Abstract: We found marijuana addicts showed a varied profile of dangerous and potentially lethal withdrawal symptoms. 82% of them went from being psychologically healthy to showing clear clinical signs of anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress, or obsessive compulsive disorder. These varied psychological withdrawal effects were less responsive to conventional treatment. Patients whose marijuana addiction was concurrent with cancer additionally suffered nausea, vomiting, an increase in pain sensitivity, increased growth rates of tumors and increased morbidity. Marijuana addicted AIDS patients showed a severe reaction that included nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, wasting, and an inability to comply with medication regimes, which was worse than heroin withdrawal. In addition, marijuana withdrawal caused more subtle effects on music perception and brain function, with many of the musicians and music lovers moving from various abstract, creative genres, to smooth jazz and pop-country, and a decreased tendency to notice and ability to play polyrhythmic music. These withdrawal effects clearly and conclusively show the dangers of marijuana, and demonstrate a particular concern for marijuana in cancer and AIDS patients.
by commenter TomK @ Drug WarRant.
cannablog 
March 24, 2008 at 8:59 am
Wow…
That about sums it up. What a foolish statement. Yes there are some psychological withdrawl effects of marijuana…but not in which you describe. In addition it is amusing you think that taking cancer and AIDS patients off one of the most therapuetic substances known to man, and not expect drastic effects. You do understand marijuana is used in AIDs paitents to stop wasting syndrome and nausea. As for cancer patients it helps relieve the nausea from chemotherapy. The only dangers you have proven is that if you take away medicine from a sick person they get worse. Great job.
March 24, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Did you notice the irony tag?
March 25, 2008 at 1:38 am
When discussing withdrawal effects of marijuana we have to recognise that those who withdraw from cannabis are having the same kinds of withdrawal effects as cancer or AIDS patients. In Western culture most of us are psychologically unstable to begin with (anxiety, inability to form relationships, stress, consumption-addicted, etc). This is probably why some people who use cannabis experience ‘negative’ effects. However, these are not negative effects – they are healing of a person’s problems – and healing is often unpleasant. Withdrawal effects of cannabis are to my mind not withdrawal effects but the consequence of pushing someone back into a mad world from which they have been experiencing relief and hopefully some healing. Demotivation, mood swings, etc – we all experience that when we are alienated, even if we are not aware of the alienation.
“These withdrawal effects clearly and conclusively show the dangers of marijuana…” No, the withdrawal effect shows nothing clearly. It would be best to go back to the functioning of the human body and mind (clue: endocrine system) and ask why it is that very mentally healthy people do not experience either the negative effects or side-effects of cannabis while people who are troubled in some way experience both. That is a real and important question that hasn’t been answered by the scientists who seem to have gone off on the wrong track. Consider that cannabis may not mess people up as well as Western culture does. When people use marijuana to alleviate symptoms or as an adjunct to their therapy we then view their resulting cognitive and behavioural characteristics as being caused by marijuana. Where’s the cause and effect analysis? Weird scientific methods have been used with cannabis isnce the start – I wonder if the scientists enjoy a toke while studying the herb? First look into what the endocrine system is doing, then control for social effects, then start making assumptions.
March 25, 2008 at 2:10 am
Certainly, if cannabis alleviates or provides a curative benefit in some medical conditions, its withdrawal cannot but result in negative health consequences to those who use it to treat those conditions.
March 25, 2008 at 4:34 am
wow I’ve never seen so much misinformation in one place before, or is your whole blog supposed to be kind of nonsensical?
March 25, 2008 at 4:36 am
okay I take it back, upon further investigation your blog makes some sense, this post walks the line between fact and fiction though, maybe take it more towards the obviously satirical side.
March 25, 2008 at 4:58 am
Is that german?
March 25, 2008 at 10:19 am
This post is flagged as irony. Some people seem not to notice that.
March 25, 2008 at 11:08 am
You can “flag” a post as being ironic all you want, but you haven’t gone far enough, in your post, to show that you actually don’t mean what you’re saying. There’s a certain level of absurdity which must be attained for people who don’t know you or your blog to be allowed into the joke… like adding a sentence at the beginning “Government studies prove marijuana is killing AIDS patients…” or “Government sponsored addiction study ties marijuana to deaths among AIDS patients”.
March 25, 2008 at 11:22 am
How about try clicking the Read more link.
March 25, 2008 at 11:38 am
I did… I’m not trying to piss you off, but according to your comments (“This post is flagged as irony. Some people seem not to notice that”), and the one over on Drug WarRant (Raging Bee: “Thanks, TomK, for clarifying that you were joking…. I was about to respond to your “abstract” a lot more harshly, before I read the last sentence.”) you’re not hitting the right note with your irony tag or your read more link.
Maybe I should be leaving this on your “Review Me” page..?
March 25, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Seriously.
March 25, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Yeah… I’ve seen that before as well.
The piece you have here only works as sarcasm, or parody, if we know what your intent is… we know right away what the intent of the girl in the YouTube is, but here you’re only showing the side you’re trying to mock, you’re not giving your reaction to it, or a reason for Us to mock it… you don’t show any intent in this piece, you’re assuming the reader will just Know what you’re trying to say.
Seriously, show one line, one series of words in this piece which shows your intent to mock the ideas of your target and not just repeat them… show me the irony you want your readers to see.
Or not. You know, whatever.
March 25, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Gabriel, please read more carefully, the intent here is very clear. If you don’t understand that withdrawing needed medicine from sick people causes problems, then I don’t know what more to say.
March 25, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I hate it as well when people surf through my site and post about how they don’t get the stuff I write as though each post were written specifically for them to critique.
So here’s what I’m assuming you meant here… the government study is saying taking medical marijuana away from AIDS patients proves marijuana is addictive because the AIDS patients have what seem to be symptoms of withdrawal but what really are, most likely, just symptoms of the disease they’re suffering from.
And what you’re saying is the government study is ironic because it proves the marijuana is working.
March 25, 2008 at 7:52 pm
The abstract is a joke. Take it from there. Read the article by Paul Armentano for the real story.
May 7, 2008 at 12:27 am
I changed the flag to “satire” — that should fix it.
May 23, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Government statistics:
Marijuana has the 3rd highest rate of dependence in the US (after heroin and crack).
We recently wrote on this issue at Brain Blogger. I would like to hear your comments on our article. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Shaheen
May 24, 2008 at 9:03 am
Shaheen,
Cannabis is not physically addictive and cannot produce dependency in the same way as heroin or crack.
With that being said, there are people for whom cannabis is a medicine that treats serious pain, nausea or other physical problems, and there are no safer alternatives.
Government statistics here are misleading or intentionally deceptive, in furtherance of maintaining cannabis prohibition in the face of facts. There is no such thing as “cannabis dependency” apart from medical use.