Marijuana. It's been called a gateway drug, an introduction to the world of harder illegal drugs. Yet many people consider it to be a safe drug—at least safer than heroin, LSD, or cocaine. However, while marijuana might not be directly responsible for causing any deaths, the consequences of its use can be detrimental to the lives of its users. This book describes the history of marijuana use, the dangers of its use, and the legal consequences. You'll also learn about the controversies surrounding the drug—including the issues of decriminalization and the use of medical marijuana. Treatment options for marijuana dependency are also discussed
Some people suffer from chronic, debilitating disorders for which no conventional treatment brings relief. Can marijuana ease their symptoms? Would it be breaking the law to turn to marijuana as a medication? There are few sources of objective, scientifically sound advice for people in this situation. Most books about marijuana and medicine attempt to promote the views of advocates or opponents. To fill the gap between these extremes, authors Alison Mack and Janet Joy have extracted critical findings from a recent Institute of Medicine study on this important issue, interpreting them for a general audience. Marijuana As Medicine? provides patientsâ€"as well as the people who care for themâ€"with a foundation for making decisions about their own health care. This empowering volume examines several key points, including: Whether marijuana can relieve a variety of symptoms, including pain, muscle spasticity, nausea, and appetite loss. The dangers of smoking marijuana, as well as the effects of its active chemical components on the immune system and on psychological health. The potential use of marijuana-based medications on symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and several other specific disorders, in comparison with existing treatments. Marijuana As Medicine? introduces readers to the active compounds in marijuana. These include the principal ingredient in Marinol, a legal medication. The authors also discuss the prospects for developing other drugs derived from marijuana's active ingredients. In addition to providing an up-to-date review of the science behind the medical marijuana debate, Mack and Joy also answer common questions about the legal status of marijuana, explaining the conflict between state and federal law regarding its medical use. Intended primarily as an aid to patients and caregivers, this book objectively presents critical information so that it can be used to make responsible health care decisions. Marijuana As Medicine? will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, health care providers, patient counselors, medical faculty and studentsâ€"in short, anyone who wants to learn more about this important issue.
The medical use of marijuana is surrounded by a cloud of social, political, and religious controversy, which obscures the facts that should be considered in the debate. This book summarizes what we know about marijuana from evidence-based medicineâ€"the harm it may do and the relief it may bring to patients. The book helps the reader understand not only what science has to say about medical marijuana but also the logic behind the scientific conclusions. Marijuana and Medicine addresses the science base and the therapeutic effects of marijuana use for medical conditions such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. It covers marijuana's mechanism of action, acute and chronic effects on health and behavior, potential adverse effects, efficacy of different delivery systems, analysis of the data about marijuana as a gateway drug, and the prospects for developing cannabinoid drugs. The book evaluates how well marijuana meets accepted standards for medicine and considers the conclusions of other blue-ribbon panels. Full of useful facts, this volume will be important to anyone interested in informed debate about the medical use of marijuana: advocates and opponents as well as policymakers, regulators, and health care providers.
The truth about what happens when capitalism meets a mind-altering substance. Colorado’s Amendment 64, the game-changing amendment that authorized the use and regulation of marijuana in the state, sounded to most people who voted for it like a victory for social justice, a way to solve the problem of prison overcrowding, and a windfall for state and local governments that could reap the benefits from sales taxes. In Weed, Inc., author Ben Cort shows the truth. This was not simple legalization of a plant or decriminalization for those possessing it. Instead, the law was written to allow for the commercialization of the mind-altering component of marijuana, THC, by an industry now seeking to make it stronger and to get it into the hands of as many new users as possible. Controlled by a powerful, wealthy lobby, the industry has no federal oversight and has grown at a pace that’s made building and enforcing responsible regulation totally impossible, with adverse impacts to society, health, and the environment. Consider this: There are more marijuana dispensaries in Denver than Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. You’d have to smoke 15 joints in 1970 to get the same high as just one joint today. In 1996, the average level of THC in marijuana was 5% or less. Today, 30% THC is the norm in Colorado, and there are now powerful concentrates that have THC levels as high as 98%. Indoor marijuana-growing operations account for 1% of total electricity use in the US, producing greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of 3 million cars. Pesticide levels six times the maximum allowed by the federal government have been found on plants quarantined at marijuana grow houses in Denver. The black market has not disappeared; in fact, it has only grown since legalization. This essential book will take you in the complex, real world of legalized weed and keep open the debate as more states follow Colorado’s lead. We are only at the beginning of a social experiment that has wide-reaching ramifications.
The trend toward liberalizing medical and recreational marijuana use is increasing the obligation on clinicians to provide useful information to the public. This book summarizes the science all healthcare professionals need to know in order to provide objective and relevant information to a variety of patients, from recreational and medicinal users to those who use regularly, and to adolescents and worried parents. The author brings two and a half decades of studying cannabinoid research, and over forty years' experience in psychiatric and addiction medicine practice, to shed light on the interaction between marijuana and the brain. Topics range from how marijuana produces pleasurable sensations, relaxation and novelty (the 'high'), to emerging medical uses, effects of regular use, addiction, and policy. Principles of motivational interviewing are outlined to help clinicians engage patients in meaningful, non-judgmental conversations about their experiences with marijuana. An invaluable guide for physicians, nurses, psychologists, therapists, and counsellors.
