Pubdate: Thu, 24 Mar 2016
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Michael McCarthy
Page: B7

LEGALIZATION NO LONGER THE ISSUE

Stoner mentality: The problem with marijuana is users don't recognize
it as an addiction

Once upon a time, long ago and far away, there was a hippie
philosopher guru named Baba Ram Dass. He was formerly known as Richard
Alpert, and taught at Harvard University. And then he discovered LSD.

Ram Dass became famous for his bestselling book Be Here Now. It was a
very simple title for a very simple concept: Wherever you are, be
there. Don't walk in front of buses, for instance. If you are crossing
the street, pay attention. (Then came cellphones.)

What has all this to do with Mary Jane, you wonder? Pay attention.
Marijuana is in the news every day now. Not only is the federal
government going to legalize possession of it, there are now campaigns
by "activists" to spread the use of it. No matter the same government
is threatening to arrest people for smoking cigarettes; legalization
is no longer the issue. There is a bigger threat.

Full disclosure: When I was young, I smoked dope. Everyone did. Not
marijuana though. I lived in Montreal, where hashish was king, and
Royal Nepalese Temple Hash gives you one heck of a buzz. When I moved
to Vancouver, the hippies were smoking homegrown weed, "love grass" as
go the lyrics to Steppenwolf's song The Pusher. As an athlete, I gave
up weed and switched to hockey and mountain bikes, where the
endorphins produce a better high and the addictions are healthier.

Today's weed is not grown in the shed next to where you keep your old
Herman's Hermits records. The THC in the new hydroponic strains are
apparently 30 times stronger than love grass, and would wound a
rhinoceros if rhinos were stupid enough to smoke. I say "apparently"
because I am not going to do any tests to compare. The smell alone of
modern skunkweed is enough to curl your socks, if you are unlucky
enough to be in the vicinity when somebody lights up a doobie. But
that's not the issue.

Recently, I attended a conference about addiction. The doctor leading
the conference, a psychiatrist with a specialty in addictions listed
off all the new designer drugs, some so powerful they can kill you
just by looking at them. A new opioid named W-18 evidently is 100
times more powerful than fentanyl, which is so powerful it has killed
thousands of Canadians. But neither drug is the most addictive.

What is the most dangerous drug on the street today? The doctor
replied the answer is easy: marijuana. He treats more patients for
Mary Jane than all other drugs combined. Love grass? That's
impossible! You can never overdose on weed, although you may get lung
cancer if you smoke enough of it.

The problem is that weed is the only dangerous drug that doesn't come
with its own built-in consequences. Unlike alcohol, heroin, crack and
all the other popular drugs, marijuana is fairly benign, physically.
No overdoses, no hangovers, no immediate negative consequences.
Eventually you have to stop using other substances or they will stop
you. Not marijuana.

Aside from a dozy state of postbliss euphoria known as "being wasted,"
the worst effects of smoking dope are sleepiness and hunger that leads
straight to the brownies. Gaining weight is the biggest hassle. But
wait. There's more, of course.

Given that you can smoke dope every day without any lasting
consequences, many people do just that. Aside from the fact that they
are stoned (which is not the best state of mind to be in when driving,
working, looking after kids or many other activities), the addiction
leads to changes in the brain and personality. You become a "stoner."
You think that people who aren't stoned are the ones who have a problem.

This line of thinking, such as it is, does have consequences. Suppose,
said the doctor, that your wife wants you to stop being stoned.
Suppose your employer is not happy to find your brain is often parked
in Never Never Land. Often this leads to divorce, unemployment, or
other unhappy consequences.

Cigarette smokers will tell you that nicotine is the most addictive
drug and hardest to quit. I never smoked cigarettes, so I can't say,
but I understand that you can make a conscious decision to stop when
you realize it's hurting you, see your doctor, put patches on your
arm, and go for long walks and things like that. It's somewhat harder
to reconfigure a brain that has told itself that being stoned is a
healthy and normal state of mind. You can't break an addiction if you
don't recognize it as an addiction.

Be here now? Never mind all the stoners wandering around Lalaland in a
daze wondering what day of the week it is. What about all these
whackos with cellphones stuck in their ears walking in front of buses?
Where is Ram Dass when you really need him?
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MAP posted-by: Matt