Marijuana vs SSRI’s, Which is Safer?

This item by Cynthia A. Janak is particularly relevant to New Zealand’s drug policy consultation where SSRI’s are under scrutiny and cannabis prohibition “Murders” are the order of the day.

Murder accused Daniel Moore awaits the outcome of summing up and jury deliberations regarding the hand less body case of his Dad’s best friend, Tony Stanlake.

This one murder is one too many. I knew Daniels Dad. Daniel is the same age as my son.

New Zealand has the highest per capita consumption rate in the OECD alongside the highest arrest rate per/k in the world. Is is no small wonder that the 200 tonnes of cannabis consumed by some 500,000 NZ’ers every year is grown by someone. What Mr Moore Jr appears to have been addicted too is the unique product of prohibition, the money, greed, power, status AND thrill.

We, by our silence that resembles stupidity are architects of this dysfunction.

What I am going to do today is give you a comparison of different news reports that deal with the murder of an individual or many individuals because of marijuana or SSRI use. So far I have spent several hours on this topic. To my dismay I did not find any articles where a person who just smoked marijuana picked up a gun and murdered innocent people. What I did find were many articles were people were murdered because of a marijuana buy or because they were a dealer.
….
With the evidence that I had acquired in doing this research I did a comparison for the risk of murder by the users of marijuana and SSRI’s. My conclusion is that marijuana is safer for the average individual use. SSRI’s are dangerous to the health and safety of society as a whole and have the potential to create because of use an individual capable of mass murder.
…..
Because of my findings I feel it is safe to say that the prohibition on the usage of marijuana has created a black market atmosphere of criminal activity between the United States and surrounding countries because of illegal transportation and selling of marijuana by gangs and other gangster types.
see Cynthia A. Janak – Marijuana vs. SSRIs: which is safer

Drug labels must carry suicide alert
Regulator issues safety ruling on all anti-depressant medicines sold here By Tom PrendevilleSunday February 24 2008 All brands of antidepressant for sale in Ireland will have to carry a warning that the side-effects may include suicide. After a review carried out by the US Food and Drugs Agency, 33 products which are also widely prescribed in Ireland were deemed to carry a significant risk and merit the warning.The US Food and Drug Administration analysed 295 studies of antidepressants involving 77,000 people who were on the medication, and found that the risk of suicide in young people was almost twice that of adults aged over-25.

Consider this: for just one month, this month so far!!

Suicide
Antidepressant
2008-02-01
Iraq
Soldier from Nevada Kills Self in Iraq
Suicide-By-Cop
Antidepressant
Withdrawal
2008-02-01
Australia
Man in Recent Withdrawal Kills Self
Psychiatric Symptoms
Chantix
2008-02-03
Global
FDA Issues Warning on Chantix: Suicidal Behaviors & Other Psychiatric Symptoms

Suicide
Paxil
2008-02-03
California
13 Year Old
Kills Self: Lawsuit: Dismissed Because of State Law
Violence/Bizarre Behavior
Antidepressants
2008-02-05
England
Three CEOs Become Either Violent or Exhibit Bizarre Behavior on Antidepressants
Osteoporosis
SSRIs
2008-02-06
Global
++Double The Risk for Osteoporosis for Those on SSRIs
Hospitalization
Antidepressants
2008-02-06
California
Actress
Who Promoted Effexor in Cities Around the U.S. Is in the Hospital: Meds Not Working
Violence
Antidepressant
2008-02-07
Massachusetts
14 Year Old Boy Stabs Police Officer in Chest

Suicide
Prozac
2008-02-07
England
Young Woman Kills Herself
Suicidal Behavior
Celexa & Wellbutrin
2008-02-07
Oregon
Police Officer Engages in Suicidal Behavior
Vehicular Homicide
Antidepressants
2008-02-07
Georgia
Woman Taking Three Antidepressants Kills Two in Car Crash: No Alcohol Involved

Stabbing
Celexa
2008-02-07
Massachusetts
College
Coed Stabs Ex-Boyfriend: Serious Injuries

