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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOhio man who threatened Obama gets prison time
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A federal judge has sentenced a central Ohio man to 16 months in prison for making Twitter threats to kill President Barack Obama.
Thirty-seven-year-old Daniel Temple of Columbus had confessed to U.S. Secret Service agents to making the threats and pleaded guilty in May.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George C. Smith on Wednesday.
According to the Secret Service complaint, threatening tweets by Temple from March included the president's name and phrases such as "coming to kill you" and "killing you soon."
Temple's attorney, Gordon G. Hobson, wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Temple has been treated since 2010 for paranoia, delusions and hallucinations caused by alcohol and marijuana abuse.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/state/state-ohio/ohio-man-who-threatened-obama-gets-prison-time
liberal N proud
(60,340 posts)Fortunately the Secret Service took it seriously enough to do something.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)... and while he's in the slammer, don't allow him to listen to winger radio or watch FOX news.
The_Commonist
(2,518 posts)Particularly in young men, and particularly when combined with alcohol.
It's wonderful and it's useful and it's a lot of fun, but it's not completely harmless.
classykaren
(769 posts)The_Commonist
(2,518 posts)Google "marijuana schizophrenia" and you'll get all kinds of results.
demwing
(16,916 posts)that's not proof of anything
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)But "marijuana abuse" is a BS term.
The_Commonist
(2,518 posts)It looks like the lawyer said "alcohol and marijuana abuse."
If someone wakes up in the morning and smokes a blunt, drinks vodka all day long, does 12 bong hits for lunch, and then spends the rest of the day drinking vodka and smoking fatties, I would consider that "alcohol and marijuana abuse." (yes, that is just conjecture on my part) Particularly if s/he then tweets that s/he is going to come and kill the president.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Your mind is obviously made up so why should I confuse you.
The_Commonist
(2,518 posts)I recently did a little calculation, and have figured that I have rolled at least 36,000 joints in my life. I love marijuana. I have smoked it with world-famous hippies and yippies. I can roll a joint with one hand. I was there in San Francisco when the medical marijuana movement got started. My wife has knee problems, and a little toke each day keeps the pain at bay. I have baked brownies for AIDS patients and for musicians. Don't tell me about my mind. You don't know me.
However, I do not think it is appropriate for everyone, or for every time. Some people's brains can't handle it. It can trigger schizophrenia in some people. I would not get wasted before going to meet the president, even though we are the same age, and if I had gone to "high" school in Hawaii instead of New Jersey, I would have been a member of the Choom Gang.
Apples and oranges are both delicious. However, if one ate a diet of exclusively apples or exclusively oranges and nothing else, one would not be healthy. Particularly if one is unhealthy to begin with.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)jumping out of trees
LittleGirl
(8,291 posts)I want some proof to that statement. Good Grief!
The_Commonist
(2,518 posts)You'll get 3.9 million results.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_schizophrenia#Cannabis
"There is some evidence that cannabis use can contribute to schizophrenia. Some studies[clarification needed] suggest that cannabis is neither a sufficient nor necessary factor in developing schizophrenia, but that cannabis may significantly increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and may be, among other things[which?], a significant causal[clarification needed] factor. Nevertheless, some previous research in this area has been criticised as it has often not been clear whether cannabis use is a cause or effect of schizophrenia. To address this issue, a recent review of prospective cohort studies has suggested that cannabis[clarification needed] statistically doubles the risk of developing schizophrenia on the individual level, and may, if a causal relationship is assumed, be responsible for up to 8% of cases in the population[clarification needed].[103][4] [10] [31] [42] [58] [67] [70] [78] [49] [57] [104] [105] [106] [107] [108] [109] [110]
Cannabis misuse by young people is suspected of causing schizophrenia in later life by interfering with and distorting neurodevelopment particularly of the prefrontal cortex region of the brain.[104] An older longitudinal study, published in 1987, suggested a sixfold increase of schizophrenia risks for high consumers of cannabis (use on more than fifty occasions) in Sweden.[111][31]
The hypothesis of causality in relation to cannabis consumption and the development of schizophrenia can be aptly countered[original research?] by coupling the observations - that cannabis consumption in youth (as in adulthood) is more common in males than in females and - that the prevalence of schizophrenia is equivocal between genders, although an early average age of onset is found in men.[112]
Cannabis use is also suspected to contribute to the hyperdopaminergic state that is characteristic of schizophrenia.[113][10] Compounds found in cannabis, such as THC, have been shown to increase the activity of dopamine pathways in the brain,[114] suggesting that cannabis may exasperate symptoms of psychosis in schizophrenics.
