AboutJacqui Expertise I am committed to Harm reduction (is it a dirty word in America??), a philosophy which acknowledges that people are going to continue to use drugs despite all of the effort put into stopping it (case in point - US government drug war ... trillions of dollars, people still using ... hello??) Anyway, I advocate to support people who use drugs by reducing the harms associated with their use through needle and syringe programs, advocating for drug law reform (alcohol legal, marijuana not ... go figure?). I currently manage a service that provides primary health care, health education and needle and syringe program to people who inject. I have also worked as an "on the ground" worker for many years and am currently studying a Masters in Clinical Psychology. Happy to answer questions about blood borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis C, questions about dependency on opiates and other substances. Questions about treatment (particulary methadone and buprenorphine). Questions about harm reduction and why we bother with it. I can try to answer questions about drug tests. As an alternative to my fellow experts, I won't be judging anyone. If anyone has taken a sip of a coffee, or drunk a beer, then ... well we are all drug users, and I don't think we are going to see an end to it! Deal with the real, I say.
Experience Manage a primary health service for people who inject drugs, and have worked at that centre for 7 years
Organizations Registered as a provisional psychologist with the Victorian Psychologists registration board (this is for psychologists working under supervision or currently studying a masters). Much of my experience is related to my work rather than to my studies
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts (Humanities), Bachelor of Psychology with Honours,
currently studying a masters of clinical psychology, completed one half of a graduate certificate in Addiction studies (transferred to psychology as it had better career prospects) - lots and lots of short training courses.
Awards and Honors Presented at international conferences (Harm Reduction Conference in Thailand and Melbourne)
Question QUESTION: Hey, What re the advantages and disadvantages of smoking weed?
My friend gave me 1 seed so I am going to grow it, It will be well hidden and if it gets two big or smelly I'm just gonna throw it out, I'm not getting caught.
And I'm planning to try 1 or 2 times. Should I?
Thanks, If your wondering I;m not a bum, I'm an A B student maybe C because of an honors class
ANSWER: Hi Alex,
Only you can decide if you want to smoke week and it would be pretty negligent of me to tell you to try it and pretty judgmental of me to say don't try it! There are a lot of complexities involved with illegal drug use, so no matter what my approach to drug issues are (you can check my previous answers - I am harm reduction focused), another person isn't in the right place to say "yes you should" or "no you shouldn't".
As far as pros and cons of pot ... well there is loads of information, much of it based on hystrionics. As someone once said, the only way that weed will kill someone is if you dropped a ten tonne block of it on someone's head. However that isn't totally right because smoking has been linked to respiratory illness.
Finally, I would have never expected you to be a bum. Millions of american's smoke or have smoked pot (including your previous three presidents). So saying you are interested doesn't make me think you are a bum.
Alex, no one can make this kind of choice for you. There are problems with all substances (legal and illegal) and there are also good things (otherwise no one would take them).
Take care and whatever you choose to do, do it safely
Jacqui
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I know you don't want to make my decision for me , but
Would you do it just to try it out? I want to know what you would do
Answer Hey Alex,
I really am sorry but I am just not going to make this decision for you, it just isn't appropritae. And what I WOULD do may be very different to what YOU WOULD do! Anyway, some food for thought ...
Marijuana is usually illegal, so if you did get caught with it, you could have a record that would affect you for quite a while
Marijuana is a very commonly used medication that is linked to far less deaths than alcohol
There is some conflicting evidence about marijuana and mental health but this is still considered inconclusive
smoking can cause respiratory problems
There is a bunch of info for you to consider. I would suggest that you speak with a trusted friend.
One thing I am curious about though (this is the psychologist in me coming out), why are you so particularly interested right now. Let me know and I can see what I can do.
