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Obama: Pot Users In Washington And Colorado Not A 'Top Priority'
President Barack Obama said prosecuting pot users in states that have legalized the drug won't be a top priority for his administration.
"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama told ABC News' Barbara Walters. "It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal."
Last month, voters in Colorado and Washington legalized recreational pot use for adults, though marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
The Obama administration suggested last week that it was considering plans to undermine the voter initiatives. In his interview with Walters, Obama did not say whether his administration would go after producers and suppliers of marijuana in those states. The administration has cracked down extensively on the medical marijuana industry in California, despite its legality under state law there.
A slim majority of Americans want the Department of Justice to leave pot smokers alone in the states where the drug has been legalized, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll.
Obama himself smoked pot as a youngster in Hawaii, where he and his high school pals called themselves the Choom Gang.
"There are a bunch of things I did that I regret when I was a kid," he told Walters. "My attitude is, substance abuse generally is not good for our kids, not good for our society."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/obama-pot-washington-colorado_n_2299512.html
"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama told ABC News' Barbara Walters. "It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal."
Last month, voters in Colorado and Washington legalized recreational pot use for adults, though marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
The Obama administration suggested last week that it was considering plans to undermine the voter initiatives. In his interview with Walters, Obama did not say whether his administration would go after producers and suppliers of marijuana in those states. The administration has cracked down extensively on the medical marijuana industry in California, despite its legality under state law there.
A slim majority of Americans want the Department of Justice to leave pot smokers alone in the states where the drug has been legalized, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll.
Obama himself smoked pot as a youngster in Hawaii, where he and his high school pals called themselves the Choom Gang.
"There are a bunch of things I did that I regret when I was a kid," he told Walters. "My attitude is, substance abuse generally is not good for our kids, not good for our society."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/obama-pot-washington-colorado_n_2299512.html
That is a wholly different issue and addresses a specific population.
You said "I know if I had liver disease, I think this would be alarming to me (if I enjoyed MJ that is)... "
It is more narrow than that. It specifically addresses Hepatitis C and not liver disease generally. I have a deep interest in all things liver related and I post anything I think could be instructive. I have also posted articles that suggest that HCV patients undergoing interferon/ribavirin treatment are more likely to achieve a cure (Sustained Viral Responder) if they smoke marijuana because it makes the treatment more tolerable and therefore increases compliance which therefore increases successful outcomes. I am not convinced of the premise that using marijuana increases liver fibrosis in HCV patients but if I was HCV + I would avoid pot just to be safe.
You said "I know if I had liver disease, I think this would be alarming to me (if I enjoyed MJ that is)... "
It is more narrow than that. It specifically addresses Hepatitis C and not liver disease generally. I have a deep interest in all things liver related and I post anything I think could be instructive. I have also posted articles that suggest that HCV patients undergoing interferon/ribavirin treatment are more likely to achieve a cure (Sustained Viral Responder) if they smoke marijuana because it makes the treatment more tolerable and therefore increases compliance which therefore increases successful outcomes. I am not convinced of the premise that using marijuana increases liver fibrosis in HCV patients but if I was HCV + I would avoid pot just to be safe.
No, you're not alone but as time goes by you're going to find yourself with fewer and fewer comrades in your anti-pot crusade.
It's just a lot of nonsense. I have lived and I have seen what drugs can do and pot is not nearly as dangerous as you keep trying to convince us that it is.
You say: "Sure, there have been a few smart people that smoked pot and stayed smart."
There are a whole lot more than a few SM! My guess is the vast majority of pot smokers have stayed smart. I haven't know anyone who got slow witted because they smoked marijuana - not one - ever!
These are just the two most successful people that came to mind.
If you bother to look you'll find some rather surprising potheads.......like Michael Bloomberg for instance.
It's just a lot of nonsense. I have lived and I have seen what drugs can do and pot is not nearly as dangerous as you keep trying to convince us that it is.
You say: "Sure, there have been a few smart people that smoked pot and stayed smart."
There are a whole lot more than a few SM! My guess is the vast majority of pot smokers have stayed smart. I haven't know anyone who got slow witted because they smoked marijuana - not one - ever!
These are just the two most successful people that came to mind.
If you bother to look you'll find some rather surprising potheads.......like Michael Bloomberg for instance.
Oops. forgot to post the link to the journal:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/628735/Regular-marijuana-use-increases-risk-of-Hep-C-related-liver-damage
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/628735/Regular-marijuana-use-increases-risk-of-Hep-C-related-liver-damage
I had noticed this posted on a journal earlier....looks like our Mike may have posted it somewhere (that's what the journal OP stated). Now, I noticed OH posted some objections to the article, but I still think it's something worth looking at. If anything, perhaps it shows that it isn't as "harmless" as one may think?
I know if I had liver disease, I think this would be alarming to me (if I enjoyed MJ that is)...
Just figured this was a worthy contribution to the discussion.
Regular marijuana use increases risk of hepatitis C-related liver damage
Posted on August 30, 2012
Bethesda, MD (Jan. 28, 2008) – Patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection should not use marijuana (cannabis) daily, according to a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Researchers found that HCV patients who used cannabis daily were at significantly higher risk of moderate to severe liver fibrosis, or tissue scarring. Additionally, patients with moderate to heavy alcohol use combined with regular cannabis use experienced an even greater risk of liver fibrosis. The recommendation to avoid cannabis is especially important in patients who are coinfected with HCV/HIV since the progression of fibrosis is already greater in these patients.
“Hepatitis C is a major public health concern and the number of patients developing complications of chronic disease is on the rise,” according to Norah Terrault, MD, MPH, from the University of California, San Francisco and lead investigator of the study. “It is essential that we identify risk factors that can be modified to prevent and/or lessen the progression of HCV to fibrosis, cirrhosis and even liver cancer. These complications of chronic HCV infection will significantly contribute to the overall burden of liver disease in the U.S. and will continue to increase in the next decade.”
This is the first study that evaluates the relationship between alcohol and cannabis use in patients with HCV and those coinfected with HCV/HIV. It is of great importance to disease management that physicians understand the factors influencing HCV disease severity, especially those that are potentially modifiable. The use and abuse of both alcohol and marijuana together is not an uncommon behavior. Also, individuals who are moderate and heavy users of alcohol may use cannabis as a substitute to reduce their alcohol intake, especially after receiving a diagnosis like HCV, which affects their liver.
Researchers found a significant association between daily versus non-daily cannabis use and moderate to severe fibrosis when reviewing this factor alone. Other factors contributing to increased fibrosis included age at enrollment, lifetime duration of alcohol use, lifetime duration of moderate to heavy alcohol use and necroinflammatory score (stage of fibrosis). In reviewing combined factors, there was a strong (nearly 7-fold higher risk) and independent relationship between daily cannabis use and moderate to severe fibrosis. Gender, race, body mass index, HCV viral load and genotype, HIV coinfection, source of HCV infection, and biopsy length were not significantly associated with moderate to severe fibrosis.
Of the 328 patients screened for the study, 204 patients were included in the analysis. The baseline characteristics of those included in the study were similar to those excluded with the exception of daily cannabis use (13.7 percent of those studied used cannabis daily versus 6.45 percent of those not included). Patients who used cannabis daily had a significantly lower body mass index than non-daily users (25.2 versus 26.4), were more likely to be using medically prescribed cannabis (57.1 percent versus 8.79 percent), and more likely to have HIV coinfection (39.3 percent versus 18.2 percent).
The prevalence of cannabis use amongst adults in the U.S. is estimated to be almost 4 percent. Regular use has increased in certain population subgroups, including those aged 18 to 29.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is the most common form of hepatitis and infects nearly 4 million people in the U.S., with an estimated 150,000 new cases diagnosed each year. While it can be spread through blood transfusions and contaminated needles, for a substantial number of patients, the cause is unknown. This form of viral hepatitis may lead to cirrhosis, or scarring, of the liver. Coinfection of hepatitis C in patients who are HIV positive is common; about one quarter of patients infected with HIV are infected with hepatitis C. The majority of these patients, 50 to 90 percent, were infected through injection drug use. Hepatitis C ranks with alcohol abuse as the most common cause of chronic liver disease and leads to about 1,000 liver transplants yearly in the U.S.
http://engineeringevil.com/2012/08/30/regular-marijuana-use-increases-risk-of-hepatitis-c-related-liver-damage/
I know if I had liver disease, I think this would be alarming to me (if I enjoyed MJ that is)...
