URL:

One Comment

1. Andrew says:

   12 Sep, 2010 at 3:05 am

   A very interesting documentary “Cannabis the Evil Weed” covers many aspects of Pot usage.
   I have a few comments about the conclusions. As a photojournalist who has also worked for Cannabis Culture Magazine in Vancouver Canada I have had close contact with the everyday workings of Pot and the culture.
   I started smoking/eating pot in my later years (30+) and am a moderate user of Pot for various medical reasons including pain from my degenerative spinal issues. I also like the recreational effects of the drug so I think my comments are valid as compared to many of the people who cover the issue who are not intimate with the drugs effects.
   Firstly, like many Pot smokers I am an advocate of control much like alcohol or tobacco. Like all drugs, usage by children is undesirable until they can fully evaluate the consequences of their actions; the same reasoning the government gives in relation to booze and tobacco products.
   Firstly, one must accept the fact that some people have an adverse reaction to Pot. Like any substance there are minorities that suffer from intolerance, even something as wide spread as peanuts or shrimp fall in to this category causing many problems from minor allergic reactions to death. A vast majority of the world eat both of those substances; banning them is not on the table although they kill a minority of people yearly.
   The documentary failed to tell you that there is not one single case of Pot overdose ever recorded. This is an important fact. In the US over 500,000 people are admitted in to hospital each year with extreme side effects from prescribed Pharmaceuticals with many recorded deaths from overdose.
   As to the effects on mental health I have serious issues with how this documentary explains the schizophrenia related effects. I have a friend who never touched Pot in his life. I knew him from high school. He developed schizophrenia in the same way the young gentleman in the video did. One day he was fine and over a short period of time he became ill. Like the gentleman in the video he is now medicated to control his symptoms although he is not “cured”. In the case of the video there is no scientific way to link Pot with his condition so to say that there are long lasting effects caused by Pot usage for the young man are not valid.
   As to the gentleman in the video who sits in a room all day smoking Pot. Well, he is certainly the stereotypical Pot user as portrayed by the governments and the media. On TV the coverage of Pot related stories always show the dread-locked, illiterate, tattooed user. I have personally been watching news coverage of a local “hippie” Pot rally on TV with internationally successful lawyers and Businessmen while we all consumed Pot while commenting on the stereotypical images that the media portrays. You never see these successful users interviewed or included in any Pot related story. I personally think that from my own experiences smoking with incredibly intelligent and successful people that the “dopey” Pot smoker image is an urban Myth.
   In regards to the motivation issue, I myself smoke before going for a run or doing Bikram Yoga and find the pleasurable effects meditative and helpful to me in motivating my exercise.
   I found the documentary did not talk about dosage or the addictive properties of Pot in depth. I smoke maybe 1 small joint a day without tobacco. I can go weeks without smoking, the worst effect to the lack of Pot being that I have increased neck pain. As a moderate drinker I find that I “crave” a drink if I go without for a week, not so for Pot.
   The dosages for the clinical trials were quoted as 1 joint! I don’t know anyone who sits down themselves and smokes 1 whole joint. A joint is in no way comparable to a cigarette. I smoke high grade Pot so need very little ( 1/3 of a small joint per dose) but there are addictive persons who go to the extreme no matter what substance they consume. The truth of the matter is that addiction to drinking water is more dangerous than consuming Pot. Also,in the UK most people mix Pot and tobacco when they smoke. The comments in this video are made in regards to the side effects of Pot do not present this fact and cover the accompanying interactions between the two substances.
   When I look at the stats for the abuse of alcohol, prescription drugs, tobacco and hard drugs, Pot, though not for everyone, is pretty benign. Not covered in the video is the inhibiting of violence when smoking Pot. Even though there are sometimes undesirable side effects for every drug, the most recognizable effect of Pot in the minds of the general public is the docility of the user. I have never seen a high on just Pot user get violent. The same can not be said about almost every other type of drug that Man uses. I grew up in an alcohol consuming society in Scotland where alcohol use is rampant and violence is normal. Here in BC, Canada where alcohol use is less and Pot usage is comparatively higher (no pun intended) I rarely see intoxicant related violence. I can’t help but connect this with the alternate use of Pot.
   My conclusion is that prohibition of a plant is impossible. THe majority of the associated Pot violence is from the trafficking of the illegal substance. Since Pot prohibition started in the US they have spent $130,000,000,000 (official US Stats) on enforcement but still 40 million US citizens smoke Pot at least once per month. For those addictive personalities that choose Pot as their drug of choice who want to stop, the money would have been better spent in rehabilitation rather than the policing of a relatively benign drug. Think about the actual costs to police a substance that has never killed anyone!
   Namaste

   Reply