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Lothar121 · 08-20-2005, 10:20 AM

Latest Research Shows Marijuana Use May Be a Gateway to Relapse
CUMC | eMaxHealth.com | 08/19/2005

Results of a study released in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry suggest that using cannabis or marijuana after treatment for cocaine or alcohol dependence is a significant predictor of relapse to previous drug/alcohol use. The study, which was carried out by researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University Medical Center, is believed to be the first such study to address the effects of cannabis use on post-discharge outcome of inpatients treated for alcohol, cocaine, and/or heroin.

While marijuana has long been considered a gateway drug, its use implicated in the subsequent graduation to the abuse of more addictive drugs like cocaine, this study now suggests marijuana may be a gateway drug to relapse.

Dr. Efrat Aharonovich, the lead investigator, and colleagues interviewed 250 adults who had received treatment for substance abuse in an inpatient setting. At the beginning of the study, 75% of the participants met the criteria for alcohol dependence, 58% met the criteria for cocaine dependence and 20% met the criteria for heroin dependence. Fifteen percent of the participants were marijuana dependent. (Dependency suggests an obsessive preoccupation in addition to chemical activity in the brain.)

Follow up interviews were conducted at six, 12 and 18 months following the initial meeting. The authors were particularly interested in determining (1) participants' use of substances after discharge, (2) the number of participants who remained in remission (determined to be at least 26 weeks without substance use) and (3) the number of participants who relapsed, that is used marijuana one or more weeks after remission.

"We found that not only was marijuana use in those who relapsed five times greater than those who did not, but low remission rates in participants were associated with high rates of marijuana use," said Dr. Aharonovich, a psychologist and research scientist. The findings related to heroin were far less significant, with marijuana showing no effect on relapse to the drug. "I believe our study indicates that marijuana use is not quite as harmless as one would like to think," Dr. Aharanovich added.

While the authors concur that more studies need to be done, these findings are important in their potential implementation in the care of recovering substance abusers. In addition, Dr. Aharonovich and her colleagues point to the increased potency of marijuana and its increased abuse and dependence as even greater incentive for mental health providers to consider its role in treatment outcome.

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, medical education, and health care. The medical center trains future leaders in health care and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, nurses, dentists, and other health professionals at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. With a strong history of some of the most important advances and discoveries in health care, its researchers are leading the development of novel therapies and advances to address a wide range of health conditions. www.cumc.columbia.edu

Founded in 1896, the New York State Psychiatric Institute (PI) continues to contribute importantly to knowledge about understanding and treating psychiatric disorder and is ranked among the best psychiatric research facilities in the world today. Noted for its research on depression and suicide, schizophrenia, anxiety and child psychiatric disorders, PI is also at the forefront of research dedicated to unraveling the brain's mysteries. Its scientists constitute the core of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. In 2000, Dr. Eric Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research in his labs at PI on the cellular basis of memory. www.nyspi.org - New York, NY - August 5, 2005

uniquexperience · 08-20-2005, 10:41 AM

What else were these people trying?.. were they huffing paint?
Besides they were obviously trying to cope with their addictions whatever they might have been.
Last Word: They were not and are not addicted to cannabis.

Buzzby · 08-20-2005, 02:58 PM

This is pretty silly. If a person can't control their drug use and has just been released from a treatment program, what is he going to do? "I want to get high but I don't want to get back on [Off-Topic drug reference deleted]. I'll just smoke a little weed." Then, because the person can't control their drug use they slide back into using [Off-Topic drug reference deleted]. The marijuana wasn't a gateway. It was an attempt to get high without the negative effects of using [Off-Topic drug reference deleted].