Violence
Med For Depression
2008-02-07
Ireland
Man Smashes the Windows in Police Station: Uses Hatchet

Death
Antidepressant
2008-02-07
Massachusetts
25 Year Old Woman Dies of Complications From her Antidepressant

Harassment
Prozac
2008-02-13
England
Woman Taken To Court For Abusing Taxi Driver
Violence
Prozac
2008-02-13
Minnesota
Prozac Made Woman Feel Violent
Injury To Child
Cymbalta
2008-02-14
New York
Man Critcally Injures Toddler
Suicide-By-Cop
Antidepressant
Withdrawal
2008-02-14
Florida Police Forced to Shoot Armed Man
Suicide Attempt
Prozac
2008-02-14
New Mexico
Woman Attempts to Kill Herself
Assault
Med For Depression
2008-02-14
England
Man Assaults Club Doorwoman
School Shooting
Prozac WITHDRAWAL
2008-02-15
Illinois
** 6 Dead: 15 Wounded: Perpetrator Was in Withdrawal from Med & Acting Erratically
Suicide
Wellbutrin
2008-02-18
Arizona
Woman’s Death Ruled Suicide by Overdose
Suicide Attempt
Antidepressant
2008-02-18
Michigan
Judge Attempts Suicide: Also Involved Pain Medication Interaction
Delusions
Prozac
Withdrawal
2008-02-19
Illinois
Woman Hear’s Son’s Voice & Cries, “I Am Jesus”
Suicide Attempt
Effexor
2008-02-19
California
Woman Overdoses On Efexor
Murder
Med For Depression
2008-02-20
California
Five Dead Including SWAT Officer: 20 Year Old Kills Family
Suicide

Med For Depression
2008-02-20
Idaho
16
Year Old Kills Self at High School: Lockdown by Police
Murder Attempt-Suicide
Lexapro
2008-02-21
Ohio
Man Attempts to Kill Wife: Suceeds in Killing Self
Assault
Paxil
2008-02-21
England
69 Year Old Man Assaults his Physician
Suicides
Antidepressants
2008-02-24
Ireland
Ireland Warns of Suicide On All Antidepressant Labels For All Ages
Murder/Suicide
Antidepressants
2008-02-24
Iraq/Illinois
Soldier
on Antidepressant for PTSD Kills Wife & Self
Ineffectiveness
Antidepressants
2008-02-25
Global
Antidepressants
Are Ineffective: PLoS Medicine

Ketamine in Class C? SSRI’s should be Class A and controlled at the border! (and going by this list keep them well away from aircraft passengers!)

Blair Anderson ‹(•¿•)›

Social Ecologist ‘at large’
ph (643) 389 4065 cell 027 265 7219

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Cannabis, SSRI’s and Depression

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/mu-nad121305.php
Contact: Ian Poppleian.popple@muhc.mcgill.ca 514-843-1560 McGill University

New antidepressant drug increases ‘brain’s own cannabis’

Researchers have discovered a new drug that raises the level of endocannabinoids–the ‘brain’s own cannabis’–providing anti-depressant effects. The new research published in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), suggests the new drug, called URB597, could represent a safer alternative to cannabis for the treatment of pain and depression, and open the door to new and improved treatments for clinical depression–a condition that affects around 20% of Canadians.

In preclinical laboratory tests researchers found that URB597 increased the production of endocannabinoids by blocking their degradation, resulting in measurable antidepressant effects. “This is the first time it has been shown that a drug that increases endocannabinoids in the brain can improve your mood,” says the lead investigator Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, an MUHC and Université de Montréal researcher.

Endocannabinoids are chemicals released by the brain under certain conditions, like exercise; they stimulate specific brain receptors that can trigger feelings of well-being. The researchers, which included scientists from the University of California at Irvine, were able to measure serotonin and noradrenaline activity as a result of the increased endocannabinoids, and also conducted standard experiments to gauge the ‘mood’ of their subjects and confirm their findings.
“The results were similar to the effect we might expect from the use of commonly prescribed antidepressants, which are effective on only around 30% of the population,” explains Dr. Gobbi. “Our discovery strengthens the case for URB597 as a safer, non-addictive, non-psychotropic alternative to cannabis for the treatment of pain and depression and provides hope for the development of an alternate line of antidepressants, with a wider range of effectiveness.”
Cannabis has been known for its anti-depressant and pain-relief effects for many years, but the addictive nature and general health concerns of cannabis use make this drug far from ideal as a medical treatment. The active ingredient in cannabis–THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol)–stimulates cannabinoid receptors.

