General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: CNN's Sanjay Gupta: We've been misled about cannabis [View all]RainDog
(28,784 posts)Sometimes it's not - someone who received a doctor's prescription for painkillers after a surgery or injury, etc. - those are situations in which it's a matter of physical addiction.
But people who are addicted to alcohol, for instance - even tho they may have a physiological propensity for alcohol addiction - I think that same... cluster... of genetic markers is also found for people with bipolar disorder and some other forms of mental illness.
So, it's not that we deny that some people may be inclined toward self medicating before they know of an underlying issue - but, as we learned with alcohol - it is not useful to treat such people as criminals or moral degenerates.
We now offer help for those who need it. Just as with alcohol, most people who would use cannabis recreationally will not be dependent on it. And, in fact, more will be dependent on alcohol than marijuana. And some people have done research to see if marijuana can help wean alcoholics and pharmaceutical drug abusers.
The problem with marijuana and the issue of substance abuse, however, is that pleading a sentence down to substance abuse counseling has inflated numbers to make it look as though marijuana is more harmful than it is. We know many going into such programs are not actually addicted because they test clean for marijuana before they enter the programs (a month later.) If someone were truly addicted, they would not stop voluntarily.
The guy offering the counter view makes his living off this sort of drug sentencing. Of course he can't be honest about the ridiculous arguments he puts forth.