Okay, check out how smoking Pot leads to aggression?

[SammyBlue]

I have potheads for friends. They aren't aggressive. They are rather passive and non-combative! It's amazing!

Bullshit article. Oh, I also found it on Michael Savage's amateurish website!

[Mythsaje]

1. Reefer madness revisited...

Oh, yeah. I'll buy that. :sarcasm:

Just another round of lies in a history piled high and deep with them.

[MadHound]

2. Well that's a pantsload

It would be interesting, and probably very telling, to see who ponied up the money for that study.

Me, give me a pothead any day over a drunk. Some of the most violent people I've seen are drunks.

[catmother]

16. agreed. potheads are mellow. nt

[Toots]

71. I was stationed in Germany in 1970 and had my company commander

say to my face that he did not discourage Hashish users because they were never in trouble with the local people and were always available when duty called. They would sit around the barracks and smoke Hash and listen to music while the boozers always were off in some booze joint causing trouble with the locals. He also said that he felt that Hashish did not decommission anyone as booze did. A person could still function and do their job while high but could not at all while drunk. That was along time ago though and I am sure that is no longer a prevailing attitude.

[MemphisTiger]

3. Have they ever met a pot head?

They seem to get a little paranoid, but not aggresive unless you're made of Doritos.

[Mnemosyne]

36. The paranoia, imo, comes from it

being illegal. It seems to be the only thing that really makes anyone I've ever known paranoid. True buzzkiller!

[rsdsharp]

4. Well they can get pretty nasty

if you're standing between them and their munchies. (It's an addiction, I tell you! Not the pot, the munchies).

[benburch]

5. NORML recently blew holes in that study;

Mods note, this is a press release from their recent email letter, and so can be copied in its entirety.

Evidence Rebuts Supposed Cannabis And Aggression Link

Washington, DC: Allegations published in the current issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry stating that "the use of cannabis is ... strongly associated with delinquent and aggressive behavior" are a cynical attempt to falsely imply that marijuana is a causal factor in violent behavior and are not supported by the scientific record, said NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre.

"No credible research has shown cannabis to be a contributory factor in violence, aggression or delinquent behavior, dating back to United States government's 'First Report of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse' in 1972, which concluded, 'In short, marijuana is not generally viewed by participants in the criminal justice community as a major contributing influence in the commission of delinquent or criminal acts,'" St. Pierre said.

More recent scientific reviews affirm this conclusion. For example, a 2002 inquiry by the Canadian Senate found: "Cannabis use does not induce users to commit other forms of crime. Cannabis use does not increase aggressiveness or anti-social behavior."

A 2002 report by the British Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs also concluded, "Cannabis differs from alcohol in one major respect. It does not seem to increase risk-taking behavior. This means that cannabis rarely contributes to violence either to others or to oneself, whereas alcohol use is a major factor in deliberate self-harm, domestic accidents and violence."

Most recently, a logistical regression analysis of approximately 900 trauma patients published in the Journal of TRAUMA Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, determined that the use of cannabis is not independently associated with either violent or non-violent injuries requiring hospitalization. By contrast, alcohol and cocaine use are associated with violence-related injuries, the study found.

Clinical trials during which volunteers are administered marijuana also fail to demonstrate that cannabis intoxication increases hostility in a competitive setting, said NORML advisory board member Mitch Earleywine, author of Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence.

Earleywine said that a forthcoming study investigating aggressive behavior among 4,700 long-time adult concomitant marijuana and alcohol users finds, "Marijuana use does not lead to aggressive behavior in adults, even among frequent, long-time users." That study is now under review by the journal Aggressive Behaviors.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at [phone].

[stop the bleeding]

20. good research benburch -

A 2002 report by the British Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs also concluded, "Cannabis differs from alcohol in one major respect. It does not seem to increase risk-taking behavior. This means that cannabis rarely contributes to violence either to others or to oneself, whereas alcohol use is a major factor in deliberate self-harm, domestic accidents and violence."


I also remember reading a study out of Holland that did the pros and cons of people who drive under the influence of Pot vs Alcohol and the study found the same thing as highlighted above.

Thanks for the good research!