Funding for this study was provided by the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ), the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation (CPRF), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and an MUHC fellowship.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=10474334

A drug that boosts levels of the brain’s own “bliss” chemical can help reverse symptoms of depression in rats, US and Italian researchers reported yesterday.
The drug helps maintain high levels of a compound called anandamide, named after the Sanskrit word for “bliss”, which is chemically similar to the active ingredient in marijuana.

Opinion feedback to NZH:

WHEREAS SSRI’s have been responsible for grotesque anti-social behaviours through to suicides attributable to the drug in question. (some 28 deaths in one month)
Prof Nutt (addictions researcher, SSRI specialist speaking at CHCH School of medicine. Feb 2008 ) linked cannabinoid receptors ‘all through the brain’ and how little we know of its actions. Yet debate surrounding the required research and that we dont have an adequate ‘radio label’ to track cannabis actions at receptor level constrains what we could know.

All indications from both anecdote and research are that cannabis puts a smile on your face, but more importantly provides ‘a sense of wellness’ and without with the contraindications of SSRI’s. I will have more on my blog at http://mildgreens.blogspot.com later today including to links to the research that both validates NZH earlier published matter and demonstrates the imbalance give to big pharma in its defence of its selective published research. /Blair

http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/cmu/depression_and_cannabis.htm
Patients themselves are often the best judges of whether or not cannabis helps relieve the symptoms of depression. A poorly educated or narrow-minded physician may think any use of cannabis to be a substance abuse related aspect of depression. More enlightened psychiatrists (i.e. Lester Grinspoon of Harvard Medical School) appreciate the often beneficial aspects of cannabis therapy. [Cannabis and Depression. Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D.]

Blair Anderson
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Cannabis and ADHD Impaired Driving.

Cannabis normalized impaired psychomotor performance and mood in a patient with hyperactivity disorder

Scientists at the Department for Forensic and Traffic Medicine of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, investigated the effects of cannabis on driving related functions in a 28 year old man with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He had violated traffic regulations several times in recent years and his driving licence was revoked due to driving under the influence of cannabis. He showed abnormal behaviour, seemed to be significantly maladjusted and his concentration was heavily impaired while sober during the first meeting with a psychologist. He was allowed to perform driving related tests under the influence of the cannabis compound dronabinol (THC), which his doctor had prescribed him to treat his symptoms. The examiner expected that he was not able to drive a car under the acute influence of THC.
But at the second visit his behaviour was markedly improved and he performed average and partly above-average in all tests on reaction speed, sustained attention, visual orientation, perception speed and divided attention. A blood sample taken after the tests revealed a high THC concentration of 71 ng/ml in blood serum. He admitted later to have smoked cannabis and not taken dronabinol, because it was too expensive. Researchers noted that “people with ADHD are found to violate traffic regulations, to commit criminal offences and to be involved in traffic accidents more often than the statistical norm” and conclude from their investigation that “it has to be taken into account that in persons with ADHD THC may have atypical and even performance-enhancing effects.”

Smoked Marijuana Improved ADHD Driver’s Performance by: Strohbeck-Kuehner P, Skopp G, Mattern R. Arch Kriminol 2007;220(1-2):11-9.

Blair Anderson
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$8Billion Dollars of American Bullshite

The argument [American Pot Smokers Providing Over $8 Billion of Revenue to Drug Cartels] that cannabis and other drug violence and mayhem in Mexico and other jurisdictions is caused by demand side consumption by Americans is utterly implausible. It is prohibition itself that causes the very problems it sets out to solve. It is “spin doctoring” by a flawed and capricious ‘moral’ enforcement regime determined maintain the current policy and damn the costs and consequences mentality. The USA has been fostering violence and death via UN conventions for far too long. The ‘estimated revenue’ graphs identify why it is so important to address our collective selves to the injustice of global cannabis prohibition urgently.

