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NEWS: News.com.au - 11/11/2005 'Think again on 'lax attitude', says PM'

hoptis

hoptis

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Think again on 'lax attitude', says PM
By Patricia Karvelas
November 11, 2005

MENTAL illness and homelessness was the price the nation was paying for a "lax attitude" towards cannabis, John Howard has warned.

"We need to think again as a community about what messages we are sending to people about the dangers of cannabis to their mental health," the Prime Minister said yesterday.

"I have long been concerned about the relatively lax attitude that has been taken in Australia towards cannabis use."

Mental illness put a great strain on families, and too many people, especially young people, were ending up unemployed and homeless, he said.

"There is also growing evidence that many disorders are exacerbated or even brought on by drug use. This is particularly distressing in young people, but we are also seeing increasing numbers of older people with impaired mental function from long-term heavy cannabis use."

Mr Howard said the process of taking people out of institutions, which gathered pace in the 1980s and 1990s, had "gone too far".

Experts have told The Australian that there is overwhelming evidence cannabis causes psychotic illnesses, such as schizophrenia, as well as depression and anxiety disorders, particularly among young people.

Parliamentary secretary for mental health Chris Pyne says the penalties for cannabis possession were so lax they were not much more than a parking fine.

Employment Minister Kevin Andrews said he was worried about the use of cannabis and wanted to explore its links with welfare dependence.

"With cannabis there are consequences in terms of not just people's health, but if they are unable to work then it has an impact in terms of welfare dependence as well."

Monash University forensic psychiatrist Paul Mullen said cannabis prohibition would not work but that a public education campaign warning of the risks was needed.

"It's really heavy use that's associated with mental illness," he said. "My guess is that some people are ending up with mental illnesses who wouldn't otherwise have done so."

Director of the NSW Institute of Psychiatry Louise Newman said the evidence linking cannabis to mental illness was clear.

"We support regulating and controlling the use of cannabis ... but it's a very different issue whether further criminalising will reduce drug problems."

Mr Howard said his department would examine a Mental Health Council study and report to Cabinet on possible responses.
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From News.com.au / Australian
 
Abuse of anything can cause permanent damage. I don't see them banning alcohol even though it puts more strain on families than any drug and causes more deaths than cannabis ever will. I wonder why? Could it be the large tax revenue the governments recieving from alcohol vendors?
Ultimately they will see that further criminalisation of cannabis will only result in more users. People want what they cant have.
 
In the small amount of psychology that I have studied so far it seems clear that people are rehabilitated quicker and more successfully around family, friends and a home environment rather than a psych ward. I wonder where Howard and his right wing cronies pull this kind of righteous bullshit from. Wecome to the USA - United States of Australia.
 
Cowboy Mac said:
In the small amount of psychology that I have studied so far it seems clear that people are rehabilitated quicker and more successfully around family, friends and a home environment rather than a psych ward. I wonder where Howard and his right wing cronies pull this kind of righteous bullshit from. Wecome to the USA - United States of Australia.
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true
 
Cowboy Mac said:
In the small amount of psychology that I have studied so far it seems clear that people are rehabilitated quicker and more successfully around family, friends and a home environment rather than a psych ward. I wonder where Howard and his right wing cronies pull this kind of righteous bullshit from. Wecome to the USA - United States of Australia.
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Great post! I second that...

Cannabis can have so many positive effects when used the right way. This is what ive learnt after a few years of cannabis use : Cannabis is NOT an escape drug like alcohol. It is a powerful illuminating psychedelic. We are not educated about this. In the wrong hands this toy can do damage.
 
The problem with cannibis is the sheer number of people who rely on it, the amount of my friends who went thru complete hell when quitting weed, (they usually stopped thru depression, loss of self esteem etc) was scary, i not at all against weed, BUT i am against the number of people who say it is harmless, no drug is harmless, when used correctly drugs can transform our lives in a positive way, however everyone of my friends who has smoked weed (large number) has become a daily smoker and come to rely on it for sleep and as an escape.

I dont think that my friends (or myself) are weak people looking for an escape from reality, merely we have been told that weed is ok its not a serious drug where in actual fact, like any drug, prolonged, chronic (no pun intended :p) usage is not good for ones mental state.
 
Experts have told The Australian that there is overwhelming evidence cannabis causes psychotic illnesses, such as schizophrenia, as well as depression and anxiety disorders, particularly among young people.
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I wouldn't say the evidence is 'overwhelming.' There's definite evidence that cannabis use can cause relapse, but not as much for it as a cause. There have been a number of studies that show heavy cannabis use at an early age can have some serious consequences - which is not surprising really, as when the brain is still developing heavy use of any substance is going to have negative effects. But I've read more than one article that cites these studies done in adolescent populations and generalises them to adult ones, where the evidence is far less conclusive.

Originally Posted by Cowboy Mac
In the small amount of psychology that I have studied so far it seems clear that people are rehabilitated quicker and more successfully around family, friends and a home environment rather than a psych ward. I wonder where Howard and his right wing cronies pull this kind of righteous bullshit from. Wecome to the USA - United States of Australia.
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I agree, provided their problem isn't too severe and can be managed in a home environment. Although I thought maybe his comments regarding deinstitutionalisation was in regards to the number of mentally ill people who have ended up on the streets.....but then this is howard, so probably not :\
 
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