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Zilos

Zilos-note: Reefer Madness!

A LEADING Scottish drugs researcher has claimed that cannabis could be as big a danger to society as cocaine and heroin.

In a comment piece written for the Sunday Herald, Professor Neil McKeganey, of the Centre for Drugs Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow, warns that the government and drugs workers should put the focus back on cannabis to solve the problem of illegal drug use in Scotland.

McKeganey argues that the threat of cannabis is not so much its health risk to the individual, but that it creates a climate in which the use of harder drugs could become increasingly socially acceptable.

He writes: “It is possible that the perception that it is OK to use illegal drugs if they are not seen to cause much harm to the vast majority of users, is a judgement which has been assisted by the perception of cannabis as a harm-free recreational drug.

“If this is the case then cannabis – at a societal level, if not at the level of the individual – is just as dangerous as heroin and cocaine.” He calls this the “societal gateway” theory.

But McKeganey’s comments drew angry reactions from Scotland’s drugs workers. David Liddell, director of the Scottish Drugs Forum said: “Research has overwhelmingly shown that poverty and deprivation – not cannabis – is more likely to be the gateway into problematic drug use.

“People who develop serious drug problems do so by using any type of drug, irrespective of what it is. Cannabis per se is not the issue – people’s personal and social difficulties are.

“The nut which society really needs to crack is the underlying issues which cause people to turn to drugs as an escape route in the first place.”

Dr David Shewan of Caledonian University, co-author of a recent controversial report which showed that heroin use did not always lead to negative health or social problems, agreed.

He said: “There are health concerns in relation to the high strength of some cannabis available now, particularly when smoked by young users, and people with existing mental health problems.

“But I am not convinced that dealing with these health issues would be helped by what Professor McKeganey appears to be arguing for, a ‘war on cannabis’.

“Making cannabis use primarily a criminal justice issue would undermine a more constructive focus on these health needs.

“It would distract attention from more intrusive issues of crime and underpinning problems of socioeconomic deprivation.

“If the concept of the societal gateway is accepted, then the drug that most obviously serves this function is alcohol.”

Kenny MacAskill, justice spokesman for the SNP, agreed that alcohol had to be considered when addressing drug use.

“There is no easy answer to the drug problems in our society, and that includes alcohol,” he said. “I am not for greater liberalisation, but I am certain that greater repression is not working either.

“We need to find a solution though, because repression and retribution on their own have not worked and will not work. It requires education, a cultural change and, to some extent, people to believe in themselves and have some hope rather than a nihilistic, escapist perspective.”

Alistair Ramsey, director of Scotland Against Drugs, said while he doesn’t wholly agree with McKeganey’s theories, the debate into cannabis, which he believes has been stuck for 20 or 30 years, needs to be refreshed.

“This is an interesting proposition, but we can’t ignore the fact that cannabis can and does cause for some people significant health problems, both mental and physical,” he said.

It is estimated that 3.5 million people in the UK use cannabis. In January 2004, the Scottish Executive reclassified the drug from Class B to Class C status. But a spokesman for the Executive said that reclassification is not the same as legalisation.

He explained: “It simply recognises that while all drugs are harmful, some drugs are more harmful than others. Cannabis carries risks but it is not as dangerous as, say, heroin and cocaine. But dabbling in it could well leave you with a criminal record, as well as damaging your health.

“The Executive does not condone the use of cannabis. It is illegal and carries serious risk to both physical health and mental health. We also know that sustained use can create dependence – around 10% of people reporting to drug services say that cannabis is their main problem drug.”

Earlier last week, countries including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Iran rallied at the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs to persuade the UN to reject a zero-tolerance approach in international drug policy.

Their appeal was vetoed by the US. The UK delegation stayed silent on the issue.

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Phyxius

Oh. My. God. This sucks. It's only a "gateway" drug because it's illegal. I just made this point in another thread: It's only a gateway drug because those who want to use marijuana are more likely to be in contact with those who are also trading heroin, coke, etc. If it was legal, marijuana users wouldn't come in contact with the more violent people. ARGH.

killer12382

Has anyone considered alcohol to be the true "gateway" drug. Consider this...most people who have become addicted to heroin and cocaine began their substance abuse problem with a beer.

smoking_joe_lee

What does it take to become a "drug expert" anyway. If I call myself an expert, does it become the truth? Then I can make comments like;

This is smoking joe lee, DRUG RESEARCHER and EXPERT ( I wear a lab coat when I "experiment" with drugs) . SJL says, "Scotch whisky and Scotch 'experts' cause brain damage."

smoking_joe_lee

The answer is yes. In my case it was Boones Farm Strawberry Wine that became my "gateway" drug to pot, beer, JD, coke, etc. In the above story is the quote;

“I'm smoking joe and now it's time to go!

 

Bluee

Alcohol impairs me to function. I drink to put my brain into cryogenic speed, which really only has a few positive applications. With judgment completely gone, I am able to alter and create social interactions that I couldn't otherwise do, getting myself answers to life without regard for others or even myself.

That numbness from alcohol is addictive. Some people try to argue that marijuana turns off your brain in similar ways, but it isn't true. Marijuana changes the frequency of your brain, but never turns it off.

I can only listen to a certain radio station for so long before I have to switch stations. It is much easier to just turn off the radio completely, and not have to worry about which station to listen to. And that is why alcohol is more dangerously addictive than marijuana... and the bigger problem...

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Pessimism is being content when things go bad, while enjoying life when proven wrong.

sabianq

Hey Zilos,
I think you should have put the word "expert" in quotes in your title.
only because a real "expert" would know that the paper is fiction and is an exercise in "Doublethink"

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We really are being wached, and I dont care anymore.

SinsemilaStreet

Funny, you would think that those of us who are moderate every-day smokers would be the real experts and that people would be asking us questions about our methods of use, how marijuana affects us, our family, and our lives.

Last I checked, marijuana hadn't made me go on to do heroin or any other 'hard drug'.

Not to mention that if this guy was such an expert he would know that it would take some 15,000 pounds of marijuana (in my dreams, of course) in one sitting to reach a toxicity level compared to the very high toxicity level of herion or a similar drug where people overdose everyday and die.

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"...marijuana is one of the safest, therapeutically active substances known to man." ~DEA Law Judge Francis Young

"Don't do drugs because if you do drugs you'll go to prison, and drugs are really expensive in prison." ~John Hardwick

sarahmax79

He said: “There are health concerns in relation to the high strength of some cannabis available now, particularly when smoked by young users, and people with existing mental health problems."
When crazies get into substances, including Prozac, Zoloft and alcohol, the craziness gets out.
Recently one of the medical journals had an item about " marijuana and psychosis." From forty-five years of experince and observation, I believe that blaming pot on an underlying condition is an excuse for the big pharmas to sell more poisonous chemical compounds, the properties of which are not fully known.
And it is glaringly apparent that alcohol is being ignored even though it is responsible for centuries of misery.

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sarahmax79