SkyTripper · 08-21-2005, 06:17 AM

From personal experience, I concluded that a lot of people are addicted to SOMETHING in particular.....or many....and its the individuals CHOICES in this life that contribute to any potential relapse.
Whether it be alcohol, cigarettes, pot, HARD drugs, gambling, sex or overeating many people who end up in treatment for their addiction do so because of the numerous problems caused by that addiction in particular. Once you take away the one thing they are MOST addicted to, many people feel a huge emptiness and it can be very hard to cope with. Unless the person finally just "surrenders" and ACCEPTS COMPLETELY that ANY return to that addiction or an environment where that substance or whatever is readily available....its a real setup for relapse.
Marijuana use in and of itself is in NO way a contributing factor to ones liklihood of a relapse to whatever it was they were originally truly addicted to....unless it happened to be pot (and HOW anyone CAN actually be a real pot addict is beyond me.....they just have NO self control, IMO.) This is NOT the case though with pretty much all the rest as I believe a lack of self control is a big part of it but there are far more variables with the particular addiction (STRONG psychological and physical as well).
Since marijuana continues to remain just as illegal as off topic hard drugs and most dealers can score WHATEVER drug any true drug addict was most addicted to......anytime....to just go visit that dealer with harmless intentions of "just smokin some weed" CAN easily be a setup for a major fall, IMO. Its the EXPOSURE to those other hard, truly addictive drugs that is the real culprit, followed by a real lack of self control and TEMPTATION! A complete desire to PERMANENTLY ACCEPT that one must forever abstain from the
thing(s) that really contributed to their personal downfall in life....is what's so crucial.
An alcoholic who may never wish to drink again would very likely be tempted to do so if: (1). He/she WANTED SOMETHING to offer some relief from a stressful day, worry or boredom and wanted to just go score a little weed and NOT drink.......in the process of scoring at someones place, theres a few people over there partying and a lot of drinking going on......well, the TEMPTATION is suddenly VERY overwhelming to join the party and have a drink....then another, then another, just one more....oh SCREW IT! Another, another and another until.....OOPS! "What the Hell happened last night?! Or...."Why am I in jail again?! Same holds true with the other off topic substances and for a gambler or a sex addict.....there are casinos and video poker machines and strip clubs and hookers all over the place so temptations are ALWAYS present.
If ONLY pot were LEGAL and sold separately from alcohol (liquor stores), I would think a LOT of people would then NOT be EXPOSED to the drugs and other people who so easily can contribute to a relapse to their "drug of choice." It would definitely reduce the temptations a LOT, IMO!
But NO! Blame the pot for EVERY downfall of humanity and continue scapegoating it so you can justify more reason to keep its illegal status quo approach going and fuel more lies and propaganda.
TEMPTATION.....ITS EVERYWHERE.....and IT IS TO BLAME when people relapse!
But these smartass scientists just don't wish to acknowledge this.
I guess its because theres nothing very scientific about temptation and how to TREAT it with any success.

PotShot · 08-21-2005, 07:40 AM

Quote:

"I believe our study indicates that marijuana use is not quite as harmless as one would like to think," Dr. Aharanovich added.

I am bloody sick of seeing this line...

and this one too.

Quote:

In addition, Dr. Aharonovich and her colleagues point to the increased potency of marijuana and its increased abuse and dependence as even greater incentive for mental health providers to consider its role in treatment outcome.

Increased potency!! Ah-booga-booga-booga!

Rocknrere · 08-22-2005, 09:15 AM

Many times, it seems, that Scientists can do a certain study and manipulate the outcomes to meet their particular bias. Also, Marijuana has never been a gateway drug. If their is a gateway drug it would have to be alcohol because this is the drug that most people try first. Alcohol seems to always be downplayed as even being a drug, it's always stated like this: Alcohol and Drugs. It should be included as a drug itself as in: Alcohol and other drugs. As far as relapses go alcohol is a much better agent to cause a relapse as it hinders your judgement, as well as the rest of your brain.

king cola · 08-22-2005, 09:11 PM

If their is a gateway drug it would have to be alcohol because this is the drug that most people try first.

Yup, i tried alcohol first, then tried tobacco, then tried pot. If alcohol was illegal they would probably lable it a gateway drug too and say that's what people start on first, alcohol isn't illegal so pot takes it's place and gets labled a gateway drug. It's a plant that grows in the ground, alcohol is man made and all these other poweful addictive drugs are man made. Anyone else notice that all these man made drugs such as alcohol seem to take over peoples bodies when they get addicted, changes their moods, emotions, etc. I don't know anyone who gets the shakes from going without marijuana. Marc Emery would be a good example seein as how the guy smoked hundreds and hundreds of strains, gets arrested and put in jail for a little while and no one heard of him needing rehab. I'm sure he didn't go into a violent rage when he had no access to it being locked up.

08-20-2005, 10:20 AM	#1
Lothar121 Seasoned Activist Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,391 Grams: 3,707.00 Groans: 1 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts Thanks: 6 Thanked 22 Times in 10 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	NY: Latest Research Shows Marijuana Use May Be a Gateway to Relapse Latest Research Shows Marijuana Use May Be a Gateway to Relapse CUMC \| eMaxHealth.com \| 08/19/2005 Results of a study released in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry suggest that using cannabis or marijuana after treatment for cocaine or alcohol dependence is a significant predictor of relapse to previous drug/alcohol use. The study, which was carried out by researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University Medical Center, is believed to be the first such study to address the effects of cannabis use on post-discharge outcome of inpatients treated for alcohol, cocaine, and/or heroin. While marijuana has long been considered a gateway drug, its use implicated in the subsequent graduation to the abuse of more addictive drugs like cocaine, this study now suggests marijuana may be a gateway drug to relapse. Dr. Efrat Aharonovich, the lead investigator, and colleagues interviewed 250 adults who had received treatment for substance abuse in an inpatient setting. At the beginning of the study, 75% of the participants met the criteria for alcohol dependence, 58% met the criteria for cocaine dependence and 20% met the criteria for heroin dependence. Fifteen percent of the participants were marijuana dependent. (Dependency suggests an obsessive preoccupation in addition to chemical activity in the brain.) Follow up interviews were conducted at six, 12 and 18 months following the initial meeting. The authors were particularly interested in determining (1) participants' use of substances after discharge, (2) the number of participants who remained in remission (determined to be at least 26 weeks without substance use) and (3) the number of participants who relapsed, that is used marijuana one or more weeks after remission. "We found that not only was marijuana use in those who relapsed five times greater than those who did not, but low remission rates in participants were associated with high rates of marijuana use," said Dr. Aharonovich, a psychologist and research scientist. The findings related to heroin were far less significant, with marijuana showing no effect on relapse to the drug. "I believe our study indicates that marijuana use is not quite as harmless as one would like to think," Dr. Aharanovich added. While the authors concur that more studies need to be done, these findings are important in their potential implementation in the care of recovering substance abusers. In addition, Dr. Aharonovich and her colleagues point to the increased potency of marijuana and its increased abuse and dependence as even greater incentive for mental health providers to consider its role in treatment outcome. Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, medical education, and health care. The medical center trains future leaders in health care and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, nurses, dentists, and other health professionals at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the School of Dental and Oral Surgery, the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. With a strong history of some of the most important advances and discoveries in health care, its researchers are leading the development of novel therapies and advances to address a wide range of health conditions. www.cumc.columbia.edu Founded in 1896, the New York State Psychiatric Institute (PI) continues to contribute importantly to knowledge about understanding and treating psychiatric disorder and is ranked among the best psychiatric research facilities in the world today. Noted for its research on depression and suicide, schizophrenia, anxiety and child psychiatric disorders, PI is also at the forefront of research dedicated to unraveling the brain's mysteries. Its scientists constitute the core of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. In 2000, Dr. Eric Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research in his labs at PI on the cellular basis of memory. www.nyspi.org - New York, NY - August 5, 2005 __________________ Donate. Write. Make a difference.. Posting Guidelines \| Marijuana Policy Project \| NORML \| DPA \| Drug WarRant \| Media Awareness Project

08-20-2005, 10:41 AM	#2
uniquexperience New Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 44 Grams: 876.45 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	Why blame the weed?? What else were these people trying?.. were they huffing paint? Besides they were obviously trying to cope with their addictions whatever they might have been. Last Word: They were not and are not addicted to cannabis.

08-20-2005, 02:58 PM	#3
Buzzby Buddhist Curmudgeon Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 14,665 Grams: 51,192.77 Groans: 43 Groaned at 51 Times in 43 Posts Thanks: 560 Thanked 4,147 Times in 2,050 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	This is pretty silly. If a person can't control their drug use and has just been released from a treatment program, what is he going to do? "I want to get high but I don't want to get back on [Off-Topic drug reference deleted]. I'll just smoke a little weed." Then, because the person can't control their drug use they slide back into using [Off-Topic drug reference deleted]. The marijuana wasn't a gateway. It was an attempt to get high without the negative effects of using [Off-Topic drug reference deleted]. __________________ 60% of the people of America now say we are heading toward a depression. Not a recession, a depression. We are in desperate need of profitable industries that we can tax. Um... Now can we legalize pot? ~ Bill Maher Theocracy Watch

