Marijuana.com

Hashishi

'Month of cannabis terrified me'
A mother-of-three who smoked cannabis for a month as part of a BBC documentary has described how the drug left her paranoid and frightened.
3-26-'07 | BBC

She said that the effects of a powerful version of the drug called "skunk" were "absolutely horrendous", though not long-lasting.

Nicky Taylor, from Kidderminster, took part in the experiment in Amsterdam, where the drug is legal. She also became psychotic after an injection of an active ingredient of cannabis.

This is not the first time Nicky has become a guinea pig - other programmes have seen her binge drinking, and undergoing plastic surgery.

Although scientific research has firmly linked cannabis use with health problems, the UK has, according to UNICEF, the third highest rate of use among young people in the Western world.

Although she had previously used cannabis two decades ago at university, Nicky said that she wanted to find out what would happen to her children if any of them went on to take today's version of the drug.

Some modern varieties are said to have up to five times higher levels of the active ingredient THC.

After taking a job at an Amsterdam coffee shop she smoked different varieties and strengths on a daily basis.

Her experiences with "skunk" cannabis, she said, made her feel "irrational and paranoid".

"Some nights I couldn't sleep at all, and would be pacing my room, becoming more and more paranoid and thinking everyone I'd met at the cafe, as well as the BBC crew, was talking about me."

Although weaker types of cannabis did not have the same effect, she said that her ability to function properly was compromised, making it even more difficult than usual to perform tasks such as putting together flat pack furniture.

"The drug totally wrecked my mind," she said. "There is no way I would want to repeat it again. Nothing made much sense to me any more."

Pure injection

Another noticeable effect of the drug was on her appetite - she said she gained half a stone over the course of the month due to cravings for sweet and salty snacks.

After the month was over, she visited scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, where she was injected with THC alone, and THC with cannabinoid, the combination found in less potent cannabis. After the pure THC, she had a severe psychotic episode.

"I thought that the reasearchers conducting the episode were characters from a horror film. "I was thinking about jumping out of a window."

A psychological score taken during the experiment suggested that the level of her psychosis was greater than that found in some people suffering a schizophrenic attack.

Fortunately, after the end of the month-long experiment, she has suffered no long-term effects, but has vowed to try to keep her children away from the drug.

Debate needed

However, she said a sober public debate was needed about cannabis, as there was growing evidence that it had potentially useful medical applications.

"This is a complex plant, it can do an awful amount of harm, but it can also do an awful amount of good," she said.

"On one hand you have people who think it is the spawn of the devil, and then you have people who think it's fantastic, so nobody ever gets to sit down and actually talk constructively about what we should do with the problem."

Martin Barnes, chief executive of charity Drugscope, said that most evidence about the potential health harms of cannabis had been gathered using lower-strength cannabis varieties.

"The average potency of cannabis available in the UK has increased, and while it is intuitive that greater harm potentially will arise from stronger forms of cannabis, people shouldn't assume that only the stronger types are harmful.

"A big issue is also the longer-term problems which may arise from cannabis use."

A spokesman for Addaction, the drug treatment charity, said cannabis was easily obtained, and normally the first drug used by young people.

She said: "Using the drug can provoke the onset of psychosis or worsen existing psychotic illness - so for people with a history of mental health problems or depression, taking this drug is not a good idea.

"What we need is open, realistic education and information on the associated risks of cannabis use and to make sure high quality treatment is available to all those who need help."

__________________
<Taki> I swear I just took a dump with well defined anatomical features

<Taki> a long smooth tail and a bunch of little hardened pellets making up a complex head

<Taki> I didn't want to flush it, it's probably the closest thing I'll have to a son

<bryant> I think in the 3 days I've seen you in this channel you've done a better job keeping me in school and off drugs than every authority figure I've met in my entire life.

<Taki> I do what I can

 

Hashishi

The program 'Should I Smoke Dope' will air tonight on BBC3 at 22:00 (UK time).

It may be seen using the BBC iPlayer for up to six days subsequent to that time.

SirSmokaALot

Wow... Why did they inject thc when they acknowledge that marijuana are only smoked/eaten/vaporized. Injecting is totally out of sync with marijuana... wtf thats for heroin or liquid solutions not just THC content ripped out then slapped into needle!!

These people need to reevaluates themselves for their ability to process informations that's in sync with reality not their own twisted world of twisted ideas..... and from what i see... they got none of that ability...

Buzzby

More accurately, she had a "psychotic reaction". To "become psychotic" would imply (as the British drug warriors would like us to believe) that she developed a mental illness.

A masochist?

