25Jul/121

Then we will fight you, tooth and nail

Tagged as: marijuana propaganda, mitt romney marijuana, mitt romney medical marijuana, mitt romney mmj, releaf, releaf magazine, releaf.co 1 Comment

11May/120

warning: CORPORATE ADGENDA

'Heavy' Marijuana Use Up 80 Percent Among Teens

One possible factor for elevated rates of use by teens in California could be marijuana dispensaries, said Steve Pasierb, president of Drugfree.org.

Classic! An article written based on speculation, and guess who sponsored the study? METLIFE! -UA

It’s not just the numbers of teens using marijuana that are increasing, it’s all also the amount they’re using, according to a nationwide survey on The Partnership Drugfree.org.

Findings from the 23^rd annual Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) indicate that heavy usage of marijuana by adolescents has risen by about 80 percent in the last four years, following a 10-year decrease that lasted from1998 to 2008, said Steve Pasierb, Drugfree.org’s president, in a statement.

Based on surveys of 3,322 teens in grades 9-12 and 821 parents, the study displays a national trend of more frequent marijuana use. The number of teens reportedly using the illicit drug within the past month is up by 42 percent, according to PATS, while use within the past year is up by 26 percent.

Increased use is elevated slightly more among boys and minorities, with half of Hispanic teens admitting to using marijuana within the past year, compared to 40 percent of African Americans and 35 percent of Caucasians.

Overall, 10 percent of teenagers across the country said they had smoked around 20 times within the last month, putting the total figure of heavy teen users at 1.5 million.

"Ninety percent of all adult addicts started drug use in their teen years,".Pasierb said in a statement, emphasizing the danger of marijuana as a gateway to more dangerous substances and the important role parents play in teen drug prevention.

"Kids who learn at home (of the dangers of drug use) are half as likely to use," he said in a statement.

He warned parents not to tolerate what many consider to be a safer alternative to street drugs like crystal meth and heroin, or pharmaceuticals such as OxyContin, the use of which has been likened to an epidemic in the past. Abuse of OxyContin and other pain prescriptions such as Vicodin, however, stayed at 10 percent based on the PATS’s data.

While the survey was conducted nationally, Pasierb said that medical marijuana dispensaries could be a possible factor for elevated rates of use by teens in California, and that before selling to patients dispensaries should “make certain there is a medical reason.”

Medical marijuana patients in California are required to see a physician for an evaluation and to get a prescription prior to visiting a dispensary.

PATS was sponsored by MetLife Foundation and has a plus or minus 3-3.4 percent margin of error.

Share on Facebook

Tagged as: corporate adgenda, drugfree.org marijuana, marijuana propaganda, metlife marijuana, releaf, releaf magazine, releaf.co No Comments

31Mar/116

Ignorance is bliss? I don’t think so…….sounds like the eye is trying to cover ours……

First federal agency to acknowledge medical marijuana removes anti-tumor information from database

By Kyle Daly | 03.29.11 | 11:44 am Colorado Independent

Last week, The American Independent was first to report that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) had added a section on medical marijuana to its treatment database, making it the first federal agency to formally recognize marijuana’s medicinal properties. Now, NCI has altered the page, removing any mention of the evidence that marijuana can diminish and even reverse tumor growth.

In an edit that appeared Monday afternoon, NCI replaced a sentence about marijuana’s direct anti-tumor effect with one stating that it is prescribed mainly to battle nausea, pain and insomnia among cancer patients. The original passage, which was published on March 17, read:

The potential benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people living with cancer include antiemetic effects, appetite stimulation, pain relief, and improved sleep. In the practice of integrative oncology, the health care provider may recommend medicinal Cannabis not only for symptom management but also for its possible direct antitumor effect.

The amended version reads:

The potential benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people living with cancer include antiemetic effects, appetite stimulation, pain relief, and improved sleep. Though no relevant surveys of practice patterns exist, it appears that physicians caring for cancer patients who prescribe medicinal Cannabis predominantly do so for symptom management.

In its overview of the drug, NCI still acknowledges the following:

Cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years prior to its current status as an illegal substance.

Chemical components of Cannabis, called cannabinoids, activate specific receptors found throughout the body to produce pharmacologic effects, particularly in the central nervous system and the immune system.

Cannabinoids may have benefits in the treatment of cancer-related side effects.

The American Independent is awaiting reply from NCI on the reasons for the change. An image of the page as it appeared prior to Monday’s edit can be seen here.

Share on Facebook