Just figured this was a worthy contribution to the discussion.
Regular marijuana use increases risk of hepatitis C-related liver damage
Posted on August 30, 2012
Bethesda, MD (Jan. 28, 2008) – Patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection should not use marijuana (cannabis) daily, according to a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Researchers found that HCV patients who used cannabis daily were at significantly higher risk of moderate to severe liver fibrosis, or tissue scarring. Additionally, patients with moderate to heavy alcohol use combined with regular cannabis use experienced an even greater risk of liver fibrosis. The recommendation to avoid cannabis is especially important in patients who are coinfected with HCV/HIV since the progression of fibrosis is already greater in these patients.
“Hepatitis C is a major public health concern and the number of patients developing complications of chronic disease is on the rise,” according to Norah Terrault, MD, MPH, from the University of California, San Francisco and lead investigator of the study. “It is essential that we identify risk factors that can be modified to prevent and/or lessen the progression of HCV to fibrosis, cirrhosis and even liver cancer. These complications of chronic HCV infection will significantly contribute to the overall burden of liver disease in the U.S. and will continue to increase in the next decade.”
This is the first study that evaluates the relationship between alcohol and cannabis use in patients with HCV and those coinfected with HCV/HIV. It is of great importance to disease management that physicians understand the factors influencing HCV disease severity, especially those that are potentially modifiable. The use and abuse of both alcohol and marijuana together is not an uncommon behavior. Also, individuals who are moderate and heavy users of alcohol may use cannabis as a substitute to reduce their alcohol intake, especially after receiving a diagnosis like HCV, which affects their liver.
Researchers found a significant association between daily versus non-daily cannabis use and moderate to severe fibrosis when reviewing this factor alone. Other factors contributing to increased fibrosis included age at enrollment, lifetime duration of alcohol use, lifetime duration of moderate to heavy alcohol use and necroinflammatory score (stage of fibrosis). In reviewing combined factors, there was a strong (nearly 7-fold higher risk) and independent relationship between daily cannabis use and moderate to severe fibrosis. Gender, race, body mass index, HCV viral load and genotype, HIV coinfection, source of HCV infection, and biopsy length were not significantly associated with moderate to severe fibrosis.
Of the 328 patients screened for the study, 204 patients were included in the analysis. The baseline characteristics of those included in the study were similar to those excluded with the exception of daily cannabis use (13.7 percent of those studied used cannabis daily versus 6.45 percent of those not included). Patients who used cannabis daily had a significantly lower body mass index than non-daily users (25.2 versus 26.4), were more likely to be using medically prescribed cannabis (57.1 percent versus 8.79 percent), and more likely to have HIV coinfection (39.3 percent versus 18.2 percent).
The prevalence of cannabis use amongst adults in the U.S. is estimated to be almost 4 percent. Regular use has increased in certain population subgroups, including those aged 18 to 29.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is the most common form of hepatitis and infects nearly 4 million people in the U.S., with an estimated 150,000 new cases diagnosed each year. While it can be spread through blood transfusions and contaminated needles, for a substantial number of patients, the cause is unknown. This form of viral hepatitis may lead to cirrhosis, or scarring, of the liver. Coinfection of hepatitis C in patients who are HIV positive is common; about one quarter of patients infected with HIV are infected with hepatitis C. The majority of these patients, 50 to 90 percent, were infected through injection drug use. Hepatitis C ranks with alcohol abuse as the most common cause of chronic liver disease and leads to about 1,000 liver transplants yearly in the U.S.
http://engineeringevil.com/2012/08/30/regular-marijuana-use-increases-risk-of-hepatitis-c-related-liver-damage/
And by the way OH, my comments were directed at mikesimon who addressed me.
Please keep your scoldings to yourself. Thanks!! :>)
Please keep your scoldings to yourself. Thanks!! :>)
An important aspect to this article is the change in thinking regarding pot and that legalizing it contributes to this which will lead to more kids smoking. That's a problem in my book and I was told yesterday that I was blowing that out of proportion.
No one has to agree with this article or me. But at least I'm NOT alone in the way I feel and what I see as a big problem with legalizing pot.
No one has to agree with this article or me. But at least I'm NOT alone in the way I feel and what I see as a big problem with legalizing pot.
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