Blair Anderson
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Record drug haul (West Coast helicopter recovery)

West Coast police have netted a record cannabis haul in a week-long drug recovery operation.

An Air Force-piloted Iroquois helicopter — nicknamed the Grasshopper by locals — has hauled away a total of nearly 8740 plants.

The haul was up 16 per cent, or around 1200 plants, on last summer largely because of the good growing conditions.

Sergeant Russell Glue, of Hokitika police, said the largest plot was in Buller, at the northern West Coast, where between 500 and 1000 plants were found.
….
Glue said police could not disclose the street value of the cannabis recovered.
….
Nationally last growing season, police recovered and destroyed more than 100,000 plants and arrested more than 700 people

Well wipty dooooo….. and this taxpayer funded grift, er, I mean initiative has made what difference ?
May be this is why the Police were too busy to attend this weeks BEYOND 2008 drug policy consultation!

/Blair Anderson ‹(•¿•)›

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VIENNA 2008: TEN YEARS AFTER

6 MARCH

Public Meeting on the Evaluation of the implementation of the 1998 UN Plan “Towards a drug-free world by 2008 – we can do it”, organised by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe From 9 to 12.30, room ASP 3 G 3, European Parliament, Brussels

7-9 MARCH, DRUG PEACE MARCH

Upon the initiative of ENCOD (European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies) a counterevent to the UN Summit takes place from 7 to 9 March 2008. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness on the need to end the “war on drugs” and start new approaches in drug policy. Current prohibition of drugs creates more problems than it solves. This is a reality that most governments are not willing to face. (featuring fellow MildGreenie Clifford Thornton USA)

10 -14 MARCH UN COMMISSION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS
published Friday 15 February 2008 13:47, by encod .

In June 1998, the United Nations announced a 10-year strategy to achieve “measurable results” in the fight against drugs, including a “significant reduction” of the cultivation of cannabis, coca and opium poppy by the year 2008.

On March 10th, 2008, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs will meet in Vienna to review the results of this strategy.

In the past ten years, the war on drugs has failed – again. Consumption of drugs can cause problems, but prohibition of drugs causes disasters. Millions of people are criminalized, billions of euros are spent in a war that is ineffective and counterproductive. Efforts to reduce harmful and improve responsible use of drugs are actively thwarted by governments. Meanwhile, the drug market remains in the hands of organised crime, whose huge profits distort global economy and generate widespread corruption.

Drug policies should be a matter of public health, not of law enforcement. We ask the UN to establish the right of every adult citizen of the world to grow and possess natural plants for personal use and non-commercial purposes, using all technical equipment that is available for this. At the same time, individual countries should be allowed to experiment with drug policies that are not based on prohibition.

Vienna 2008 is the opportunity to send this urgent message to the United Nations.

From 10 to 14 March the annual meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations will take place in Vienna. Some NGOs may delegate observers to this meeting, thanks to the Transnational Radical Party ENCOD has obtained two slots on their list. These will be filled by Clifford Thornton from the US based NGO Efficacy, and by Fredrick Polak, member of the ENCOD Steering Committee.

Blair Anderson
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Jim says… reclassification noted

“They expressed admiration for our evidence-based policies and for our reclassification processes.” – Jim Anderton commenting on his meetings with two of the distinguished keynote (2008 Parliamentary Drug Policy Roundtable) speakers: Professor David Nutt, [and] Associate Professor Alison Ritter.

Every one reports to Czar Jim ‘or else’.
No wonder Jim was uncomfortable knowing I might be there!

(caution: links to Anderton’s Progressive’s Press Release may cause temporary insanity)

Blair Anderson
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World Class, Class D?

Behind the mask of Chatham House Rules at the historical “Beyond 2008 / International UN drug policy forum” in Wellington this week – the Mild Green Initiative “restricted with controlled availability” Class D received first in the world recognition.

