Pubdate: Sat, 26 Apr 2014
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2014 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Mike Bush
Page: C1

TALK ON POT TO FOCUS ON PHYSICAL, SOCIAL EFFECTS

Speaker Notes Changing Social, Legal Environment

The deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse will speak
in Albuquerque and Santa Fe next week on the effects of marijuana use
on the brain, body and behavior.

Dr. Wilson Compton, a nationally known expert on the causes and
prevention of drug abuse, comes to New Mexico at the invitation of the
University of New Mexico Department of Psychiatry, and will speak in
both cities as part of the IDEAS in Psychiatry program, a public
education series hosted by the department.

Compton said his goal in New Mexico is to help his audiences
understand the impact of pot use on physical development as well as
its social impacts. He noted the "shifting social and legal policy
environment" of marijuana, particularly its legalization in Colorado
and Washington for recreational use and the growing acceptance of
medical marijuana nationwide.

"'Medical' sometimes has to be placed in quotation marks," he said.
"It's a very different situation today than it was just a few years
ago."

Before he was named deputy director of the national institute in
November, Compton directed the agency's Division of Epidemiology,
Services and Prevention Research. In that capacity, he managed a
complex research program that addressed drug abuse and the development
of prevention strategies.

He said in an interview there is little doubt that marijuana can be
addictive. For at least 15 to 20 years, researchers have known that it
meets criteria for addiction, particularly the urge to continue using
it even though it is causing problems. He said he has had a number of
patients with such problems.

Researchers have found that about 10 percent of pot users become
addicted, Compton said.

He cited two key studies from the 1990s that determined addictive
properties:

One showed that pot use increases the development of dopamine, a brain
chemical that acts as a neurotransmitter for reward and
reinforcement.

The second study found that people who are addicted to marijuana and
stop using it can experience significant withdrawal symptoms - poor
sleeping habits, lack of concentration, intense cravings.
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MAP posted-by: Matt