[warrens]

53. Young, violent kids tend to be garbageheads

They'll drink, snort speed, take downers...whatever is handy. And that probably includes pot at some point or another. So you find a bunch of young, violent kids and ask them if they smoke pot, and most will say they do. Carefully avoid asking if their violent episodes were brought on by or occurred under the influence of pot and voila, you have a publishable paper.

I don't care for pot at all, and it's because it turns long-term users so passive and innocuous. Whoever wrote that paper needs a good slap.;

[benburch]

58. That's been my experience.

I knew a lot of troubled kids when my son was a teen. The violent ones were on speed and booze.

[IrateCitizen]

6. Key phrase: "in young teenagers"

Personally, I don't think that young teenagers should be smoking pot, and I'm in favor of legalization.

[Strawman]

12. Yeah it's not exactly the goody-goodies that are going to be smoking down

among the "young teenager" population. Might kinda skew the results they're trying to extrapolate to the population at large..

[madmom]

24. "Young teenagers" tend to a little on the agressive side anyway..

IMO peer pressure,school pressure,and media pressure being what it is and all.

[mdmc]

45. agreed

this study and the norml study posted above do not contradict each other.

[laruemtt]

7. * wouldn't be this out of control warmonger if

he'd used ganja instead of coke, imho.

[Coexist]

8. Have you ever seen "Reefer Madness"?

it is going to be re-released as a documentary.

[SammyBlue]

18. Reefer Madness was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen!

Especially the insane jazz musician.

Or the line "hopeless marijuana addict."

Or the "this could happen to your kids, or yours, or yours, (points to the theater audience) or YOURS!"

I love Reefer Madness! It's as bad as "The Cocaine Fiends."

At least "Plan Night From Outer Space" had some style.

[Coexist]

33. it kills me

sorry thing is, there are people now who would take it as fact to support their beliefs.

[Baconfoot]

49. Plan NINE From Outer Space

I guess "atmospheric conditions in outer space" must have interfered with your typing.

[SammyBlue]

54. You know, I own the movie. . .I should have seen that mistake

Sorry.

[Dulcinea]

43. "Marihuana: The Killer Weed."

It's an old black-and-white I saw in college once late at night. I was in tears, it was so funny. I want to find it so I can see it again!

[Mrspeeker]

9. lol

micheal Savage!!!! need we say more

[RagingInMiami]

10. It's so misleading

I'm sure the kids were already delinquents that happened to smoke pot. In other words, their delinquent behavior probably made them more inclined to smoke pot. I doubt that they were straight-laced kids who smoked pot and suddenly decided to go on a crime spree.

[stop the bleeding]

11. Boredom is what really causes kids to be aggressive/act up, also

they should try and not let kids smoke pot until they are little more mature as far as brain and emotional development.

But overall most of the adults that I know are much less aggressive on pot than off it.

Seems like the article was going after this and completely missed what has been pointed out over and over again in other studies about bored teenagers, and that is they get into trouble quite a bit more than teens who are active with other activities/hobbies.

I am raising my Bullshit flag now.

[DemInDistress]

13. Never happened and I know I been smoking weed for 43 yrs.

like Willie Nelson.. All I think about is how much cash I could have saved and spent locally if only government allowed me to grow my own. BTW one yr. I did,I had a 15 footer,it yielded about 30 good ounces of decent commercial smoke. Also I once grew late in the season a 4 footer of super unknown brand weed. Wow,I had wished i could have grew 5 maybe 10 plants and that would have covered me for the year. But no,government says,DEM you cant do that,if we allow you we have to allow 30,000,000 other weed loving Americans the same privilege and besides then law enforcement cant intrude into your life and arrest you,confiscate your car,search your home maybe,do extensive computer searches into your life...NO MY FRIEND, weeds does not incite
alcohol,cocaine,gorilla pills do...

thats a fact...

[redqueen]

14. I think cops might disagree with them...

not that they'd know anything about how violent pot users are as compared to ... I dunno ... drunks, maybe?

What a giant load of crap.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

15. I have never smoked marijuana or used drugs

but I know several people who have. People on meth can be crazy;I have known people who have used marijuana to calm down! There are too many myths about the hemp plant, and it is sad to see them perpetuated.

[hippiechick]

17. prime example:

:rofl: Last summer, I spent the weekend at the Bonnaroo Festival in TN with more potheads than I have ever seen gathered in one place at one time, and there was no violence.