The MildGreen Initiative was described variously along with NEPS and Diversion as as an “major landmark” in New Zealand’s leadership in drug control strategies to visiting experts, local MP’s, customs, law and health officials, policy makers and NGO’s. !

With ‘the whole world is watching’ overtones and our having to reconcile BZP already in “D” classification – these are surely, interesting times. NZ is having a say in international drug policy!

It will be curious as to how drug czar Jim Anderton (with a ‘t’) interprets his “Good Friday” D-classified Mild Green initiative.

Anderton re-invented Harm Reduction to mean Criminal Sanctions under the aegis of the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs (EACD) but he wasn’t the first to use and promote deviancy amplifying policy. We imported ‘lies predicated on bigger lies’ when we sidled up to USA led UN classifications, mandates, conventions and covenants based on a ‘some drugs are evil and all use is misuse’ criminal controls and retributive messages paradigm. Thankfully Beyond 2008 heralds the ‘right procedural path’ to take. New Zealand may yet be the first in the world to do an unfettered and transparent ‘green fields’ rethink of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 and interpretation of the UN conventions. And that can only be a good thing.

See Jim, Wrong Control, Wrong Message. The world is saying stay with the D-classification theme Jim! We’ll work it out from there while we put the feet in the fire of those who refuse to test the efficacy of prohibition. Beyond 2008 will serve to oxygenate the drug policy debate this election. BTW: How do you like the silken feel of ‘sustainable’ hemp, Jim? It is a pity you see fit to ban Blair too. (private correspondence, ‘threatening’ sanction if I as much as talk to his staff. “Your Dangerous!” public meeting, Nandor debate.)

see Give New Zealand a say in global drug policy
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0802/S00059.htm

Anderton hopes for BZP ban by Christmas
http://www.tv3.co.nz/News/Story/tabid/209/articleID/34500/cat/41/Default.aspx

Blair Anderson with an ‘s’
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Big fat anti-drug NGO griftfest

Big fat anti-drug NGO griftfest
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

The UN drug policy consultation [BEYOND2008] in Wellington this week will be a big fat expert blowhard session say the ALCP,

see http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0802/S00059.htm.

Notably it is expected rational observations – eg. that an ongoing cannabis ban is damaging, wrong, and in particular is counterproductive (it opened the gateway for NZ methamphetamine networks) – will be suppressed.

ALCP has little faith that the urgent stalled debate on cannabis will be brought out into the open. This was highlighted by the NZ Drug Foundation effort to promote debate last year, that went unheeded by both politicians and media.

This conference is all about confirming contacts and contracts first, with public good a very poor second. The UN and their band of grifters will ignore the elephant in the corner. By tackling only illicit drugs, minus any context with alcohol and tobacco, or rampant cannabis and BZP and other substance popularity, they will merely reinforce a dangerously unhealthy context of double standards.

Doubtless the failure of cannabis illegality may come up in the discussion but it will ultimately be omitted from the final report. This has happened many times before, eg. our National Drug Policy, and select committee Cannabis Law review.

The vast majority of normal pot-using Kiwis (an estimated half-million, based on the NZDF figure of 1 in 8 prevalence ) would be completely mystified at the concept of Drug Treatment Services for their use. They would laugh at it, and therein lies some insight that may benefit NGOs attending the consultation; the whole ridiculous policy is based on prohibition, double standards and vested interests. For those 5% who run into problems with their cannabis use, prohibition is no help whatsoever – in fact promoting furtive or paranoid behaviour. At every step prohibition is harm production, not harm reduction.

If our politicians want to look at a big fat ugly root cause of whats currently troubling NZ, it is a social policy mix underpinned by criminalisation and anti-cannabis prejudice. “The drug war is the single most destructive force loose in society” said ALCP deputy leader Mike Britnell.

“Prohibition has not only failed but it is the lynchpin that is maintaining all this chaos, mayhem and murder.”

In our Prime Minister’s own words, it is ‘poor public policy’ (1994 Great Marijuana Debate). ALCP say an apology anytime soon would be good.

