The Tide is Changing — Marijuana Industry Exposed

Colorado Fights Against Industry

People are learning about the deception used by the Marijuana Industry to sell voters and the public on medical marijuana and marijuana legalization. People are learning about the harms caused by marijuana and a reckless Marijuana Industry.

marijuana-cigarettes
Marijuana industry exposed — it follows the playbook of the tobacco industry. Residents are now rejecting it Colorado.

People are learning that the Marijuana Industry, like the Tobacco Industry, has deep pockets so they can create the illusion of widespread support — which does not actually exist (except by those who are looking to make $$$).

Take a look at what happened over the last few weeks in Colorado. More people are rejecting the commercialization and legalization by the Marijuana Industry.

• The Colorado Springs City Council voted to ban marijuana clubs 3/9/16. The Council saw through the Marijuana Industry smokescreen as they attempted to portray marijuana clubs as medical sites for people with PTSD. (The Marijuana Industry does not hesitate to exploit many people and issues.) Below is a link to a 2-minute promotional video for one of the marijuana clubs (no mention of its “medical” practices). View the video

• Cannabis Cup kicked out of Colorado. High Times Magazine’s Cannabis Cup, a marijuana celebration event, has been rejected by Colorado communities. Adams County Commissioners did not approve their application to hold the event again in their community citing safety concerns. High Times thought they could find a home in Pueblo County but withdrew their application after local pushback, including from the Pueblo County Sheriff.  Many in law enforcement voiced their opposition and concerns.

• Marijuana events bill dies in committee. A bill to allow marijuana events across the state died in a state legislative committee.

This is all very interesting, especially after Rolling Stone Magazine called 2015 a year for the mainstreaming of marijuana.

Marijuana-Induced Psychosis Is Increasing

Specialists in Washington and London Explain Links to Pot and Psychosis

More doctors and other specialists are going public to speak about the dangers of psychosis related to marijuana. An article published in My Northwest recently needs to be taken seriously.     Paul Hunziker, a licensed chemical dependency specialist in Renton, Washington explained that researchers have known for years marijuana can lead to everything from paranoia to depression, but the problem is expanding significantly.    Duane Stone, a mental health specialist in Seattle, said: “I get lots of first break kind where this person doesn’t have an experience with mental illness, they don’t have a diagnosis, they’re 30 or 40-years-old. And the only thing they’ve been doing has been smoking marijuana for the last year or two.” He goes onto say, “It’s a daily kind of thing.”

In Olympia, Washington, Providence St. Peter Hospital attributes this increase in psychosis to the practice of “dabbing.”  “That sudden blast of cannabis can trigger extreme paranoia, hallucinations or delusions — often a few days or even weeks after consumption,” according to those seeking medical treatment, reports TJ LaRoque. In Washington, marijuana was legalized in December, 2012, and marijuana stores opened in July, 2014.

Medications Don’t Work Well for Psychosis with Cannabis Users

Marijuana users need to know that if they end up in psychiatric hospitals, their chances of recovery are less than those who don’t use marijuana. First of all the marijuana users are more likely to have a relapse after the first episode of psychosis. Furthermore, anti-psychotic medications are less likely to be effective for the cannabis users.  A new study out of Great Britain highlights these difficulties.

Psychosis plus pot is a bad mix.  Rashmi Patel, lead researcher from the Department of Psychosis Studies at King’s College, London said: “We’re not entirely sure why that is, but it’s possible for whatever reason cannabis use makes it less likely that anti-psychotic treatment will work as well in people with psychotic disorders.”  (It should be noted that antipsychotics are known to be ineffective in most cases of drug-induced psychosis including LSD, PCP, meth, etc.)

This finding is important since the marijuana industry wants to use marijuana to treat psychiatric problems.   Marijuana makes the course of psychiatric illness worse. The finding is relevant since there has been an increased number of hospital admissions for psychosis and other mental health admissions in localities that have legalized marijuana.

