Medical marijuana has been legal in the state of Colorado for over 10 years. Up until the past couple of years, however, the number of scripts for medical grade marijuana were relatively low. Just barely over 5,000 people were able to legally access prescription marijuana two years ago. However, after an article in the American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP) was published, it became widely understood that the number of registered medical marijuana recipients has had an astonishing increase over the past 24 months.

At the same time legal marijuana use is rising, illegal marijuana use is increasing as well. Over the past 3 years according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) the number of regular users of illegal marijuana has gone from 14.4million to 17.4 million people across the US.

Is Uncontrollable Pain the Reason for the Rise In Medical Marijuana Use?

Medical marijuana use in Colorado has increased a jaw-dropping 25 times over in just a couple of years. With just 5,051 registered users 2 years ago, now there is a staggering 127,816 registrants. With such a rapid escalation in medical marijuana prescriptions it begs for a look at the statistical breakdown of who is using it and why in an effort to understand what is motivating people in droves to get medical marijuana prescriptions.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reports that:

• 23,209 patient applications have been rejected and rendered unable to receive a medical marijuana registry ID card since operations began in 2001
• Nearly 70 percent of authorized registrants are male
• Presently, there are 45 approved registrants who are under age 18
• Over half of patients are living in the greater Denver area
• The average age of all of those on the registry is 41 years of age
• Two-thirds have assigned a primary care-giver who is managing their care because a medical condition has left the registrant incapacitated
• Although a variety of conditions make someone eligible to apply for the registry, an overwhelming 94 percent of those in the database report struggling with severe pain
• Over 1,100 doctors have written medical marijuana prescriptions in Colorado

· From this information it appears a typical registrant is a middle-aged male battling a debilitating medical condition that is causing extreme pain.

However, the question remains what caused such a swift rise in medical marijuana use in such a short period? If it is due to severe pain, has there been a rise in conditions with this symptom or have doctors suddenly started prescribing medical marijuana for this problem who would not have in the past? Possibly more questions than answers are created from this new information.

What are your thoughts on medical marijuana use? If you have a story or opinion on the topic, either pro or con, feel free to leave your comments below.

Is marijuana a dangerous drug? Or is it a harmless diversion? The debate over the effects and risks associated with marijuana abuse rages on and on and with issues raised by medical marijuana, the conversation has never been more heated. With so many people saying that marijuana is not addictive and neither a harm to society nor to the user, what are the arguments against? Why do others say that marijuana is an addictive drug and harmful and that marijuana addiction requires treatment?

The Issue of Marijuana Dependence

Marijuana is not physically addictive in the same way that heroin or prescription drugs are physically addictive. Most people do not experience withdrawal symptoms of the level experienced by those going through an OxyContin detox or heroin detox, for example. However, those who smoke marijuana regularly and suddenly stop may get headaches or go through psychological withdrawal symptoms: cravings, irritability, mood swings, to name a few.

These psychological addiction symptoms make marijuana a formidable foe to chronic users who try to quit. Feeling compelled to smoke or having a maladaptive relationship with the drug by using it to quell strong emotions, relax, or fight stress can make it almost impossible to quit – and that inability to quit smoking with treatment is a sure sign that treatment is necessary.

Negative Consequences of Chronic Marijuana Abuse

Another sign of marijuana addiction is when chronic abuse adds up to a slew of negative consequences for the user. Many of the dangers of marijuana abuse and addiction lie here: financial destruction, respiratory issues, weight gain/ obesity, problems functioning at work and at school, neglected children…. Depending upon the specific circumstances in your life, marijuana abuse will have different negative consequences. In general, when chronic abuse of any drug is a major factor in your life, it’s difficult to move forward, to truly enjoy and participate in your life, or to have meaningful relationships with others. Achieving goals or doing much more than just hanging out is a special problem of marijuana addiction – the inertia creates a stagnancy that’s difficult to break out of.

Is Marijuana Abuse or Addiction a Problem for You?

Do you experience negative consequences as a result of your marijuana abuse? Do you feel physically ill or uncomfortable when you try to stop smoking or ingesting marijuana? Do you experience health problems related to marijuana abuse? Have you tried to stop smoking but been unable to do so for any length of time? Then marijuana abuse and addiction is an issue for you, one that is treatable.

If you would like more information about your marijuana addiction treatment options, contact us at The Orchid today.

Marijuana continues to be one of the more controversial drugs of our time.  A small collection of people are allowed to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, yet it remains an illegal and highly abused drug in every other way.  Its physically and emotionally addictive properties make it harmful for many people who start using it.  Marijuana addiction may not get as much press time as crack cocaine or crystal meth, but addictions are bad news no matter how you slice them.

Affects of Marijuana

Marijuana use and availability has been increasing lately.  Marijuana may be touted as “harmless” by some, but it is also notorious as a gateway drug.  Many times, marijuana users also use alcohol and other drugs together.  Not matter what anyone says, this practice is most definitely not harmless.

Again, addressing the myth of harmlessness, marijuana addiction has been known to affect memory and other brain functions.  Any time you purposely do something to reduce your brain’s ability to work well, there must be other compelling reasons to continue.  Such is the nature of addiction.  Despite the evidence that what you are doing is hurting yourself, those you love, and pushing your life into a downward spiral, you still cannot help but use the drug.

How Women and Addiction Come Together

Addiction is a problem for both men and women.  One key difference is the way addiction and women come together.  Generally speaking, women are simply different from men when it comes to emotional sensitivity.  The lattice of emotional connections inside a woman’s brain is vast.  The parts of the brain that center on emotion are generally larger in women than in men.  Because of this, women are far more aware of emotional subtleties in communication.  Women attach emotional meaning to events more readily, and they can read another person’s emotions more quickly and accurately.

However, this very sensitivity can also mean that an addiction is likely to follow a well-worn negative emotional path inside a woman.  Feelings of depression, inadequacy, and anxiety can cause such deep pain.  These feelings are also magnified through the context of their relationships.  All of these factors can lead a woman to seek solace in an addiction. (more…)