08-21-2005, 06:17 AM	#4
SkyTripper Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 327 Grams: 2,185.35 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	From personal experience, I concluded that a lot of people are addicted to SOMETHING in particular.....or many....and its the individuals CHOICES in this life that contribute to any potential relapse. Whether it be alcohol, cigarettes, pot, HARD drugs, gambling, sex or overeating many people who end up in treatment for their addiction do so because of the numerous problems caused by that addiction in particular. Once you take away the one thing they are MOST addicted to, many people feel a huge emptiness and it can be very hard to cope with. Unless the person finally just "surrenders" and ACCEPTS COMPLETELY that ANY return to that addiction or an environment where that substance or whatever is readily available....its a real setup for relapse. Marijuana use in and of itself is in NO way a contributing factor to ones liklihood of a relapse to whatever it was they were originally truly addicted to....unless it happened to be pot (and HOW anyone CAN actually be a real pot addict is beyond me.....they just have NO self control, IMO.) This is NOT the case though with pretty much all the rest as I believe a lack of self control is a big part of it but there are far more variables with the particular addiction (STRONG psychological and physical as well). Since marijuana continues to remain just as illegal as off topic hard drugs and most dealers can score WHATEVER drug any true drug addict was most addicted to......anytime....to just go visit that dealer with harmless intentions of "just smokin some weed" CAN easily be a setup for a major fall, IMO. Its the EXPOSURE to those other hard, truly addictive drugs that is the real culprit, followed by a real lack of self control and TEMPTATION! A complete desire to PERMANENTLY ACCEPT that one must forever abstain from the thing(s) that really contributed to their personal downfall in life....is what's so crucial. An alcoholic who may never wish to drink again would very likely be tempted to do so if: (1). He/she WANTED SOMETHING to offer some relief from a stressful day, worry or boredom and wanted to just go score a little weed and NOT drink.......in the process of scoring at someones place, theres a few people over there partying and a lot of drinking going on......well, the TEMPTATION is suddenly VERY overwhelming to join the party and have a drink....then another, then another, just one more....oh SCREW IT! Another, another and another until.....OOPS! "What the Hell happened last night?! Or...."Why am I in jail again?! Same holds true with the other off topic substances and for a gambler or a sex addict.....there are casinos and video poker machines and strip clubs and hookers all over the place so temptations are ALWAYS present. If ONLY pot were LEGAL and sold separately from alcohol (liquor stores), I would think a LOT of people would then NOT be EXPOSED to the drugs and other people who so easily can contribute to a relapse to their "drug of choice." It would definitely reduce the temptations a LOT, IMO! But NO! Blame the pot for EVERY downfall of humanity and continue scapegoating it so you can justify more reason to keep its illegal status quo approach going and fuel more lies and propaganda. TEMPTATION.....ITS EVERYWHERE.....and IT IS TO BLAME when people relapse! But these smartass scientists just don't wish to acknowledge this. I guess its because theres nothing very scientific about temptation and how to TREAT it with any success. __________________ SkyTripper

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08-22-2005, 09:15 AM	#6
Rocknrere New Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 10 Grams: 874.10 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	Many times, it seems, that Scientists can do a certain study and manipulate the outcomes to meet their particular bias. Also, Marijuana has never been a gateway drug. If their is a gateway drug it would have to be alcohol because this is the drug that most people try first. Alcohol seems to always be downplayed as even being a drug, it's always stated like this: Alcohol and Drugs. It should be included as a drug itself as in: Alcohol and other drugs. As far as relapses go alcohol is a much better agent to cause a relapse as it hinders your judgement, as well as the rest of your brain.

08-22-2005, 09:11 PM	#7
king cola Sr. Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,639 Grams: 7,008.40 Groans: 0 Groaned at 2 Times in 2 Posts Thanks: 0 Thanked 262 Times in 186 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: -1.000%	If their is a gateway drug it would have to be alcohol because this is the drug that most people try first. Yup, i tried alcohol first, then tried tobacco, then tried pot. If alcohol was illegal they would probably lable it a gateway drug too and say that's what people start on first, alcohol isn't illegal so pot takes it's place and gets labled a gateway drug. It's a plant that grows in the ground, alcohol is man made and all these other poweful addictive drugs are man made. Anyone else notice that all these man made drugs such as alcohol seem to take over peoples bodies when they get addicted, changes their moods, emotions, etc. I don't know anyone who gets the shakes from going without marijuana. Marc Emery would be a good example seein as how the guy smoked hundreds and hundreds of strains, gets arrested and put in jail for a little while and no one heard of him needing rehab. I'm sure he didn't go into a violent rage when he had no access to it being locked up.

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