Why is there so much concern with weed when prescription drugs have such bad side effects? (salaries, generations)

[Hoznots]

I know, another debate about Marijuana, but I want to take this in a bit of a different direction. There is so much debate about whether Marijuana is good or not, the health benefits etc. yet you can hardly get any prescription drug today without it listing tons of pretty bad side effects. For example, I recently got a new prescription drug from my neurologist and it says:

As well as its needed effects, gabapentin (the active ingredient contained in Neurontin) may cause unwanted side effects that require medical attention.

If any of the following side effects occur while taking gabapentin, check with your doctor immediately:

More common
Clumsiness or unsteadiness
continuous, uncontrolled, back-and-forth, or rolling eye movements
More common in children
Aggressive behavior or other behavior problems
anxiety
concentration problems and change in school performance
crying
depression
false sense of well-being
hyperactivity or increase in body movements
rapidly changing moods
reacting too quickly, too emotional, or overreacting
restlessness
suspiciousness or distrust
Less common
Black, tarry stools
chest pain
chills
cough
depression, irritability, or other mood or mental changes
fever
loss of memory
pain or swelling in the arms or legs
painful or difficult urination
shortness of breath
sore throat
sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth
swollen glands
unusual bleeding or bruising
unusual tiredness or weakness
Incidence not known
Abdominal or stomach pain
blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin
clay-colored stools
coma
confusion
convulsions
dark urine
decreased urine output
diarrhea
dizziness
fast or irregular heartbeat
headache
increased thirst
itching or skin rash
joint pain
large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, or sex organs
loss of appetite
muscle ache or pain
nausea
red skin lesions, often with a purple center
red, irritated eyes
unpleasant breath odor
vomiting of blood
yellow eyes or skin
Some gabapentin side effects may not need any medical attention. As your body gets used to the medicine these side effects may disappear. Your health care professional may be able to help you prevent or reduce these side effects, but do check with them if any of the following side effects continue, or if you are concerned about them:

More common
Blurred vision
cold or flu-like symptoms
delusions
dementia
hoarseness
lack or loss of strength
lower back or side pain
swelling of the hands, feet, or lower legs
trembling or shaking
Less common or rare
Accidental injury
appetite increased
back pain
bloated or full feeling
body aches or pain
burning, dry, or itching eyes
change in vision
change in walking and balance
clumsiness or unsteadiness
congestion
constipation
cough producing mucus
decrease in sexual desire or ability
difficulty with breathing
dryness of the mouth or throat
earache
excess air or gas in the stomach or intestines
excessive tearing
eye discharge
feeling faint, dizzy, or lightheadedness
feeling of warmth or heat
flushed, dry skin
flushing or redness of the skin, especially on the face and neck
frequent urination
fruit-like breath odor
impaired vision
incoordination
increased hunger
increased sensitivity to pain
increased sensitivity to touch
increased thirst
indigestion
noise in the ears
pain, redness, rash, swelling, or bleeding where the skin is rubbed off
passing gas
redness or swelling in the ear
redness, pain, swelling of the eye, eyelid, or inner lining of the eyelid
runny nose
sneezing
sweating
tender, swollen glands in the neck
tightness in the chest
tingling in the hands and feet
trouble sleeping
trouble swallowing
trouble thinking
twitching
unexplained weight loss
voice changes
vomiting
weakness or loss of strength
weight gain

Like seriously, WTF??? I realize it's not guaranteed you will get all, or any of those side effects. But it amazes me the hypocrisy that politicians to doctors act as if Marijuana is so horrible yet they endlessly prescribe drugs that have the potential for about a million different side effects. Do they honestly even believe half the stuff they spout?

[reed067]

Originally Posted by Hoznots

Like seriously, WTF??? I realize it's not guaranteed you will get all, or any of those side effects. But it amazes me the hypocrisy that politicians to doctors act as if Marijuana is so horrible yet they endlessly prescribe drugs that have the potential for about a million different side effects. Do they honestly even believe half the stuff they spout?

This is why my wife & I don't take prescription drugs. The side effects are worse then whatever it is your taking the meds for. Here's the real kicker to all this. Then they have to give you meds to counter the side effects of the meds your on. Yet people fall for this all the time. Some people don't get it that these people are in it for the money not to help you.


I personally like the one side effect. Thoughts of suicide.

[NVplumber]

Yes, this insistence that weed is so horrible boggles me as well. However, as has already been said, its not about weeds harmful effects to individuals and/society, it all about the money. Not just the bite it would take out of big pharma, but out of the graft and corruption in the "war on drugs". If anyone thinks that hundreds of millions of dollars of cartel bucks isn't budgeted for for overhead expense , to pay off politicians and LE, from rank and file to directorship level , they need to smell the coffee.

The cartels have enough money to buy a LOT of looking the other way, and many of these big illegal drug shipments that are , supposedly, seized by DEA, and whatever other federal agencies are cooperative operations between those agencies and the cartels, so a "win" can be shown. Gotta keep that money flowing, to the "war", whether its cartel bribes or tax dollars to pay LE salaries and other "expenses". A multi BILLION dollar business can't be shut down because of reality and common sense.

Making weed legal and above board would mean to big of a pay cut for to many people. The "war on drugs" is not a war. It's a.co op. These new regs on Rx pain meds has a huge benefit to that co op, as well, as people in pain are being denied the meds that make life bearable, and so they turn to the street. Yea, those new regs are doing so much good. Where there was people on a , say, 60 mg a day oxycodone regimine, with a monthly cash price of $100.00, we now see people on a $100.00 dollar a day heroin habit, and a nice spike in OD's, though many turn to weed , as well, boosting that supply and demand too.

