly a quarter (24%) had tried marijuana concentrate.

Marijuana concentrates have about three times more THC, the constituent of marijuana that causes the \”high,\” than a traditional marijuana flower. This is concerning because higher doses of THC have been linked to increased risk of marijuana addiction, cognitive impairment and psychosis, said the study\’s lead researcher, Madeline Meier, an ASU assistant professor of psychology.

The research team also found that teens who used concentrates had more risk factors for addiction…They found that teens who had used marijuana concentrates were worse off on every addiction risk factor.

The study \”Cannabis Concentrate Use in Adolescents,\” is published in the early online edition (Aug. 26, 2019) of Pediatrics.

The team…also found that teens who had used concentrates had much higher rates of e-cigarette use. One explanation for this might be that teens are using e-cigarettes to vape marijuana concentrate, according to Meier. Earlier studies, including those by Meier, have shown that youth put marijuana in e-cigarettes to conceal their marijuana use.

\”Vaping marijuana can be passed off as nicotine vaping,\” Meier explained.

\”What concerns me most is that parents might have no idea that their child is using marijuana, especially if their child is using marijuana concentrate,\” said Meier. \”Marijuana is not harmless, particularly for adolescents.\”

For complete story  Medical Xpress – Weed Not Harmless

Gene linked to autism undergoes changes in men\’s sperm after pot use

Medical Xpress August 2019

A specific gene associated with autism appears to undergo changes in the sperm of men who use marijuana, according to new research from Duke Health.

The gene change occurs through a process called DNA methylation, and it could potentially be passed along to offspring.

Publishing online Aug. 27 in the journal Epigenetics, the researchers said…possible connection warrants further, urgent study, given efforts throughout the country to legalize marijuana for recreational and/or medicinal uses.

\”This study is the first to demonstrate an association between a man\’s cannabis use and changes of a gene in sperm that has been implicated in autism,\” said senior author Susan Murphy, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Duke University School of Medicine.

For complete story go to Medical Xpress-Cannabis & Autism

Canada’s marijuana laws are all about Trudeau’s hipster legacy

Canada was the second country in the world to legalize marijuana (Uruguay was the first). The legalizing act calls it “cannabis” of course. So much more genteel than marijuana, eh? “Cannabis” sounds scientific, well-researched — while marijuana sounds kind of louche and stoned, too close to low-rent, pejorative sobriquets like pot, weed, hash, grass, ganja, reefer et al.

But it’s still marijuana, and I still call it that, because the people who worked hardest to get it legalized did their best to bypass or suppress the actual scientific research that would have slowed legalization down or even stopped it.

Since legalization last October, usage has increased, as one might expect. In the first quarter of 2019, there were 646,000 new users, mostly male, mostly over age 45. Many of the new users are doubtless assuming that the government scrupulously and objectively investigated marijuana’s effects on human health, and that they can be confident no harms will come to them with moderate usage.

That is not the case. Unlike other substances like tobacco and alcohol, where complete transparency on scientific consensus has created hyper-awareness of their inherent perils in the population, marijuana is a substance so swathed in stakeholder propaganda and ideology that the average Canadian, bombarded by claims of pot’s harmlessness and/or therapeutic value, is steeped in ignorance of marijuana’s epidemiologically tracked physical and mental risks.

For more go to https://www.thepostmillennial.com/canadas-marijuana-laws-are-all-about-trudeaus-hipster-legacy/

Immediate Release August 2019

SAM STATEMENT: New HHS Data Confirms Some of Our Worst Fears About Marijuana Normalization

(Alexandria, VA) – Today, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released the 2018 Annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the most comprehensive survey on drug use. According to the survey, 45,000 more teenagers are regularly using the drug, marijuana users are more likely to abuse opioids than non-users, and levels of marijuana use disorder continue to rise.

\”These new data confirm some of our worst fears about marijuana normalization and commercialization. Big Pot has spent millions on massive PR campaigns in the recent years to promote marijuana use as being safe and data such as this proves it has been effective,\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. “Use rates of drugs are falling almost across the board, but marijuana use remains stubbornly high. We must see through the haze and put science ahead of ideology.”

According to the study, an average of 8,400 Americans aged 12 or older tried marijuana for the first time each day in 2018. This is an increase of 100 users per day from last year’s study. Furthermore, the majority of people in 2018 who reported first time marijuana use were between the ages of 12-25.

Approximately 4.4 million people aged 12 and older had a marijuana use disorder in the last year. Breaking this out further, 2.1 percent of youths aged 12-17, 5.9 percent of young adults aged 18-25, and 0.9 percent of adults 26 and older suffered from a marijuana use disorder. The percentage of young adults with a marijuana use disorder is significantly higher than last year and is the highest it has been since 2004.

The data on use in American youth aged 12-17 show an upward trend in use rates over the last few years, with use among this population at 12.5 percent. According to the report, about 1 in 8 (or 3.1 million) adolescents were past year users of marijuana. Almost 12 million young Americans 18-25 (34.8 percent) reported past year use. This percentage is on par with 2017 levels and continues to represent the highest level of use in the past 25 years.

Additionally, the study found 15.4 percent of past year daily marijuana users reported past year opioid misuse, 19.1 percent reported past month heavy alcohol use, 17.1 percent reported past year cocaine use, 4.1 percent reported past year methamphetamine use, 17.9 percent reported a major depressive episode, and 14 percent reported a serious mental illness.

While rates of use of most drugs are falling, marijuana use is bucking the trend with a consistent upward trajectory. Not only are marijuana use rates continuing to rise, but the rate of perceived risk from marijuana among young people continues to plummet.

In a presentation on the data, SAMHSA Assistant Secretary Elinore McCance-Katz stated: \”Too often I’m still hearing that marijuana is safer than alcohol, I believe that this NSDUH data proves that to be a false statement. Marijuana is not safer than alcohol and it confers very serious risks for poly-substance use and for serious mental disorders.\”

“As the marijuana industry and its promoters tout the drug as a miracle cure-all, young, susceptible individuals are being caught up in the undertow, with possibly disastrous results,” continued Dr. Sabet. “The literature tells us that even low potency pot can have lasting, damaging effects on developing brains such as a loss of IQ points and issues with memory and learning capabilities. With the proliferation of super potency, kid-friendly marijuana products, we are now beginning to see drastic increases in severe mental illness and addiction. It is time we put public health above the corporate profits of Big Pot.”

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in more than 30 states.

#######

Media Contact: Colton Grace (864) 492-6719  E: [email protected]