In this book the author, an investigative journalist, traces the social history of marijuana from its origins to its emergence in the 1960s as a defining force in an ongoing culture war. He describes how the illicit marijuana subculture overcame government opposition and morphed into a multibillion-dollar industry. In 1996, Californians voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Similar laws have followed in several other states, but not without antagonistic responses from federal, state, and local law enforcement. The author draws attention to underreported scientific breakthroughs that are reshaping the therapeutic landscape: medical researchers have developed promising treatments for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, chronic pain, and many other conditions that are beyond the reach of conventional cures. This book is an examination of the medical, recreational, scientific, and economic dimensions of the world's most controversial plant.
In “a brilliant antidote to all the…false narratives about pot” (American Thinker), an award-winning author and former New York Times reporter reveals the link between teenage marijuana use and mental illness, and a hidden epidemic of violence caused by the drug—facts the media have ignored as the United States rushes to legalize cannabis. Recreational marijuana is now legal in nine states. Advocates argue cannabis can help everyone from veterans to cancer sufferers. But legalization has been built on myths—that marijuana arrests fill prisons; that most doctors want to use cannabis as medicine; that it can somehow stem the opiate epidemic; that it is beneficial for mental health. In this meticulously reported book, Alex Berenson, a former New York Times reporter, explodes those myths, explaining that almost no one is in prison for marijuana; a tiny fraction of doctors write most authorizations for medical marijuana, mostly for people who have already used; and marijuana use is linked to opiate and cocaine use. Most of all, THC—the chemical in marijuana responsible for the drug’s high—can cause psychotic episodes. “Alex Berenson has a reporter’s tenacity, a novelist’s imagination, and an outsider’s knack for asking intemperate questions” (Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker), as he ranges from the London institute that is home to the scientists who helped prove the cannabis-psychosis link to the Colorado prison where a man now serves a thirty-year sentence after eating a THC-laced candy bar and killing his wife. He sticks to the facts, and they are devastating. With the US already gripped by one drug epidemic, Tell Your Children is a “well-written treatise” (Publishers Weekly) that “takes a sledgehammer to the promised benefits of marijuana legalization, and cannabis enthusiasts are not going to like it one bit” (Mother Jones).
For more than 25 years, the renowned Amen Clinics has been a front line resource for brain health . . . NOW theY TACKLE all your questions about how marijuana affects your brain—and the brain of your child. Since marijuana became legal in many states, people of all ages are using it for pain relief and treatment of a variety of illnesses and ailments. But is it safe? In this comprehensive book, renowned psychiatrist and licensed prescriber of medical marijuana Dr. Rebecca Siegel delivers the most complete guide yet about the benefits and risks of using marijuana today. Based on the latest scientific research, this easy-to-read book busts all the myths and helps you navigate the sometimes confusing and often-changing world of marijuana. Within these pages you’ll discover a wealth of invaluable information, including: • Why medical marijuana is vastly different than CBD and recreational marijuana—especially when it comes to children and teenagers • Evidence-based information on how cannabis is being used to treat an array of ailments and conditions • The difference between various marijuana delivery systems, including edibles • Why marijuana-induced psychosis has risen 450% among current pot users, resulting in increases of depression and suicide • How to talk to teens or young adults about recreational marijuana use in a way that brings you closer • How marijuana affects mood, productivity, and overall brain health • Long-term vs. short-term risks for teens, adults, and older adults With a foreword by renowned psychiatrist and brain health expert Dr. Daniel Amen, The Brain on Cannabis reveals everything you ever wanted to know about marijuana so you can make informed decisions for yourself—and your loved ones.
The leading clinical expert on marijuana sifts through the myths about the drug to deliver an unbiased, comprehensive guide backed by scientific facts to give you the information you need to make informed decisions about marijuana. Marijuana--or weed, pot, grass, MJ, Mary Jane, reefer, cannabis, or hemp among dozens of other names--has a long, colorful history dating back more than 2,000 years as the one of the most sought-after mood-altering substances in the world. Societal opinion about the drug has dramatically swayed over the years, from viewing it as a grave danger to society in the 1930s film Reefer Madness, to a harmless recreational high in the ’60s, to an addictive substance and gateway to such “hard” drugs as heroin today. The myths and misinformation about marijuana have only multiplied over the years as the controversy over legalization and medical marijuana grows. A nationally recognized clinical expert and leading researcher on marijuana, Kevin P. Hill provides a comprehensive guide to understanding the drug in Marijuana: The Unbiased Truth about the World’s Most Popular Weed. Through research-based historical, scientific, and medical information, Hill will help you sort through what you hear on the streets and in the media and cut straight to the facts. Whether you’re a parent concerned about your child’s use, someone with an illness considering medical marijuana as a treatment option, a user who has questions about its effect on your health, or if you’re just trying to make up your mind about legalization, this book will give you the most current and unbiased information you need to make informed decisions about marijuana.
