Expert: Dr Alan Galbraith - 4/23/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello once again Dr. Galbraith. As i said before, this is a research paper on " The major negative effects of marijuana on young people in the 21st century. So therefore i need an expert's opinion on the subject. SO i will lie to ask you a couple of questions and please understand that I will take your direct quotations and insert it into my research paper included with the correct in-text citations and references.
These are my questions as followed.
1)   What are your qualifications and expertness? What makes you capable of being an expert in this field?
2)   In your opinion, what are the major negative effects of marijuana on young people.
3)   What can be done to decrease the amount of marijuana users among our young people?
4)   Does society as a whole contribute to the huge numbers of young marijuana smokers? In other words, do you blame society for this? Why?
5)   As you being an expert in this field. In your overall opinion, in the long run, is marijuana most positive or negative? I ask this, keeping in mind that that marijuana does have positive effects also.
6)   Currently, the legalization of marijuana in America has been a serious subject. What do you think about this ? What effects will it have on the community if it is legalized ? Do you think it should be legalized? Why?
7)   Please do add any comments that you think is relevant and that I can use.

Once Again Thank You Dr. Galbraith.

ANSWER: Dear J

As this questionn is comparitively long, I'll send the answers bit bit by bit over the next few days.

1. I am a pharmacologist with a BSc in Biochemistry, MSc in Medical Science and PhD in Medicine. I am also an author of "Fundamentals of Pharmacology" the main pharmacology text in Australia and New Zealand. A British edition al;so sells well in Europe. Although retired now, I lectured for many years in pharmacology.

2. It reduces the sense of reality and thus is an escape from everyday reality. This may cause a reduced ability to cope with stressful situations.There is evidence that it can after long term use induce psychoses. The smoke from marijuana is probably more carcinogenic than cigarette smoke and over a long period of time may induce exactly the same illnesses as tobacco smoke eg various cancers, emphysema and other COPDs.

3. Education

4. No. Maybe it should be legal as it is in some of the Stans eg Uzbekistan where it grows wild everywhere and is largely ignored by the population. I believe making drugs illegal makes a certain type of person more liable to abuse them. Many young people have a great deal of bravado which makes them want to try activities which are not generally accepted.

I'll submit the others later.

Regards

Dr Alan Galbraith

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank You once again Dr. Galbraith. My research paper is due tomorrow at 9:00 am. but i am grateful for your replies and i will use them as direct quotations in my research paper. I will also talk about what you mentioned in the paper. I will probably attempt to write a follow up, more - professional and specific paper to this. Hopefully i can have your collaboration with that one this time.
         Thanks, J

Answer
5. I do not believe marijuana has any positive effects when used for non-clinical reasons. The use of marijuana either as the crude preparation to be smoked, ingested or as a a purified pharmaceutical form is acceptable when used in appropriate debilitating or some terminal diseases to combat nausea etc.

6. I have referred to this already. I believe in legalising but controlling all drugs of abuse to eliminate the extremely high level of criminal activity associated with them. Drugs have been abused by mankind for millenia and I cannot see it changing in the foreseeable future. Thus governments, worldwide must be seen to be doing something positive to control their use rather than the severe restrictions that are being imposed. This only helps the criminal element by making them more expensive and taboo. Many sectors of society are drawn towards anything that is taboo, abolishing some of the associated stigmata may actually lessen the abuse. Likewise, the paranoid approach to drug abuse in the US (I am referring to the frequent drug checks done on citizens) has led to the generation of many analytical laboratories of dubious standards which turn out thousands of both false positives and negative results to the detriment of many innocent persons.

I hope this suffices.

Regards

Alan Galbraith