As a home care RN, I supervised care of a young woman who used these gummies to treat her frustration and pain with a chronic condition. Her family bought her a supply as she could not physically obtain them herself. One day I was urgently called to see her. She had been taken to the hospital in a severe state. She was admitted with a psychotic episode that was very distressing. She could not get herself back to reality and was stuck in a very dark and frightening mental state. She spent about three days hospitalized and continuously calling for me to help her out of her desperate confusion. She finally did come out of it, and as she was then in her thirties, her brain was able to reset and return to normal. This episode easily could have ended in her suicide. I’m grateful that she was old enough to recover. I believe if she had been ten years younger, it might not have been the case. This is not the drug it was “back in the day”. Her family had no idea how dangerous this drug had become.
Thank you for your in depth coverage on the many harms of Marijuana. I chose not to move to Carpenteria for this very reason. And I would think crime is now also an issue, even though I have not seen any headlines regarding the pot farms. Why is it in today's political scheme the few want all the power over the many? Another horrific example of how liberalism harms individuals and the masses.
No way is pot the same as it was "back in the day."(And I speak from experience.) Nowadays it's all about profit at the expense of the consumers/kids - sound familiar? Condoned by bought-and-paid for officials in high corridors. Educate children for THEIR sake as well as yours. Here's a primer: https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Your-Children-Marijuana-Violence/dp/1982103663
Come on, man ... the Sacred Pharmaceutical is the perfect recreational drug ...
... it cures cancer ... lowers crime rates ... puts one in touch with the universe, the spirits, and the Force ...
... and never ever does it cause violence, lower property rates, mental illness or disability ...
... and it never causes trains, planes, or automobiles to spontaneously attack ...
We know this is true because a zillion dollars has bought the best science money can buy ...
... and our health departments have cooperated by making sure that any pot-related condition becomes the fault of al-kee-haul or some other illicit pharmaceutical ...
This PSA brought to you by Mary Jane, Inc. in sympathy with Pfizer ...
1936 movie Reefer Madness is now called a "cult classic" and routinely mocked by the pro-cannabis crowd. It is available for free online and worth another look to see that past was prologue after all. Another youth classic from the 1950's "Black Board Jungle" is also worth another look.
Interesting that political efforts still exist to discredit cannabis users when a good chunk of our counties young people are killing themselves with fentanyl...
No problem. We can multi-task. The real issues is when does escapism using drugs, alcohol and/or technology become a counter-productive addiction. Hit them all.
Marijuana shops are more ubiquitous than coffee shops
The message is that pot is safe and effective ( couldn’t resist)
It is no where near as safe as its growers and sellers claim, and the effects often are more than just feeling pleasantly stupid, or whatever pot does to a brain. I wouldn’t know.
Why wouldn't you know what "pot" does to a brain? Aren't you a Doctor of Medicine...? It is sad that cannabis use is stigmatized and not understood by some of the most highly educated members of our society.
No we shouldn't "multi task" - fentanyl kills 100,000k + a year and cannabis kills 0. When did conservatives forget our platform is individual liberties and NOT bashing every vice like an old church lady? This is why we keep losing.
Completely agree. But correlation is not causation. Just because suicide is correlated with cannabis use doesn't mean cannabis use causes people to commit suicide. Could there be a confounding variable in these studies, say mental health related like major depressive disorder - which causes people to self medicate with cannabis and sometimes, commit suicide? I wish you'd have explored this nuance in your article.
No drug overdose deaths are not a "primary measurement" , because ingesting fentanyl is primarily a personal choice. The abuser maintains full responsibility for that potentially fatal consequence. Societal dysfunction due to drug or alcohol addictions, the sequelae of those bad choices and behaviors, become the much larger issue the rest of us are still forced to deal with. That is our primary measurement.
Unless you truly believe fatal drug ingestions are truly an "individual liberty", which by their very nature should impact absolutely no other public resources or other members of the wider society, then there might be some common ground that drug ingestions are "personal liberty".
The wider issue - where do personal liberties meet public responsibilities. We just grappled with that over "covid" and mass injections with experimental drugs - was that a "public good" that transcended personal liberties or not?
Great point Doctor! Which do you believe is a more pressing issue to solve: the very current and fatal threat of the opioid epidemic OR cannabis abuse? As we both agree the 2 can happen independently - how can you highlight one uncommon disorder and say nothing on the body count of the REAL drug addiction crisis in the US?
