By Megan Twohey, Danielle Ivory and Carson Kessler The reporters are continuing to examine cannabis policies, use of the drug and the rise of the commercial market.
Published Oct. 4, 2024 Updated Oct. 7, 2024
https://dnyuz.com/2024/10/04/as-americas-marijuana-use-grows-so-do-the-harms/
In midcoast Maine, a pediatrician sees teenagers so dependent on cannabis that they consume it practically all day, every day — “a remarkably scary amount,” she said.
From Washington State to West Virginia, psychiatrists treat rising numbers of people whose use of the drug has brought on delusions, paranoia and other symptoms of psychosis.
And in the emergency departments of small community hospitals and large academic medical centers alike, physicians encounter patients with severe vomiting induced by the drug — a potentially devastating condition that once was rare but now, they say, is common. “Those patients look so sick,” said a doctor in Ohio, who described them “writhing around in pain.”
As marijuana legalization has accelerated across the country, doctors are contending with the effects of an explosion in the use of the drug and its intensity. A $33 billion industry has taken root, turning out an ever-expanding range of cannabis products so intoxicating they bear little resemblance to the marijuana available a generation ago. Tens of millions of Americans use the drug, for medical or recreational purposes — most of them without problems.
But with more people consuming more potent cannabis more often, a growing number, mostly chronic users, are enduring serious health consequences.
The accumulating harm is broader and more severe than previously reported. And gaps in state regulations, limited public health messaging and federal restraints on research have left many consumers, government officials and even medical practitioners in the dark about such outcomes.
Again and again, The New York Times found dangerous misconceptions.
Many users believe, for instance, that people cannot become addicted to cannabis. But millions do.
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https://dnyuz.com/2024/10/04/as-americas-marijuana-use-grows-so-do-the-harms/
Yes, for sure that is a powerful tool, and I have prayed for direction in quitting without these negative side effects. It’s not cravings or withdrawal or anything that stops me. It’s the negative side effects. I can be pot free tomorrow if I like, but I will also end up fat and impotent lol. It’s not the improvement to my life I am hoping for. So I figure God needs me to help myself so he can help me. So I am eating properly, and working out, and trying to detox my body.
The reason I would like to quit is I just would like everything to work normally on its own. Just don’t like being dependent on something or significant decline in quality of life. Quitting doesn’t have any effect on my relationships with people, my personality, my motivation levels. Maybe I can think clearer, but that only makes a difference if I am being challenged by someone or they are being aggressive or hostile with me and it matters to me like someone important at work. Then my reaction is better, but not so much better that it creates any motivation for me to quit.