Marijuana use safer medication for some
By: Clifford A. Schaffer, Hamilton Mountain News (CN ON), 04-11-08

Re: Canadian Media Needs to Give Up On Reefer Madness, April 4 The News.

Russell Barth has it right. Dr. Suzanne Archie needs to go back to the books. Recent studies in the United Kingdom have concluded that the additional risk of mental illness from smoking cannabis is only about one percent --and it only applies to people who were susceptible to mental illness in the first place.

Ongoing research on medical marijuana patients in California shows why many people use marijuana and explains any apparent association between mental illness and cannabis. Cannabis is a good medication for anxiety. It is safer and more effective for many people than prescription drugs like Valium. Many long-term marijuana users have a life history with a good deal of trauma and a high likelihood of anxiety-related disorders. Many of them have been diagnosed with ADD, PTSD, and similar conditions. They are taking marijuana to self-medicate their own pre-existing psychological symptoms. They are like any of Dr. Archie's patients for whom she prescribes medication, except that they didn't go to a psychiatrist and they found a plant that works better than the doctor's expensive pills.

Moreover, in many of them, it is quite clear that the marijuana "gateway" idea is exactly backwards. Rather than leading people to harder drugs, marijuana leads them away from harder drugs. There are many examples in the research of people who were long-term abusers of alcohol, heroin, and similar drugs, and said they found that marijuana provided the psychological relief they needed while allowing them to continue working, productive lives. In fact, the results are so intriguing that there are plans in the works for additional research to test the efficacy of marijuana in reducing alcohol and drug abuse among the homeless.

Dr. Archie needs to take a serious step back and re-examine her own presumptions. There isn't much evidence that cannabis causes mental illness.

There is quite a bit of evidence that psychological problems cause cannabis use and, for many people, it is a safe and effective treatment for anxiety-related disorders.

Clifford A. Schaffer
Director, Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
Agua Dulce
California

2004 H.U.M.A.N.: Hemp Users Medical Access Network - Toronto Medical Marijuana