Dutch cannabis powerful as a hard drug/Antidepressants Called Unsafe For Children/Amphetamines FAQ

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Netherlands moves to outlaw superstrong 'skunk' cannabis

By Anthony Browne

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-3-1073151,00.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE sale of certain types of cannabis could be banned in the

Netherlands amid concern that they have become so powerful they could have

the same addictive and psychological impact as hard drugs.

 

The Dutch Government said that it would ban the most powerful

forms of cannabis, such as " skunk " , after research showed that they had

doubled in strength in the past few years and could now be classified as a

hard drug.

 

Levels of THC - tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychologically active

ingredient - in skunk have almost doubled from 9 per cent in 1999 to 15 per

cent now, according to the Trimbos Institute, a drug research institute that

monitors cannabis sales for the Health Ministry. The rise is due to new

professional growing techniques. The institute said: " It has almost doubled

in strength but we don't know what the effect on public health is. "

 

Skunk has now become one of the most popular forms of cannabis

on sale in the Netherlands. Between 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent of the Dutch

population regularly use cannabis and there are between 30,000 and 80,000

cannabis addicts. However, it is not clear whether stronger cannabis means

that more people are likely to become addicted or develop other

psychological problems.

 

The Dutch Cabinet agreed last week to commission research to

determine whether skunk is as dangerous as hard drugs, and this week will

lay legislation before parliament to ban its sale if it is found to be

harmful.

 

Opposition parties said that if soft drugs became illegal,

authorities would lose supervision over their trade and use.

 

The Government has agreed a series of measures to clamp down on

the industry. Selling cannabis has been banned near schools and near Dutch

borders with other countries, to try to stop smuggling. Police have closed

half the coffee shops in Amsterdam in the past few years and ministers want

to combat " cannabis tourism " by allowing cannabis to be sold only to Dutch

nationals.

 

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article & contentId=A34792-2004A\

pr22 & notFound=true

 

Antidepressants Called Unsafe For Children

4 Medications Singled Out In Analysis of Many Studies

 

By Shankar Vedantam

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, April 23, 2004; Page A03

 

Four popular antidepressants being used to treat thousands of

depressed American children are unsafe, ineffective or both, according to

the first comprehensive scientific review to include all available studies,

including negative data that have long been withheld from public scrutiny by

the pharmaceutical industry.

 

It is especially dangerous to prescribe Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor

and Celexa for children who are suicidal, said British researchers who

conducted the analysis published yesterday in the journal the Lancet,

because the data show a clear increase in the risk of suicidal behavior

among children taking the drugs -- and no benefit.

 

The study calls into question the repeated assurances of the

American psychiatric establishment, which has regularly encouraged use of

the medications in depressed children. It also contrasts sharply with the

position of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has had access to

the same data but has never identified such serious problems.

 

The analysis involved no new data, but it is the first

scientific " meta-analysis " of all available trials to be published in a

peer-reviewed journal. As such, it puts the scientific debate over the

medications on a new footing and deepens the chasm between the predominantly

positive American view of the drugs and a growing stream of negative reviews

by Australian, Canadian and British psychiatrists. The Lancet analysis backs

up the warning by British regulators last year not to prescribe the

medications to depressed children.

 

In a sharply worded editorial, the Lancet's editors said the

trust of patients had been abused by doctors and the pharmaceutical

industry, and that safety had been compromised in the search for profits.

The state of the research, the editorial concluded, is riddled with

" confusion, manipulation and institutional failure. "

 

" If I wanted to introduce a new drug for children who are

suicidal and said this has very little proof of efficacy and it has an

increased risk of suicide, people would say I was mad, " said Tim Kendall,

director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health in London,

and one of the authors of the new study.

 

Yet, Kendall said, that is precisely the situation with the four

drugs. Kendall's analysis, which was funded by the British government,

contrasted the largely positive results of studies published by drug

manufacturers with negative data that the companies call proprietary and

have not published. British regulators recently made the unpublished data

available for study.

 

" In each of the published articles, the authors concluded the

drug was either effective or safe or both, " Kendall said. " When you look at

the combined evidence, it is ineffective, unsafe or both. "

 

The review found a positive risk-benefit ratio for only one

medicine -- Prozac, which the researchers said did not carry an elevated

risk of suicide and had been proved to benefit depressed children. The

article said that while the other antidepressants should not be given to

children with depression, it is possible that children with anxiety or other

disorders might benefit from them. The number of American children being

treated for depression in any year has surged in recent years; a majority

are being treated with antidepressants.

 

The FDA said it was continuing to evaluate whether the

antidepressant trials showed an increased risk of suicidal behavior.

Although an internal FDA analysis found an increased risk of suicidal

behavior among children taking the drugs, senior officials at the agency

have said they do not have confidence in the conclusion.

 

The matter has been referred to a team at Columbia University

for further evaluation.

 

" Some of the things called suicidal thinking or behavior are

not, " said Robert Temple, FDA's associate director of medical policy, in a

recent interview. " There is one child banging her head against the wall --

that is not suicide. There are quite a few children who did superficial

cutting. That doesn't show intent to kill oneself. "

 

FDA officials have consistently said the large number of failed

antidepressant trials do not prove that the drugs are worthless, a position

in conflict with the Lancet study.

 

Mariann Caprino, a spokeswoman for Pfizer Inc., which makes

Zoloft, categorically rejected the charge that the company had compromised

the safety of children in the pursuit of profits.

