No more Mr Nice guy: Howard Marks, poster boy for cannabis, doubts safety of drug

[DoubleJ]

I used to like the Independent before this ridiculous witch hunt started. Some of the arguments put forth make my blood boil, Daily Mail style.

Only Guardian and Observer for me now.

 

[ngakpa]

ehm - have also met Howard Marks - and while I would not say he is a bad guy, I do think he's an attention seeker, and to put it lightly a teller of "tall tales"

he also used to crash squats back in the '60s and '70s and was notorious for turning up at a plce uninvited and trying to take it over - basically like anyone who deiberately spends that much time in the media glare, he has a serious case of egotism... I believe the new biography out by his (ex?)wife says as much... what I know about him in the squat scene was from places in Hackney back in the '70s where he was not liked, know this via friends' parents

only other guy I know who knows him well (from the psychedelic '60s/'70s in Oxford and later) has not much good to say about the guy - same comments about an overactive ego, and a taste for dodgy deals... says he always feels every time he gets a call that Mr. Marks is trying to drag him into something

basically - why does he always need his notes when he does his talks - you'd have thought he'd told the annecdotes enough times...

and why is he treated as such an authority on dope

I once passed him a joint of crappy Moroccan in the '90s when we were talking and he said what great stuff it was - he obviously knew it was crap, just like I did, but I guess he just figured I was desperate for "Mr. Nice" to say what great dope I had

this recent stuff in the press just goes to reinforce my generally low opinion of the guy to be honest would be great if he could use his profile to do more towards encouraging sensible policy and helping the biodoversity of the plant, not just stroking his already overinflated ego

cheers,

Ngakpa

 

[_angst_]

i agree with _angst_, Mr. Marks should take a course in statistics and/or limit his comments to a media who is probably dying to twist whatever he says...i've gotten high with people who exhibit dissociative weirdness when they get high and to me its not some huge indictment of weed, its just that those folks probably shouldn't smoke dope...they also shouldn't do a lot of things...i believe the popular reason that anti-pot people cite 'schizophrenia' and 'psychosis' as possible results of smoking pot is b/c the formal medical definitions of those conditions are fairly subjective and are easily manipulated by unscrupulous professionals with their own agendas...

Most of these studies cite things done in the late 60s. The DSM criteria were a lot different then. Psychosis and Schizophrenia had much broader categories.

They weren't even WELL ACCEPTED papers. Yeah, some people "whig out" on weed, but it's just a ****ing panic attack, and if you happen to be a diagnosed schizophrenic it could set you off. However, if you're a diagnosed schizophrenic: alcohol, tobacco, and all OTHER drugs will probably have the same (if not better) likelyhood of setting you off, too.

Thanks for agreeing with me. I almost don't bother to respond to the schizophrenia posts anymore. I feel like I'm yelling into a black hole sometimes.

 

[SuperZero]

h

 

[Guest]

Here is a simple stoner experiment. Do you smoke alot of cannabis? Do your friends smoke alot of cannabis? Are you and your friends throwing poop at each other wondering when the voices will stop? Then maybe cannabis doesn't cause schizophrenia. I've smoked more cannabis then i can remember(literally!!) and i'm fine.

Even if it raises the likely hood of going crazy by .4% how much does the daily stress of life make you more likely to go crazy? I would go insane, and maybe get alot more done, with out cannabis not to mention my medical issues cannabis helps.

Nothing like a cold ice bong hit to calm the vomiting.

 

[HeadyPete]

I have many friends who smoke lots of dope and only a few throw poop

Okay, they weren't high when throwing said poop. So much for that theory....

Seriously, blatant misquote of what Marks said.

 

[NPK]

I saw Howard Marks on some YouTube dealie not long ago. Frankly, he came across like a mumbling old fool. I could barely understand a word he said. I wouldn't consider the guy an authority on anything except growing, smuggling, or selling.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder with a strong genetic component. It is NOT caused by smoking marijuana, and it's irresponsible of him to suggest that it is. Marks ought to stick to topics he actually knows something about.

 

[Grat3fulh3ad]

its ridiculous how people latch on so much to the "marijuana increases risk of psychosis by 40%". first off, its just a correlation, and secondly, it's a 40% INCREASE in the risk, which was about a 1% risk. So no, you dont have a 40% chance of going crazy, you have a 1.4% chance. in comparison, alcohol raises the risk 300%, to a 3% risk, but you don't hear celebrities speaking out about the mental health issues of alcohol. it's really ridiculous.

More like "People with psychoses are 30%-40% more likely to self medicate".
There has yet to be anything more than a statistical correlation offered as evidence, right?

I don't think that Marks was trying to suggest that it is the case thtat MJ could cause problems, I think he was commenting on other's presentation of the statistics and was taken out of context...

 

[D0nC0smic]

Also alot of the studies about paranoia and psychosis use horrible surveys, with questions like "do you think the government is out to get you?" well if you ask someone that isn doing something that is illegal on a daily basis and who could be put in jail if caught, they are obviously going to be more likely to think that the government is out to get them and to therefore seem more paranoid than someone who doesn't engage in illegal activity

 

[Pops]

We have to realize that the Government statistics are based on a loaded questionaire. If a person goes into an emergency room with psychological problem, they are asked all kinds of questions about drug use and prescription medication. If they have used cannabis or any other drugs in the past 5 years, they then become the likely cause,even though they may not have used them for some time and the substance is totally out of their system. Regular pharma drugs cause far more psychological problems than hard drugs, but this is never reported.

 

[joder156]

I can understand this correlation between smoking MJ and schizophrenia. I have a history of schizophrenia in my family, my Grandpa actually spent a few months in a mental hospital when he was in his mid 40's. Although I never met this great man; I have heard many stories about him and his use of cannabis. Now, my brother, a regular cannabis user of the past is starting to show signs of schizophrenia. I also know a few other guys who are diagnosed with the terrible illness and one of them actually believes that MJ helped accelerate his disease.

With this information, I believe, use of marijuana may increase chances of schizophrenia. But, look at other drugs, at what they will do to you.

The government needs to step up and stop messing around with marijuana. They absolutely need to begin advanced studies on the effects of the drug on your body and mind. I cannot believe this hasnt been done already, marijuana has been used for thousands of years but yet there is not much research on what it does to your body/mind. Great world right?

 

[tashi]

Trichomes are amber, ganja is green, I'm a schizophrenic and so am I.

Always consider the source of WHO is funding the research, gnome sayin?

It's about high time that sex is made illegal, cuz all it does is create people who die. jesus christ(mr. slaves voice from south park)

 

[EasyBakeIndica]

So basically, if Howard Marks was any type of 'activist' he wouldn't have given permission for those quotes to be used.
I'm all for research, and I'm not claiming cannabis is a 100% cure for everyone, but his comments were irresponsible and lack any insight, which a person of his experience should have.

 

[HeadyPete]

It's much the same intellectually dishonest tactic as claiming more people are going into rehab for "MJ addiction", while ignoring the fact that these people get a choice when caught with a doob....rehab, or jail.

Which would you choose?