Marijuana, safer than painkillers — STUDY

BELIEVE it or not, but you could be safer
ingesting marijuana -the most used illegal
drug on Earth – than a prescription pain
killer drug. Findings by a brand new first-
of-its-kind global study conducted at the
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
at the University of Washington, USA,
showed that prescription pain killers,
though legal, could be the deadliest drug
of all.
A publication in The Lancet, revealed that
marijuana, though often preferred to other
illicit drugs of addiction such as cocaine,
heroin and amphetamines are responsible
for killing fewer persons than addictive
painkillers such as Oxycontin and
Vicodinbe.
Of a total of 78,000 drug deaths,
prescription pain pills accounted for more
than half. The study does not mention
why marijuana has become the most
popular drug, controversy over the
legalisation of cannabis in some US
states rages on.
While marijuana use is still illegal
according to federal law, the new global
report found that men in their 20s were
most likely to abuse any of the drugs
studied. Drugs such as Ecstasy and other
hallucinogens were not included due to a
lack of data.
The study also found that Australia,
Russia, the UK and the US were the
hardest hit by substance abuse. Those
living in these areas were also more likely
to use the drugs which originated closer
to home.
For instance, persons living in Asia or
Australia were more inclined to abuse
amphetamines and opioids whereas
North Americans used more marijuana
and cocaine.
Marijuana
“Even if it is not very solid data, we can
say definitely that there are drug problems
in most parts of the world,” explained
senior author Theo Vos.
Michael Lysnkey with the National
Addiction Centre at King’s College in
London warned that these numbers are
likely to change, saying the world’s
preference for drugs may change in the
future.
“The illicit use of prescribed opiates in the
US has only happened in the last 10 years
or so,” said Lysnkey in a statement. “It’s
possible in another 20 years, patterns will
again change in ways we can’t predict.”
Many continue to debate the potential
health benefits and dangers of marijuana
usage with constituents on either side
pointing to medical studies that reach
different conclusions. Earlier this year,
researchers from Tel Aviv University say
they found smoking marijuana to be
beneficial to elder patients who suffer
from a variety of chronic ailments.
The Israeli researchers said 19 elderly
subjects who smoked marijuana
experienced healthy weight gain, an
improvement in mood and
communication skills and a reduction of
chronic pain.
A recent study from the University of
Montreal, however, found that pot
smoking can lead to addictive behavior in
teens who are already predisposed, either
due to environmental psychological
conditions, to pick up an addictive habit.
Researchers from the Norwegian
University of Science and Technology
recently found that the use of LSD,
ecstasy and other psychedelic drugs are
not linked to mental illness and, in fact,
could improve some individuals’
psychiatric health.