Think Those Speaking on Behalf of Patients are Telling You the Truth about Medical Marijuana? Think Again.

ASAM Opposes State Ballot Measures to Legalize Marijuana

July 30, 2012

Physicians should take lead against efforts in Colorado, Washington and Oregon.

TheAmerican Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) opposes proposals to legalize marijuana anywhere in the United States, including three state measures on November 2012 ballots.

Legalization initiatives in Colorado, Washington and Oregon create unacceptable risks to public health, according to a white paper approved by the ASAM Board of Directors at its July 25 meeting. Physicians and other health professionals must learn more about the real health threats posed by marijuana use, all of which are made worse by legalization. Physicians should encourage public education about these facts and lead efforts against ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana, the report said.

ASAM is the nation’s foremost association of physicians dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of the disease of addiction.

“ASAM has brought to bear its commitment to science and public health in taking a strong position against marijuana legalization,” said Robert DuPont, M.D., the report co-author, who is a former White House Drug Czar and former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). “ASAM can provide leadership to all physicians and all medical associations about the dangerous and seductive mirage of drug legalization, including marijuana legalization, as a so-called solution to serious health problems resulting from drug use.”

ASAM asserts that the significant public health problems and costs related to marijuana legalization are not well-understood by the public or policymakers. ASAM’s conclusion that marijuana legalization would threaten public health is based on the following:

•   Marijuana use is neither safe nor harmless. Marijuana contains psychoactive cannabinoids which can produce a sense of discomfort and even paranoid thoughts in some users. Cannabinoids interact with brain circuits in comparable ways to opioids, cocaine and other addictive drugs. Marijuana use is associated with damage to specific organs and tissues and impairments to behavioral and brain functioning.

•   Of greatest concern is marijuana use during adolescence—a time of ongoing brain development and heightened vulnerability to addiction. Research shows that heavy marijuana use decreases neurocognitive performance, with worse neurocognitive effects seen among those who begin marijuana use early.

•   Marijuana is addictive. Repeated marijuana use is reinforcing because the drug increases activation of reward circuitry in the brain. Approximately 9% of people who try marijuana become dependent. For those who begin using the drug in their teens, approximately 17% become dependent. These figures are similar to alcohol dependence.

•   Legalization would promote the public perception that marijuana is harmless at the same time that availability of the drug would grow exponentially. The rate of marijuana use and marijuana-related substance use disorders, including addiction, would increase.

•   Increased marijuana addiction would heighten demand for substance use disorder treatment services, which already are inadequate for current needs.

•   Marijuana use is associated with increased rates, and worsening symptoms, of psychosis. Increased marijuana use caused by legalization and increased access to high-potency marijuana could result in rising rates of psychotic illnesses.

•   Marijuana-related crashes are major traffic safety threats; marijuana use doubles the risk of a crash. Research in Washington State showed that 12% of drivers killed in car crashes were positive for marijuana. Legalization would increase drugged driving.

Marijuana legalization will increase its availability to young people, who are the most at risk from this drug. Research shows that marijuana leads to a host of significant health, social, learning and behavioral problems in young users.

“Children who use marijuana are more likely to struggle in school, because it impairs their ability to concentrate and retain information during their peak learning years when their brains are developing,” said Andrea Barthwell, M.D., the report co-author who is a former ASAM president and former Deputy Director for Demand Reduction in the Office of National Drug Control Policy. “Even short-term use can cause problems with memory, learning, cognitive development and problem solving. Research shows a clear link between adolescent marijuana use and a decrease in academic achievement.”

ASAM has previously issued policy statements urging that people addicted to marijuana, like those addicted to any drug, should receive treatment rather than punishment for their illness. That position, however, makes no reference to the question of legalization, the report stated.

“ASAM believes that addiction should be primarily treated as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue,” said Stuart Gitlow, M.D., ASAM Acting President. “But that does not mean we would support a social experiment dramatically changing the legal status of marijuana and resulting in an upsurge in marijuana use. Health problems caused by marijuana would grow with increased use; marijuana addiction rates would undoubtedly rise. ASAM must oppose any public policy changes that would cause a significant increase in addictive substance use.”

