Tell her to keep her eyes closed!
Posted on 08/06/2006 6:04:24 AM PDT by Wolfie
Reefer is Worth Getting Mad About
Vienna -- