israel leading in medical marijauna research

[The proud Jew]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4141750,00.html

I personally see this as a good thing for sick jewish patients in israel who need it.

[Rubystars]

I wonder why more research isn't done on other herbs? Most of them are left to unreliable supplement status while marijuana gets most of the scientific attention and research.

[Dr. Dan]

I don't have a problem with it as long as it is regulated extremely closely and not abused....just like it should be for opiate drugs etc.

[Meerkat]

weed is nowhere near as bad as some of the other painkillers on the market. if its fine to prescribe those in certain situations, certainly weed is OK in lesser cases too.

[Chaim Ben Pesach]

בס''ד

Marijuana is a drug that has destroyed the lives of many "potheads". Marijuana is addictive and harmful.

Moreover, marijuana is a "gateway drug" that leads many users to eventually become addicted to harder deadly drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth etc.

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

בס''ד

Marijuana is a drug that has destroyed the lives of many "potheads". Marijuana is addictive and harmful.

Moreover, marijuana is a "gateway drug" that leads many users to eventually become addicted to harder deadly drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth etc.

 Maybe, but shouldn't that be people's own choice? If someone chooses to smoke/ drink etc. and not hurt or affect anyone else (for example not to drive drunk or stoned etc.) why should we stop him/her?
   Also I believe I saw in Jon Stossels show where he says that places with more freedom with these things have and has lead to less addiction and less harm.
  Basically why should their be government regulation to issues of people's health, especially where soo much of Americas tax $ are being wasted in the war on drugs. I mean why should someone who smokes lets say in the privacy of their own home be sent to jail basically for not committing any real crime. And on top of that why should society pay heavily for it (when that $ can be used for soo many needed things, or even given back to the tax payers).

[JTFenthusiast2]

בס''ד

Marijuana is a drug that has destroyed the lives of many "potheads". Marijuana is addictive and harmful.

Moreover, marijuana is a "gateway drug" that leads many users to eventually become addicted to harder deadly drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth etc.

Can I get an mmmhmmm?

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

בס''ד

Marijuana is a drug that has destroyed the lives of many "potheads". Marijuana is addictive and harmful.

Moreover, marijuana is a "gateway drug" that leads many users to eventually become addicted to harder deadly drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth etc.

However, it has some medicinal properties which are important to investigate.

[Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks]

בס''ד

Marijuana is a drug that has destroyed the lives of many "potheads". Marijuana is addictive and harmful.

Moreover, marijuana is a "gateway drug" that leads many users to eventually become addicted to harder deadly drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth etc.

You are absolutely right.

[TruthSpreader]

בס''ד

Marijuana is a drug that has destroyed the lives of many "potheads". Marijuana is addictive and harmful.

Moreover, marijuana is a "gateway drug" that leads many users to eventually become addicted to harder deadly drugs such as heroin, cocaine, crack, meth etc.

Chaim is 100% right on this one.

[muman613]

I think this is great news. I disagree with those who call Pot a gateway drug. It is no more a gateway drug than alcohol. Marijuana is not a narcotic, it has nothing in common with Cocaine or Methamphetamine and thus there is no addiction to those substances caused by Marijuana.

I have known a lot of people who got caught up in drugs... But nobody I know ever had a problem with Marijuana. Granted I have no compassion for those who do cocaine or methamphetamine as these are very dangerous drugs. But Marijuana is not anywhere near as bad for a person than alcohol is. Why should alcohol be legal while Marijuana is not?

I also know that it helps with pain and it is better for you than taking the narcotic pain medications.

http://scienceblog.com/12116/study-says-marijuana-no-gateway-drug/

Study says marijuana no gateway drug
December 4, 2006

Marijuana is not a “gateway” drug that predicts or eventually leads to substance abuse, suggests a 12-year University of Pittsburgh study. Moreover, the study’s findings call into question the long-held belief that has shaped prevention efforts and governmental policy for six decades and caused many a parent to panic upon discovering a bag of pot in their child’s bedroom.

http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/29/marijuna-as-a-gateway-drug-the-myth-that-will-not-die/

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Scientists long ago abandoned the idea that marijuana causes users to try other drugs: as far back as 1999, in a report commissioned by Congress to look at the possible dangers of medical marijuana, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences wrote:

    Patterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana — usually before they are of legal age.

    In the sense that marijuana use typically precedes rather than follows initiation of other illicit drug use, it is indeed a "gateway" drug. But because underage smoking and alcohol use typically precede marijuana use, marijuana is not the most common, and is rarely the first, "gateway" to illicit drug use. There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.