Why mention Das Williams...? This isn't political for you is it Doctor...? Here I was thinking you were disavowing cannabis for its adverse social and health effects, but it seems you just don't like them cause they gave money to politicians you have strong feelings about. Haha
The article touched on the current campaign for First District county supervisor, which includes Carpinteria. So yes, this issue as the article suggests is currently "political".
Voters have a choice this year in the First District. How do voters feel about the changes in First District over the past few decades, particularly the growth and impacts of local cannabis industry. Do First District residents want more of the same, or do they want a different voice guiding the future of this district and the county overall?
The lines of the First District have been redrawn after the 2020 Census, so there are new voters in this district that used to reside in the Second District. Check your ballot and the county district maps to see if you were affected.
I met Ralph Cantor a few years ago in Northern California He gives talks on marijuana and the adolescent brain. I wrote this https://theava.com/archives/50491 The THC is now up to 90% in the 1960s it was 10% Mr Cantor calls it a designer drug. I have never taken any recreational drug or hard drugs The brain has not developed until 25
I wrote this nearly 10 years ago...Recently in the county of Mendocino Ralph Cantor gave a talk at the Conference centre Ukiah, “Marijuana It’s impact on the adolescent brain” with humor, unbiased, passionate, easily understood and science backed evidence on Marijuana to educators, human service providers, behavioral health providers and medical professionals. This is the equivalent of the CEO for alcoholic anonymous presenting his or herself to all the public bars over in England on News Years Eve talking about the dangers of alcohol. Who wants to hear about alcoholism when the owner of the bar is making “money” from alcohol and drinkers are having fun.
Do you get my point? Now I am not saying Mendocino’s main economy is marijuana, yet there does seem an abundance of financial opportunities to part take in an industry that pays hard cash. One of the basic jobs in this industry is called “Trimming.” After harvest, the cannabis plant is generally trimmed of its leaf matter, leaving behind only the buds. During the harvest season $200 a pound for trimming buds is the going rate if you can sit for eight hours and focus with scissors snipping away at this herb.
An example of the vast amounts of revenue created by marijuana is a 71 years young person, (in England we would say OAP, old age pensioner) was arrested with approximately $484,000 in a car and 12,000 plants. The person was later released on $50,000 bail.
So here is this man Ralph Cantor talking about marijuana, “Its impact on the adolescent brain” here in Mendocino. Is Mr. Cantor crazy, mad or is he just wanting to make a bloody wake up call to parents and the marijuana industry who have no idea what this “herb” can do to a young person’s brain? Remember Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz falling a sleep in the field full of poppies until Glinda the good witch wakes her up and tells her to get on her way? “Your children instead of walking through the fields of poppies, they are walking past fields of marijuana plants.” “They need to wake up and get a life,” Ralph Cantor said.
I can see his point of view and hear those hippies of the 1960s saying, “It did me no harm, and I am still living.” Ok, that was a totally different “herb.” It has evolved. Marijuana of that time is not the marijuana of today Ralph Cantor says. The high the hippies got in the 1960s was 1% THC Tetrahydrocannabinol. This gives you the high. The new herb was brought in from Vietnam late 1960s and was 10% THC, then cloning, and modern growing techniques have raised it to 95% THC using dabs (butane hash oil) in the present day. This high THC hitting a 12 year old young brain that has not developed mentally or physically may cause irreparable damage. Why? Well, it is so concentrated it can make the brain give copious amounts of dopamine to get that feeling of well being. “A deeper thinking of life and philosophy.” “I learn better.” “I perform better when I take Marijuana.”
Ralph Cantor explains that this is short-term memory for the adolescent brain. It tricks the brain, he says, just like alcohol. Another point to think about is the tar (dabs) from marijuana inhaled into the lung and the effect it has. Smoke damages the lungs as we all know and Marijuana is no different. Wait a minute, I saw a book being sold “smoking marijuana does not caused lung cancer”! Doctors suggest thick tar from marijuana will harm the fine hairs called cilia in the lung. Cilia helps clears the air passages. My common sense says this, any smoke or pollution will damage my lungs.
Mr. Cantor is not judging or preaching he is just explaining what this new herb has in it if a child at school wants or is offered to use it. Ralph Cantor is not against the use of Marijuana for adults, he wants parents with children 12-18 years of age to be aware that marijuana will damage their brain over long term use.
