Marijuana, safer than painkillers

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.
"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.
Vanguard