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Experts to debate New Zealand drug laws

New Zealand Drug Foundation

13 February 2008

Drug policy makers, health professionals and politicians meet in Wellington next week to discuss the future of New Zealand’s drug laws and policies. A select group of 30 senior policy makers and six members of parliament, will attend the 2008 Parliamentary Drug Policy Roundtable on 20 February to discuss what makes good drug policy, and whether New Zealand legislation is currently ‘fit for purpose.’

The Roundtable will be co-hosted by the New Zealand Drug Foundation and the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences. A number of ‘big names’ in drug policy from overseas will attend, including English pharmacologist Professor David Nutt, (see Professor on drug classification (TV1 “Good Morning” video 4:04) ) an outspoken critic who has described the United Kingdom’s drug law as ill-thought-out, arbitrary and one of the least effective pieces of legislation ever enacted.

New Zealand Drug Foundation Executive Director Ross Bell says similar criticisms could be levelled at New Zealand drug legislation.

“The Misuse of Drugs Act has become hopelessly out of date and irrelevant in the 32 years since it became law. A raft of ad hoc amendments has led to inconsistencies and confusion, and its underlying philosophy no longer reflects the harm minimisation approach of our national drug policy.”

The Law Commission review, due to be completed by December this year, will seek to provide “a better, more coherent and rational framework” for drug legislation, but will exclude alcohol and tobacco.

Ross Bell says that as well as the Law Commission review, two other matters have helped focus attention on our archaic drug laws.

“The United Nations is currently reflecting on its international drug policy frameworks, which will affect New Zealand drug law, and our political parties are formulating drug policy for their election manifestos. All up, this is an important year for New Zealand drug policy, and that is reflected in the interest the Roundtable has generated.”

The 2008 Parliamentary Drug Policy Roundtable will focus on providing participants with a good overview of high-level drug policy issues, such as how drugs are scheduled into classes based on their relative harm, how we measure harm, and how international drug policy frameworks affect our own laws and policies.

The agenda also provides a chance for open dialogue and debate about what good or bad drug policy might look like for New Zealand.

International participants also include Alison Ritter from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre which advise the Australian government on drug policy, Michel Perron from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Gábor Somogyi of the Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme in the United Kingdom.

New Zealand experts include Doug Sellman from the National Addiction Centre and drug treatment expert Tim Harding of Care NZ. The Roundtable will be opened by Hon Jim Anderton, Chair of the Ministerial Committee on Drug Policy, and MPs attending will include Metiria Turei (Greens), Chester Borrows and Simon Power (National), and Jill Pettis (Labour).

Representatives will also attend from the Law Commission, Police, Customs, the Ministries of Justice and Health, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (and what ever happened to public health best practice, ‘no decision about us, without us’, is addiction no longer a disability? /Blair)

The Roundtable follows the Beyond 2008 Regional Consultation also to be held in Wellington (18-19 February) at which New Zealand views on drug policy and practice will be discussed to contribute to inform an Australasian report to a United Nations’ review of global drug control targets set in 1998.

Drug policy cannot be ‘informed’ without (a) a cost benefit analysis, (b) participation of the consumers of this policy, in particular the 500,000 otherwise law abiding ‘criminals’ who use the popular ‘can-o-bis’ while national drug policy, in defiance of the highly recommended embracing of tobacco and alcohol into a health mediated protocol, ignores the acute and chronic double standards. The triumph of political expediency over reason. Why?, because anything ‘but the truth and the whole truth’ would have most of these over paid public and elected officials without a career path. Global Drug policy is an unmitigated ‘foreign affairs’ disaster. The mayhem that has been rendered under the sanction of the Single Convention on Narcotics and its respective covenants is criminal. It is at odds with UN WHO policy and in breach of every ethical test of human rights be they UN, EU or natural justice. Be gone damned spot. /Blair

Blair Anderson ‹(•¿•)›

Social Ecologist ‘at large’
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com/
http://blairformayor.blogspot.com/
http://blair4mayor.com/

ph (643) 389 4065 cell 027 265 7219

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