Why marijuana is played down and who makes money from it

Why marijuana is played down and who makes money from it

by Dr med Gabriella Hunziker

Dr Kurosch Yazdi is a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy. As the head of an addiction clinic, Kurosch Yazdi knows what effects drug use can have. In his book, he describes impressive case studies from his addiction department, such as the 19-year-old Mary, “who was a very inconspicuous, fun-loving and bright girl in her childhood and puberty. She first came into contact with cannabis when she attended tourism school. In the beginning she smoked one joint, and then it became more in the long run”. Kurosch subsequently describes the physical, as well the mental decay of Mary, who actually would have had the best prerequisites for a fulfilled life. Usually the parents contact him in their need and despair. The addict himself often sees no connection between cannabis and his problems. This makes the treatment of cannabis addiction, but also of cannabis psychosis so difficult.
The book makes a valuable and important contribution to educating people about the supposed “soft” drug cannabis. It is published in due time, as worldwide an attempt is being made to make cannabis acceptable for medical purposes in order to earn a lot of money at the expense of young people. The tobacco industry in the United States, which has suffered massive financial losses due to more strictly smoking control laws, is increasingly turning into a cannabis industry. As is well known, the health of young people is not the main focus of the cigarette industry, but industry’s concern is all about making as much profit as possible. Therefore, “within a few years, a flood of campaigns were started for image polishing of marijuana and co. Suddenly it was remembered that the ancient Chinese used cannabis in their traditional medicine 3000 years ago and that cannabis can also have an analgesic effect. And that it is not addictive, and many myths more”.
According to Yazdi, it has been shown for some time that in order to legalize cannabis in whole or in part, the number of users is increasing. For example, in Colorado, where cannabis was legalised for adults, the 12 to 17 year olds consumed 39 per cent more than the US average. In psychiatric clinics and practices of psychiatrists, the number of young patients who no longer have their lives under control due to the drug is increasing. As well, it is often concealed that the concentration of the intoxicating substance THC in the plant is much higher today than before. “Twenty years ago, there was a ratio of about 10 to 1 in marijuana. For every ten shares of THC, there was one share of cannabidiol. Today it’s almost 100 to 1 for THC.” The higher the percentage of THC, the greater the risk of psychosis. No wonder, cannabis-related disorders have increased drastically, especially among young people.

Moreover, “numerous studies show that regular users of cannabis are far more likely to consume other illicit drugs than those who rarely or never smoke marijuana. Therefore cannabis is a gateway drug in any case”. “The reason for this is in the brain. Once the brain gets used to being addicted to a substance, it becomes dependent on other substances much more quickly.” According to Yazdi, one of the main symptoms of any addiction is the development of tolerance. “In medicine, this means that the effect of a substance, if it is consumed regularly and the body has gotten used to it, decreases over time. Conversely, this means that I have to consume more and more of the substance concerned in order to achieve the same effect. This phenomenon also exists in addictive behaviour such as gambling or the Internet.”
At the end of the book, you will find a dictionary with the most important terms relating to cannabis and the references of the numerous scientific studies listed in the book. The book is very well written and generally understandable even for non-physicians such as parents, teachers, young people and all those who are interested in real education. I am highly recommend it.     •
Yazdi, Kurosch. Die Cannabis-Lüge. Warum Marihuana verharmlost wird und wer daran verdient (The cannabis lie. Why marijuana is played down and who makes money from it). Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, April 2017
(Translation Current Concerns)

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