(Ed. note: My headline is usually very different
from that accompanying the article, which itself may not have been what the author or the
subject wanted. In this case, I have emphasized one of the most interesting aspects of the
report. When one considers the problems that people have stopping their use of other
substances, I am struck by the relatively high success rate for a four month out-patient
program for very heavy long-term problematic cannabis users. Also, note that there is
no mention of physical addiction withdrawal.It is always difficult to evaluate a
report like this based simply on one news article, but there are really only a few things
here to which I would object. See below.)
From the Sydney Morning Herald
letters@smh.fairfax.com.au
http://www.smh.com.au/
By Australian Associated Press
See
"Tremendous
Increase In The Number Of Dutch Cannabis Users Asking For Help"
Swedish Prohibitionists Claim
CANNABIS ABUSERS HELPED BY INTENSIVE THERAPY
Heavy cannabis users may require intensive psychotherapy in order to stay off the drug,
a clinical trial shows.
Australia’s first controlled trial on treating marijuana
dependence showed that users undergoing a 16-week counseling course had a much better quit
rate than those given brief assistance.
(Ed. note: I cannot
understand why anyone would be surprised by this.)
The study of 100 long-term cannabis users conducted by the National Drug and Alcohol
Research Centre contrasted intensive individual counseling with a guided self-help
program.
Clinical psychologist Dr Brin Grenyer told a Winter School in the Sun addictions
conference in Brisbane yesterday that the users who received most intervention had
significantly better mental health and stayed off the drug for longer.
Dr Grenyer, from the University of Wollongong, said the study
participants smoked an average eight "cones" a day and some consumed up to 50
a day.
The mainly male group, who included executives, managers, administrative workers and
skilled and semi-skilled manual workers, had used cannabis daily for at least five
years but had no history of alcohol or other drug abuse.
(Ed. note: This would seem to knock out the
"amotivational syndrome," the "Gateway Drug theory," as well as the
idea that heavy marijuana use is incapacitating.)
"We are talking about people for whom cannabis was an integral part of their lives
- some of them literally did not get out of bed in the morning until they had smoked
cannabis," Dr Grenyer said.
Of those who received four months of counseling, 80 per cent quit
and of those, 50 per cent remained abstinent a year later. See
Patterns of
Cannabis Use in Amsterdam Among Experienced Cannabis Users by Peter Cohen and Arjan Sas of
the University of Amsterdam .
But among those who received only a one-off therapy session and a quit manual, only 10
to 20 per cent managed to give up completely and many exhibited
symptoms of depression.
(Ed. note: Cannabis is an anti-depressant, so it should
hardly be surprising that some people who stop using it would become depressed. It may
well be that they were using it to self-medicate for depression. It is unfortunate that
they could not be shown how to use cannabis more effectively, but prohibition does not
allow that. Take two Prozac and call me in the morning.)
See
UK Victims
of Tranquilizers Urge That "Far Safer" Medical Cannabis Be Made Available -- IoS
"More people died from benzodiazepine usage than from such
drugs as heroin and cocaine."
"The results surprised us because there is some prior evidence that brief
interventions can be just as effective as more intensive ones for people with a variety of
addictive disorders," he said.
(Ed. note: In DEAland there is a huge in-patient treatment industry
for all sorts of "substance abuse." It is predicated on the notion that very
intensive treatment is often necessary for overcoming "addictive disorders.")
"But we actually found that those who were very dependent on cannabis really needed
more intensive help."
Dr Grenyer said the study showed that although giving up cannabis was not as hard as
many addicts feared, counseling may be required to help
them deal with underlying issues such as depression and anxiety which led them to relapse.
See
The Relative Addictiveness of Drugs According to NIDA's Own Researcher
However the self-help approach would be cost-effective for less heavy users who wanted
to give up, he said.
Supported