Hi cbishop,
The natural response of many individuals when they are unable to address the actual argument is to reduce the discussion to the “Attack the Man” fallacy and insults. No one is required to agree with anyone here, but there is no need to be snide!
My knowledge comes from over 20 years of nursing, much of it treating acute psychiatric disease and dementia. I am also the only member of my family not dealing with psychiatric or addiction issues.
To think that cherry bark used as an expectorant completely clears the lungs of foreign material is inaccurate and dangerous. It is most likely preferable to doing nothing at all, however to believe and promote that it counteracts the negative effects of inhaling and holding smoke in the lungs is irresponsible rationalization!
Facts are hard but we must all live with them!
Hi herb ox,
Many Doctors do make medication treatment decisions based upon the “clinical results” of medications, and these “clinical results” are communicated through pamphlets that can be considered advertisements. Many scientific studies are flawed as well. Many times pharmaceutical companies alter their findings in order to make money! The only thing this teaches us is, “Buyer Beware”!!! Blind faith in ones doctor or pharmaceutical companies is clearly foolish!
Doctors also prescribe medications based upon their experience with what actually works, what is cheapest for their patient, and what is easily accessible. When results are not apparent they will try other treatments. Every person reacts differently to medications. Something that works for one patient may not be effective for another.
MOST medications do what they are advertised to do. They prolong life and/or make it more livable for those with debilitating diseases. They provide chemicals that the body is unable to produce. Pharmaceuticals have been more successful in the last 200 years than the previous 5,000-10,000 years of herbal remedies have as demonstrated by the curing and/or amelioration of diseases, increasing life expectancy, and the increased general health of people.
As with every field of endeavor in life there are those who are competent and those who are quacks. Some doctors prescribe medications for themselves, many of them are psychiatrists. It is however, considered unethical. These ethical principles are generally STANDARDS of behavior and not laws. Everyone has the right to make foolish decisions and this does not just apply to marijuana users, but to doctors as well!
Your argument in response to my comments concerning the lack of medical benefits of alcohol and illegal drugs did not address my point. You diverted the focus to a political issue. Alcohol and illegal drugs are ingested for entertainment purposes, to self-medicate against an individual’s inability to deal with the realities of life and rarely for introspective purposes. Two of these purposes can be relatively harmless if exercised responsibly and in moderations, the other leads to increased psychiatric, social, and economic distress, thus increasing ones inability to deal with life’s realities and does not solve the problem!! It makes life worse by numbing ones ability too actually address the issue and determine an effective resolution!
I am unconcerned here with the political issues surrounding illegal drugs. I am addressing medical and psychiatric medications and comparing the consequences of their use with that of illegal drugs.
Anti-depressants are not addictive substances and rarely involve the negative effects you mention! They have varying levels of efficacy based upon the individual’s body chemistry and psychiatric diagnosis. We live in a society where many people want a simple answer to life’s problems and they believe that taking a pill will solve everything! Many others want something that works NOW being primarily concerned with paying a mortgage and raising their children. They want to be functional and while they might be amendable to counseling they realize that 10 or more years of therapy will not help them TODAY!!
All medications have side-effects and I will grant that in order to make money many pharmaceuticals play them down. We live in an imperfect world!! However, in the media all one hears about are the problems with medications. The media rarely or never cite the many MORE lives improved. If one specific medication is found to have negative side effects for an individual there are many other medications available. When prescribing psychiatric medication there is no way to know for certain which one will work best for an individual. There is a period of trial and error involved when determining the best medication to use. All medications have risks, but so does everything else in life. 50,000 people die every year in automobile accidents, more than from psychiatric medications! Shall we outlaw the car? When citing the severe behavior disturbances of those on Anti-depressants critics tend to ignore the underlying psychiatric problems and the therapeutic process involved that most likely contributed to the aberrant behavior as much or more than the medication.
It is not my intention to convince anyone to use or not use pharmaceutical medications. I am addressing a specific view held by those who advocate illegal drug use, in this case marijuana. I don’t care who uses it or not. But I do feel it necessary to address poor arguments made to rationalize its use and false claims of its benefits. I use herbals and supplements myself. I agree natural means are preferable to artificial means of treatment. I am unconcerned what you or anyone else uses. I personally am not a fan of psychiatric medication either. However, in extreme cases of psychosis they are absolutely necessary! Most individuals have no experience with acute psychosis. I have!! I have intervened in suicide attempts, treated acute psychotic episodes, and cleaned up after and those who have: slit their throats, cut themselves, hung themselves, slammed their heads in doors, etc!! I have had patients who have tried to eat themselves, eat others and who have heard voices telling them to do other more heinous and hideous things! Ask a schizophrenic or psychotic person who cannot function otherwise whether they prefer to be on pharmaceuticals or not!
As for the rest of us, the next time you get gangrene or tuberculosis go ahead and try herbs. If you live long enough to see they are ineffective then you will be happy to have pharmaceuticals to fall back on!