This is a new phenomenon. In order to increase the effects of drugs, youth consume more and more alcohol. Hence one could say that alcohol is a potentializer.
Alcohol is legal and accepted by parents. Young people are easily able to display bottles of alcohol while simultaneously hiding their consumption of drugs. Then the majority of parents think that youth consume a lot of alcohol. This is true but they do not know that most of the time, youth consume both alcohol and cannabis or alcohol and other drugs.
Dr Chamayou, an author of a PhD thesis called "The Dangers of Hashish: the last discoveries in science" quotes: "If a rat is given cannabis, he starts drinking alcohol, whereas without cannabis, he will not drink any."
Cannabis is a gateway to a high consumption of alcohol.
In 1968, it contained from 0,6 to 6% of THC – TetraHydroCannabinol - principal active substance. In recent years through genetic modifications, hybrids and greenhouse cultures, it can contain up to 35% of THC. Nowadays, cannabis consumed by teenagers does not have anything in common with what their parents knew. For more information about cannabis see “Technical Information” section.
Yes, Alcohol is a sedative drug. In drinking regularly a large amount of alcohol, one becomes an alcoholic within a few years. Alcohol is characteristically able to potentialize the effect of all other drugs it is mixed with. If one mixes alcohol with another or others drugs, one can very rapidly become a drug-addict.
The half-life of an active substance is the time required by a healthy body, with no previous drug use, to eliminate 50% of the absorbed substance. In the case of cannabis, the half-life is 96 hours or 4 days. This means that within 4 days the body has eliminated 50% of the initial dose. 4 days later, there will be 25% of the product left… Within 28 days, cannabis will be totally eliminated from the body of a person who has not consumed it regularly. Traces of decayed THC may be found in a regular consumer’s body up to 40 days after the last take. According to Dr Chamayou’s thesis, 18 months are needed to be completely cleared of cannabis.
Any psychotropic drug, be it legal - anxiolytic, tranquillizer, benzodiazepine, neuroleptic - or illegal - street drugs - leads to ill-being, depression and to suicide. See table with side effects of psychotropic drugs – Technical Information/Classification .
Voir le tableau des effets secondaires des drogues psychotropes (Fiches / Classification)
A drug-addict is someone who takes drugs in order to solve problems created by taking drugs. S/he thinks that s/he can stop taking them whenever s/he wants, however, in spite of the harmful consequences caused by consuming drugs, s/he cannot. If the drug-addict experiences withdrawal symptoms he will think only about providing himself with drugs even if it means acting against his morals. The demand is so strong that anything linked with will, effort, love or morals gradually disappears completely. Lies, violence, aggressiveness, moral or physical suffering, self-harm, being afraid to take part in everyday life become the norm. Because of these evil acts, the drug-addict looses his/her self-esteem and goes deeper into loneliness and suicidal urges.
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