Ta Jeunesse : Narcotics / Cannabis

Extracted and Translated from the online Magazine Ta Jeunesse.

Narcotics

Trivialization : What was “off” a short time ago has become commonplace. Faced with the anxieties of life, the fear of the unknown, we turn to “trusted” people in the occult or other recreational activities. “Like the others do” becomes a self-sufficient justification. This is all the more so because a quick result is needed. And here we are shooting on a joint faster than its shadow or that we go into astral travel without worrying about side effects both physical and spiritual.

Dependencies result. This doping out, these palliatives with limited effects ensure the minimum lifestyle habits but more generally serious dependencies can result that absolutely do not resolve anything because they never attack the root of the problem. It is ultimately exactly the opposite of what Jesus desires to do in every life. Solve what’s causing you all these troubles. Jesus never does it by avoidance or flight, but transparently, sustainably and for eternity.

Galatians 5.1: 1. Christ has truly made us free: then keep your free condition and let no man put a yoke on you again.

One in four consumers is impacted by its neurotoxicity. Even COVID is not so “efficient”.

A trivialization in action ” Do you smoke ? “

So that this question implied a few years ago a question regarding the tobacco consumption, and was appropriate to specify if it was cannabis, it has become primarily evocative of cannabis use, to the point that clarifying the question now concerns tobacco. This semantic shift is proof of the shift in France which has existed for years 2000: Cannabis became commonplace in point of becoming part of the decor!

Cannabis has been trivialized to the pointthat it is consumned by half of the French population. In twenty years, cannabis became the first illicit substance consumed in France, regardless of age groups and level social. In the last publication of the French Office for Drugs and Drug addiction, which dates from 2017, almost one out of two French people 15 to 64 years old (44.5% exactly) admitted to having already consumed cannabis at least once in his life. To compare, we are only at 33% for tobacco and only 5.4% for cocaine! Cannabis has therefore clearly become a health problem.

From a glass of wine to a glass vodka! Along with the increase of their consumption, the quality products sold continued to improve, with the corollary, an impressive increase in the concentration of the psychoactive substance in cannabis: Δ9THC. In fact, cannabis has become a commodity like the others, responding to rules of the capitalist market: supply, demand, quality, profitability, customer loyalty, rapid return on investment. For example, the evolution of the power of cannabis represents, in 20 years, the evolution between a glass of wine and a glass of vodka! Not quite the same result…

All the more so if we consider that in three quarters of cases, the first consumption is the result of a gift from a friend or close relation. This initiation, “relational” type, returns a benevolent and carefree image of cannabis use. We are therefore far from the cliché of a “drug” in the pejorative sense. To add to this we have the euphemism of the social representation of cannabis as a so-called “soft” drug. All is brought together so that this first experience is devoid of any barriers and is rather presented and consumed as part of a reassuring experience.

Cannabis use in adolescents

What is particularly worrying is that the share of the total consumption represents already 40% of the population at the end of the high school. It is therefore particularly at the end of middle school and high school that the first contact with cannabis is experienced. If cannabis has the advantage of creating little physical addiction – which, in the imaginary collective is the criterion of dangerousness of a narcotic product – the successive studies demonstrate that we are a long way from a product which is harmless. Cannabis provides irreversible brain damage, both organic and functional, at an age when the brain is still in full development.

Not so innocent :

The neuro-toxicity of cannabis is now well understood and confirmed in studies. These risks relate to approximately one quarter of consumers, which is huge. The results : One in four consumers is impacted by its neurotoxicity. Even COVID is not as“efficient”. Many consequences present themselves in a very random way in terms of delays, which is all the more confusing. This toxicity manifests itself in multiple forms: anxiety, depression, schizophrenia (multiple personality), cognitive disturbances, and promotes an appetite for others drugs (alcohol, heroin, etc.).

A cure worse than the disease : What is particularly paradoxical is that cannabis can temporarily give an impression of comfort, but this one is short-lived and will eventually aggravate the troubles it is supposed to combat. Finally, the real question to ask is: why consume psychoactive products? The causes are many: lack of self-confidence, sadness, stress, fears of all kinds.

With cannabis, we are clearly facing a vicious circle where causes and consequences confuse, which feeds the cycle addiction. From a biblical point of view, his situation is not surprising. God created man to to be dependent on his Creator. In choosing the path of the ruptured relationship described in Genesis 3, Man has created a void that he tries to fill by imagining all kinds of tricks. This comfort, if it exists, is minimal, and certainly remains short duration. The Bible also says that man without God is dependent of the passions that dwell in him, which drags him into a perpetual struggle , a battle that he unfortunately cannot win alone.

The solution

Jesus came for us to free us from the lacks that these situations create in us. It is in our relationship with jesus that we can restore our relationship with God the Creator, and restore then our self-image, our relationship to the other, our fear of the future, our guilt of the past, our shame. So let’s put our trust in Jesus. It won’t solve all our problems, but a solution mighty will be at work for us to accompany. It will be much more effective than our do-it-yourself solutions. Let’s not wait any longer!

Checks : I am addicted to cannabis?

1. Have you ever smoked cannabis before midday ?
2. Have you ever smoked cannabis when you were alone?
3. Have you ever had memory problems when you smoke cannabis?
4. Have friends or family members ever told you that you should reduce your cannabis use?
5. Have you ever tried to cut down or quit your cannabis use without to arrive at ?
6. Have you ever had any problems because of your cannabis use (arguing, fight, accident, bad grade at school, etc.)? Two positive responses to the test should lead to serious questioning about the consequences of consumption.

If the answers to 2 of the boave questions are affirmative you need to seriously consider the effects of your consumption.