Pubdate: Tue, 08 Oct 2013
Source: Citizen, The (Auburn, NY)
Copyright: 2013 Auburn Publishers Inc.
Contact: http://www.auburnpub.com/services/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.auburnpub.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1491
Author: Liz Barnes
Note: Cayuga County resident Liz Barnes has been a credentialed 
alcohol and substance abuse counselor for more than 25 years. This 
column is not meant as medical advice; for that, see your health professional.

Abuse and Addictions

WHAT'S ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT POT?

In health news, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical adviser, has 
reversed his stand on pot, recommending it be removed from the 
dangerous drugs class. He notes science is revealing some useful 
medical purposes for it. His comments quoted from his report on CNN 
in The Huffington Post drew nearly 6,000 reader comments.

In other health news, it's been found that pot pesticide 
contamination is a growing concern. These pesticides were designed to 
affect the nervous systems of insects, not humans. Some pot has been 
found to have pesticide residues going to the lungs and blood 1,600 
times higher than any legal digestible amount. With 18 states now 
approving pot for medical uses, this plant-to-human contamination is a worry.

This item is probably more about money than health, but GW 
Pharmaceuticals is developing a marijuana-based drug they say can be 
used to treat diabetes type two, colitis and epilepsy. It's growing 
the pot in a secret location in England so they can be ready for when 
it's OK-ed for those purposes. Note to users: Of the 60 components in 
marijuana, only one gets you high. GW is working with the other 59. Dang.

Some desperate parents have begun secretly treating their children's 
autism, epilepsy and seizure disorders with marijuana. They are 
jumping the gun on medical approval, using the "won't get you high" 
oral spray Sativex developed overseas for multiple sclerosis and 
cancer pain. "It works," they say.

Moving onto legal news, Mexico City is considering the legalization 
of pot plants and pot-smoking clubs. And in Las Vegas, this year's 
Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution urging the federal 
government, who can presently override state regulations, to butt out 
of state pot policies.

Quickies: Cops made one pot arrest every 42 seconds in 2012 (U.S. 
News and World Report). Nearly half of all adults have tried pot, and 
52 percent of them favor legalizing it. (Pew Research Center).

Talking billions: Illegal pot is a $30 billion-a-year industry in the 
United States, $400 billion worldwide, with incarcerations for 
pot-related offenses costing $1 billion annually. Add all the other 
stuff in and it's about $25 billion. Bloomberg Businessweek reports 
it could be a $100 billion-a-year industry in the U.S. if legalized.

Environmentalists recommend regulating pot growing. Even outlaw pot 
growers are worried about growers who don't give a hoot how many 
trees they tear down to plant the seeds, how many streams they divert 
to water them or how many rodenticides and pesticides they use that 
kill off insects and innocent wildlife. Then there's California's 
indoor plantations that use a total of 9 percent of all household 
electric and about 2 percent in other states - which Emily Brady, in 
her book "Humboldt: Life in American's Marijuana Frontier," says is 
the equivalent of another three million cars on the road. She and 
others advocate regulation of how pot is grown. Cool controversy.

Dr. Carl Hart explains why current drug polices fail miserably in 
"High Price." Part memoir, he tells how he escaped a life of crime 
and drug use in Miami to become Columbia University's first black 
professor of neurosciences. A great read.

One interesting factoid is that pot use among kids has dropped, while 
use among the 50-and-older crowd has more than tripled since 2002. Go figure.

Twenty-year-old Miley Cyrus calls "Weed the best drug on earth." She 
should talk to a few of the many clients who've told me they couldn't 
stop smoking it on their own and wanted professional help. "It just 
makes me stupid," one client complained. Another, a talented 
professional, said it interfered with his marriage, parenting skills, 
job, relationships, ability to earn money, his health and driving 
ability. Visit any open Narcotics Anonymous meeting and you can hear 
recovery testimony. Go Miley.

Clients who come in for pot use say they use it to tamp down feelings 
of anger and rage, for pain, to reduce anxiety and depression, to 
deal with OCD, to gain weight, stop nausea and to avoid feeling 
stress and any other negative feeling. They were very willing to find 
alternative methods to cope and stop wasting their time and money on the drug.

It's clear we don't know enough about marijuana and its effects on 
the mind and body. Hopefully science will get funding to find more 
definitive answers about this herb. And it must be science - not 
politicians, celebrities, fears and prejudices - that guides us.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom