Ed

The legalisation of marijuana continues to be a social disaster in Colorado.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) have just released their bi-annual “Monitoring Health Concerns Related to Marijuana in Colorado” report. The report finds there have been significant increases in past-month and daily or near-daily use among adults, marijuana-impaired driving, exposures in children under the age of five, and use of high potency forms of the drug among high school students.

Also, despite constant statements to the contrary, after an initial reduction in use, regular youth marijuana use among those under 15 rose 14.8% in 2019 versus 2017.

According to the report, there were significant increases in the use of high potency concentrates among high schoolers in Colorado. Since the last release of this report, marijuana vaping among high schoolers rose 70 percent while the use of marijuana “dabs” has risen 49 percent. Among high school students who reported use of marijuana in the past month, the use of dabs saw a significant 156 percent increase.

According to CDPHE, there has been a dramatic increase in the annual frequency of accidental exposure of children (aged 0-5) to marijuana with a total of 37 reports in 2016 versus 95 in 2019. The number of accidental exposures in 2019 represents the highest such total to date. Marijuana edibles (which are abundantly found in kid-friendly forms) account for the largest proportion of marijuana exposures.

In a similar vein, the report found that since 2017, emergency department discharges with marijuana-related billing codes among children aged 0-9 years saw a significant, 66 percent increase.

Since the release of 2017 data, daily or near-daily use among Colorado adults has increased 20 percent (7.6 percent in 2017 versus 9.1 percent in 2019), and nearly half (48.2 percent) of adult marijuana users in the state consumed the substance on a daily basis. This is concerning as daily use of today’s higher potency marijuana has been shown to increase the risk of developing severe mental illness such as psychosis up to fivefold.

Media Release 1 February 2021
A longitudinal study led by the University of Queensland in collaboration with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne has found that regular cannabis use has harmful effects regardless of the age a person starts using it.

The research – published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review – followed 1792 Australian high school students aged 15 in 1992, and investigated their patterns of cannabis use across twenty years.

It found that by the age of 35, those who had regularly used cannabis in their early 20s were far more likely to engage in high-risk alcohol consumption, not have a job, and be daily smokers. They were also 20x more likely to use illicit substances, and 60% more likely to not be in a stable relationship. There was also a higher risk of depression.

The study authors said: “Two-thirds of people who use cannabis regularly started use in their early 20s. Because adult-onset is a lot more common than adolescent on-set, most of the harms associated with cannabis are in fact in the group who begin later on. Those who began regular use as a young adult accounted for the highest proportion of subsequent illicit drug use and tobacco use in the population, and a much higher proportion of high-risk drinking.”

Dr Gary Chan, the study’s lead author, said the key message of this study is that as well as for teenagers, there is an elevated risk of a range of adverse outcomes for those who started using cannabis regularly in their early 20s, and that the risk was still high, even if the participants had stopped using it as much by their 30s. Dr Chan said many previous studies had documented the harms associated with regular cannabis use in teens, but few have looked at the adverse consequences associated with use from young adulthood. Overall, regular use of cannabis – more than weekly and especially daily use – was found to have harmful consequences, regardless of the age people began using it.

“While many studies, including the Christchurch Health and Development Study and the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Study, and also the US Surgeon-General have all pointed to the risks of cannabis use for adolescents, this Australian study finds adverse outcomes also for those who started using cannabis regularly in their early 20s. There is a basic public health message which the New Zealand government should be strongly pushing – regular cannabis use is harmful, regardless of when an individual initiates its use,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

According to the latest Ministry of Health data, use of cannabis in New Zealand in the past 12 months is most prevalent amongst the 15-34 year old age group. In 2019, only 23% of high school students reported having ever using marijuana in their lifetime, dropping from 38% in 2001.
ENDS

Cosmos 27 January 2021
More bad news for pot tokers: a study led by the University of Queensland (UQ) has found that regular cannabis use has harmful effects regardless of the age a person starts using it.

CNN Health 20 January 2021
Family First Comment: “Studies in adults show a strong association between overuse of weed and suicide attempts and death. A study of adult same-sex twins found those who were dependent on marijuana were nearly 3x more likely to attempt suicide than their twin who was not dependent on weed.”
This study shows that young people are at high risk also.
Thank goodness NZ voted No 👍😄

Stuff co.nz 19 January 2021
Family First Comment: Police have quietly shelved their annual cannabis eradication operation in a move that has blindsided staff and the police minister.
“New Zealanders voted to reject legalisation of cannabis – it’s an illegal drug and it causes significant harm in our communities. There’s a lot of organised crime involved in this. Police should explain what the justification is for not cracking down on this.”  – National MP Simeon Brown

Police have quietly shelved their annual cannabis eradication operation in a major change that has blind sided frontline staff and the police minister.

For more than 20 years, officers have taken to the skies with the New Zealand Defence Force as part of a national operation to find back country cannabis plots.

However, Stuff can reveal top brass at Police National Headquarters, which provides more than $700,000 a year to fund hundreds of hours of flight time for helicopters and planes used in the operation, have decided to scrap it.

One of the reasons the operation has been grounded is a lack of appetite from the leaders of the 12 police districts.

That’s despite the operation netting tens of thousands of plants every year, and police previously saying it prevented hundreds of millions of dollars worth of socio-economic harm.

No official announcement about the change had been made to frontline staff before Stuff began asking questions about it on Tuesday.

However, police confirmed the move in a statement on Tuesday evening.

A spokeswoman said the decision was made jointly by staff at a national and district level.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/123986572/police-slash-annual-cannabis-operation-blind-siding-frontline-staff-and-officials?cid=app-iPhone

Family First commentary – 20 January 2021
An in-depth analysis of media coverage of the euthanasia and cannabis referendums has found that while both sides of the euthanasia referendum were given reasonably fair and balanced coverage, the YES position in the cannabis debate received a heavily biased share of the media coverage during the campaign period – especially from some particular media outlets and journalists.

The analysis looked at more than 400 New Zealand-based media articles and opinion pieces as they appeared online during the cannabis and euthanasia referendum campaign period between May and October 2020. For the euthanasia referendum, there were 123 (75 news items and 48 opinion pieces) and for the cannabis referendum, there were 281 (203 news items and 78 opinion pieces) – more than double the coverage than was given to the euthanasia debate.

The objective of the analysis was to assess the extent to which the set of articles and op-eds, as a whole, provided balanced coverage of both sides of debate – consistent with the New Zealand Media Council’s first principle of “accuracy, fairness and balance.”

In the cannabis referendum analysis:

• More than a third (36%) of all headlines promoted the YES position, while only 18% promoted the NO position.
• Advocates promoting the YES position were quoted twice as often as NO advocates.
• More than half (126) of the 203 articles did not quote anybody from the NO side of the campaign, compared to only 64 articles not quoting someone from the YES side. While the NO position was mentioned in 44% of stories, it was typically deep in the story or a very small focus of the overall article.
• 51% of all Op-Eds were YES-biased while only 27% presented a NO position.

In the euthanasia referendum analysis:

• Across all 123 news and op-ed pieces on the Euthanasia Referendum, the coverage came out overall as balanced and reasonably representative of views on both sides.
• Opinion pieces were somewhat more likely to represent the NO-vote – whereas news items leaned a little more towards representing the YES-vote overall.

“As these reports clearly highlight, there can be no doubt that the YES position in the cannabis debate received a heavily biased share of the media coverage during the campaign period. The media also seemed far more concerned about the outcome of the cannabis debate than they were the euthanasia debate, with more than double the amount of coverage. A cynical observer might wonder whether that was because the outcome of the euthanasia debate appeared to be settled in the polling, whereas there was concern that the legalisation of cannabis wasn’t so certain,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ who commissioned the research.