Despite increases in cannabis consumption in the 1960s and 1970s in western society, rates of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia remained relatively stable over time.[115][116][117]..."
I believe that there are cases where marijuana use has triggered schizophrenia, in people who had the propensity for it to begin with. I've seen it happen with my own two eyes. There is plenty of debate about it, and the jury is still out.
Your mileage may vary...
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)and Harvard Public Health does too;
Psychosis. Marijuana exacerbates psychotic symptoms and worsens outcomes in patients already diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. Several large observational studies also strongly suggest that using marijuana particularly in the early teenage years can increase risk of developing psychosis.
An often-cited study of more than 50,000 young Swedish soldiers, for example, found that those who had smoked marijuana at least once were more than twice as likely to develop schizophrenia as those who had not smoked marijuana. The heaviest users (who said they had used the drug more than 50 times) were six times as likely to develop schizophrenia as the nonsmokers.
Until recently, the consensus view was that this reflected selection bias: Individuals who were already vulnerable to developing psychosis or in the early stages (the prodrome) might be more likely to smoke marijuana to quell voices and disturbing thoughts. But further analyses of the Swedish study, and other observational studies, have found that marijuana use increases the risk of psychosis, even after adjusting for possible confounding factors.
Although cause and effect are hard to prove, evidence is accumulating that early or heavy marijuana use might not only trigger psychosis in people who are already vulnerable, but might also cause psychosis in some people who might not otherwise have developed it.
Certainly genetic profile mediates the effect of marijuana. People born with a variation of the gene COMT are more vulnerable to developing psychosis, for example. Because there is as yet no reliable way for clinicians to identify vulnerable young people in advance, however, it is safest to restrict use of medical marijuana to adults.
-snip-
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2010/April/medical-marijuana-and-the-mind
and this:
Smoking cannabis affects brain chemistry so seriously it can trigger schizophrenia, scientists warn today.
Researchers have found the first evidence that marijuana can cause genetic abnormalities associated with the mental illness, which affects about one in every 100 people.
Many scientists have been warning for years that cannabis can trigger hallucinations and delusions similar to symptoms found in schizophrenia.
Previous studies have suggested that using the drug before the age of 18 raises the risk of the condition in later life by six-fold.
Its ability to cause psychotic conditions is probably related to long-term changes in the brain caused by a substance found in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
THC affects chemicals in the brain that transmit information from one nerve cell to another.
Disrupting the delicate chemical balance can result in memory loss, anxiety and other conditions.
The new Japanese research was led by clinical psychiatrist Dr Hiroshi Ujike of Okayama University and reported in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-126056/How-cannabis-trigger-schizophrenia.html#ixzz2rtozzfjb
and this too:
By Cassie Rodenberg | July 11, 2011
-snip-
The frightening part lies not in the drugs immediate addictive effects but in what marijuana can trigger. Studies show that marijuana increases the risk of psychosis, a loss of contact with reality, in children and adolescents predisposed to mental illness by 40% in their lifetime,1 meaning marijuana can cause predisposed mental illnesses like schizophrenia to blossom. Though this is a relatively rare occurrence, its especially important to note for families with young adolescent children and a history of mental illness in the family. In more frequent pot users, this already staggering percentage can escalate to a 50-100% lifetime risk of psychosis for those genetically predisposed. Some mental illnesses may never begin without marijuanas influence.
Studies have even gone so far to say that marijuana causes psychosis, saying that if the drug was never used, the population would have about 8% less schizophrenia incidence rates.2 To top it off, marijuana can shake and derail the brains neural pathways among cannabinoid and dopamine receptors, whats in charge of our emotional and motivation processing, which may be the root of emotional processing problems seen in addiction and schizophrenia disorders.3
-snip-
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/white-noise/2011/07/11/legalize-pot-the-harmless-drug-and-schizophrenia/
LittleGirl
(8,291 posts)is in use here by those with mental illnesses considering how readily available is vs a diagnosis.
I will continue to disagree.
have a nice day.
The_Commonist
(2,518 posts)Are you stoned right now, LittleGirl?
