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by Dr. Drew W. Edwards Republished from DrDrewEdwards.org
All the independent, peer-reviewed research confirms what I and other experts have observed for years. Cannabis users significantly underachieve in education, their careers, and have significant problems with their most significant relationships. Two recent and eye-opening studies published in the medical journals Addiction, and Neuropharmacology respectively reveal gross deficits in cognitive ability (IQ) executive functioning, attentiveness, inhibition of impulsiveness and motivation.
What the Studies Reveal
In a large prospective study approximately 1900 adolescent were followed and evaluated for 10 years. The results were clear, definitive and shocking. Marijuana users were three times more likely to be unemployed or have dropped out of school compared to non-users. The evidence was so compelling that the lead investigator of the research dubbed marijuana as, “the drug of choice for life’s future losers.” In short, adolescents and young adults who possess the intelligence, desire, and motivation to go on to college or technical school frequently abandon these aspirations for something less rigorous once they begin smoking marijuana.
Hurd and colleagues (2014) demonstrated that even casual cannabis use impairs memory, motivation, and executive functioning, which involves the ability to organize tasks, control impulses and set
priorities. As a result, most marijuana users adjust their life’s trajectory, goals, and priorities downward to accommodate their impaired cognitive state. Parallel research published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (2015) reveals the nearly 30 percent of marijuana users suffer from Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD). This is much higher than the addiction rate for those who use alcohol. One of the reasons is that the average age on initiation to illicit drugs is during the 12th year. This precedes the neuronal pruning and myelination that occurs during puberty. Out of 8,000 new initiates to an illicit drug each day in the US, 7,000 will use marijuana.
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We wanted to make sure you had seen four key studies just into play
- A groundbreaking study in The Lancet found that marijuana use over four years actually made it harder for patients to cope with chronic pain, and did not reduce their use of opioids.
- A study in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that increasing self-exposure to non-medical marijuana was a predictor of greater odds of opioid dependencediagnosis.
- A study in the International Review of Psychiatry found an increased rate of serious mental illness in states that had legalized medical marijuana.
- In JAMA: "(The) associated acute and long-term psychoactive effects on brain function (of marijuana) are...known. Expanding use of cannabis among pregnant and lactating women (as likely will occur with legalization) may lead to increased risk from fetal and child exposures if the teratogenic potential of cannabis remains underappreciated."
Additional Resources on Link Between Marijuana and Opioids
These articles follow other warnings from medical professionals: the recent editorial published in the Journal of the Society for the Study of Addiction, which cautions against drawing policy conclusions from population studies, and the editorial comment from the American Society of Addiction Medicine on February 20, 2018. And don't forget NIDA's rigorous study showing pot users are twice as likely to have abused opioids and have an opioid use disorder than non-marijuana users.
SAM has published a one-pager describing the overwhelming link between marijuana and opioid abuse. While not every marijuana user will go on to use heroin, nearly all heroin users previously abused marijuana. We need smart policies that discourage use, get people back on their feet, and restore people to participate in and contribute to society. States that have legalized marijuana, by contrast, see increased drugged driving, increased arrests of minority youth, and increased emergency room visits. Colorado is experiencing the highest number of drug overdoses in its history. Legalization is a failed experiment.
Sincerely, Dr. Kevin Sabet President, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)
Affiliated Fellow, Yale University
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I heard the news that Canada became the second country in the world to legalise the recreational use of cannabis and, in all honesty, it shocked me. Mums are smoking weed while pregnant to get rid of morning sickness The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, believes that legalising the drug will help keep marijuana away from underage users and reduce related crime, but in our experience of treating some 140 patients per month for various addictions, addiction to ‘harder’ drugs in our patients stems from them trying cannabis at a young age. At our seven treatment centres, almost all of the patients that we treated for either heroin or cocaine addiction in 2017 started their experience of taking drugs in their childhood by using cannabis.
This is why I ultimately believe that Canada’s decision is ludicrous, dangerous and in all honesty a bit short-sighted. It worries me that they’re perhaps prioritising cutting down crime in the short term because taking away the illegal element to growing and selling the drug will put a stop to funding criminals preying on those most vulnerable. But this decision opens up the door to the current and future younger generations being more accepting of a drug that can be addictive. Cannabis use can cause dependency in the same way as other drugs do such as cocaine or alcohol, both on a chemical and behavioural level. When a person uses cannabis, the active ingredient of the drug – THC – travels through the bloodstream and heads straight for the brain. Once in the brain, it mimics the endogenous cannabinoids, disrupting brain function and the brain ultimately enjoys pleasure which will make the person believe it wants more.
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The acute and long-term effects of THC on the brain and behavior are mediated via the vast endocannabinoid system (ECS), which was not discovered until the early 1990s and remains poorly understood. However, addiction is addiction and the psychopathology associated with marijuana, especially the high potency products, amid the drumbeat for full legalization in the absence of any serious scientific scrutiny is tantamount to political malpractice.
Use can be associated with psychosis, depression, suicidality and premature death…There is not a speck of scientific evidence to suggest that marijuana is a viable “Medically-Assisted Treatment” modality for opioid addiction…like all addictive substances, marijuana degrades neuronal signaling germane to reward incentive and processing, resulting in marked emotional dysregulation. Chronic use is associated with anhedonia, cognitive deficits and psychiatric disease. Marijuana Use Disorder comports with our known model of addiction at every level. The challenge is to educate a public that has been sold a bill of goods and manipulated by claims of efficacy, safety for everything from cancer to pain, without any FDA scrutiny for safety or efficacy
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The Legalization of marijuana in Colorado has introduce a host of problems for the state – problems often glossed over by the pot industry and the regulators and decision makers they finance. Today’s highly potent marijuana represents a growing and significant threat to public health and safety – a threat amplified by a new marijuana industry intent on profiting from heavy use. State laws allowing marijuana has (in direct contradiction to federal law) permitted this industry to flourish. The full extent of the consequences of these policies will not be known for decades!
See S.A.M (Smart Approaches to Marijuana)