The link between pot and mass shootings may be closer than we think

[IsailedawayfromFR]

You can’t walk through the streets of Manhattan these days without smelling weed.

Even as evidence mounts of the health problems associated with marijuana, New York has insisted on joining other greedy states scrambling to legalize this deceptively dangerous drug.

It makes no sense at a time when American youth is suffering from an unprecedented mental health crisis.

And, in all honesty, we cannot rule out a connection between increasing marijuana use, mental illness and the recent spate of mass shootings by disturbed young males.

We don’t yet know much about the mental state or drug use of the El Paso or Dayton killers. But a former girlfriend of Dayton killer Connor Betts, 24, has indicated he was mentally ill, and two of his friends interviewed by reporters this week mentioned his previous drug use.

Just last year, the Parents Opposed to Pot lobby group tried to sound the alarm on the link between marijuana and mass shootings, compiling a list of mass killers it claims were heavy users of marijuana from a young age, from Aurora, Colo., shooter James Holmes and Tucson, Ariz., shooter Jared Loughner to Chattanooga, Tenn., shooter Mohammad Abdulazeez.
https://nypost.com/2019/08/07/the-link-between-pot-and-mass-shootings-may-be-closer-than-we-think/

[TomSea]

Agree or not, good posting, good find.

[PeteS in CA]

You can’t walk through the streets of Manhattan these days without smelling weed.

I have pretty much no sympathy for pot use, but how many mass shootings have there been in Manhattan that were committed by potheads? Pot use causes problems that are real, but do we need to go full-on Reefer Madness 2.0?

[corbe]

   Had to take a hit to read this, Nope, still don't want to go out and shoot nobody besides it's a 110 out there.

[TomSea]

Colorado is just a very beautiful state but now, it's got an added element of trashiness.

So, a survey shows violent crime is up now after pot legalization, I agree, cause does not mean effect but I'd be observant of what is occurring nonetheless.

[Smokin Joe]

I have pretty much no sympathy for pot use, but how many mass shootings have there been in Manhattan that were committed by potheads? Pot use causes problems that are real, but do we need to go full-on Reefer Madness 2.0?

Yet a motorycle backfiring sends people in Times Square scurrying in a panic...

We don't need to add to the problem, either. Kids have enough problems growing up. Even worse in the days of incessant counseling and helicopter parents. Add drugs in and they do not develop coping skills, and that can include capriciously prescribed drugs as well.

[GrouchoTex]

   Had to take a hit to read this, Nope, still don't want to go out and shoot nobody besides it's a 110 out there.

It's so hot.....

(How hot is it?)

It's so hot, that I saw 2 trees fightin' over a dawg.

[edpc]

In the case of Holmes and Loughner, drug use probably amplified their schizophrenia.

[Sanguine]

In the case of Holmes and Loughner, drug use probably amplified their schizophrenia.

Probably true. 

[goatprairie]

I have pretty much no sympathy for pot use, but how many mass shootings have there been in Manhattan that were committed by potheads? Pot use causes problems that are real, but do we need to go full-on Reefer Madness 2.0?

How about Chicago? Or Indianapolis? Or Baltimore?  Milwaukee?  I'll bet pot use is extremely high in those places with incredible amounts of homicides per capita.
Ever watch Live PD or some of those other live cop shows? How many times is marijuana found in cars with people with rap sheets? Quite a bit.
Again, does correlation mean causation? Maybe, maybe not.
But let's not casually dismiss the argument.
Again, going back fifty years when mass shootings were much rarer, pot use among white males was still pretty small. That's changed. And the pot today is much stronger than the pot from fifty years ago.

[mountaineer]

In the case of Holmes and Loughner, drug use probably amplified their schizophrenia.

That's the thing. These kids already are so psycho. MJ may exacerbate it it, but it probably doesn't cause it.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

That's the thing. These kids already are so psycho. MJ may exacerbate it it, but it probably doesn't cause it.

If it exacerbates it, it causes it.

Here's an article done last year by the California Highway Patrol who are on the forefront of this issue that discusses the effects of marijuana on those with mental illnesses.  Pretty dramatic stuff.

Marijuana, Law Enforcement, Mental Health: A Dangerous Social Experiment
https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/marijuana-law-enforcement-mental-health/

[truth_seeker]

If it exacerbates it, it causes it.

Here's an article done last year by the California Highway Patrol who are on the forefront of this issue that discusses the effects of marijuana on those with mental illnesses.  Pretty dramatic stuff.

Marijuana, Law Enforcement, Mental Health: A Dangerous Social Experiment
https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/marijuana-law-enforcement-mental-health/

@IsailedawayfromFR

Good article.

[jmyrlefuller]

Anything that causes a high or alters the perception of reality runs the risk of negative reactions as much as positive—be that antidepressants, marijuana, caffeine, sugar, anything.

The other issue here is that the people who find taking drugs appealing may already have a few screws loose as it is.

[mountaineer]

The other issue here is that the people who find taking drugs appealing may already have a few screws loose as it is.

I agree. There would seem to be an underlying inability or, at least, lack of desire to face reality.

[Sanguine]

Anything that causes a high or alters the perception of reality runs the risk of negative reactions as much as positive—be that antidepressants, marijuana, caffeine, sugar, anything.

The other issue here is that the people who find taking drugs appealing may already have a few screws loose as it is.

That's exactly the problem.  People with mental problems tend to self-medicate, and almost always make the problem worse.

[verga]

BKMK

[truth_seeker]

That's exactly the problem.  People with mental problems tend to self-medicate, and almost always make the problem worse.

From AA: (1939 Chapter 5 How it Works)

"Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of be ing honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest."