Inside The Mind
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (10/11/2013)
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:6-7, King James Version [The efficacy of divine grace]).
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Corinthians 2:14, KJV [The wisdom of God]).
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4, KJV [True wisdom is peaceable]).
Greetings in the Name of Jesus,
My brothers and sisters, the spirit within me would amiss love, for your witness, of Christ Jesus, in your natural lives, if, I did not witness, to you about inside the mind, then, the decisions you live in the flesh would continue to haunt you, for you will succumb to the influence of the world. What is it to you, spiritually, to overcome your mind with drugs that leave you, lost in the world? Is it necessary, to call you out, to awaken you out of your stupor? Hello, are you there, inside your mind? Or, are you present in flesh and absent in spirit?
Some folks, who are with us all, everyday, hanging out with friends are not here and indeed, absent in flesh and absent in spirit, lost in the world. What is your drug of choice, to get you where you need to be to get your false peace? It is not God's peace but you should know that by now, as you run your course, for the experiences of your youth and experimenting with the drugs, from your father's and mother's prescriptions or your brother's and sister's prescriptions, should be over. Are you still in the medicine cabinet, needing a pill, or two pills, or three pills, or four pills, or five pills; more and more, just to make it through the day? Perhaps, your drug of choice are street drugs and you need to keep a supply, on hand, for your recreational pleasure.
How much is it cutting into your budget? Is the madness, you sought as a child still your
2
preferred madness, as an adult, for the psychosis, that came upon you, from what you did as a child stayed with you because you will not stop? Why won't you repent; turn away from it, for always, not just a day or two, forever and go into the faith of Christ Jesus as God instructed you to do? Why is it impossible for you, to leave the drugs of your choice, behind?
In the First Epistle of Paul the Apostle, Corinthians, Paul spoke to the people of Corinth, about praising charity, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (13:11 [The praise of charity]). Are you there, hearing the words, I speak to you? Where is the love; where is your love? Where is your love of Christ; where is your peace, of mind? Let us hear about your false love, you who deny the true love of Christ Jesus, who saved you.
Listen, to the technical details of the influences, of your decisions. Won't you, please, hear the news of your decisions, since you fail to take into your heart the good news of Christ Jesus, in your living, everyday. You prefer to live an imperfect life outside of the perfection of Christ Jesus, who saved you. Paul said, “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (13:10). Yes, you are broken; yes, we are broken, but in Christ Jesus, we are made, whole.
In research of contemporary society, examining drug experimentation, data points identified in this paper included three risks: (a) addiction to drugs, (b) drug overdose, and (c) side effects of drugs, which changed lifestyles and mental statuses. Most importantly, addiction, hardly manageable and managed hard, for common folks or for rich and famous folks, either living on a weekly paycheck or residuals from investments, created economic hardship in educational attainment and work. More importantly, overdose, left little opportunity to survive a lifestyle change to no opportunity to survive mental status change, other than rigorously regimented treatment activities. Similarly, side effects, forced users into diagnoses, of mental status. The problem of the identification of some risks of experimenting with drugs, was semantics, whether the risk was, indeed abuse or addiction.
3
The risk in a meta-analysis of 48 relevant studies, found cannabis use consistently associated with reduced educational attainment; grades and graduation (Macleod et al., 2004). Many drug users, of marijuana, do not believe marijuana is addictive (The Canyon Treatment Center, 2013). Accordingly, the number one drug of abuse in the United States (U.S.), was marijuana and the number two drug of abuse in the U.S., was prescription painkillers (p.1). Surprisingly, this trend, of modern youths continued in adults, markedly at a less degree in drug use but also, in the mental status: psychosis (Caspi et al. 2005; Institute for Social Research, 2012). Summarily, if, $12 billion spent to fight drug abuse in the U.S., measured the world-wide problem, then, the worldview astronomically greater than the U.S. placed the only 2.5 million of drug users that entered into hospitals or clinics for treatments out of the 22 million that suffered with abuse, in perspective (p.1).