One would think big pharma would be kicking up more fuss and bother over these ludicrous new regs, but their really keeping pretty mum on the issue, so , it stands to reason they are seeing some of that cartel cash. Enough to keep any dissent to a token blip, anyway. No, don't kid yourself about how things work. Keeping weed illegal is all about cold, hard cash. Plus, the "good guys" have the " we're doing it for the CHILDREN" , banner to wave around , so, I'm not holding my breath about seeing the feds backing off on weed anytime, soon, even though the states are heading the other direction on it. The amounts of money involved are far and away to large and consistent in flow. The cartels pay their bills, on time and in cash, with interest.

[02blackgt]

Watch "prescription thugs" on Netflix. Its not all about pain pills like most documentaries, it really hits on the whole cycle of taking one drug to cover another drugs side effects and so on and so forth. The drug consumption in this country blows the rest of the developed world out of the water. We take something like 75% of the worlds painkillers and antidepressants. We take drugs on top of drugs to cover the drugs we took to cover the first drug. People on 13-15-20 drugs is not at all uncommon. We are all getting screwed and the drug companies rich, mostly on unnecessary drugs.

[branDcalf]

Why the big push to add another drug with side effects to the list?

And educate yourself on the cause and regs regarding the list of side effects. If the same was required for mj, it, too, would appear horrid.

[stan4]

I'm not a fan of prescription drugs, either.
Except in very special circumstances. Very special.
You ok with only using weed once every 5 or 6 years under special circumstances?

[Raddo]

Moderator cut: Quoted Post Deleted

That is the problem with the inexperienced [Other side]. All they see in their mind is the stereotypical "stoner" who is unmotivated and lazy. Those people make up only a very small percentage of cannabis users, but they are the most visible ones. You mistakenly base your beliefs and assumptions on that stereotype. But the vast majority of them are not stoners, they are cannabis users that are employed in the professions listed in the previous post, along with many more.

As far as damage to the brain or body, I personally have 40+ years of experience with the plant. I will be turning 60 later this year, and my health is excellent. I do not even have a personal doctor, and have not ever even filed a medical insurance claim in my entire life.

But, as always happens in these debates, the [Other side] cannot be swayed, even slightly, by facts or evidence or first-hand experience. Since you can find "studies" on the Internet that support both sides, you will always pull one up from a .gov site, or a site that is full of propaganda, and use it in your arsenal when trying to demonize the plant, [Snip]. But here's a hint: Dig far enough into the study to see who is funding it. That usually provides a clue as to why the conclusions the study provides might be questionable. Especially if the funding source is undisclosed.

So what is going to happen on this thread is someone who treats addicts for a living will chime in, saying they see 5000+ patients per year and that what I am saying is a lie. Then we will be stuck, because you will not change that person's opinion, and with all my experience and countless hours of research I am not about to change mine either. Two brick walls. So bottom line, what's the point?

Regardless, as a long-term daily user I am open to listening to what maladies I must be suffering from by now.

[NVplumber]

Originally Posted by branDcalf

Why the big push to add another drug with side effects to the list?

And educate yourself on the cause and regs regarding the list of side effects. If the same was required for mj, it, too, would appear horrid.

Well, these side effects that are listed on all drugs come from the results of clinical trials, using people, actually taking the drugs, and being paid to do so. When one educated oneself on these trials, should scare you out of your boots. The subject people are, quite often, participating in more than one trial. Often enough several drugs, bearing in mind they were experimental drugs, and so the side effect results are not quite what could be called reliable data. The data is "reliable", I suppose, that whatever combination of drugs a test subject is taking can cause the noted side effects. The chemical cocktails in these peoples bodies would have side effects on a chunk of granite. With these people who make being a test subject a career, its impossible to determine what the side effects of the individual drug under "study" are.

The History Channel had a documentary on this , I can't remember exactly when it was I watched it, but it was a couple years back, at least. Raised my eyebrows a little. But, the point is, that listed side effects of most meds, especially newer ones come from skewed tests, because the effects noted in the study were observed in a couple subjects on far more than just the drug being tested. Its more than a little spooky to think about. Noted side effects are often not side effects but drug interaction.

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by Raddo

Moderator cut: Quoted Post Deleted

That is the problem with the inexperienced [Other side]. All they see in their mind is the stereotypical "stoner" who is unmotivated and lazy. Those people make up only a very small percentage of cannabis users, but they are the most visible ones. You mistakenly base your beliefs and assumptions on that stereotype. But the vast majority of them are not stoners, they are cannabis users that are employed in the professions listed in the previous post, along with many more.

As far as damage to the brain or body, I personally have 40+ years of experience with the plant. I will be turning 60 later this year, and my health is excellent. I do not even have a personal doctor, and have not ever even filed a medical insurance claim in my entire life.

But, as always happens in these debates, the [Other side] cannot be swayed, even slightly, by facts or evidence or first-hand experience. Since you can find "studies" on the Internet that support both sides, you will always pull one up from a .gov site, or a site that is full of propaganda, and use it in your arsenal when trying to demonize the plant, [Snip]. But here's a hint: Dig far enough into the study to see who is funding it. That usually provides a clue as to why the conclusions the study provides might be questionable. Especially if the funding source is undisclosed.

So what is going to happen on this thread is someone who treats addicts for a living will chime in, saying they see 5000+ patients per year and that what I am saying is a lie. Then we will be stuck, because you will not change that person's opinion, and with all my experience and countless hours of research I am not about to change mine either. Two brick walls. So bottom line, what's the point?

Regardless, as a long-term daily user I am open to listening to what maladies I must be suffering from by now.

I never said they were stoners. That is not the impression I get from people that I know that smoke pot. But there are less extreme symptoms.

[thatguydownsouth]

Entire generations of people were brainwashed into believing that marijuana is a gateway drug and will turn your kid into a lowlife loser. Realistically its as much a drug as coffee is.