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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis'
#5424585 - 03/21/06 10:21 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' March 21, 2006 - independent.co.uk
Dutch schoolchildren as young as 12 are being treated for addiction to a powerful home-grown marijuana which is up to 20 times stronger than imported varieties, an addiction clinic in the Netherlands has revealed.
But while the age of regular and dependent cannabis users has dropped sharply in recent years, the dangers and health hazards of soft drugs have been "completely underestimated" by parents caught "in a flower- power time warp", Dr Romeo Ashruf, an addiction specialist, said.
The cannabis that Dutch children take, nederwiet, is produced in Holland and is up to 20 times stronger than imported varieties, he told Network 2's Bij ons Thuis television programme last night. It was not unusual for children as young as 12 to be addicted to cannabis and referred to drugs clinics by their GPs, said Dr Ashruf.
"In years gone by, the age group for referrals was between 16 and 21 but now it has gone down to between 14 and 19," he said. "Children of 12 and 13 who are addicted to soft drugs are also brought in. It is an alarming development."
Dr Ashruf, director of the Parnassia Clinic in The Hague, said that Dutch parents are largely unaware of the dangers because of the changes the drug has undergone since the 1960s.
"A lot of parents think back to the Sixties when flower power was at its height and they were passing around a joint from one to the other. It was the done thing then, and they just think their kids are doing the same and it's all a bit of harmless fun and part of growing up.
"What they fail to realise is that there is a world of difference between then and now. Kids don't share; they light up their own joint, and the drug they use is far stronger than in days gone by. Parents unfortunately massively underestimate the effects of using Dutch-grown nederwiet on their children and its potential to create dependency and health risks."
Research into the strength of nederwiet has shown it to have between 14 and 20 times more THC (tetrahydro-cannabinol) - the active ingredient which makes users high and encourages dependency - than imported varieties. Once a cottage industry, it is today a huge criminally organised business.
Bela Willems, 19, a former cannabis user, said he became hooked on the drug while still in junior school. By the time he was 16 he was smoking eight joints daily. Now he visits junior schools to warn pupils about the dangers of cannabis. "I come across kids in the last two years of junior school who are taking soft drugs regularly," he said.
Dr Ashruf said he was convinced that regular soft drugs use by young people in Holland can lead to addiction and a range of serious health effects. "
Cannabis causes addiction; there is no doubt about that," he said. "The children I am treating who are heavy users have arrested development. Somebody of 18 is mentally developed to the age of about 15. They become apathetic, they perform badly at school, they cannot sustain friendships, they have problems in all their daily relationships, they can't sleep properly, they are introverted and disturbed. Most of the time nobody - neither parents, nor teachers - realises that it is caused by their use of soft drugs."
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coda
Banjo Goiter


Registered: 03/20/01
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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: veggie]
#5426860 - 03/21/06 07:01 PM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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wtf is nederwiet?
-------------------- To get really high is to forget yourself. And to forget yourself is to see everything else. And to see everything else is to become an understanding molecule in evolution, a conscious tool of the universe. And I think every human being should be a conscious tool of the universe. . . . -JG i really am glad you came back to us instead of taking the other path. *hug* -A_S (RIP your final words to me will never be forgotten)
 Don't fuck with the laughing jesus.
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gdman
badger, badger,badger...


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Loc: Dancing In the Streets
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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: coda]
#5427006 - 03/21/06 07:26 PM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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dutch pot
--------------------
Got a question about a substance? Erowid might already have your answer! Have questions about the mushroom experience? The Tripper's FAQ may have your answer or someone else might have had your question before. I know up on the top you are seeing great sights, but down at the bottom we, too, should have rights. - Theodor Seuss Geisel Dr. Suess "I didn't come here to be easily understood" - Steve
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coda
Banjo Goiter


Registered: 03/20/01
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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: gdman]
#5427051 - 03/21/06 07:37 PM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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har har :P
"The cannabis that Dutch children take, nederwiet, is produced in Holland and is up to 20 times stronger than imported varietie"
They make it out to seem like its this "new" type of pot. Im just wondering what it really is.
-------------------- To get really high is to forget yourself. And to forget yourself is to see everything else. And to see everything else is to become an understanding molecule in evolution, a conscious tool of the universe. And I think every human being should be a conscious tool of the universe. . . . -JG i really am glad you came back to us instead of taking the other path. *hug* -A_S (RIP your final words to me will never be forgotten)
 Don't fuck with the laughing jesus.
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Wysefool
I AM SKELETON JELLY

Registered: 12/26/02
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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: veggie]
#5427263 - 03/21/06 08:18 PM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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nederweit = netherweed = netherlands weed
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ClammyJoe
Azurescen Head



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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: Wysefool]
#5428116 - 03/21/06 11:09 PM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Heh, I doubt the Netherlands actually have much imported pot. It would seem that the weed is 20 times stronger than the wild Mexican hemp bricks that make their way north, other than that, its the same old shit people have been smoking there for the past decade.
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coda
Banjo Goiter


Registered: 03/20/01
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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: ClammyJoe]
#5428498 - 03/22/06 01:13 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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yah that's what i figured.
-------------------- To get really high is to forget yourself. And to forget yourself is to see everything else. And to see everything else is to become an understanding molecule in evolution, a conscious tool of the universe. And I think every human being should be a conscious tool of the universe. . . . -JG i really am glad you came back to us instead of taking the other path. *hug* -A_S (RIP your final words to me will never be forgotten)
 Don't fuck with the laughing jesus.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero


Registered: 04/27/01
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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: coda]
#5428687 - 03/22/06 04:21 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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> Im just wondering what it really is.
Typically it is an attempt to convince parents that the stuff their kids are smoking is much "worse" than the stuff the parents were smoking when they were kids. The reality is that people smoke as much or as little as they need to reach a certain high. If the cannabis is stronger, then less of the harmful products will enter the body, making it safer to smoke.
If we really want kids to stop smoking cannabis, then we need to start tossing the parents of kids that get caught smoking cannabis into jail. Bad parenting is no excuse for outlawing a drug.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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blackout


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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: ClammyJoe]
#5429277 - 03/22/06 09:54 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
TheMadConductor said: Heh, I doubt the Netherlands actually have much imported pot.
In coffee shops there used to be stuff labelled as imported. It was cheaper. There is no way it is 20 times stronger unless they are getting real crap 0.5% weed. It would be extremely rare to find 18% weed in holland.
It is the same illogical argument that strong weed is worse for you. You simply smoke less. If you usually drink 5% beer and get whiskey at 50% you do not drink your usual 8 pints of it! Strong cannabis is very good healthwise as you inhales less smoke for the same high.
No doubt these kids are mixing it with the most addictive substance known, nicotine. But of course thats legal so its "not really a drug". If these kids put tobacco in their ham sandwiches there would be clinics full of ham sandwich addicts too.
Edited by blackout (03/23/06 11:26 AM)
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TLG
Stranger
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Re: Dutch children of 12 'addicted to cannabis' [Re: blackout]
#5429301 - 03/22/06 10:03 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
blackout said: In coffee shops there used to be stuff labelled as imported. It was cheaper. There is no way it is 20 times stronger unless they are getting real crap 0.5% weed. It would be extremely rare to find 18% weed in holland.
And, of course, .5% weed would actually be hemp. And it wouldn't even give you a headache.
Quote:
blackout said: No doubt these kids are mixing it with the most addictive substance know, nicotine. But of course thats legal so its "not really a drug". If these kids put tobacco in their ham sandwiches there would be clinics full of ham sandwich addicts too.
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