I have been saying it is a herb although my personal research has suggested with all the cloning and herbicides, fertilizers, hydroponic growing that this hippie “herb” — Ralph Cantor calls this “herb” “a designer drug.” Just like the food industry, processed food has affected the body. “The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board” has sent a notice to residents, and I quote, “The Cannabis Order aims to protect waters of the state from potential harmful impacts associated with cannabis cultivation addressing erosion control and drainage features, stream and wetland buffers, spoils management, water storage and use, irrigation runoff fertilizers and pesticides.” Interesting!
Obesity has grown. Would marijuana become the new fast food of the drug industry? Instead of getting larger clothes to fit the ever increasing waistline as with obesity, what will be the answer to a zombified young brain that has been permanently destroyed? I know nursing care homes will increase. It could be a great investment as young people entering these homes as early as their early 20s. (I personally know of one boy admitted to a home for life after starting to take marijuana in his teens) will be there for a lifetime.
There is a growing call to make marijuana legal, a recreational drug like alcohol. Similar to alcohol it may be just a temporary band aid for when the stress levels start and the need for something to relax, a drink seems the answer. As we all know with booze there is a payback, if we drink too much or drink the wrong drink. A morning hangover or sluggishness follows. Yet continuing drinking the body will become more tolerant of alcohol, so we think. The body hides the withdrawal symptoms very well as long as the liver is cleaning you out. Alcoholics anonymous was formed to deal with addiction, now I have read there is “Marijuana Anonymous.” Marijuana is fat soluble, it stays in the body and when Mr. Cantor says fat he means also the fat in the brain. It can take 60 days to eliminate marijuana from the body, some other experts say longer, 12 months.
As a non-user and observer from a distance I would urge parents to research and to listen to Ralph Cantor through the internet or contact him. A quote: “Help is only help as perceived by the helpee.”
I met Ralph Cantor a few years ago in Northern California He gives talks on marijuana and the adolescent brain. I wrote this https://theava.com/archives/50491
As a home care RN, I supervised care of a young woman who used these gummies to treat her frustration and pain with a chronic condition. Her family bought her a supply as she could not physically obtain them herself. One day I was urgently called to see her. She had been taken to the hospital in a severe state. She was admitted with a psychotic episode that was very distressing. She could not get herself back to reality and was stuck in a very dark and frightening mental state. She spent about three days hospitalized and continuously calling for me to help her out of her desperate confusion. She finally did come out of it, and as she was then in her thirties, her brain was able to reset and return to normal. This episode easily could have ended in her suicide. I’m grateful that she was old enough to recover. I believe if she had been ten years younger, it might not have been the case. This is not the drug it was “back in the day”. Her family had no idea how dangerous this drug had become.
Thank you Dr. for opening our eyes to the marijuana effects on young men. Carol in Lompoc
Thank you for your in depth coverage on the many harms of Marijuana. I chose not to move to Carpenteria for this very reason. And I would think crime is now also an issue, even though I have not seen any headlines regarding the pot farms. Why is it in today's political scheme the few want all the power over the many? Another horrific example of how liberalism harms individuals and the masses.
No way is pot the same as it was "back in the day."(And I speak from experience.) Nowadays it's all about profit at the expense of the consumers/kids - sound familiar? Condoned by bought-and-paid for officials in high corridors. Educate children for THEIR sake as well as yours. Here's a primer: https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Your-Children-Marijuana-Violence/dp/1982103663
If people seriously want a piece convincing them fentanyl is dangerous, that could be arranged. It ought to be obvious
Come on, man ... the Sacred Pharmaceutical is the perfect recreational drug ...
... it cures cancer ... lowers crime rates ... puts one in touch with the universe, the spirits, and the Force ...
... and never ever does it cause violence, lower property rates, mental illness or disability ...
... and it never causes trains, planes, or automobiles to spontaneously attack ...
We know this is true because a zillion dollars has bought the best science money can buy ...
... and our health departments have cooperated by making sure that any pot-related condition becomes the fault of al-kee-haul or some other illicit pharmaceutical ...
This PSA brought to you by Mary Jane, Inc. in sympathy with Pfizer ...
1936 movie Reefer Madness is now called a "cult classic" and routinely mocked by the pro-cannabis crowd. It is available for free online and worth another look to see that past was prologue after all. Another youth classic from the 1950's "Black Board Jungle" is also worth another look.
Interesting that political efforts still exist to discredit cannabis users when a good chunk of our counties young people are killing themselves with fentanyl...
No problem. We can multi-task. The real issues is when does escapism using drugs, alcohol and/or technology become a counter-productive addiction. Hit them all.