Providence St. Peter Hospital reports there are one or two new psychosis emergency admissions each day. The standard treatment for marijuana induced psychosis is the anti-psychotic medication risperdone.  Anti-psychotics are like band-aids; for long-term results,  substance abuse or addiction treatment may be necessary.  Unfortunately our current health care system treats acute symptoms rather than root causes.  Unless the patients are rigid about staying off of marijuana, the problem may return.  We hope this new information can bring about better treatment for marijuana-related mental health problems. 

States considering medical marijuana or any form of legalization need to know about the increase of mental health care needs and be ready to pay for it. A psychosis from marijuana is not necessary a death sentence, as Vice recently reported the story of Devan Fuentes, who had a marvelous recovery.
The observations of doctors in the state of Washington are substantiated by numerous studies.

Read Updates on the Marijuana-Psychosis Link

Marijuana is Linked to Psychosis and Schizophrenia.

Here’s other websites on the marijuana – psychosis connection.

 

 

Big Marijuana, Big Loss in Maine

Not Enough Signatures for Fall Ballot

An initiative to legalize marijuana in Maine failed to make the 2016 ballot today, after over 40,000 signatures legalization proponents submitted in favor of the proposal were invalidated due to irregularities.  This left legalizers well short of the 61,123 signatures needed to put the initiative to a vote this fall.

Almost half of the signatures submitted (47,686 of 99,229) were declared invalid.  More specifically, Maine election officials found that, among other irregularities:
  • Over 31,000 signatures were invalid because the signatures of petition circulators swearing that they witnessed signature collection did not match their signatures on file. (Indeed, one circulator was listed as the public notary on an incredible 5,099 petitions containing 26,779 signatures.)
  • Another 13,525 signatures were invalidated because they did not belong to a registered voter in the municipality where they were submitted.
Portland-Head-Lighthouse
Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine
“This is a huge sigh of relief for Mainers and our public health community, especially in a period where we are facing a serious and growing opiate crisis,” stated SAM Maine Director, Scott M. Gagnon.  “The last thing we needed amidst an addiction crisis is increased access and availability to drugs.  We are pleased that the Big Marijuana agenda will not be allowed to disrupt our efforts to protect and improve the health of Mainers and Maine communities.”  Gagnon has written about how the marijuana industry is trying to cash in on the heroin epidemic.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of SAM added, “This represents a victory for public health over industry profits.  Despite pouring money into Maine, it appears that the pot industry was unable to get enough real people to sign their petition.  The fact that almost a full 50% of the signatures were invalidated casts a cloud over the entire legalization movement in the state.”

Marijuana lobbyists and industry groups have also tried to legalize marijuana by going through the state legislature multiple times. These efforts failed, also.

I Am a Marijuana Addict

My name is Jen and I am a Marijuana addict. I have been sober for three years and one month.

Marijuana addiction is a very controversial topic and I often avoid discussing it with others. I know I’m an addict but it can be extremely discouraging when I hear people say things like “It’s physically impossible to be addicted to such and such.” I know they are wrong but it still hurts my feelings and makes me question myself at times. Getting sober is the most amazing thing I have ever done and I need to surround myself with people who appreciate this achievement for what it is, rather than piss all over it and make me feel like a joke.

There needs to be more support and better support that is just geared to marijuana addiction. In the beginning of my sobriety, I tried going to Marijuana Anonymous meetings in Phoenix but they are not very good here. There are usually just a few people — half of them are court ordered and the other half are teenagers that were dragged in by their parents. Needless to say, I did not find these meetings very helpful and eventually stopped going.

I’ve also tried Narcotics Anonymous and often felt ostracized because I have never been addicted to “harder” drugs, thus could not relate to others in the program. I got the most help from Alcoholics Anonymous because the stories were so similar to my own. However, people often shunned me away because “The only requirement for AA is to have desire to stop ***drinking***.” Many people in AA welcomed me with open arms. Others rejected me ruthlessly and went out of their way to make me feel not welcomed. Some would even interrupt others speaking, announcing “You’re only supposed to talk about alcohol!! Do not talk about other drugs!” Finding support for my addiction hasn’t been easy.

Bursting the Bubble of Marijuana Hype