If that doesn't tell ya' something ... :smoke:

[Nordmadr]

35. How were Jack Johnson and Ben Harper?

I'd love to see either of them play live. TN is too far away and too RED for me.

Olafr

[hippiechick]

59. Didn't see either of them ...

... didn't even know Ben Harper was on the bill ! Oops.

TN might be red but for that weekend, that part of the state is pretty much rainbow colored. :hi:

[MountainLaurel]

60. How was it?

My officemate attended with her partner, and had a fantastic time.

[hippiechick]

61. It was INCREDIBLE !!

:hi: I actually cried like a little teenybopper during Ray LaMontagne's show.
Prine was amazing, Bela Fleck was amazing, Herbie Hancock was amazing ... and that was just FRIDAY!

... the drive/traffic was manageable, the weather was back 'n forth (but thankfully not a million degrees) ... my only complaints were that there could have been more of the artsy/fartsy stuff (I went with $500 to spend on art and came home with $470), and of course the food selection on the festival grounds was lacking (how many veggie burritos can one eat in 3 days?)

It was quite an experience !!

I'm thinking about taking HippieKid this year for her 15th birthday!! :party:

[giant_robot]

19. In my limited experience with cannabis...

...I find it leads to giggling and Cheetohs.

[SammyBlue]

21. Yes, it does.

Talk to my friends. . .I get a contact hi around them and all they do is get goofy, tell stupid jokes and say "Dude, I'm hungry, let's get Pei Wei!"

[stop the bleeding]

23. I would be classified as a professional with the exception that

I do not get paid for it.

in addition to giggling and Cheetohs(BTW our my favorites) it can lead to a nap. WOW now that is aggressive - huh??

[Coexist]

26. LOL!

that was funny.

Time was - EVERYONE in my working class high school smoked. The geeks, the jocks, the Student Council, everyone.

[catmother]

22. i don't believe it. but i've heard that eating too much red meat

makes people aggressive. i had a vegetarian friend years ago who was very calm -- she told me about the meat -- so i tried it -- have to say i was much more mellow -- especially living in new york and riding subways. actually i got so spacey that my husband begged me to eat a piece of meat. then i went back on meat and i got aggressive again. it's not very scientific and could have been psychological but who knows.

i do know people who've smoked for years and they're not aggressive.

[SammyBlue]

25. I also heard that not getting enough sex does makes men aggressive too.

In fact, any overloading of hormones does, from what I've heard and read. Maybe we should ban estrogen and testosterone.

[mimitabby]

30. i hate to rain on your parade

when my husband was a regular pot smoker, when he ran out of his drug of choice
he got violent.
I used to hide a little bit so that when he ran out there was still just a little more!
(talk about stupid sick behavior)

that was 25 years ago and he's been in recovery for 0ver 20 years now. no longer using drugs and no
longer getting violent.

[stop the bleeding]

32. exception that proves the rule n/t

[0rganism]

40. But that was a LACK of pot causing the violence, not the pot itself

If it were as legal and available as cigs, you would never have had to hide a damn thing.

Legalize, tax, regulate, and treat unwanted addictions as disease rather than crimes.

[mdmc]

48. herb withdrawal can cause irritability

Two days ago, my roommates cat jumped on my de-seeding tray and knocked my herb over. I was angry as a motherfucker.

I am very glad to hear that your husband is more peaceful now that he doesn't have to jones for the herb.

ps- to the kids out there - herb is no joke. Don't try it until your 18, please.

[catmother]

64. i would think that would be the case. some women have high

levels of testosterone and can be very aggressive sexually. hopefully they don't have a beard to go with it.

[boobooday]

27. More recycled propaganda from the right

Just like their "War on Christmas."

Check this out, a description of the congressional hearings which made the herb illegal:

In 1930, the federal government founded the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), headed by Commissioner Harry Anslinger. The group launched a misinformation campaign against the drug and enrolled the services of Hollywood and several tabloid newspapers. Headlines across the nation began publicizing alleged reports of insanity and violence induced by "reefer-smoking." Exaggerated accounts of violent crimes committed by immigrants reportedly intoxicated by marijuana became popularized. Once under the influence of the drug, criminals purportedly knew no fear and lost all inhibitions. For example, a news bulletin issued by the FBN in the mid-1930s purported that a user of marijuana "becomes a fiend with savage or 'cave man' tendencies. His sex desires are aroused and some of the most horrible crimes result. He hears light and sees sound. To get away from it, he suddenly becomes violent and may kill."

