Pubdate: Thu, 26 Mar 2015 Source: Witness, The (South Africa) Copyright: 2015 The Witness. Contact: http://www.witness.co.za/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2960 Author: Jarrod Cronje Note: Jarrod Cronje is an addiction recovery coach at Harmony Retreat, Greytown. He is passionate about treatment in the addicted community as well as the development of preventative education among youth. Page: 9 THE TRUTH ABOUT DAGGA It Slowly Destroys Your Ability to Think Clearly and Is the Primary Gateway Drug to Full-Blown Narcotic Dependence BLANKETED by the still, dark hours of early morning, the radiance of the rising sun gifts me, at that precise moment, something so considerably beautiful that I find myself stunned momentarily, with frozen gaze, at the splendour of God's creation. My orientation to time dwells neither on the past nor distresses about the future. Instead, I am anchored in the here and now, completely at ease with the present. There are no distractions, no excuses, only reality. This is the most honest part of the day, where at the precise moment that the sun peaks above the horizon, I experience an opportunity to express my thoughts with absolute lucidity. Ironically, when I was in active addiction, this was the worst part of the day - dawn brought with it an intense fear and anxiety, clouded and obscured by the sickening hum of morning traffic and the nasty chatter of birds. Being present was exactly where I did not want to be. I'm so glad those days are over and as I pen these words this beautiful morning, I am thankful for the clarity I now feel. Speaking of clarity, I have been inundated with calls from concerned parents whose children have been caught smoking dagga. The surprisingly common thread running through each inquiry is that the parents are being challenged by their children on the perils of dagga and they don't know how to argue in mitigation of its dangers. Some of the common responses from young dagga smokers are: "it's a natural weed", or "it's helping cancer patients", or "America is legalising it", or "nobody has ever overdosed on weed", or "it helps me to relax". They are not lying either. Each one of those statements is correct as it stands but they are fundamentally biased and only contain halftruths. The reality of the dangers of street marijuana on a person's mental capacity and particularly their brain development are quietly devastating an entire generation. This is the truth about street marijuana: the main psychoactive ingredient in dagga is THC (tetrahydrocannibinol), a powerful hallucinogen with serious addictive and dependence properties. Twenty years ago, THC levels in weed were one percent. Today, they are nine percent. That's a 900% increase. THC stays in the body for up to 28 days. Narcotics such as cocaine or crystal meth are flushed out within a few days. Sure it's a weed and grows naturally, but so are the deadly nightshade, poison ivy, malpitte, opium (heroin) and coca (cocaine) plants. Being natural does not mean it is healthy. Yes, it is in some cases being successfully administered to cancer patients and others with chronic illnesses. I have no problem with that because it's being medically controlled for a very specific and normally unique condition. In these cases the "medical marijuana" is manufactured to contain the right amount of THC for each case. Debates still rage about its validity as a medicine though. The question you need to ask yourself is: "Am I using it recreationally or because I am in severe pain from a debilitating disease?" Would you just chomp away at someone else's prescription for Ritalin or Valium for the sake of fun? Of course not, only an addict would do that. In saying that, for those with a predisposition for addiction, dagga is the primary gateway drug to full--blown narcotic dependence. There is not one addict I know who didn't start using narcotics without dagga or alcohol as their introduction to the world of drugs. One's brain does not differentiate between dagga and cocaine, for example, but rather, it impacts the very same addictive neurological pathway that has been created through addiction. Dagga is the most widely used drug in South Africa, and guess what? We are ranked number one in the world for dagga usage. More and more cases of dagga psychosis and schizophrenia are being reported too. Recently, a doctor at the Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital said that at times she has had up to 60% of the patients there being treated for dagga psychosis. Most of these patients will never lead a normal life again. They will never come back to normality and are permanently institutionalised. Even if a smoker never moves into a psychotic state, prolonged use definitely slows normal brain function, causing a general apathy and laziness towards life. That's why people say it relaxes them. Yes, it does. It relaxes the brain to the point where eventually, just like alcohol, basic functionality slows down. If you need weed to relax, there is a fundamental problem with your ability to handle everyday life in a normal frame of mind and under normal circumstances. If you can't relax without drinking or smoking, you need to question your coping mechanisms. Issues that are "resolved" through smoking are not being resolved at all, leading to emotional immaturity and anxiety when presented with new challenges in life. But the issue that gets to me more than anything else, is that dagga usage among teenagers has a direct impact on their neurological development and performance. There is a direct link between the increased use of dagga in teens and the decreased level of performance and poor attitude towards life and education. If you have dreams, aspirations and success in mind but also use dagga, think very carefully about it. Chances are, the use of dagga will interfere directly with those goals. Make decisions from a point of clarity, not under a cloudy haze of dagga smoke. So, to those youngsters using dagga, take some time out to educate yourself before the weed takes over your ability to educate yourself. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom