12 questions of marijuana anonymous

The following questions may help you determine whether marijuana is a problem in your life.

Has smoking pot stopped being fun?Do you ever get high alone?Is it hard for you to imagine a life without marijuana?Do you find that your friends are determined by your marijuana use?Do you smoke marijuana to avoid dealing with your problems?Do you smoke pot to cope with your feelings?Does your marijuana use let you live in a privately defined world?Have you ever failed to keep promises you made about cutting down or controlling your dope smoking?Has your use of marijuana caused problems with memory, concentration, or motivation?When your stash is nearly empty, do you feel anxious or worried about how to get more?Do you plan your life around your marijuana use?Have friends or relatives ever complained that your pot smoking is damaging your relationship with them?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may have a problem with marijuana.

From; Marijuana Anonymous

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A Dry Drunk, Who Me?

The Dry Drunk can be a problem to themselves and others.

Alcoholics Anonymous informally refers to the alcoholic who has stopped drinking, but who still demonstrates similar alcoholic attitudes and behaviors, as a “dry drunk.”

They say that such an individual has abstinence but not sobriety.

This concept has been adopted by most twelve-step Fellowships such as Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous and Marijuana Anonymous .

It appears on almost all of the Web sites devoted to the different addictions, although characteristics of the dry drunk syndrome differ widely from site to site.

Most often mentioned are:

(1) depression;

(2) anxiety;

(3) irritability, anger;

(4) grandiosity, pomposity, an inflated ego;

(5) an inability to delay gratification, impatience and impulsivity;

(6) self-pity;

(7) being a workaholic, other compulsive behaviors, tunnel vision, a lack of balance;

(8) intolerance, rigidity, being overly judgmental;

(9) nostalgia toward or romanticizing of one’s drinking or drug use;

(10) emotional constriction, lack of spontaneity, failure to enjoy life; and -

(11) generally being restless, irritable and discontent.

See also;9 Recovery DestinationsAlcoholic, Addictive BehaviorsWayne Dyer – Excuses Be gone!

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Medical Marijuana: Research, State Law and the Feds

To no one’s surprise, Jon Corzine signed New Jersey’s medical marijuana bill into law yesterday, on his last day on the job as the state’s governor.

That makes 14 states that have legalized medical marijuana. But as both the WSJ and the New York Times note this morning, research into the medical uses of the drug remains rather limited.

That’s partly due to the fact that it’s not easy for researchers to study the drug, the NYT suggests. The article cites the case of a University of Massachusetts researcher who has been trying for nine years to get federal approval to grow and study marijuana plants but has yet to be allowed to proceed, despite a favorable ruling from the D.E.A.’s administrative judge. (The D.E.A. says it follows the lead of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of NIH.)

So what has research shown about medical uses of marijuana? It appears to help with neuropathic pain, which is caused by certain types of nerve damage, the WSJ says. There’s also evidence to suggest it eases nausea and improves appetite in some types of patients, including people who are getting chemotherapy for cancer. Of the many other possible uses suggested for the drug, evidence is hard to come by, according to the article.

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Medical Marijuana Possession Limits Struck Down in California

California’s state Supreme Court threw out a law that limits how much medical marijuana patients can possess. Here’s the court’s ruling, which was filed yesterday.

The ruling is noteworthy in part because California already had some of the most permissive medical marijuana rules in the country; as we noted recently, the backers of New Jersey’s new medical marijuana law were eager to point out that the drug would be more tightly regulated in their state than in California.

The state’s legislature had passed a law that said patients could have up to eight ounces of dried marijuana could grow as many as six mature or 12 immature plants, the Los Angeles Times says.

But the original measure, passed by voters, didn’t include those limits. The LAT says the legal limit will now go back to an earlier, vaguer standard established in a 1997 court decision: an amount “reasonably related to the patient’s current medical needs.”

Marijuana Bonus: Read up on the evidence (and lack of evidence) for marijuana’s effectiveness as a medical treatment.

Photo: Getty Images

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With L.A. Crackdown, Medical Marijuana Pendulum Swings Back

Over the past few years, hundreds of loosely regulated medical marijuana dispensaries cropped up in Los Angeles. It got to the point where even some backers of medical marijuana in New Jersey saw California’s experience as a cautionary tale, and promised that their law would be more restrictive.

Now, even in L.A., the pendulum is swinging back toward a less permissive system. The city council passed an ordinance yesterday that caps the number of marijuana dispensaries at 70, and limits where the shops can be set up — though roughly 150 existing dispensaries that registered with the city clerk before 2007 are likely to be allowed to stay open under an exemption in the ordinance, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Even with that exemption, the number of shops could fall significantly under the ordinance — there somewhere between 800 and 1,000 in L.A. now, the Associated Press says.

Legal challenges from dispensary owners are likely. “I don’t want to say this is an impossible task, but it’s going to take a lot more effort than maybe the city realizes at this point,” a law professor told the AP. “Just because the city says, ’stop what you are doing,’ doesn’t mean

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Avoiding Chemotherapy Side Effects

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Marijuana Anonymous

Overview of

is a fellowship of men and women who share our experience, strength, and hope with each other that we may solve our common problem and help others to recover from marijuana addiction.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using marijuana. There are no dues or fees for membership. We are self-supporting through our own contributions. MA is not affiliated with any religious or secular institution or organization and has no opinion on any outside controversies or causes. Our primary purpose is to stay free of marijuana and to help the marijuana addict who still suffers achieve the same freedom. We can do this by practicing our suggested twelve steps of recovery and by being guided as a group by our twelve traditions.

uses the basic 12 Steps of Recovery founded by Alcoholics Anonymous, because it has been proven that the 12 Step Recovery program works!

The Twelve Steps of

The practice of rigorous honesty, of opening our hearts and minds, and the willingness to go to any lengths to have a spiritual awakening are essential to our recovery.

Our old ideas and ways of life no longer work for us. Our suffering shows us that we need to let go absolutely. We surrender ourselves to a Power greater than ourselves.

Here are the steps we take which are suggested for recovery:

We admitted we were powerless over marijuana, that our lives had become unmanageable.Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God.Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to marijuana addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Do not be discouraged; none of us are saints. Our program is not easy, but it is simple. We strive for progress, not perfection. Our experiences, before and after we entered recovery, teach us three important ideas:

That we are marijuana addicts and cannot manage our own lives;That probably no human power can relieve our addiction; andThat our Higher Power can and will if sought.See alsoAddiction & Recovery BooksMindfulness for RecoveryWhat is Relapse?Chicken Soup for the Recovering SoulShare, print or e-mail this article

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Recovery in Marijuana Anonymous

The practice of rigorous honesty, of opening our hearts and minds, and the willingness to go to any lengths to have a spiritual awakening are essential to our recovery.

Our old ideas and ways of life no longer work for us. Our suffering shows us that we need to let go absolutely. We surrender ourselves to a Power greater than ourselves.

Here are the steps we take which are suggested for recovery:

The Twelve Steps of Marijuana Anonymous

We admitted we were powerless over marijuana, that our lives had become unmanageable.Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God.Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to marijuana addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Do not be discouraged; none of us are saints. Our program is not easy, but it is simple. We strive for progress, not perfection. Our experiences, before and after we entered recovery, teach us three important ideas:

That we are marijuana addicts and cannot manage our own lives;That probably no human power can relieve our addiction; andThat our Higher Power can and will if sought.See alsoMarijuana AnonymousTools of RecoverySpirituality BooksDanger of Pain MedicationChicken Soup for the Recovering SoulShare, print or e-mail this article

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Pot, Protectionism, and Unions

Posted by David Boaz

Lobbying reporter Tim Carney notes that some California marijuana growers are worried that a proposed legalization initiative could drive down the price of the product and adversely affect their incomes. They’re holding meetings to deal with the threat.  Some growers are just talking about creating an official Humboldt seal of approval. Maybe they could even get legal restrictions on who can use the Humboldt name, like Champagne and Roquefort. But some local stores sport bumper stickers reading “Save Humboldt County

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Chemical Dependency and the Family

Addiction, Alcoholism

AlcoholHeroinAmphetaminesTobaccoInhalantsCocaineMarijuanaMedications

By Vernon E. Johnson, D.D., founder of the Johnson Institute.

Former faculty member of Rutgers University Summer School for Alcohol Studies

Dr. Johnson compiled the most popular Johnson Institute literature on chemical dependence for this complete family guide. It includes answers to these important questions:

How can I recognize chemical dependence?How can I avoid it?How can my family solve the problems that come with it?How is chemical dependence different for men, women, teenagers, children, and the elderly?How can I prevent my child from using drugs?

Designed for easy access, this practical guide to prevention, intervention, and recovery will support any family who wants to keep alcohol and drugs from ruining its members’ lives.

-

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12 Rewards of Recovery

Sobriety disc

Twelve Step fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-anon, Cocaine Anonymous and others don’t just address the substance or overt behaviour. In progressing through the 12 Steps other benefits will be realized. These are know as the rewards of recovery. One example is;

THE TWELVE REWARDS OF SOBRIETY

By Searcy W., 55 years sober as at 2001 aged 90.

Faith instead of despair.Courage instead of fear.Hope instead of desperation.Peace of mind instead of confusion.Real friendships instead of loneliness.Self-respect instead of self-contempt.Self-confidence instead of helplessness.A clean conscious instead of a sense of guilt.The respect of others instead of their pity and contempt.A clean pattern of living instead of a hopeless existence.The love and understanding of our families instead of their doubts and fears.The freedom of a happy life instead of the bondage of an alcoholic obsession.

See also;

23rd Psalm for RecoveryAA and Treatment Work Better TogetherEgo Quotes with Narcissistic TendenciesShare, print or e-mail this article

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Life under Prohibition

Posted by David Boaz

Washington, D.C., has the highest percentage of marijuana smokers in the nation, reports the Washington Post. “More than 11 percent of Washingtonians older than 26 reported smoking marijuana in the past year — the highest percentage of any state in the nation, according to a 2007 survey by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.”

Is that a problem? Well, back around 1990 a satirical revue described the city government as “the nation’s first work-free drug zone.” But the people described in the Post article seem to work pretty hard, as scientists, businessmen, and so on.

One problem is inadvertently described by D.C. Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham:

“People don’t feel marijuana is dangerous, but it is, because of the way it is sold,” he said. “We frequently recover weapons when serving search warrants associated with the sale of marijuana.”

Exactly. Because marijuana is illegal, it’s not sold by kindly old liquor store owners. It’s distributed by people who are by definition criminal and who tend to engage in criminal behavior to protect their markets.

Its illegal distribution also accounts for another phenomenon that the Post notes:

Teenagers in parts of the city said they can buy pot more easily than beer or cigarettes.

Legal products, for sale to adults only, are harder for teenagers to obtain than a product that is illegal for everyone. Maybe it’s time to rethink the success of drug prohibition.

David Boaz

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Dual Disorders Recovery

Dual Disorders – Third Edition

A recovery book.

Depression BipolarSchizophrenia. Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Millions of individuals diagnosed with psychiatric or emotional disorders must battle an equally menacing and powerful disease–chemical dependency (alcoholism, addiction, marijuana).

First published in 1993, Dual Disorders is the leading text on the biological and psychological relationship between mental illness and addiction.

New this spring, the third edition of this Hazelden best-seller has been updated to include the latest research, information about new medications, and an explanation of new diagnostic criteria.

Key features and benefits

outlines the relationship between chemical dependency and psychiatric disorderscontains important resources for chemically dependent individuals and their familiespresents practical relapse prevention strategies

-

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Cross Addiction

As stated in our third tradition, the only requirement for membership in Marijuana Anonymous is a desire to stop using marijuana. There is no mention of any other drugs or alcohol. This is to adhere to the "singleness of purpose" concept, but many of us have found that the only way that we can keep our sobriety is to abstain from all mind and mood altering chemicals, including alcohol.

When we give up the drug of our choice, a void is created. The initial struggle to abstain from marijuana use often leaves us vulnerable. To fill this void we may start to use, or increase the use of, other substances such as alcohol, cocaine, pills, or other self-prescribed drugs. Although we may not now be addicted to these substances, their use can lower our inhibitions, leaving us open to repeating old patterns of thinking and behaving that can lead back to marijuana use. The fact that we became addicted to marijuana reflects a tendency towards behavior that may lead to or substitution addiction to these substances.

To reiterate, the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using marijuana. It is important, however, to recognize the potential to create one problem as we strive to recover from another.

From Marijuana Anonymous

The same can be said for any addiction. Any one addiction can be substituted for another.

The key question to ask yourself is; Am I using this drug or behaviour (gambling, sex, co-dependency) to change how I feel, to change my mood, to escape?

See also

ABCs of RecoveryHow Much Alcohol to Become AlcoholicAddiction & Recovery BooksSpirituality in Alcoholism RecoveryDays of Healing, Days of JoyShare, print or e-mail this article

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Cannabis use among teenagers continues to fall

Cannabis use among teenagers has continued to decline in the UK owing to a change in attitudes in the current generation of school students, according to the annual survey from the European drug agency.

But Britain has retained its position in top spot for cocaine consumption with 5% of young adults aged 15 to 24 reporting that they have used the drug in the past year.

The annual survey by the European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction says that in the early to mid-1990s, Britain stood out in Europe as reporting the highest the use of cannabis among 15- to 16-year-olds. At its peak 42% of teenagers said they had used the drug. The latest figures, which date from before the government’s decision to reclassify cannabis as a class B drug, show this has now fallen to 29%.

“This picture has progressively changed, as levels of use rose in other countries. Moreover, cannabis use in the United Kingdom has been steadily declining since around 2003, particularly among the 16-24 age group, suggesting a generational shift,” says the annual report.

The EU drug agency says the downward or stabilising trend in cannabis use can be seen in at least four other western European countries, including the Netherlands which now has among the lowest rates of cannabis use in adults in Europe. Only 5.4% of Dutch adults are reported to have used cannabis in the past year

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Marijuana Better Than Chiropractic For Back Pain?

For the interactive version of this infographic and some statistical geekery, click here.

When your back hurts, is your first thought, “Where’s the marijuana?”

I’m guessing not.

But Back Pain is the #2 condition at CureTogether, with 1188 people reporting their experiences, and this is their collective wisdom. If you look at the infographic above, the most popular and effective treatments reported are on the top right – hot packs, physical therapy, stretching, exercise, massage.

The top left quadrant shows below-average usage, but above-average effectiveness, so presumably if more people tried these, they would be helped (marijuana, Oxycodone, yoga, and Pilates).

Those in the lower-right quadrant have above-average usage but below-average effectiveness, so presumably if fewer people tried these, they would be free to find more effective treatments elsewhere (chiropractic adjustments, ice packs, Ibuprofen).

Where did this data come from? CureTogether members have been anonymously sharing symptoms and treatments for almost 2 years now. We anonymized, analyzed, and visualized the data into infographic form to make it more accessible. To thank everyone for their contributions, we’re releasing this result back to the community for free.

This is the fifth in a series of infographics we’ll be publishing over the coming weeks. Stay tuned and please give your feedback or thoughts on this result in the comments below

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Barack Obama’s War on ‘Chooming’

Categories Cato PublicationsEducation and Child PolicyEnergy and EnvironmentFinance, Banking & Monetary PolicyForeign Policy and National SecurityGeneralGovernment and PoliticsHealth, Welfare & EntitlementsInternational Economics and DevelopmentLaw and Civil LibertiesPolitical PhilosophyRegulatory StudiesTax and Budget PolicyTelecom, Internet & Information PolicyTrade and Immigration Archives Blog Home Next: Sell Your Soul for What’s Behind Curtain #1?

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Barack Obama’s War on ‘Chooming’ Posted by Gene Healy

My Washington Examiner column this week begins with a look back at the Disco Era:

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Recovery in Marijuana Anonymous

The practice of rigorous honesty, of opening our hearts and minds, and the willingness to go to any lengths to have a spiritual awakening are essential to our recovery.

Our old ideas and ways of life no longer work for us. Our suffering shows us that we need to let go absolutely. We surrender ourselves to a Power greater than ourselves.

Here are the steps we take which are suggested for recovery:

The Twelve Steps of Marijuana Anonymous

We admitted we were powerless over marijuana, that our lives had become unmanageable.Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God.Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to marijuana addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Do not be discouraged; none of us are saints. Our program is not easy, but it is simple. We strive for progress, not perfection. Our experiences, before and after we entered recovery, teach us three important ideas:

That we are marijuana addicts and cannot manage our own lives;That probably no human power can relieve our addiction; andThat our Higher Power can and will if sought.See alsoMarijuana AnonymousTools of RecoverySpirituality BooksDanger of Pain MedicationChicken Soup for the Recovering SoulShare, print or e-mail this article

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Adding PTSD to the Medical Marijuana Mix

Should marijuana be used to treat psychological pain? Some Coloradan military veterans and the medical marijuana advocacy group Sensible Colorado say the answer is yes when it comes to conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Earlier this week, they submitted a petition to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to add PTSD, a potentially debilitating condition characterized by fear and flashbacks, to the list of conditions eligible for medical marijuana use in the state.

As more states legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes, they also have to decide which conditions qualify for its use. So far, only New Mexico specifically allows for marijuana to treat PTSD.

California, the first state to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes, put out a research report earlier this year about what conditions appear to benefit from its use. The one PTSD-related study cited in the report was in mice, and found no apparent benefit in using cannabis-like compounds to decrease fear behaviors. But other studies, like this one published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in 2009, have shown that some of the active components of cannabis appear to decrease anxiety.

The state public health department has 120 days to decide whether or not to hold a public hearing on the matter, according to Sensible Colorado’s Brian Vicente.

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Baptists and Pot-Growers

Posted by Ilya Shapiro

The L.A. Times reports that the city of Oakland has approved an ordinance paving the way for the industrial production of marijuana. There is more to this than simply a victory for liberty in the drug war.  As the story describes and Josh Blackman analyzes, the episode demonstrates “Baptists and Bootleggers”-style public choice economics in action: existing small-time growers are displeased at the competition, barriers to entry are high, the approved pot factories engaged in serious rent-seeking, and the city profits from a new stream of tax revenue.

And so, as liberty expands, government reserves the power to decide who gets to benefit most — after taking a slice for itself off the top.

Ilya Shapiro

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Assburgers, Marijuana and Sex?

So I did some looking into the most popular keywords that bring people to AspieWeb when using search engines and I found out some surprises.  Out of the top 10 keywords 5 had something to do with sex, 2 had a misspelling of Aspergers as Assburgers and 2 had to to do with Marijuana…. so I guess we know whats on peoples minds these days.

The sex aspect really did not surprise me as its common knowledge that sex and porn are often highly searched for on Google.  The term Assburgers really did surprise me however, and was upsetting me a bit as I consider Assburgers a very derogatory term.

I think the high amount of returns for Marijuana and Aspergers shows that many people are interested in using marijuana for medicinal purposes when it comes to Aspergers.  This shows that its a very hot topic and that it should be researched more by the medical community.

How do you feel about the top keywords?

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