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In the 02/03/2016 edition:

Colorado teens biggest pot smokers

Feb 03, 2016 12:23 pm

marijuana colorado youth v national feb 2016Smart Colorado Newsletter 1 Feb 2016
Colorado now leads the nation in the percentage of its teenagers who have used pot within the last month. This bad news, provided in a January report from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, is unlikely to surprise anyone.

We’ve seen the tsunami of marijuana commercialization and it’s no wonder that so many of our state’s kids have been swept up by it.marijuana legal v nonlegal feb 2016

But it serves as a good wake-up call, reminding us all of the very human impact of the mass commercialization of marijuana in Colorado.marijuana colorado youth v national feb 2016

A few facts from the report regarding Colorado youth ages 12 to 17 years old:
• The number of kids reporting marijuana use in the past month increased 20% compared to the period prior to legalization of recreational marijuana – even as youth use declined nationally.
• Colorado’s youth use rate is 74% higher than the national average.
smartcolorado.org

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50 Years of Sex Changes, Mental Disorders, and Too Many Suicides

Feb 03, 2016 11:54 am

walt heyerPublic Discourse 2 February 2016
Studies show that the majority of transgender people have other co-occurring, or comorbid, psychological disorders.

A 2014 study found 62.7% of patients diagnosed with gender dysphoria had at least one co-occurring disorder, and 33% were found to have major depressive disorders, which are linked to suicide ideation. Another 2014 study of four European countries found that almost 70% of participants showed one or more Axis I disorders, mainly affective (mood) disorders and anxiety.

In 2007, the Department of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, committed to a clinical review of the comorbid disorders of the last 10 patients interviewed at their Gender Identity Clinic. They found that “90% of these diverse patients had at least one other significant form of psychopathology . . . [including] problems of mood and anxiety regulation and adapting in the world. Two of the 10 have had persistent significant regrets about their previous transitions.”

Yet in the name of “civil rights,” laws are being passed at all levels of government to prevent transgender patients from receiving therapies to diagnose and treat co-occurring mental disorders.

The authors of the Case Western Reserve University study seemed to see this legal wave coming when they said:

This finding seems to be in marked contrast to the public, forensic, and professional rhetoric of many who care for transgendered adults . . . Emphasis on civil rights is not a substitute for the recognition and treatment of associated psychopathology. Gender identity specialists, unlike the media, need to be concerned about the majority of patients, not just the ones who are apparently functioning well in transition.

As one who went through the surgery, I wholeheartedly agree. Politics doesn’t mix well with science. When politics forces itself on medicine, patients are the ones who suffer.

What about the suicides?
Let’s connect the dots. Transgender people report attempting suicide at a staggering rate—above 40%. According to Suicide.org, 90% of all suicides are the result of untreated mental disorders. Over 60% (and possibly up to 90% as shown at Case Western) of transgender people have comorbid psychiatric disorders, which often go wholly untreated.

Could treating the underlying psychiatric disorders prevent transgender suicides? I think the answer is a resounding “yes.”

The evidence is staring us in the face. Tragically high numbers of transgender people attempt suicide. Suicide is the result of untreated mental disorders. A majority of transgender people suffer from untreated comorbid disorders—yet against all reason, laws are being enacted to prevent their treatment.

I write out of deep concern for the transgender men and women who attempt suicide, who are unhappy, and who want to go back to their birth gender. The other ones—those who appear to be functioning well in transition, at least for now during their “reprieve”—are celebrated in the media. But I hear from others—the ones who prefer to stay hidden, who are contemplating suicide, whose lives are torn apart, who have had the surgery but still have debilitating physical or psychological issues—the ones whose reprieve is over.

In the 1970s and now, gender-reassignment surgery is routinely performed when requested. Transgender people are the one population allowed to diagnose themselves with gender dysphoria solely on the basis of their desire for sex-reassignment surgery, and not because the medical community has found objective proof that such surgery is medically required.

After fifty years of surgical intervention in the United States, a scientific basis for surgical treatment of transgender people is still lacking. A task force commissioned by the American Psychiatric Association did a review of the literature on the treatment of gender identity disorder and in 2012 stated, “The quality of evidence pertaining to most aspects of treatment in all subgroups was determined to be low.” In 2004, the review of more than 100 international medical studies of post-operative transsexuals found “no robust scientific evidence that gender reassignment surgery is clinically effective.”
READ MORE: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2016/02/16376/?utm_source=The+Witherspoon+Institute&utm_campaign=16aea6a28f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_15ce6af37b-16aea6a28f-84094405
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Is mindfulness making us ill?