Gradually, schools fighting drug use surveys revealed that students in grades, 8th, 10th, and 12th used less drugs from the past year to the current year, ranging in attitudes and drug use, from 7.2-32.8 percent as depicted in an annual nationwide survey. The overall attitude, demonstrated “a softened attitude about marijuana risks” (Institute for Social Research, 2012). Marijuana use, negative effects of attention deficit, learning difficulties, and memory loss, continued beyond the initial use, for days or
even weeks, in duration (Schweinsburg, Brown, & Tapert, 2008). The main active ingredient, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), left drug users paranoid, suspicious of others, suspicious of their surroundings, and smoking marijuana caused lung cancer and oral cancer (Edelfield, & Moosa, 2012). Conclusively, in 2009, emergency department visits, of an estimated 376,000, found target groups of two-thirds males and 12 percent, of children aged 12-17 years old, effected by use, of marijuana (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2009).
In recent research but not necessarily in the aforementioned target groups, strong evidence suggested a link between cannabis and psychosis; also, marijuana use worsened in patients already schizophrenic. Additionally, anxiety, depression, personality disturbances, suicidal thoughts,
4
amotivational syndromes, of diminished or absent drive to engage in activities, and withdrawal syndromes, similar to nicotine withdrawal, were associated with marijuana use (Hall, &Degenhardt, 2009). Researchers found that “longitudinal studies observed that psychosis emerged in adults, who used cannabis as adolescents” (Caspi et al., 2005). In summary, long-term marijuana use damaged the respiratory system, effected breathing, increased the heart rate, and suppressed the immune system (Edelfield, & Moosa, 2012).
In conclusion, research of marijuana, the leading drug thus far in the 21st century, of drug abuse and addiction, found that “25–50 percent of daily users became addicted” (Hall & Degenhardt, 2009; Hall, 2009). The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found only 4.5 million of an estimated 7.1 million Americans, were dependent on or abused illicit drugs (SAMHSA, 2011). Yet in 2010, federal jurisdiction eclipsed into over 15,000 drug cases (Federal Judicial Center, 2013). However, Edelfield and Moosa (2012) stated that marijuana, was a gateway drug to cocaine and heroin. In conclusion, drug users' changed, in the way they acted, felt, and thought (p.1).
May the peace, of our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus, be with you, always. Amen. Amen. Amen.
5
References
Caspi, A.; Moffitt, T.E.; Cannon, M.; McClay, J.; Murray, R.; Harrington, H.; Taylor, A.; Arseneault, L.; Williams, B.; Braithwaite, A.; Poulton, R.; & Craig, I.W. Moderation of the effect of adolescent- onset cannabis use on adult psychosis by a functional polymorphism in the catechol- omethyltransferase gene: Longitudinal evidence of a gene X environment interaction. Biol
Psychiatry, 57(10), 1117-1127. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/marijuana-abuse/
Edelfield, B., & Moosa, T. J. (2012). Teen mental health. Drug Abuse (1st ed.). New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group.
Federal Judicial Center. (2013). Criminal jurisdiction in the federal courts. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/jurisdiction_criminal.html
Hall, W.; & Degenhardt, L. (2009). Adverse health effects of non-medical cannabis use. Lancet, 374,
1383-1391.
Hall, W. (2009). The adverse health effects of cannabis use: What are they, and what are their
implications for policy? International Journal of Drug Policy, 20, 458-466.
Holy Bible. (n.d). Romans 8th chapter, I Corinthians 2nd chapter, and James 4th chapter. New York: The
World Publishing Company.
Institute for Social Research. (2012). Monitoring the future, 2011 (study results). Retrieved October 8,
2013, from http://www.monitoringthefuture.org
Macleod, J.; Oakes, R.; Copello, A.; Crome, I.; Egger, M.; Hickman, M.; Oppenkowski, T.; Stokes- Lampard, H.; & Davey Smith, G. (2004). Psychological and social sequelae of cannabis and
other illicit drug use by young people: A systematic review of longitudinal, general population studies. Lancet, 363, 1579-1588.
Schweinsburg, A.D.; Brown, S.A.; & Tapert, S.E. (2008). The influence of marijuana use on neurocognitive functioning in adolescents. Curr Drug Abuse (Revised), 1(1), 99-111. Retrieved
October 8, 2013, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/marijuana-abuse/
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009). Drug abuse warning network, 2009: National estimates of drug-related emergency department visits. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/marijuana-abuse/
The Canyon Treatment Center. (2013). The statistics of drug addiction and abuse in the United States. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://thecyn.com/blog/the-statistics-of-drug-addiction
-and-abuse-in-the-United-States/
