Men killed wives after using marijuana “medically”
Shane Kirk, veteran from Oklahoma, served three tours of duty. Suffering from PTSD, he was trying to replace his anti-depressant with marijuana, On November 29, 2017, Shane Kirk shot his wife and stepfather, according to his mother.
For those who follow the marijuana issue, this story strikes a familiar chord. Another man named Kirk, Richard Kirk, shot his wife after eating marijuana candy. The tragic situation unfolded in 2014, a few months after Colorado’s dispensaries opened.
Each man had three sons, and each man killed his wife in front of the children. Richard Kirk was from Colorado. Shane Kirk was from Oklahoma, but recently returned from Colorado. There’s no evidence the men were related. Continue reading Part 1: Tragic Tale of Two Families Named Kirk→
Time conceals rather heals wounds, and traumatic experiences convert to disease later in life. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) cause diseases that carry into adulthood, as well as numerous psychological issues and addiction. (Read about the mind-body connection, part 1 and mind-based healing solutions, part 2)
A long-term study from Denmark, explored a number psychological factors that may or may not have adverse outcomes on the children.
The Danish study determined that parental factors most likely to create either violent or suicidal tendencies in adulthood are 1) parents who used marijuana; 2) having parents who are sociopaths or 3) having parents who attempt suicide. In other words, marijuana abuse is far more serious in predicting adverse behavioral outcomes than other parental mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder and alcoholism.
Salvador Dali , The Persistence of Memory, 1931: Time goes on, but the conscious mind may not know how memories hidden in our body and brain persist. The effects of early trauma are carried into adulthood. Photo: MoMA, New York
What is Known about ACEs?
Because the research is so extensive, we are coming to understand some of the precise mechanisms by which biography turns into biology. Heart disease, diabetes, all forms of auto-immune disease (a growing problem), addiction and obesity are connected to high ACE scores. While choices such as smoking, maintaining a good or bad diet and exercise are within a person’s control, ACEs are not.
Today there are more than 1500 studies about how ACEs affect the mental and physical health. The exploration into ACEs began with an accidental discovery by Dr. Vincent Feletti of Kaiser Permanente in San Diego. His obese patients who had high rates of cancer and heart disease also had high rates of childhood trauma. Dr. Feretti teamed up with Dr. Robert Anda of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) whose specialty was the link between heart disease and depression.
Drs. Anda and Feretti conducted a huge study on childhood trauma and disease between 1995 and 1997. The information they discovered can be revolutionary in terms of treatments linking mental and physical health. They found that 2/3 of those who suffer chronic disease had traumatic childhoods. In other words, genetics is not the only predictor of susceptibility to disease; experiences also play a crucial role.
Victims of trauma will often use marijuana, alcohol and other drugs to create a numbing effect, and to allow disassociation. Marijuana and heroin have the greatest numbing effect, writes Janina Fisher, PhD., in a paper on Traumatic Abuse and Addiction.
When the numbing is too much and the victims need to feel energized and alive again, stimulants such as cocaine and opiates can be used. Other chronic marijuana users become anxious and get prescriptions for Xanax to cope with anxiety. The need to use multiple drugs becomes a cycle, and the addicts of today tend to develop multiple addictions.
This fragile coping mechanism often blows up when drugs users have families. Raising children and needing to care for another person will expose the inability of drug-abusing parents to maintain an equilibrium.
Hurd concludes that future generations who use marijuana are more susceptible to heroin addiction. Children of drug users often carry a legacy of having been abused or neglected. Since they grew up in homes where drug use was normalized, they will tend to do the same.
Another problem is that medical marijuana practitioners are encouraging pregnant women to smoke pot for morning sickness and for breastfeeding. Dr. Steven Simerville explains the reasons why we should be concerned about the mental development of children whose mothers did not protect them from THC during crucial stages of life.