For More Visit:  www.nipitinthebudusa.org

The Power of YOU

If We Don't Stop It, Could This Be The Future of Marijuana?

Medtox Journal: New Drug Treatments Show Promise in Treating Marijuana Dependency

 Cannabis dependency is a stubborn phenomenon. Responsible for a quarter of all in-patient admissions around the world, addiction to cannabis products is associated with significant cognitive, work, and social dysfunctions. The treatment of cannabis dependency has been a hit-and-miss proposition. Withdrawal from chronic marijuana use can be lengthy. Cravings may be quite powerful. Disruptions to the sleep cycle are almost certain. Many prescription medications have been employed to treat the more troubling symptoms experienced by recovering marijuana users. These drugs all work through a variety of different mechanisms. But ultimately, conventional pharmaceutical medications have proven to be ineffective.

In recent years, gabapentin, a GABA analogue, has been utilized in off-label applications in the treatment of some forms of anxiety. Gabapentin is not a narcotic. This drug has also been used to treat certain manifestations of neuropathic pain; gabapentin use in pain management is widespread. In the treatment of cannabis-dependent patients, some addiction medicine physicians have taken to using gabapentin as a means of reducing patients' symptoms of drug withdrawal. In many of those cases, the course of treatment progressed faster and involved fewer relapses. In all, it appeared that gabapentin possessed some real promise in helping cannabis addicts cope with the debilitating effects of withdrawal. To that end, researchers conducted a pilot study of gabapentin's effectiveness. In a 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 50 chronic and dependent cannabis users were enrolled in a careful study. All participants received motivational enhancement and counseling in the form of cognitive behavioral therapy[1]. 


Compared to placebo, those who were treated with gabapentin exhibited fewer days of cannabis use and lessened symptoms of withdrawal and drug cravings. The gabapentin-using patients also exhibited greater improvement in executive function and fewer systemic physical problems associated with their drug use. In this study, patients were treated with 1200 mg of the drug in three divided daily doses. The drug appeared to be well tolerated. With a broad spectrum of positive effects apparent in this study, gabapentin looks like a medication that can have immediate and beneficial effects on the symptoms and progression of recovering cannabis addicts. In related news, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has also been evaluated for efficacy in the treatment of cannabis dependent teenagers[2]. 


NAC has been proffered as a potential benefit in the treatment of cocaine and nicotine cravings. It has also been ventured as helpful in reducing some symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A pro-drug of amino acid cysteine, the substance is available in a variety of different compounds and products. Researchers recently concluded a double blind, randomized- and placebo-controlled study of the effects of this substance in 116 cannabis dependent teenagers. Patients received 1200 mg of NAC, twice daily over an eight week course of therapy. In this study, the NAC treatment group had significantly more negative urine test results than those treated receiving placebo (NAC group 40.9% negative; placebo group 27.2% negative). But there were no differences between these groups when secondary measures of effectiveness were considered. Despite the lack of difference in secondary measures, experts opine that NAC may be a useful tool when combined with a contingency-based cannabis dependency treatment program and they argue for further careful study of the substance. Available as an over-the-counter supplement, NAC is well tolerated and is fairly affordable. Gabapentin and N-acetylcysteine both appear to have positive effects on the symptoms and course for recovery of addicted patients. Let's hope that follow-on studies corroborate these early findings. We could all use some good news in the battle against marijuana dependency. 

___________________________________________________________________________________ [1] Mason BJ et al. A proof-of-concept randomized controlled study of gabapentin: Effects on Cannabis use, withdrawal and executive function deficits in cannabis-dependent adults. Neuropsychopharmacology 2012 June; 37:1689. [2] Gray KM et al. A double-blind randomized controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine in cannabis-dependent adolescents. Am Journal Psychiatry 2012 Jun 16; [e-pub ahead of print] President Obama Signs Federal Bath Salts and Spice Ban

Councilman Koretz Promotes Potentially Sickening And Deadly Habit

BREAKING NEWS:  L.A. City Council votes to ban pot dispensaries!!!

