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» What are the effects
of using cannabis and breastfeeding? How does this affect the child?
The main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis,
THC (tetrahydro-cannabinol), is fat-soluble and does enter breast
milk and the baby - often, due to the size of the infant, in higher
blood concentrations than the mother. However, there is no firm
evidence that cannabis or THC can stunt, impair or damage a baby
or their growth. One report (which is cited in several web pages
on this subject) has stated that THC might delay infant motor development
but we have been unable to track down and read the original study.
Information on this subject is often tainted by the general assumption
that 'illegal drugs are bad for you' when in fact alcohol and Prozac
(fluoxetine) have more worrying question marks over their effects
during breastfeeding. (1)
Nevertheless, it is probably best of avoid cannabis
and other legal and illegal drugs while breastfeeding. If for nothing
else but piece of mind. If you have smoked cannabis, the guilt of
feeling that you may have harmed your baby can be a terrible thing.
Here
is a list of drugs and their suspected effects on breastmilk / breastfeeding
» What is amphetamine
'base'? I heard it was the same stuff they use to line and clean
waste disposal pipes with.
Amphetamine base is a purer form of powdered street amphetamine
and is not used to line and clean waste pipes. You can find out
more here.
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» What is an eight-ball
of cocaine?
An 8-ball is one eight of an ounce of
cocaine, approximately 3.5 grams. This is a lot of cocaine for one
person, enough to overdose on. So be careful.
» Four years ago, I was a cocaine
user for 5 or 6 years - first in a light way than to every weekend
and almost every day. I started having very serious nasal allergy
problems beside some breathing problems. Sometimes I feel like having
cocaine again. Is the drug responsible for my allergy? Can I have
more breathing problems is I use it again? Does cocaine affect the
lungs?
Chronic nasal cocaine use (daily or heavy weekly)
may cause nasal problems - sinusitis, irritation and bleeding of
the nasal membranes or worst - a perforated nasal septum (the membrane
which divides the two nostrils). However, only smoking crack cocaine
and inhaling its harsh smoke is implicated in lung problems.
It could be that you have sustained some nasal
damage. It would be best to talk to your doctor or find a doctor
you feel you can talk to, who can also examine your nose to see
if there is any damage.
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»
How bad is smoking cannabis compared to smoking tobacco?
Smoking any drug is unhealthy. Cannabis is no
exception. The smoke actually contains higher concentrations of
carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than tobacco
smoke. Cannabis smokers generally inhale more smoke for longer depositing
more than 4 times as much tar on their lungs as cigarette smokers.
To balance this, however, they smoke less joints and smoke less
often.
However, it is generally accepted that smoking
cannabis is not as bad as smoking processed tobacco cigarettes,
especially as you smoke less material, less often.
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» I take both Prozac
and wellbutrin daily - what will happen if I do cocaine while on
these medications?
We are not sure. Prozac has no reported history
of negative interactions with cocaine. Wellbutrin suppresses dopamine
release in the brain, the main neurotransmitter at the root of the
cocaine effect. It is actually given to cocaine addicts to help
ease cocaine craving so it may in fact suppress cocaine's effects.
One thing you should be concerned about. The
cocaine high is always followed by a cocaine crash, which gets progressively
worse the more you use cocaine. If you are already being treated
for depression or similar condition, you may find this crash very
uncomfortable and unpleasant.
» I used to smoke pot quite a bit however
I find lately that when I get high - I just get paranoid and edgy?
Is it me?
We have had several emails about this subject.
It seems that some people do experience a 'turning point' in their
cannabis use when it ceases to become enjoyable and instead provokes
paranoia, fear or other 'bad trip' type symptoms.
In a recent study, between 10%-15% of people who smoked
cannabis reported "paranoid" or "confused" feelings
as a disadvantage of smoking cannabis. And around 30% gave "negative
experiences" as their reason for permanently quitting cannabis.
(2)
It's not clear why this happens but rest assured,
your experience is not unique. We are continuing to look into this
and hope to find out more information.
» salvia divinorum if it's legal -
where can u buy it or pick it? What effects would it have?
Salvia Divinorum is available from many online
stores. We are preparing a guide for Salvia. Be careful. This
is an extremely powerful and strange mind-altering plant, quite
unlike any other drug you have ever experienced. Never smoke this
plant alone.
» I only smoke a few draws of cannabis,
maybe a whole joint but that 's it. Will this still be detectable
on a drug test.
Yes. Blood and Urine tests involve detecting
microscopic amounts of THC (the main psychoactive compound in cannabis)
and THC breakdown products so even a few draws or just a whole joint
of cannabis would still be detectable. See here
for more details.
1. Shinya, Ito 'Drug
Therapy For Breast-Feeding Women', New England Journal Of Medicine
& 'Behavorial
Outcomes in Preschool and School-Age Children Exposed Prenatally
to Marijuana'
2. Cohen DA, Kaal, Hendrien L, "Irrelevance
Of Drug Policy: Patterns and careers of experienced cannabis use
in populations of Amsterdam, San Francisco, and Bremen"
pg 75-84
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