DANGERS OF MARIJUANA: MARIJUANA IS DANGEROUS TO THE USER AND OTHERS

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DANGERS OF MARIJUANA: MARIJUANA IS DANGEROUS TO THE USER AND OTHERS

analysis of U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Demand Reduction Section May 2014 The Dangers and Consequences of Marijuana Abuse

analysis of DANGERS OF MARIJUANA: MARIJUANA IS DANGEROUS TO THE USER AND OTHERS: (2.038673 secs.)

DANGERS OF MARIJUANA: MARIJUANA IS DANGEROUS TO THE USER AND OTHERS

Without a clear understanding of the mental and physical effects of marijuana, its use on our youth, our families, and our society, we will never understand the ramifications it will have on the lives of our younger generation, the impact on their future, and its costs to our society.

Legalization of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the expense of our children and public safety. It will create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers.

This is not the marijuana of the 1970s; today's marijuana is far more powerful. On May 14, 2009, analysis from the NIDA-funded University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project revealed that marijuana potency levels in the U.S. are the highest ever reported since the scientific analysis of the drug began.16 This trend continues. o According to the latest data, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached 12.55 percent. This compares to an average of just under four percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a tripling of the potency of the drug since that time.17

o "We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use of marijuana is robbing many young people of their potential to achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life," said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, MD. "THC, a key ingredient in marijuana, alters the ability of the hippocampus, a brain area related to learning and memory, to communicate effectively with other brain regions. In addition, we know from recent research that marijuana use that begins during adolescence can lower IQ and impair other measures of mental function in adulthood."18

.......

o "We should also point out that marijuana use that begins in adolescence increases the risk they will become addicted to the drug," said Volkow. "The risk of addiction goes from about 1 in 11 overall to 1 in 6 for those who start using in their teens, and even higher among daily smokers."19

The most recent statistics on the use of marijuana in the U.S. shows that marijuana use continues to rise.

o In 2012, an estimated 23.9 million American's aged 12 and older were current (past month) illicit drug users. This represents 9.2 percent of the population 12 and older. Marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug with 18.9 million past month users.20

o The use of illicit drug use among young adults aged 18 to 25 increased from 19.7 percent in 2008 to 21.3 percent in 2012, driven largely by an increase in marijuana use (from 16.6 percent in 2008 to 18.7 percent in 2012). 21

o In 2012, an estimated 2.9 million persons aged 12 and older used an illicit drug for the first time within the past 12 months. That equals about 7,900 initiates per day. The largest number of new initiates used marijuana (2.4 million).22

o Among 12 and 13 year olds, 1.2 percent used marijuana; for 14 and 15 year olds, it was 6.1 percent; and for 16 and 17 year olds, it climbed to 14 percent.23 o An estimated 17 percent of past year marijuana users aged 12 and older used marijuana on 300 or more days within the past 12 months. This means that almost 5.4 million persons used marijuana on a daily or almost daily basis over a 12 month period.24

o An estimated 40.3 percent (7.6 million) of current marijuana users aged 12 and older used marijuana on 20 or more days in the past month.25

o Among persons aged 12 or older, of the estimated 1.4 million first-time past year marijuana users initiated use prior to age 18.26

o On an average day 646,707 adolescents aged 12-17 years of age smoked marijuana, and 4,000 adolescents used marijuana for the first time.27

o According to the 2013 Monitoring the Future Survey, one in every 15 high school seniors (6.5 percent) is a daily or near-daily marijuana user.28

o Nearly 23 percent of high school seniors say they smoked marijuana in the month prior to the survey, and just over 36 percent say they smoked within the previous year. More than 12 percent of eighth graders said they used marijuana during the past year.29

o The 2011 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study found that nine percent of teens (nearly 1.5 million) smoked marijuana heavily (at least 20 times) in the past month. Overall, past- month teen use was up 80 percent from 2008.30

.......