“It is disappointing that a number of media outlets and journalists pushed one side of the cannabis debate so biasedly. The media should report the debate – not lead it. It also shows just how miraculous it was that the NO vote still succeeded.”

All the articles obtained were based on the list provided by NZ Politics Daily, a comprehensive, nonpartisan list of articles, columns, and analysis relating to New Zealand politics and government, produced by the Democracy Project at Victoria University Wellington. This list was used to maintain the neutrality of the analysis and to avoid any accusation of searching for articles that leaned to one side or the other of the debate.

The analysis has been audited by an Emeritus Professor who specialises in research methods and statistics.

READ: CANNABIS MEDIA ANALYSIS

READ: EUTHANASIA MEDIA ANALYSIS

NewsHub 12 January 2021
Family First Comment: Yep – we warned voters about that. Affects reproductive health of both women and men
* erectile dysfunction in men and infertility in women.
* decreased sperm count.
* delayed or no ovulation
* prenatal exposure to marijuana and problems for the child
Read more https://saynopetodope.org.nz/high-mums/

Lab Blog 6 January 2021
Family First Comment: More than half of people who use medical marijuana products to ease pain also experience clusters of multiple withdrawal symptoms when they’re between uses, a new study finds. And about 10% of the patients taking part in the study experienced worsening changes to their sleep, mood, mental state, energy and appetite over the next two years as they continued to use cannabis.

More than half of people who use medical marijuana products to ease pain also experience clusters of multiple withdrawal symptoms when they’re between uses, a new study finds.

And about 10% of the patients taking part in the study experienced worsening changes to their sleep, mood, mental state, energy and appetite over the next two years as they continued to use cannabis.

Many of them may not recognize that these symptoms come not from their underlying condition, but from their brain and body’s reaction to the absence of substances in the cannabis products they’re smoking, vaping, eating or applying to their skin, says the University of Michigan Addiction Center psychologist who led the study.

When someone experiences more than a few such symptoms, it’s called cannabis withdrawal syndrome – and it can mean a higher risk of developing even more serious issues such as a cannabis use disorder.

In the new research published in the journal Addiction, a team from the University of Michigan Medical School and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System reports findings from detailed surveys across two years of 527 Michigan residents. All were participating in the state’s system to certify people with certain conditions for use of medical cannabis, and had non-cancer-related pain.

“Some people report experiencing significant benefits from medical cannabis, but our findings suggest a real need to increase awareness about the signs of withdrawal symptoms developing to decrease the potential downsides of cannabis use, especially among those who experience severe or worsening symptoms over time,” says Lara Coughlin, Ph.D., the addiction psychologist who led the analysis.
READ MORE: https://labblog.uofmhealth.org/body-work/more-than-half-of-people-using-cannabis-for-pain-experience-multiple-withdrawal-symptoms

Stuff co.nz 11 January 2021
Family First Comment: Oh! Not so successful then?
“The plan, backed by local police and prosecutors, is aimed at tackling the flow of hard drugs and organised crime linked to the marijuana trade.”

In an effort to clean up its image, Amsterdam aims to restrict a key tourist attraction: its coffee shops.

Only Dutch residents would be allowed to enter the cannabis-dealing outlets under a proposal by Mayor Femke Halsema. The plan, backed by local police and prosecutors, is aimed at tackling the flow of hard drugs and organised crime linked to the marijuana trade.

“The cannabis market is too big and overheated,” Halsema said in emailed comments. “I want to shrink the cannabis market and make it manageable. The residence condition is far-reaching, but I see no alternative.”

Halsema submitted the plan to the Amsterdam council on Friday, kicking off a political debate, including discussions over a transitional agreement with shop owners. She expects the policy to go into force next year at the earliest.

The initiative is the latest move by Amsterdam to actively reduce the flow of visitors and improve the quality of life for residents. Crowds have flocked to the city since cheaper flights made its historic centre a popular weekend destination.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300202018/amsterdam-wants-to-ban-tourists-from-its-marijuana-shops?cid=app-iPhone

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