Which means that people with good sense would smoke only a fifth as much. Beer has 5% alcohol. Whiskey has 43 - 50% alcohol. Should whiskey be outlawed because it could kill you if you drank a quart? Obviously not. We depend on people having a bit of good sense and self-control. Because a drug is available doesn't mean that you have to abuse it.

Most people, people who weren't out to make an anti-drug point, would reduce their dosage to the point where it didn't make them feel "irrational and paranoid". I could kill myself by drinking two gallons of water all at once. Does that make water a dangerous drug?

Uh... The BBC crew probably was talking about her. She was the reason they were there. If she was acting like someone who was "irrational and paranoid", there's a good chance the people at the café were talking about her, too.

Maybe that's not something you should be attempting to do when you're stoned? I'd have trouble doing calculus when I'm stoned. Fortunately, I'm rarely called upon to do calculus. I thought it said she was working at a café, not an Ikea store.

Who forced you to smoke that much? All you've done is re-state the obvious: "Drug abuse fucks up your head."

OK, so she's a binge drug abuser with no self-control. Is that marijuana's fault?

THC is a cannabinoid and all varieties of marijuana have various combinations of different cannabinoids.

Need I mention that people in the real world don't inject pure THC into their veins?

When I tried to bring up the BBC iPlayer, I was told that it was restricted to people living in the UK. Damn!

__________________

Hashishi

Ah.

Must be the whole tax-paying thing.

Didn't think of that one. You should be able to access it through a proxy, I'd imagine. If the Java script doesn't work then perhaps you could set your external IP to a British proxy server. ...Bit of a pain, though.

Shouldn't be too long before it's ripped, though. I'll try and keep the thread posted.

 

Buzzby

Thanks! Why didn't I think of that?

Actually, it was easier to use a British proxy than to find one. I found one at 217.65.158.65. It works, but it has only the lowest level of proxy security. Do you know of any that are highly anonymous (for future projects)?

Buzzby

I'm watching it right now. The first thing I noticed was that, against the advice of the woman who runs the shop, who told her to take a couple of tokes and wait seven minutes before taking any more, Nicky Taylor took twenty-five tokes right off the bat. Then she had a minor panic attack. Could it be that this wouldn't have happened had she followed the advice she solicited from an expert? Could it be that Nicky wasn't looking for a pleasant experience? Pleasant experiences hardly have the drama of negative ones.

"I must say, that was the worst day ever ever ever in my whole whole life." Yeah. Drug abuse is a bitch. That's why responsible adults don't do it.

Misinformation: The film says that cannabis isn't legal anywhere in the world when, in fact, it's legal in Tanzania, Bangladesh, and most of Ghana. In many countries where it's technically illegal the laws are rarely enforced.

I can't watch the rest of this propaganda piece. I had hopes that, despite the news article about it, there would be some objective reporting. Instead, it's just more of the same tired bullshit.

theMADNESS

The mind is a powerful tool; when you are already determined about a result it is more likely to occur. She definitely seemed determined to hurt herself. I bet thats where the idea to inject THC came from. She was trying to hurt herself. Lucky for her, marijuana's affects are not long lasting.

So much for fair and balanced reporting. The part that really bugs me is that in the BBCi player, the show is filed under 'Factual'. Although it is a reality show, what is portrayed to the average viewer who won't pick apart the show like Buzzby is not reality.

On a side note, I saw a documentary based in Britain and it said that a large portion of marijuana users there smoke hash. And the hash is often cut with vinyl. I think Nicky should have smoked some straight up vinyl. Maybe that'll get rid of her.. Not that I condone murder. Or would it be suicide?

Hashishi

THREAD UPDATED: VIDEO ADDED

Well, it was interesting. It wasn't a complete 'reefer madness' campaign nor was it outright condemning, but it did manage to hold a candle to the current 'reefer madness' trend and in places (including the aforementioned) it was hugely naive.

I enjoyed it, though, and was willing to concede it was a job well done and certainly worth the watch. Thankfully, most of the argument that could be construed as cannabis prohibitionism I found I was able to refute or solve (with the proposition of reform) from the top of my head. They even had to good sense to mention that cannabis use (particularly amongst the young) was very much higher in countries with prohibition in effect than countries wihtout.

An interesting if flawed observation was that THC and CBD together provided a more enjoyable high than THC alone.

Also, while it focused very much more as a diary there was much more constituting its intrigue. It featured several hilarious moments of the reporter greening out, too, so regardless of your opinion of it it's well worth the watch.

...No shit, Buzz!

That's what was construed by the cameras, at least!

Misinformation implies there was intent behind it. This was a case of flawed research.

Well, for a start it was self-evidently subjective. It was a diary, for the most part. ...I'm really not seeing your analogy at all. Perhaps watch all of it, first?