[Targo]

Originally Posted by delmioquartiere

I think that would start at the top you know with Obama commenting about pot not being any worse than alcohol just yesterday, maybe 25 years ago but today's pot is like LSD.

That's true, I heard it on Fox news.

Originally Posted by delmioquartiere

People elect a community organizer not once but twice and you wonder why people want to just dull their senses. They're jobless and see no future in sight.

Yeah, not a great choice like a former alcoholic/coke snorting Texan was.

We just need more cowbell!

[happeemommee]

LMAO @ more cowbell!

I've wondered about this as well. We live in Rural NC, where the drug of choice is meth and pain killers. The pill problem is so bad here that unless you've got multiple broken bones, you're unlikely to get pain killers, even when you legitimately could use them. It doesn't help that a local doc fled the country rather than go to jail for selling pills / prescriptions.

[RunawayJim]

The amount of THC in pot has not increased. That's a myth.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Hopes

What leads to heroin use is authorities cracking down on prescription drug abuse. When the prescription drug sources are eliminated, users turn to heroin.

Prescription drug abusers also turn to heroin as it is cheaper and more readily available than pills.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by RunawayJim

The amount of THC in pot has not increased. That's a myth.

Not your father's weed? Marijuana potency stronger than ever - CNN.com

Since 1972, ElSohly says, the average THC content of marijuana has soared from less than 1% to 3 to 4% in the 1990s, to nearly 13% today.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Targo

That's true, I heard it on Fox news.

It's true, I heard it on CNN.
Not your father's weed? Marijuana potency stronger than ever - CNN.com

"There's an increase in psych admissions," says Dr. Stuart Gitlow, a psychiatrist who estimates that upwards of 1 in 100 people using high-THC marijuana experience psychotic symptoms. As president of the American Society for Addiction Medicine, Gitlow also worries about the long-term impact.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by happeemommee

LMAO @ more cowbell!

I've wondered about this as well. We live in Rural NC, where the drug of choice is meth and pain killers. The pill problem is so bad here that unless you've got multiple broken bones, you're unlikely to get pain killers, even when you legitimately could use them. It doesn't help that a local doc fled the country rather than go to jail for selling pills / prescriptions.

I have an adult family member who was prescribed Oxycontin for pain. Doctors are writing the scripts like it was no big deal. I explained to my family member that this drug is addictive, and to reconsider/ask the doctor for a non-opiate alternative. He didn't want to hear it. Now once a month this person -- an addict for all intents and purposes -- sees his doctor/dealer for another 30 days of Oxycontin.

My sisters-in-law and I have spent hours going from pharmacy to pharmacy to find one which has it in stock. Pharmacists don't want to carry it because of the possibility of being robbed. Small, independent pharmacies have signs up stating they don't carry Oxycontin. The large chains carry it but in very small quantities. We've borne the brunt of an addict's wrath when said addict had to wait 2 days for new when the old prescription ran out.

It is heartbreaking. A pill-pushing doctor could have given a different pain killer. Why start out with the big guns blazing? Does my family have to fear the day this once person crosses to heroin?

[Targo]

Kids today……..


That's the up side to alcohol, it's a gateway drug to…….er……..alcohol [and the state makes a lot of money off it. Please drink and play the lottery responsibly.]

The train has clearly been coming off the tracks in regard to prescription drug abuse for a few years and only now does the state want to address it? Horse is gone, closing the door won't help. If people want to get altered they will. Period. Government will never be anything but a bandaid on a compound fracture to to stop unwanted drugs use.

Again, curbing the desire to abuse drugs might help [but what do I know, I'm dumb enough to live in VT and enjoy it]

I blame the Eskimos.

[RunawayJim]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Not your father's weed? Marijuana potency stronger than ever - CNN.com

Also from that article:

"There have always been high-THC content cigarettes around," says Carl Hart, a neuroscientist at Columbia University who studies the physical effects of cannabis and other drugs. "The modest increases that we see today are not as concerning as has been made out to be."

There are many who believe that the data from the 60's and 70's was too narrow and that the average amount of THC in marijuana has not increased. If anything, there's a wider variety of strains that have a much wider range of THC content now.

[Targo]

Stop it, I'm getting the munchies.