Some things never change. These guys can't even be bothered to come up with new lies.

On edit -- link to source: http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/norml/crazy/crazy_01.html

[Arkansas Granny]

28. And if you believe this, I have some beachfront property in

Arizona I'd like to sell.

This is just crazy. I can't think of a time when I've seen pot make someone agressive. Alcohol, yes; pot, no.

[boobooday]

29. If they really believed this

They would be passing out the best stuff to the troops and the cops.

[Innoma]

31. I absolutely LOATHE pot...

Tried it 5 or 6 times over a period of years, each one a step up in potency, and each time I just hated it more and more.

But that's just me.

However, two of my friends have been regular pot smokers for years, and neither one has ever been violent or irrational - in fact, I would say they are two of the most laid back people I have ever met. So I know from direct experience and observation that short-or-long-term pot smoking will not turn someone into a raving psychopath, but it may, in fact, turn them into mellow companions.

Put that into your pipe and smoke it!

[MadMaddie]

34. This Pot issue is one of my pet peeves

The commercials with kid with the fist in his mouth...Pot made him do something stupid..and the others stupid commercials. Abuse of any substance can eventually cause problems...but this is just stupid!!

They don't air cigarette commericials...

What you also don't hear any complaint about is the glorification of Liquor and Beer!!! The TV commercials pounding young minds everyday that drinking is cool, to get the girl or guy drink (choose drink) you are seeing more hard liquor commercials everyday...

What you don't hear is the number of traffic fatalities caused by Drunk drivers...whether they are teens or adults...you don't hear about the innocent bride to be and her bridesmaid driving to get decorations for her wedding and getting T-boned by a repeat drunk driver...Let's see what else..college kids dying because of poisoning from drinking too much....the drunk mother in Seattle, WA was so drunk that her kid was in a filthy diaper and hungry but she had hundreds of beer cans in her home...

I don't recall any studies saying that alcohol helps dying or chronic patients ease their pain....
I am no teetotaler by no means but when they pull this kinda crap about pot a:grr:

I don't smoke but if that's what someone wants to do in their home...thats their business!

[SammyBlue]

39. Bacardi. . .and Cola. . .they get the job done!

Remember those racist liquor commercials?

[mdmc]

50. welcome to DU. I love the boondocks!

Did you every see the boondocks take on the drug war? Asswhoopin- the anti-drug.

[OneBlueSky]

37. funny . . . I never heard of a "pot-room brawl" . . . n/t

.

[tjwash]

38. You may be violent towards a bag full of twinkies...

...and then fall asleep on your couch watching shitty movies.

[hvn_nbr_2]

41. "associated with"

Any time I see a report that says X "is associated with" Y, it's a clue-by-4 to ignore it. They don't know what they're talking about, they don't know if X causes Y or Y causes X or ABCD causes both or if anything causes anything.

After all, Ronald Reagan is associated with Leonid Breznev (sp?); they even had a direct phone line to each other.

If they outlaw carrots, eating carrots will become associated with crime and violent behavior because only outlaws will eat carrots.

Any time someone says something is associated with something else, you can be sure a load of bullshit is coming.

[lonestarnot]

42. What a bunch of CRAP!

[Mnemosyne]

44. Check out Nixon's 1972 study

The Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse
Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding

Commissioned by President Richard M. Nixon, March, 1972

http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/Library/studies/nc/ncc3.htm

>snip
Marihuana and Violent Crime

As indicated earlier, the belief that marihuana causes or leads to the commission of violent or aggressive acts first emerged during the 1930's and became deeply embedded in the public mind. Until recently, however, these beliefs were generally based on the anecdotal case examples of law enforcement authorities, a few clinical observations and several quasi-experimental studies of selected populations comprised of military offenders, convicted or institutionalized criminals or delinquents and small groups of college students. Few efforts were made to compare the incidence of violent or aggressive behavior in representative samples of both user and non-user populations.