With his motion in the upcoming vote before the Los Angeles City Council, Councilman Paul Koretz, is asking 100 marijuana dispensaries be left open because closing them all, in his words, “would be heartless.” In 1999, during his tenure on the West Hollywood City Council, Councilman Koretz took great pride in taking down the sign of the Marlboro Man on Sunset Boulevard, saying the sign “personifies the glamorizing of a deadly habit”, (Los Angeles Times, 1999). As the second largest city in the United States, Los Angeles should join the more than 200 cities who have implemented bans on unsightly pot shops and stop this potentially sickening, deadly habit! It is a well-documented fact that the majority of marijuana abusers smoke the intoxicating substance and that Los Angeles has plenty of them. 

 In 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported on a study released by the Society of Addiction Medicine, citing that marijuana smoke, over time, causes pre-cancerous conditions in the lungs and esophagus, similar to cigarette smoke. In 2010, marijuana smoke was also included as a Proposition 65 health hazard to cause cancer. 

 Los Angeles City Council Members should take the responsible approach and support Councilman Jose Huizar’s motion, banning all storefront dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles and Councilman Parks and Councilwoman Perry’s motion, phasing out the existing L.A. ordinance. The council should dismiss the Koretz motion, as it promotes smoking, drug abuse, crime and sends the wrong message to our youth.

United We Stand For Aurora, Colorado

Senator Feinstein Chairs Senate Drug Caucus Hearing on Prescription Drug Abuse

Shame on You Skinny Gossip, Kate Upton is NOT Fat!

This is the year 2012, where Vogue magazine and Seventeen are taking the pledge to portray healthy looking models. 


 In the recent posting of the anonymous blog Skinny Gossip, the publisher wrote all kinds of terrible things about Kate Upton, saying ridiculous things like Kate is 30 pounds over weight. GET REAL!  That is mean!    This is not the late 80’s or the 90’s where good looking, healthy models were looked upon as unqualified or serious because their bodies didn’t have bones sticking out from being so skinny. Back then, if a model had cleavage or curves she could maybe become a pin-up, but the catwalk was out of reach, unless you were Anna Nicole Smith or Claudia Shiffer. 


 Thank God we’re no longer disillusioned by those horrible examples of emaciated models who looked like little boys, starved and developed eating disorders and drug habits to “fit the mold” of what the fashion industry demanded. Young American women should have the right self-assessment when looking at a model. Kudos for Kate Upton to stand up for herself! This is 2012 and models like Kim Kardashian, celebrities like JLo and Eva Mendes and now Kate Upton are helping young girls and young women find self-esteem by being honest with a more healthy and happy look. To thine own self be true! 

Smoking Kills (The Bryan Curtis story)

Human Trafficking Statistics

Willow Smith: Another Reason to Vote YES on CA Proposition 35

 
 For more visit: www.caseact.org

Women Are Invisible In The 12-Steps

This video is a good example that the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous need to be brought into the 21st Century. While Father Joseph C. Martin is doing a wonderful job in this video explaining some of the mechanics of the 12 Steps, it is clear that women have no place in his dialogue. Why is that? Why did the founding fathers of A.A. not look after women as they did after men? We know women suffer from alcoholism just like men do. 

 After many years of clinical research and findings, recovery experts have discovered that recovery can be gender specific and that women find recovery better in women’s groups and men recover better in groups for men. Would recovery be gender specific however, if the basic text of the 12 Steps included both genders when making reference to actions taken by an alcoholic? Or is the separation of genders a result of the seemingly discriminating text of the 12 Steps?

 

This is a True Story

Celebrate Sober, Drive Safely: Happy 4th of July

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