The Latest Study in the 'Anti-Cannabis Campaign'

hyphyjoose

Well-Known Member
Recent article by UC Davis: https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/10874
Study Methodology: https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/releases/2016_Cannabis-study-methodology.html
Official Article on the Research: https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/pdf/2016_APS_Persistent-cannabis-dependence.pdf

Research Supporters: The New Zealand Health Research Council, the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, the US National Institute on Aging (NIH AG032282), the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH DA030449), the UK Medical Research Council (MRC MR/K00381X), and the Jacobs Foundation.

____________________________________________________________________________

I wanted to post this just because I think it will be an interesting topic to open discussion on. I'm sure many of you would fall under the 'marijuana dependency' category that this study used as it's criteria for making this bold statement:

"
Heavy, persistent pot use linked to economic and social problems at midlife
Study finds marijuana not "safer" than alcohol
"
This is the manner in which the study is being touted in reports online (including from the original source itself--UC Davis), even though the report at the end states:

"
For the current study, the authors included 947 participants who had completed at least three of the five adult cannabis assessments from ages 18 through 38. They measured both persistence of cannabis dependence, as defined by the total number of study periods out of five that the participant met criteria for cannabis dependence, and persistence of regular cannabis use as the total number of study periods out of five that a participant used cannabis for four or more days per week.

Eighteen percent, or 173 participants, were considered marijuana dependent in at least one wave of the study, and 15 percent (140 participants) fell into the regular cannabis use categories, in at least one wave of the study. Results were similar for persistent cannabis dependence and persistent regular cannabis use. (See summary of research methodology or the paper for more details.)
"

That means that only 15-18% of study participants had this issue. That's between 1 out of 5 and 1 out of 6, depending on dependency classification (and wave of the study).

--edit made to above paragraph: bad math--

Is this really a fair way to headline the study, even though the evidence isn't as 'majority' as they want it to seem?

What's more, the article tries to tell us that marijuana is more damaging economically than alcohol (on a personal scale):

"
While both heavy alcohol and cannabis use were similarly associated with declines in social class, antisocial behaviors in the work place and relationship problems, the authors found that those dependent on cannabis experienced more financial difficulties, such as paying for basic living expenses and food, than those who were alcohol dependent.

“Cannabis may be safer than alcohol for your health, but not for your finances,” said Moffitt, a psychologist with dual appointments at Duke University and the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

How about you guys? What kind of jobs do you have--or social standing of any kind? Are you as indigent and stressed as the article wants us to believe? I'd be interested in hearing input from easy-to-reach stoners and maybe compare some anecdotal evidence to the presented empirical data at hand.

 
Last edited:

srh88

Well-Known Member
I wanted to post this just because I think it will be an interesting topic to open discussion on. I'm sure many of you would fall under the 'marijuana dependency' category that this study used as it's criteria for making this bold statement:

"
Heavy, persistent pot use linked to economic and social problems at midlife
Study finds marijuana not "safer" than alcohol
"
This is the manner in which the study is being touted in reports online (including from the original source itself--UC Davis), even though the report at the end states:

"
For the current study, the authors included 947 participants who had completed at least three of the five adult cannabis assessments from ages 18 through 38. They measured both persistence of cannabis dependence, as defined by the total number of study periods out of five that the participant met criteria for cannabis dependence, and persistence of regular cannabis use as the total number of study periods out of five that a participant used cannabis for four or more days per week.

Eighteen percent, or 173 participants, were considered marijuana dependent in at least one wave of the study, and 15 percent (140 participants) fell into the regular cannabis use categories, in at least one wave of the study. Results were similar for persistent cannabis dependence and persistent regular cannabis use. (See summary of research methodology or the paper for more details.)
"

That means that only 15-18% of study participants had this issue. That's between 1 out of 5 and 1 out of 6, depending on dependency classification (and wave of the study).

--edit made to above paragraph: bad math--

Is this really a fair way to headline the study, even though the evidence isn't as 'majority' as they want it to seem?

What's more, the article tries to tell us that marijuana is more damaging economically than alcohol (on a personal scale):

"
While both heavy alcohol and cannabis use were similarly associated with declines in social class, antisocial behaviors in the work place and relationship problems, the authors found that those dependent on cannabis experienced more financial difficulties, such as paying for basic living expenses and food, than those who were alcohol dependent.

“Cannabis may be safer than alcohol for your health, but not for your finances,” said Moffitt, a psychologist with dual appointments at Duke University and the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

How about you guys? What kind of jobs do you have--or social standing of any kind? Are you as indigent and stressed as the article wants us to believe? I'd be interested in hearing input from easy-to-reach stoners and maybe compare some anecdotal evidence to the presented empirical data at hand.
i smoked pot once.. now i live here

id like to think the pot brought out my creative side
 

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
http://cpx.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/03/16/2167702616630958

Abstract

With the increasing legalization of cannabis, understanding the consequences of cannabis use is particularly timely. We examined the association between cannabis use and dependence, prospectively assessed between ages 18 and 38, and economic and social problems at age 38. We studied participants in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, a cohort (N = 1,037) followed from birth to age 38. Study members with regular cannabis use and persistent dependence experienced downward socioeconomic mobility, more financial difficulties, workplace problems, and relationship conflict in early midlife. Cannabis dependence was not linked to traffic-related convictions. Associations were not explained by socioeconomic adversity, childhood psychopathology, achievement orientation, or family structure; cannabis-related criminal convictions; early onset of cannabis dependence; or comorbid substance dependence. Cannabis dependence was associated with more financial difficulties than was alcohol dependence; no difference was found in risks for other economic or social problems. Cannabis dependence is not associated with fewer harmful economic and social problems than alcohol dependence.
-----------------------------------------------

Seems a stretch to me without reading the full text. I'd want to know how they controlled for the variables they ruled out. Correlation is not causation and how the study was funded etc...... Way to many questions to give any good answer.
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
Can you give links to original study and to the article citing said study
Not what you asked, but interesting (from final link in OP)

Funding
The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development
Research Unit is supported by the New Zealand Health Research
Council. This research received support from the U.S. National
Institute on Aging (Grant AG032282), the UK Medical Research
Council (Grant MR/K00381X), and the Jacobs Foundation. M.
Cerdá was supported by a grant from the U.S. National Institute
on Drug Abuse (DA030449).
 
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