Tag: marijuana

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Synthetic Hallucinating Designer Drugs are Not Synthetic Marijuana

A lake in Kananaskis to relax and unwind. Better than smoking weed.
A lake in Kananaskis to relax and unwind. Better than smoking weed.

Naturally growing cannabis (marijuana) is a popular psychoactive plant that is often used recreationally. Use of marijuana is in the news almost every day. Not to mention the recent death of a very accomplished actor. Cannabis is also unique in that it contains a psychoactive substance, THC. In some jurisdictions, it is legal to use medical cannabis to treat pain, insomnia, and stimulate appetite.

Then there is “synthetic” cannabis, a psychoactive designer drug created by spraying natural herbs with synthetic chemicals that, when consumed, produce psychoactive effects similar to the effects of cannabis. According to Wikipedia, synthetic cannabis are often known by the brand names K2 and Spice. “Synthetic” is considered a misnomer, because the ingredients contained in these products are mimics, not copies.

An article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (Five things to know about synthetic cannabinoids, February 18, 2014) says, “Synthetic cannabinoids are not synthetic marijuana.” They are a large family of chemically unrelated compounds functionally similar to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active component of Cannabis sativa. It is important to remember, synthetic cannabinoids are NOT derived from cannabis.

The article says the use of synthetic cannabinoids is increasing, quoting statistics from the American Association of Poison Control Centers. The typical users are adolescent males and young men in their early to mid-20s, with the most commonly stated reasons for use being curiosity, relaxation and attaining the desired effects of THC while avoiding toxicological detection. Synthetic cannabinoids cannot be legally sold in Canada.

Use of synthetic cannabinoid can cause psychosis, agitation, seizures, acute kidney injury, low potassium level, high blood pressure, increased heart rate, heart attack and death. Clinical diagnosis of synthetic cannabinoids overdose is difficult to make in a patient presenting with acute psychosis unless there is a high index of suspicion.

There is no specific antidote.

So, it boils down to the same old adage, “Prevention is better than cure.” There are so many wonderful things to do in life that one wonders what drives people to drugs, smoking and drinking. I guess we are all not made of the same outlook in life. People in the same family, carrying similar genes, sometimes end up in different directions. There are so many genetic and environmental factors over which we have no control. That does not mean we should not try and be healthy and make the best of what we have been given and improve on it.

You can be what you want to be. Keep smiling. Talk to you again soon.

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Alcohol, Drugs, Date Rape and Unwanted Pregnancy

“The contribution of alcohol and other drugs to sexual assault has been increasingly recognized during the last 15–20 years,” says an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ March, 2009). The authors report that 20.9 per cent of victims of sexual assault met the criteria for drug-facilitated sexual assault, also known as date rape.

As we know, rape occurs when sexual intercourse is non-consensual. A person forces another person to have sex against his or her will. It is not uncommon to find that drugs and alcohol are involved in the rape. Rape includes intercourse in the vagina, anus, or mouth. Rape is among the most serious crimes a person can commit. Men as well as women and children can be raped.

The person who commits rape uses violence and fear to force the person to have sex. Victims of rape are physically and emotionally traumatized. Unwanted pregnancy and infection may be some of the unfortunate outcomes.

Date rape occurs when a substance is administered to a person which lowers his or her sexual inhibition and increases the occurrence of unwanted sexual intercourse. Usually, the victim and the person who commits the crime are known to each other and have been together socially in the past.

Rape is common with an estimated lifetime risk of up to one in four for women. About 25 per cent of the 1400 women who contact the Canadian Sexual Assault Centre each year report that drugs were a factor in a rape.

The drugs used in date rape usually have no colour, smell or taste and can easily be mixed with different kinds of drinks without the victim’s knowledge.

Drugs most commonly used in date rape are alcohol, marijuana, benzodiazepines, cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid), Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), and Ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride). This list is extensive. Most of these drugs are often metabolized and excreted before the victim even perceives that a sexual assault may have occurred. Unfortunately, this contributes to the underreporting of drug-related sexual assault.

Alcohol is involved in most of the cases of date rape. Urine samples submitted by rape victims to treatment centers across the United States within 72 hours of a suspected drug-facilitated rape, alcohol was detected in 69 per cent of the samples, marijuana in 18 per cent and cocaine in 5 per cent.

The patient requires immediate attention regarding safety, management of injuries, forensic examination, emergency contraception, prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections and psychosocial support.

Prevention is better than cure. If you are out drinking then vigilance is the key word. Drink your beverage slowly, keep an eye on your drink when mixed and obtain a fresh one after leaving the drink unattended. Do not accept drinks from strangers.

If you think that you have been drugged and raped then go to the police station or hospital right away. Get a urine test as soon as possible. Do not douche, bathe, or change clothes before getting help. You will destroy the evidence you need to find and convict the offender.

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Marijuana and Madness

A recent British study reveals that all users of cannabis (marijuana and hashish) are genetically at risk of developing schizophrenia or a related psychotic disorder.

What is psychosis?

According American Heritage Dictionary, psychosis is a severe mental disorder, with or without organic damage, characterized by derangement of personality and loss of contact with reality and causing deterioration of normal social functioning.

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is any of a group of psychotic disorders usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions and hallucinations and accompanied in varying degrees by other emotional, behavioral or intellectual disturbances. Schizophrenia is associated with dopamine imbalances in the brain and may have an underlying genetic cause.

How bad is the problem?

Canada is the industrial world’s leading consumer of cannabis. In 2004, the Canadian Addiction Survey found that 22 per cent of all male and 10 per cent of all female respondents aged 15–24 use cannabis on a weekly or daily basis. In Alberta, the most popular illicit drug is cannabis.

Those who use illicit drugs are usually chronic tobacco and alcohol abusers as well.

Tobacco use continues to be the leading lifestyle-related cause of death in Canada – 45,000 each year. About 30 percent of adult Canadians over 15 smoke regularly. Teenage girls are more likely to smoke (39 percent) than teenage boys (22 percent).

Everybody knows smoking is harmful. But not many people know that smoking may cause infertility in both men and women. In experimental animals, nicotine has been shown to block the production of sperm and decrease the size of a man’s testicles. In women, tobacco changes the cervical mucus, thus affecting the way sperm reach the egg.

Alcohol use takes its toll as well. About 10 percent of adult Canadians have a drinking problem. Impaired driving is a major cause of death. About 45 percent of the dead drivers have some alcohol in their blood and 38 percent are over the legal limit of blood alcohol concentration. In 2005, French researchers found people who drive after using marijuana are nearly twice as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash. Quite often there is a combination of marijuana and alcohol.

Marijuana has been found to cause other problems as well. In 2006, a report in Neurology found smoking marijuana may gradually fade verbal memory and other mental skills. Marijuana has been found to disrupt a woman’s ovulation cycle (release of the egg). Marijuana use affects men by decreasing the sperm count and the quality of the sperm.

The most important message for the youth is smoking cannabis, or marijuana, as a youth significantly increases the risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life by about 40 per cent. Those who use illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol are danger to themselves, to their families and to society at large. I hope we can all pass this message to our children and grandchildren.

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Substance Abuse

“Substance abuse is an enormous problem in Canada,” says Dr. John S. Millar, MD, in an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Dr. Millar is Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia.

The exact cost –monetary and nonmonetary- of disease, disability and death due to substance abuse is difficult to estimate. But it is thought to be in billions of dollars.

Three commonly abused substances are tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.

Tobacco use continues to be the leading lifestyle-related cause of death in Canada – 45,000 each year. About 30 percent of adult Canadians over 15 smoke regularly. Teenage girls are more likely to smoke (39 percent) than teenage boys (22 percent).

Alcohol use takes its toll. About 10 percent of adult Canadians have a drinking problem. Impaired driving is a major cause of death. About 45 percent of the dead drivers have some alcohol in their blood and 38 percent are over the legal limit of .08 percent blood alcohol concentration.

Use of drugs like cannabis, cocaine and heroin amongst Canadians has been increasing. In 1994, the daily use of cannabis in Canada was estimated at 7.4 percent of the population, cocaine at 0.7 percent, and LSD, speed or heroin at 1.1 percent.

In Alberta, the most popular illicit drug is cannabis (marijuana and hashish).

In 1994, 32.8 percent of Albertans (aged 15+) reported using cannabis at some time in their lives, while 8.4 percent said they had used this drug in the 12 months preceding the survey.

What about Medicine Hat? I asked Paul Jerry, a Chartered Psychologist and Instructor at Medicine Hat College in the Addictions Counseling Program.

“Compared to other places in Alberta, Medicine Hat is doing well,” says Jerry. Out of 26 AADAC service areas, Medicine Hat ranks 14th for rate of cannabis and other drug possession charges; 24th for sexual and physical assault charges; and 19th for total rate of alcohol-related primary and secondary diagnosis admission to hospital.
According to AADAC’s breakdown of client demographics, 60 percent of these clients are adult males, 23 percent adult females, 10 percent collaterals and 6 percent teens, says Jerry.

Why are some people prone to substance abuse?

According to Dr. Millar, there is a biological or genetic propensity for substance abuse. This is similar to chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma.

It has also been shown that people who have been abused or neglected in childhood or children from low socio-economic background (poverty, homelessness) have high incidence of substance abuse.

It is also common among people with mental illness.

Dr. Millar says that it is important to understand the underlying cause for substance abuse for any intervention program to succeed. We should stop treating addicts and substance abusers as criminals and begin treating them as patients who deserve respectful, effective care.

I asked Paul Jerry, who has 10 years’ experience in the field of mental health and addictions, about the Addictions Counseling Program at Medicine Hat College.

“Our program is unique in that we hold the view (different from AADAC) that eating disorders and sexual compulsivity can be framed in an addictions perspective. So we apply the addiction model to alcohol, drugs, gambling, food and sex. We train counselors to intervene with these issues in individuals, couples, families, groups, and communities.”

Finally, Carl Jung (1875-1961) has the last word: Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!