Since then, numerous other studies have failed to support the gateway idea. Every year, the federal government funds two huge surveys on drug use in the population. Over and over they find that the number of people who try marijuana dwarfs that for cocaine or heroin. For example, in 2009, 2.3 million people reported trying pot — compared with 617,000 who tried cocaine and 180,000 who tried heroin. (More on Time.com: See photos of cannabis conventions)

So what accounts for the massive correlation between marijuana use and use of other drugs? One key factor is taste. People who are extremely interested in altering their consciousness are likely to want to try more than one way of doing it. If you are a true music fan, you probably won't stick to listening to just one band or even a single genre —  this doesn't make lullabies a gateway to the Grateful Dead, it means that people who really like music probably like many different songs and groups.

Second is marijuana's illegality: you aren't likely to be able to find a heroin dealer if you can't even score weed. Compared with pot dealers, sellers of hard drugs tend to be even less trusting of customers they don't know, in part because they face greater penalties. But if you've proved yourself by regularly purchasing marijuana, dealers will happily introduce to you to their harder product lines if you express interest, or help you find a friend of theirs who can.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20015429-10391704.html

[muman613]

We have had this debate before... I am not advocating that people should do it... I am just advocating that there should be more research into the medical uses of it... I know that it has medical uses...

[Aces High]

I agree with Muman!  Also, I would never support anyone who advocated outlawing medical marijuana.

[JTFenthusiast2]

We have had this debate before... I am not advocating that people should do it... I am just advocating that there should be more research into the medical uses of it... I know that it has medical uses...

Pot is a gatewway drug and I better get an 'mmmhmmm" for that, especially from you

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

Pot is a gatewway drug and I better get an 'mmmhmmm" for that, especially from you

  It is just much more available, soo people are more likely to try it first (also less strong as others). In fact I would guess that Alcohol is more of a gateway drug then marijuana since people probably (mostly) try that first before all.

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

 This is a legal drug, yett not many people are using it, believe me once this becomes "Illigal" the desire and want for it will dramatically go up.

[muman613]

  It is just much more available, soo people are more likely to try it first (also less strong as others). In fact I would guess that Alcohol is more of a gateway drug then marijuana since people probably (mostly) try that first before all.

yes... That is most certainly true, and the studies I posted above mention this...

[JTFenthusiast2]

 This is a legal drug, yett not many people are using it, believe me once this becomes "Illigal" the desire and want for it will dramatically go up.

This is a very dangerous substance and should be made illegal immediately

[IsraeliGovtAreKapos]

I think this is great news. I disagree with those who call Pot a gateway drug. It is no more a gateway drug than alcohol. Marijuana is not a narcotic, it has nothing in common with Cocaine or Methamphetamine and thus there is no addiction to those substances caused by Marijuana.

I have known a lot of people who got caught up in drugs... But nobody I know ever had a problem with Marijuana. Granted I have no compassion for those who do cocaine or methamphetamine as these are very dangerous drugs. But Marijuana is not anywhere near as bad for a person than alcohol is. Why should alcohol be legal while Marijuana is not?

I also know that it helps with pain and it is better for you than taking the narcotic pain medications.

http://scienceblog.com/12116/study-says-marijuana-no-gateway-drug/

http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/29/marijuna-as-a-gateway-drug-the-myth-that-will-not-die/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20015429-10391704.html

And you call yourself a religious Jew?

[The proud Jew]

And you call yourself a religious Jew?

no need for lashon hara.

[TheCoon]

There is no prohibition of marijuana in the Torah. Cannabis was used in rituals by Jewish priests.

[The proud Jew]

There is no prohibition of marijuana in the Torah. Cannabis was used in rituals by Jewish priests.

When did our cohanim ever use canabis in our torah? I request that you back up your statements with evidence.

[muman613]

There is no prohibition of marijuana in the Torah. Cannabis was used in rituals by Jewish priests.

That is debatable. I have never heard a Rabbi state this. Could you find any source which supports this?

[muman613]

And you call yourself a religious Jew?

What does being a religious Jew have to do with this? There is nothing in the Torah which prohibits medication.

Also you have not disproven the studies which show that it is not a gateway drug. You simply have tried to attack me..

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

Anyone who would be against research into MEDICAL USES for marijuana truly needs their head examined.  We are talking about something that has been shown in some studies to have anticancer properties.   By comparison to what is on the market to treat cancer, if marijuana could prove to be an effective treatment, its limited side effects would be an amusement park ride compared to what many people go through.   Something extremely less damaging than other treatments (and could combat a common problem in cancer treatment - the extreme loss of apetite by the patient which leads to pathological circumstances).  It could end up being concentrated as a stand-alone for some treatment or used in tandem with something else to improve current treatment.   We can't know ahead of time.  But if we don't do the research, we will continue to know nothing.  Those suggesting we remain in the dark about its medicinal properties simply have not seen the promising research that has been done w it up to this point, and they do a disservice to mankind with absolutely no reason to support them.   Taking marijuana as a medical treatment (to treat debilitating pain for instance, let's say), is going to lead to a cocaine addiction?  Lol, on what planet?   That's like saying taking an arthritis drug will cause someone to be an alcoholic someday.   No logic to that.