|
|
|
|
"For Mark, a restaurant owner from Vermont, the craving for cannabis was too strong to ignore. Mark, 40, started smoking it when he was 13 and was smoking daily by the time he hit college. 'When I woke up I genuinely didn't feel well until I smoked,' he said." (Marijuana effects: More than munchies, New York Times, January 29, 2002) It is unlikely that most young people that experiment with marijuana believe that it is a drug that they will become dependent on. Legalizers refer to it as a "soft drug" and teens often think there are few serious consequences in using. Studies reported in 1997 in the journal, Science (Marijuana: Harder than Thought?) prove that marijuana's effect on the brain is very similar to that of heroin, cocaine and alcohol. Included in this section is a brief analysis of two studies done by Professor Roger Roffman and Associate Professor Robert Stephens which compares two methods (group counseling approach and individualized assessment and intervention) for treating addiction. Over 1200 people seeking help in overcoming marijuana dependence volunteered to be involved in the studies. Also included are two additional studies on dependence in which Professor Roffman was involved. Source Documentation: The National Conference on Marijuana Use: Prevention, Treatment and Research, July 19, 1995, Report by Professor Roger A. Roffman D.S.W., School of Social Work, University of Washington and Associate Professor Robert S. Stephens, Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute. National Conference on Marijuana Highlights Assessment and Treatment of Cannabis Dependence College on Problems of Drug Dependence (Puerto Rico) USA Today Article: Marijuana’s active ingredient may cause addiction by Steve Sternberg WHO (World Health Organization) Dependence Report
"In a study that followed heavy marijuana users, Dr. Budney found that when people quit using the drug, they experienced a host of unpleasant symptoms, including craving, decreased appetite, sleep difficulty, weight loss, aggression, anger, irritability, restlessness and strange dreams." (Marijuana effects: More than munchies, New York Times, January 29, 2002)
|
|