Marijuana shops are more ubiquitous than coffee shops
The message is that pot is safe and effective ( couldn’t resist)
It is no where near as safe as its growers and sellers claim, and the effects often are more than just feeling pleasantly stupid, or whatever pot does to a brain. I wouldn’t know.
Why wouldn't you know what "pot" does to a brain? Aren't you a Doctor of Medicine...? It is sad that cannabis use is stigmatized and not understood by some of the most highly educated members of our society.
No we shouldn't "multi task" - fentanyl kills 100,000k + a year and cannabis kills 0. When did conservatives forget our platform is individual liberties and NOT bashing every vice like an old church lady? This is why we keep losing.
Suicide often has a marijuana factor. That was the point of this article .
Completely agree. But correlation is not causation. Just because suicide is correlated with cannabis use doesn't mean cannabis use causes people to commit suicide. Could there be a confounding variable in these studies, say mental health related like major depressive disorder - which causes people to self medicate with cannabis and sometimes, commit suicide? I wish you'd have explored this nuance in your article.
Death is not the only measurement for dysfunction.
just the primary measurement, yes.
No drug overdose deaths are not a "primary measurement" , because ingesting fentanyl is primarily a personal choice. The abuser maintains full responsibility for that potentially fatal consequence. Societal dysfunction due to drug or alcohol addictions, the sequelae of those bad choices and behaviors, become the much larger issue the rest of us are still forced to deal with. That is our primary measurement.
Unless you truly believe fatal drug ingestions are truly an "individual liberty", which by their very nature should impact absolutely no other public resources or other members of the wider society, then there might be some common ground that drug ingestions are "personal liberty".
The wider issue - where do personal liberties meet public responsibilities. We just grappled with that over "covid" and mass injections with experimental drugs - was that a "public good" that transcended personal liberties or not?
Saying cannabis could make you psychotic does not exclude the possibility fentanyl could make you dead…
Great point Doctor! Which do you believe is a more pressing issue to solve: the very current and fatal threat of the opioid epidemic OR cannabis abuse? As we both agree the 2 can happen independently - how can you highlight one uncommon disorder and say nothing on the body count of the REAL drug addiction crisis in the US?
Most people know or suspect fentanyl is lethal
The same people have the happy illusion that marijuana is just fun and safe.
Das Williams is not collecting campaign contributions from the fentanyl lobby , to my knowledge
Why mention Das Williams...? This isn't political for you is it Doctor...? Here I was thinking you were disavowing cannabis for its adverse social and health effects, but it seems you just don't like them cause they gave money to politicians you have strong feelings about. Haha
The article touched on the current campaign for First District county supervisor, which includes Carpinteria. So yes, this issue as the article suggests is currently "political".
Voters have a choice this year in the First District. How do voters feel about the changes in First District over the past few decades, particularly the growth and impacts of local cannabis industry. Do First District residents want more of the same, or do they want a different voice guiding the future of this district and the county overall?
The lines of the First District have been redrawn after the 2020 Census, so there are new voters in this district that used to reside in the Second District. Check your ballot and the county district maps to see if you were affected.
I met Ralph Cantor a few years ago in Northern California He gives talks on marijuana and the adolescent brain. I wrote this https://theava.com/archives/50491 The THC is now up to 90% in the 1960s it was 10% Mr Cantor calls it a designer drug. I have never taken any recreational drug or hard drugs The brain has not developed until 25
I wrote this nearly 10 years ago...Recently in the county of Mendocino Ralph Cantor gave a talk at the Conference centre Ukiah, “Marijuana It’s impact on the adolescent brain” with humor, unbiased, passionate, easily understood and science backed evidence on Marijuana to educators, human service providers, behavioral health providers and medical professionals. This is the equivalent of the CEO for alcoholic anonymous presenting his or herself to all the public bars over in England on News Years Eve talking about the dangers of alcohol. Who wants to hear about alcoholism when the owner of the bar is making “money” from alcohol and drinkers are having fun.
Do you get my point? Now I am not saying Mendocino’s main economy is marijuana, yet there does seem an abundance of financial opportunities to part take in an industry that pays hard cash. One of the basic jobs in this industry is called “Trimming.” After harvest, the cannabis plant is generally trimmed of its leaf matter, leaving behind only the buds. During the harvest season $200 a pound for trimming buds is the going rate if you can sit for eight hours and focus with scissors snipping away at this herb.