Feb 03, 2016 11:40 am

mindfulness childThe Guardian 23 January 2016
….A 1992 study by David Shapiro, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, found that 63% of the group studied, who had varying degrees of experience in meditation and had each tried mindfulness, had suffered at least one negative effect from meditation retreats, while 7% reported profoundly adverse effects including panic, depression, pain and anxiety. Shapiro’s study was small-scale; several research papers, including a 2011 study by Duke University in North Carolina, have raised concerns at the lack of quality research on the impact of mindfulness, specifically the lack of controlled studies.

Research suggests her experience might not be unique. Internet forums abound with people seeking advice after experiencing panic attacks, hearing voices or finding that meditation has deepened their depression after some initial respite. In their recent book, The Buddha Pill, psychologists Miguel Farias and Catherine Wikholm voice concern about the lack of research into the adverse effects of meditation and the “dark side” of mindfulness. “Since the book’s been published, we’ve had a number of emails from people wanting to tell us about adverse effects they have experienced,” Wikholm says. “Often, people have thought they were alone with this, or they blamed themselves, thinking they somehow did it wrong, when actually it doesn’t seem it’s all that uncommon.”

Farias feels that media coverage inflates the moderate positive effects of mindfulness, and either doesn’t report or underplays the downsides. “Mindfulness can have negative effects for some people, even if you’re doing it for only 20 minutes a day,” Farias says. “It’s difficult to tell how common [negative] experiences are, because mindfulness researchers have failed to measure them, and may even have discouraged participants from reporting them by attributing the blame to them.”

…. There is currently no professionally accredited training for mindfulness teachers, and nothing to stop anyone calling themselves a mindfulness coach, though advocates are calling for that to change. Finding an experienced teacher who comes recommended, and not being afraid to discuss negative side-effects with your teacher or GP, means you’re far more likely to enjoy and benefit from the experience.
READ MORE: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/23/is-mindfulness-making-us-ill

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Gay activist backs bakers in gay cake appeal (UK)

Feb 03, 2016 11:24 am

cakeMailOnline 2 February 2016
Veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell yesterday came out in support of a Christian bakery company which refused to sell a cake with a gay rights slogan.

He said he had changed his mind about Ashers Bakery in Belfast, who were found to have broken anti-discrimination laws when they declined an order for a cake with the slogan ‘support gay marriage’.

The change of heart from one of the longest standing and most widely respected among gay campaigners came in advance of an appeal in the case which begins tomorrow.

The McArthur family who run the bakery are challenging the finding that they broke Northern Ireland’s anti-discrimination rules when they refused to sell the cake to activist Gareth Lee.

Mr Tatchell said: ‘Much as I wish to defend the gay community, I also want to defend freedom of conscience, expression and religion.’

As a result of the court ruling against the bakery, far right agitators could force Muslim printers to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, or Jewish printers to reproduce Holocaust denial material, he added.

‘Will gay bakers have to accept orders for cakes with homophobic slurs?’ Mr Tatchell asked.
READ MORE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3427354/Tatchell-backs-bakers-gay-cake-appeal-Campaigner-says-changed-mind-firm-broke-anti-discrimination-laws-wants-defend-freedom-religion.html

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Long-Term Marijuana Use Tied to Worse Verbal Memory in Middle Age

Feb 03, 2016 10:44 am

MARIJUANA brain on drugsYahoo.com 2 February 2016
As marijuana becomes more accessible to young and old alike in the U.S., researchers warn that long-term use of the drug may cause lasting harm to at least one type of brain function.

A new study based on following thousands of young adults into middle age finds that long-term marijuana use is linked to poorer performance on verbal memory tests, but other areas of brain function do not appear to be affected.

“We did not expect to find such a consistent association with verbal memory for chronic exposure to marijuana,” especially since the link held even when other factors like cigarette smoking, alcohol use and other behavioral factors associated with marijuana use were accounted for, said lead author Dr. Reto Auer of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Auer and colleagues analyzed data from a 25-year U.S. study of young adults, which included repeated measures of marijuana exposure over time and a standardized test of verbal memory, processing speed and executive function in year 25.
READ MORE: https://www.yahoo.com/health/long-term-marijuana-use-tied-to-worse-verbal-201233881.html

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