Even in these early observations and investigations, however, no substantial evidence existed of a causal connection between the use of marihuana and the commission of violent or aggressive acts. Indeed, if any relationship was indicated, it was not a positive and direct causal connection but in inverse or negative statistical correlation.

Rather than inducing violent -or aggressive behavior through its purported effects of lowering inhibitions, weakening impulse control and heightening aggressive tendencies, marihuana was usually found to inhibit the expression of aggressive impulses by pacifying the user, interfering with muscular coordination, reducing psychomotor activities and generally producing states of drowsiness lethargy, timidity and passivity.

In fact, only a small proportion of the marihuana users among any group of criminals or delinquents known to the authorities and appearing in study samples had ever been arrested or convicted for such violent crimes as murder, forcible rape, aggravated assaultor armed robbery. When these marihuana-using offenders were compared with offenders who did not use marihuana, the former were generally found to 'have committed less aggressive behavior than the latter.

In an effort to accumulate data on the relationship between marihuana use and aggressive or violent criminal behavior, the Commission sponsored several studies designed to assess the purported causal relationship.
>snip

I heard he was not pleased with the results!

In peace and hope,
V

[mdmc]

52. thanks...new to me...

thanks for the link....

[Mnemosyne]

66. Quite welcome! Nixon wanted evidence

of the horror of pot. He was pissed when he did not get it. He ignored the results.I can't recall what warranted the study or what enhancement of the persecution of pot smokers ensued. Hmm, short term memory loss. I wonder where that came from on a Friday night? :smoke:lol

Have a good night!

In peace and hope,
V

[mdmc]

68. I think that hemp tax was overturned around that time

and Nixon needed a new drug war to replace "Prohibition".

[Mnemosyne]

69. Thank you. I was a young teen and

really not too aware of the study at the time.

I only heard of the it in the later 70's.

Wish they'd just cut the crap. It's all for profit and control. Evil pricks.

:hi:

[mdmc]

70. tell it to the dems, vickiss, tell it to the dems

Peace and low stress,
mdmc
:hi:

[Mnemosyne]

72. I've tried mdmc. It appears they

they haven't been listening to me too much since 1976 either!

Peace and hope,
V

Low stress does sound very appealing though! :hi:

[driver8]

46. Pot DEFINITELY causes aggression!!!

You should see the pizza when I get done with it!!!

[Warren DeMontague]

47. That explains all the violence at those Dead shows I used to go to.

I'm sure a crowd of clean cut, beer drinking football fans would have been much more peaceful.

[Bridget Burke]

51. Let the Freak Brothers illustrate the Evils of Marihuana....

Before: After:

[SammyBlue]

55. You know, they look happier in the after picture

I think I'd kill myself if I had to go through the Boy Scouts again!!! And I was a Scout. . .until I developed a social conscience after around 14. . .then I told the BSA to go fuck itself!

[mdmc]

57. thanks for the toons!

As for this thread-
statistics can support just about anything, if presented correctly. Just like this study correlates jd behavior with herb use, we could say that reading DU increases a child's chance of attending college. Most young adults (age 13-18) that hang out at DU (in relation to teens that surf the net for music, porn, clothing) end up going to college. It is not that DU makes teens smarter. Teens that are interested in the content of DU tend to be smarter.

Damn statistics!

[nonconformist]

56. Well, it DOES make me very aggressive...

Against cupcakes! B-)

[MadMaddie]

62. Thanks for the Welcome MDMC....

I have only read the Boondocks comics...I have not had the pleasure as of yet to see the cartoon, I hear it is great.

[in_cog_ni_to]

63. Aggressive???!!!

Now that's hilarious. Pot smokers are a lot of things, but aggressive just isn't one of them!


They may be very "happy." :rofl:

They are hungry.:donut:

They are laid back...yeah, man.:hippie:

Some think better while high. :think:

Some are silly. :silly:

Some are sleepy. :boring:


But, AGGRESSIVE? I don't think so. :smoke::hippie:

[gatorboy]

65. Aggresiveness? No, that would..........Alcohol!!

eom

[Berserker]

67. I really have never figured out

why people say you get the munchies while stoned? I have never had this feeling of being hungry only of being stoned. I also must add I have only smoked pot maybe 23,000 times and once while planing a new route to India I noticed