Marijuana is great. But it's not for everybody. I don't understand how this is some kind of radical notion.
You have a great day too!
LittleGirl
(8,291 posts)but thanks for asking!
It's not for everyone but I bet young people use it to deal with their mental illness rather than go to a doctor (at least in the united states where you must have insurance to see a doctor). that's kinda what I meant in a badly worded way.
Cheers.
The_Commonist
(2,518 posts)And I think you are absolutely right about that.
And hour and half 'til 4:20...
LittleGirl
(8,291 posts)could roll 'em. stick that in your pipe and smoke it! ha ha
malaise
(269,157 posts)schizophrenia. I won't even mention all the legal drugs that aid the process.
classykaren
(769 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,086 posts)This garbage is straight out of the Glenn Beckkk-Michael WeinerSavage, etc. playbook.
Botany
(70,567 posts)They actually think that President Obama was elected because of "voter fraud"
and that he is a socialist trying to redistribute the wealth.
In 2008 Hannity was pushing the false meme that ACORN and Ohio's then Sec.
of State, Jennifer Brunner were rigging the state for Obama and she got death
threats.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)Mental illnesses divide broadly into 3 categories based on pathological effects: cognitive, affective (a.k.a. emotional), and behavioral.
So it's rather unlikely that persons with emotional and behavioral disorders are all equally likely to be the fertile ground you suggest.
You see, even within cognitive disorders, the picture you paint isn't so clear. Typically cognitive disorders are characterized by dysfunction in learning, memory, perception, etc.
If a person learns the lies told by Rush or broadcast on Fox, that person is still learning.
If a person remembers a lie told by Rush or broadcast on Fox, that person still has a functioning memory.
Moreover, if a person is susceptible to lies, it may not be primarily due to a problem with that person's perception, but as much, or more, a consequence of exposure to the behavior/performance of a skilled and effective liar.
And so, I suggest, respectfully, that in your enthusiasm to disparage 'political others'--those who follow Rush or broadcasts on Fox--you've perhaps gone over-broad. I would also suggest that with respect to DU the mentally ill are not necessarily all 'political others'. Some of the mentally ill also follow MSNBC, Racheal Maddow, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and DU. There really is nothing in evidence to suggest that the prevalence of mental illness among DUers is any different than the 20% found in the US population in general.
I say this not to suggest censorship, you should feel free to write what you wish, but rather to react to what is primae faciae an untempered misrepresentation of persons with mentally illness who likely include 1 in 5 of your friends here on DU.
Botany
(70,567 posts)can I just call them weak minded or stupid?
I know mental illness is a broad subject and one size does not "fit all"
but you can feed a paranoid person the crap that rush, glen, and so on
push 24/7 and sometimes the results can be tragic.
I forget where it was but in Jan. 2009 some right wing nut job shot
a few cops about the time President Obama was sworn into office and
they found books by Glen Beck, Hannity, and others in his home .... he
was worried about the take over our government by un-American forces.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)my interest is in helping people gain a better handle on misunderstandings about mental illness and persons who suffer from it. I hope that being better informed, a person can and will make mindful, appropriate word choices.
True, I am against the use of mental illnesses as pejorative terms/adjectives for name calling. I am against it in the same way that most people are against sexist, racist or homophobic name calling. And, I am against it for pretty much the same reasons...the name calling facilitates maintenance of a social environment of prejudice and discrimination.
Duppers
(28,125 posts)Mainly agree. And I carefully read and considered every word technically-picky "HereSince1628" wrote.
I must add that I have a mentally ill, rabid republican in my extended family and I know many others like him who grew up in the conform-or-leave south. They lack reasoning skills which are, I believe, linked to their emotional instability.
I know of only a couple of progressives whom I think are "unbalanced."
Response to The Straight Story (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Tikki
(14,559 posts)TIKKI
Oilwellian
(12,647 posts)LOL
NoGOPZone
(2,971 posts)KG
(28,752 posts)loudsue
(14,087 posts)but let's be clear: it's not alcohol and "marijuana" abuse. It's fox noise abuse, pure and simple. Way too many of these sickos are addicted to fox noise, and it's dangerous.
Philly Cowboy
(35 posts)That excuse works for other crimes.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)but running around talking about killing the president is a serious threat. Sounds like he needs help and he will have a chance to get some.