o Nearly half of all teens (47 percent) have ever used marijuana ' a 21 percent increase from 2008.31 o Two out of every five teens (39 percent) have tried marijuana during the past year, an increase from 31 percent in 2008.32 o Past-month use increased 42 percent, from 19 percent in 2008 to 27 percent in 2011 (an increase of 4 million teens).33 o Past-year use is up 26 percent from 31 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2011 (an increase of 6 million teens).34 o Lifetime use is up 21 percent, from 39 percent in 2008 to 47 percent in 2011 (an increase of 8 million teens).35

Increasingly, the international community is joining the U.S. in recognizing the fallacy of arguments claiming marijuana use is a harmless activity with no consequences to others. o Antonio Maria Costa, then Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, noted in an article published in The Independent on Sunday "The debate over the drug is no longer about liberty; it's about health." He continued, "Evidence of the damage to mental health caused by cannabis use'from loss of concentration to paranoia, aggressiveness and outright psychosis'is mounting and cannot be ignored. Emergency- room admissions involving cannabis is rising, as is demand for rehabilitation treatment. ...It is time to explode the myth of cannabis as a 'soft' drug."36

o The President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), Raymond Yars, voiced grave concern about the recent referenda in the U.S. that would allow the recreational use of cannabis by adults. "Legalization of cannabis within these states would send wrong and confusing signals to youth and society in general, giving the false impression that drug abuse might be considered normal and even, most disturbingly, safe. Such a development could result in the expansion of drug abuse, especially among young people, and we must remember that all young people have a right to be protected from drug abuse and drug dependency."37

"The concern with marijuana is not born out of any culture war mentality, but out of what science tells us about the drug's effects."38

summary: drug_related = 100%, drugwar_propaganda = 100%, reefer_madness = 50%

I thought the text was interesting because of these details:

addiction cannabis drug czar drug propaganda agency drug related drugs drugwar propaganda gateway government prohib illegal drugs intoxicant legalization moral imperative narcotic plants prohibition agency prohibitionist propaganda theme1 propaganda theme2 propaganda theme3 propaganda theme4 propaganda theme5 propaganda theme7 reefer madness school use is abuse various drugs various illegal drugs youth

analysis of article text

    prohibitionist     prohibition_agency     drugwar_propaganda     legalization     drug_reformer
    reform_referenda     cannabis     stimulant     narcotic     hallucinogen

incarceration/prison mentioned? NO - the issue of prison or incarceration was NOT mentioned in this article .

propaganda analysis

EXP - explicit prohibition propaganda (explicit_propaganda) GRP - hated group (propaganda_theme1) MAD - madness, violence, illness (propaganda_theme2)
SOC - survival of society (propaganda_theme3) USE - gateway, use is abuse (propaganda_theme4) KID - children (propaganda_theme5)
WAR - demonize, war, epidemic (propaganda_theme6) TOT - total prohibition (propaganda_theme7) DIS - dissent opposed (propaganda_theme8)

asserted: $drug_related at 100% ($legalization $prohibition_agency $illegal_drugs $prohibitionist) asserted: $drugwar_propaganda at 100% ($propaganda_theme1 $propaganda_theme2 $propaganda_theme3 $propaganda_theme5 $propaganda_theme7 $propaganda_theme4) asserted: $propaganda_theme1 at 100% ("drug users" "USER" "users"), 9 hits asserted: $addiction at 80% ("addiction" "addicted" "drug dependency" "dependency"), 5 hits asserted: $propaganda_theme2 at 100% ("Crime" "lower IQ" "DANGEROUS" "effectively with other brain" "damage" "DANGERS" "DANGERS OF" "impaired" "impair" "paranoia" "psychosis" "drugged drivers" "mental function" $addiction $reefer_madness), 15 hits asserted: $propaganda_theme3 at 75% ("society" "American" "community" "public safety" "our society"), 11 hits asserted: $use_is_abuse at 100% ("drug abuse" "drug users" "drug use" "cannabis use" "marijuana use" "marijuana users" "marijuana user" "abuse"), 18 hits asserted: $gateway at 95% ("open the door to use of other drugs" "open the door"), 2 hits asserted: $propaganda_theme4 at 100% ($use_is_abuse $gateway) asserted: $propaganda_theme5 at 100% ("children" "teens" "teen" "adolescents" "younger generation" "youth" "graders" "young people" "Partnership Attitude Tracking Study"), 19 hits asserted: $propaganda_theme7 at 100% ("Legalization" "Legalization of marijuana" $legalization), 4 hits asserted: $moral_imperative at 100% ("we must"), 1 hits asserted: $illegal_drugs at 100% ($cannabis $narcotic $various_illegal_drugs $addiction) asserted: $drugs at 95% ($various_drugs) asserted: $prohibitionist at 100% ($government_prohib) asserted: $government_prohib at 100% ("Volkow" $drug_czar), 2 hits asserted: $prohibition_agency at 100% ("Narcotics Control Board" "INCB" "United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime" "NIDA" $drug_propaganda_agency), 4 hits asserted: $drug_propaganda_agency at 100% ($drug_czar) asserted: $drug_czar at 100% ("Antonio Maria Costa"), 1 hits asserted: $legalization at 100% ("Legalization of marijuana" "Legalization of cannabis" "Legalization"), 4 hits asserted: $plants at 100% ($cannabis) asserted: $intoxicant at 100% ($cannabis) asserted: $narcotic at 100% ("Narcotics"), 1 hits asserted: $cannabis at 100% ("MARIJUANA" "cannabis" "THC" $reefer_madness), 40 hits asserted: $reefer_madness at 50% ("marijuana is not born out of any culture war mentality" "mental and physical effects of marijuana" "mental function in adulthood."18 o "We should also point out that marijuana" "mental health caused by cannabis"), 4 hits asserted: $various_drugs at 95% ("drugs" "drugged" "drug"), 19 hits asserted: $various_illegal_drugs at 100% ("illicit drug" "drug users" "drug abuse"), 8 hits asserted: $youth at 100% ($propaganda_theme5) asserted: $school at 100% ("school" "University"), 4 hits

Sentence-By-Sentence Analysis

(1) DANGERS OF MARIJUANA: MARIJUANA IS DANGEROUS TO THE USER AND OTHERS Without a clear understanding of the mental and physical effects of marijuana, its use on our youth, our families, and our society, we will never understand the ramifications it will have on the lives of our younger generation, the impact on their future, and its costs to our society .

re: "DANGEROUS", "DANGERS", "DANGERS OF" - Drugs, the prohibitionist explains, are a wicked bane on modern man. If not for the noble drug war (i.e. jailing drug users), exclaims the propagandist, then people will run amok, and violence, death, psychosis, and plague shall cover the land. (Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) ) re: "society", "our society" - Prohibitionists assert that the survival of the community, society, the nation, the world, etc. are at stake. Only continued and increased punishments for drug users can be contemplated, because, say prohibitionists, society will otherwise fall apart. (Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) ) re: "younger generation", "youth" - Drug war propaganda plays on parental fears for the well being of their kids. If drug users are not jailed, says the prohibitionist, then your children will surely suffer. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) ) re: "mental and physical effects of marijuana" - The German experience, however, raises the question of who needs treatment at all. Jewish neurologist Arnold Merzbach studied hundreds of Jewish children during the first eighteen months of the Nazi regime. In the first half of 1933 he found "restlessness, irritability, and increased squabbling. Some youths were refusing to eat; the more intelligent ones were sleeping fitfully and given to brooding." Similar behavior continued throughout the year, "as well as many neurotic symptoms." He noted, "older children thought themselves objects of special attention when outdoors."51 We typically find Jewish adults, too, drawing into themselves, exhibiting despair, and developing problems in relating with people as one formerly supportive group after another (employers, insurers, landlords, police) prevented them from living normally in society. These sorts of Jewish behavior mimic the "drug user personality," suggesting that the behavior may be a response to persecution from society rather than an expression of someone's inherent personality -- particularly since most users of socially approved drugs such as alcohol and nicotine do not exhibit "drug user symptoms" despite those drugs' potency and danger. In many cases, the proper course of treatment of drug users may simply be to cease persecuting them. (Drug Warriors and their Prey, Richard Miller, pgs.173-174)