An example of the vast amounts of revenue created by marijuana is a 71 years young person, (in England we would say OAP, old age pensioner) was arrested with approximately $484,000 in a car and 12,000 plants. The person was later released on $50,000 bail.
So here is this man Ralph Cantor talking about marijuana, “Its impact on the adolescent brain” here in Mendocino. Is Mr. Cantor crazy, mad or is he just wanting to make a bloody wake up call to parents and the marijuana industry who have no idea what this “herb” can do to a young person’s brain? Remember Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz falling a sleep in the field full of poppies until Glinda the good witch wakes her up and tells her to get on her way? “Your children instead of walking through the fields of poppies, they are walking past fields of marijuana plants.” “They need to wake up and get a life,” Ralph Cantor said.
I can see his point of view and hear those hippies of the 1960s saying, “It did me no harm, and I am still living.” Ok, that was a totally different “herb.” It has evolved. Marijuana of that time is not the marijuana of today Ralph Cantor says. The high the hippies got in the 1960s was 1% THC Tetrahydrocannabinol. This gives you the high. The new herb was brought in from Vietnam late 1960s and was 10% THC, then cloning, and modern growing techniques have raised it to 95% THC using dabs (butane hash oil) in the present day. This high THC hitting a 12 year old young brain that has not developed mentally or physically may cause irreparable damage. Why? Well, it is so concentrated it can make the brain give copious amounts of dopamine to get that feeling of well being. “A deeper thinking of life and philosophy.” “I learn better.” “I perform better when I take Marijuana.”
Ralph Cantor explains that this is short-term memory for the adolescent brain. It tricks the brain, he says, just like alcohol. Another point to think about is the tar (dabs) from marijuana inhaled into the lung and the effect it has. Smoke damages the lungs as we all know and Marijuana is no different. Wait a minute, I saw a book being sold “smoking marijuana does not caused lung cancer”! Doctors suggest thick tar from marijuana will harm the fine hairs called cilia in the lung. Cilia helps clears the air passages. My common sense says this, any smoke or pollution will damage my lungs.
Mr. Cantor is not judging or preaching he is just explaining what this new herb has in it if a child at school wants or is offered to use it. Ralph Cantor is not against the use of Marijuana for adults, he wants parents with children 12-18 years of age to be aware that marijuana will damage their brain over long term use.
I have been saying it is a herb although my personal research has suggested with all the cloning and herbicides, fertilizers, hydroponic growing that this hippie “herb” — Ralph Cantor calls this “herb” “a designer drug.” Just like the food industry, processed food has affected the body. “The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board” has sent a notice to residents, and I quote, “The Cannabis Order aims to protect waters of the state from potential harmful impacts associated with cannabis cultivation addressing erosion control and drainage features, stream and wetland buffers, spoils management, water storage and use, irrigation runoff fertilizers and pesticides.” Interesting!
Obesity has grown. Would marijuana become the new fast food of the drug industry? Instead of getting larger clothes to fit the ever increasing waistline as with obesity, what will be the answer to a zombified young brain that has been permanently destroyed? I know nursing care homes will increase. It could be a great investment as young people entering these homes as early as their early 20s. (I personally know of one boy admitted to a home for life after starting to take marijuana in his teens) will be there for a lifetime.
There is a growing call to make marijuana legal, a recreational drug like alcohol. Similar to alcohol it may be just a temporary band aid for when the stress levels start and the need for something to relax, a drink seems the answer. As we all know with booze there is a payback, if we drink too much or drink the wrong drink. A morning hangover or sluggishness follows. Yet continuing drinking the body will become more tolerant of alcohol, so we think. The body hides the withdrawal symptoms very well as long as the liver is cleaning you out. Alcoholics anonymous was formed to deal with addiction, now I have read there is “Marijuana Anonymous.” Marijuana is fat soluble, it stays in the body and when Mr. Cantor says fat he means also the fat in the brain. It can take 60 days to eliminate marijuana from the body, some other experts say longer, 12 months.
As a non-user and observer from a distance I would urge parents to research and to listen to Ralph Cantor through the internet or contact him. A quote: “Help is only help as perceived by the helpee.”
Ralph Cantor can be contacted at: http://www.themarijuanaeducator.com/Marijuana_Educator_Welcome.html
(King Arthur is a USA professional tennis coach & Health Consultant)
I met Ralph Cantor a few years ago in Northern California He gives talks on marijuana and the adolescent brain. I wrote this https://theava.com/archives/50491