 

" The use in children of our drug in particular, is a very, very,

very small percentage of the overall total prescriptions of this product, "

she said in an interview yesterday. " To suggest that we are motivated by

profiting off of children is ludicrous. "

 

While Caprino said all the company's data had been disclosed,

the Lancet article said a published study that combined two Zoloft trials

omitted information that, when factored in, showed an " unfavorable

risk-benefit balance. "

 

Wayne D. Blackmon, a Washington psychiatrist who has long said

clinicians cannot rely on the integrity of the data they are being given,

said Congress should force the FDA to take unpublished negative trials into

account and force the companies to make all data -- positive and negative --

available for public scrutiny.

 

In the meantime, he said, clinicians should go back to the

Hippocratic oath -- " First, do no harm " -- and " recognize that you are

flying by the seat of your pants. "

 

 

 

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» Is 'Ice' or 'Glass' amphetamine?

» Why is fake Ecstasy often speed - why isn't it just sold

as Speed?

» If most street amphetamine is only 5%-10 & pure, isn't

that very weak?

» What about the impurities speed is cut with? Aren't they

dangerous?

» People call it " poorman's coke " - is that accurate?

» If it's so easy to make, why don't more people make it

themselves?

» Is speed used outside the dance scene?

» Are there any incompatible medical conditions?

» How long do amphetamines stay in your urine?

» What causes amphetamine psychosis?

» It is safe to take amphetamines during pregnancy?

» What is amphetamine 'base'? I heard it was the same

stuff they use to line and clean waste disposal pipes with

 

» ask a question (in complete confidence)

 

» Is 'ice' or 'glass' amphetamine?

Yes. 'Ice' and 'glass' are the same thing, a pure

recrystallised form of methamphetamine common in America and the Far East.

Like crack-cocaine, it comes in larger crystals or rocks. When smoked its

effects are comparable to crack in intensity but much longer lasting. This

intensity has actually slowed its spread as a recreational drug. The high is

just too hardcore for most casual drug users. (The effects are described

like being hit with a sledgehammer).

 

You can see a picture here

 

» Why is fake ecstasy often speed - why isn't it just sold

as speed?

Speed is sold cut to very low purity, 5%-10%. Ecstasy is

more expensive than Speed so dealers can charge more for an ecstasy pill

than they could for Speed.

 

top

 

» If most street amphetamine is only 5%-10% pure, isn't

that very weak?

Yes and no. Amphetamines are very strong. If pure speed

was sold, it would be overwhelming, and induce AmpPsychosis if used in the

way most clubbers do, i.e. one to two grams per night between a small group

of say 3-5 people. A medical dose of 5 mg dexedrine, is comparable to one

average line of speed. One gram at 5%-10% purity gives you 50 -100mg of

amphetamine sulphate, or 5-10 Dexedrines.

 

» What about the impurities speed is cut with? Aren't they

dangerous?

It depends, most common is pill filler, which is the

biggest ingredient in Ecstasy and Paracetamol and every other type of pill.

Otherwise caffeine, glucose powder, baby milk or talcum powder are most

common. None of the above are harmful if swallowed, but they are less safe -

and more painful - to snort. Baby milk and talcum powder are very dangerous

if speed is injected as they clot easily in the blood.

 

top

 

» People call it " poorman's coke " - is that accurate?

Speed is a lot cheaper but more longer lasting. A lot of

cocaine's appeal is based on status, almost like champagne compared to

sparkling white wine when many people can't tell the difference. The

physical effects of both are very similar, but cocaine is very much ego

centred, whereas speed is a more physical rush. Historically the use of

speed has dipped as the cocaine use increases and vice versa.

 

» If it is so easy to make, why don't people make it

themselves?

It is chemically very easy to produce, and recipes are

readily available on the internet. Some of the chemicals however are hard to

get hold of - in the UK at least. Small scale production still flourishes

though. Ecstasy, by contrast, requires professional / degree level chemistry

and lots more equipment.

 

top

 

» Is speed used outside the dance scene?

Yes, truck drivers are well known as a user group,

particularly long haul drivers and especially across America and Australia.

Also athletes and footballers have been known to use it to improve

performance, as have dancers and actors.

 

» Are there any incompatible medical conditions?

Yes, many, including hypertension, hyperthyroidism,

urinary retention, glaucoma, arteriosclerosis.

 

 

top

 

» How long do amphetamines stay in your urine?

Amphetamines can be detected for between 24-72 hours.

Methamphetamine slightly longer at 24-96 hours.

 

» What is amphetamine psychosis and what causes it?

Amp psychosis is a state of mind characteriased by

hyperactivity, feelings of paranoia and persecution, hallucinations and

other not very nice things. The exact mechanism is unknown. Speed, like

alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine, works directly on the dopamine " reward "

pathways in the brain, used for modulating pleasure and mood. A single large

dose or - more commonly - consistent hard abuse can induce psychosis. The

symptoms are very similar to schizophrenia but it is short-lived, measured

in hours and days.

 

» Is it safe to take during pregancy?

Big no no. Speed and pregnancy do not mix. While medically

supervised low dose amphetamines do not cause birth defects, there is an

increased risk of low birth weight and premature delivery.

 

» What is amphetamine 'base'? I heard it was the same

stuff they use to line and clean waste disposal pipes with.

Amphetamine base is a purer form of powdered street

amphetamine and is not used to line and clean waste pipes. You can find out

more here.