(2) Legalization of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the expense of our children and public safety .

re: "public safety" - O'Brien: "The heretic, the enemy of society, will always be there, so that he can be defeated and humiliated over again." (Orwell, 1984) (Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) ) re: "children" - Prohibitionists are champions of "the child", "kids", "children", etc. Only continued or increased punishments of all adults caught using "drugs" will send the correct "message" to children. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) ) re: "Legalization", "Legalization of marijuana" - The ancient and first commandment (Mat 22:38, Mark 12:28) is, "Thou shall not legalize the herb." (Gen 1:29-30) To be seen of men (Mat 23:5), thou shalt make thy righteousness (Isa 64:6) of thine holy rulers (1Chron 21:1, Mat 4:8, Luke 4:5, 1Jn 2:18) shine forth over the wickedness of marijuana! Pharmakeia evil-doers (that is to say, marijuana users - sorcerers and witches all; Gal 5:20,Rev 21:8,22:15), shall be arrested (Luke 12:11), scourged (Mark 15:15, John 19:1), imprisoned (Mat 25:36), and enslaved (1Tim 1:10, Rev 18:13), for ever and ever (Rev 19:3). For to punish marijuana users is like unto the Righteousness of the Saints. (Rev 19:8) Amen! (Total Prohibition or Access (propaganda theme 7) )

(3) It will create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers .

re: "impaired", "drugged drivers" - Prohibition propaganda rarely misses an opportunity to link crime, violence, and insanity with "drugs". The propagandist insinuates that prohibited drugs cause evil, and if it weren't for "drugs" bad things would not exist. (Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) ) re: "open the door to use of other drugs", "open the door" - Some drugs, claims the rhetoric of prohibition, are "gateways" to other, "harder" drugs. (Use is Abuse, Gateway (propaganda theme 4) )

(6) This compares to an average of just under four percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a tripling of the potency of the drug since that time.17 o "We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use of marijuana is robbing many young people of their potential to achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life," said NIDA Director Nora D .

re: "young people" - "Since the Harrison Act of 1914, the user and the seller of illicit drugs have both been characterized as evil, criminal, insane, and always in search of new victims, the victims are characterized as young children." [W.White,1979] (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) ) re: "NIDA" - Power is sweet; it is a drug, the desire for which increases with a habit. -- Bertrand Russell

(8) "THC, a key ingredient in marijuana, alters the ability of the hippocampus, a brain area related to learning and memory, to communicate effectively with other brain regions .

re: "effectively with other brain" - Prohibitionist propaganda claims that horrible dangers are caused by "drugs." (Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) )

(9) In addition, we know from recent research that marijuana use that begins during adolescence can lower IQ and impair other measures of mental function in adulthood."18 6 ....... o "We should also point out that marijuana use that begins in adolescence increases the risk they will become addicted to the drug," said Volkow .

re: "addicted" - Drug war rhetoric asserts jailing addicts curbs addiction.

re: "lower IQ", "impair", "mental function" - Prohibitionists claim use of currently illegal drugs causes crime, death, illness, lunacy, mania, melancholy, and all means of sin and degradation. (Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) ) re: "marijuana use" - "This strategy equates the use and abuse of drugs and implies that it is impossible to use the particular drug or drugs in question without physical, mental, and moral deterioration." [W.White,1979] (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) )

(10) "The risk of addiction goes from about 1 in 11 overall to 1 in 6 for those who start using in their teens, and even higher among daily smokers."19 The most recent statistics on the use of marijuana in the U.S. shows that marijuana use continues to rise. o In 2012, an estimated 23.9 million American's aged 12 and older were current (past month) illicit drug users .

re: "drug users", "users" - The rhetoric of prohibition will try to use labeling and guilt by association to link drugs and drug users with hated groups. (Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) ) re: "addiction" - Prohibition propaganda claims addiction is controlled by prohibition.

re: - It is prohibition, claim prohibitionists, that saves people from drug crazed, whacked out, high flying drug users. (Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) ) re: "American" - The health of the "community" (read: government) is assured, prohibitionists explain, because drug users are punished. Jailing drug users is thus painted as upholding society. (Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) ) re: "drug users", "marijuana use" - Prohibitionists try to hammer in the idea that 'all use is abuse.' The rhetoric of prohibition needs to deny that many people can use currently illegal drugs without abusing them. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) ) re: "teens" - "The inflaming of this fear about the fate of our own children [makes] it difficult if not impossible for most Americans to take a careful and reasoned look at our drug policies."[W.White,1979] (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) )

(14) The largest number of new initiates used marijuana (2.4 million).22 o Among 12 and 13 year olds, 1.2 percent used marijuana; for 14 and 15 year olds, it was 6.1 percent; and for 16 and 17 year olds, it climbed to 14 percent.23 o An estimated 17 percent of past year marijuana users aged 12 and older used marijuana on 300 or more days within the past 12 months .

re: "marijuana users" - The rhetoric of prohibition will assume that "use" and "abuse" are identical. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) )

(16) More than 12 percent of eighth graders said they used marijuana during the past year.29 o The 2011 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study found that nine percent of teens (nearly 1.5 million) smoked marijuana heavily (at least 20 times) in the past month .

re: "teens", "graders", "Partnership Attitude Tracking Study" - Prohibitionists forever claim that children are corrupted by drugs, and this is why adult users must be punished harshly. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) )

(18) He continued, "Evidence of the damage to mental health caused by cannabis use'from loss of concentration to paranoia, aggressiveness and outright psychosis'is mounting and cannot be ignored .

re: "damage", "paranoia", "psychosis" - The rhetoric of prohibition asserts that insanity, crime, and violence are caused by drugs, or are controlled by prohibition. (Madness Crime Violence Illness (propaganda theme 2) ) re: "cannabis use" - Prohibitionist propagandists repeatedly assert that "use is abuse." Details about "using" as opposed to "abusing" drugs are ignored. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) ) re: "mental health caused by cannabis" - Central to the demonizing of cannabis users is the insinuation cannabis "causes" mental illness, or that cannabis prohibition somehow contains or limits mental illness.

(19) Emergency- room admissions involving cannabis is rising, as is demand for rehabilitation treatment. ...It is time to explode the myth of cannabis as a 'soft' drug."36 o The President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), Raymond Yars, voiced grave concern about the recent referenda in the U.S. that would allow the recreational use of cannabis by adults .

re: "Narcotics Control Board", "INCB" - "for other people, this would be wrong, but because I have the best interests of my followers at heart, it's ok for me to...." -- How Power Corrupts Leaders, Ronald E. Riggio

(20) "Legalization of cannabis within these states would send wrong and confusing signals to youth and society in general, giving the false impression that drug abuse might be considered normal and even, most disturbingly, safe .

re: "society" - Because of prohibition (prohibitionists assure us), society is protected: the community is safe, and the nation is saved. (Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) ) re: "drug abuse", "abuse" - Prohibition propaganda claims that all use of any "drug" is abuse. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) ) re: "youth" - Prohibitionists play on parental fears by exaggerating the dangers to children of drugs. Adults must be jailed (reason prohibitionists), because kids might be corrupted with drugs. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) ) re: "Legalization" - Reframe the issue as one of some strange and dangerous pro-drug libertine "Legalization" - as opposed to the calm reason of a concerned community, seeking only to save the kids from death and depravity. Do not mention prison. Or if pressed, weasel: "Nobody goes to federal prison for 'possession' as an 'unrelated charge'". Which explains why people must always go to prison for pot. If anyone complains, act like jailing people for pot is something new and different. (Total Prohibition or Access (propaganda theme 7) )

MAPInc Bookmarks:

Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?252 (Cannabis - Psychosis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

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Bot's analysis of: "The Dangers and Consequences of Marijuana Abuse" the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Demand Reduction Section, May 2014
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analysis of article text

incarceration/prison mentioned? NO - the issue of prison or incarceration was NOT mentioned in this article .

propaganda analysis

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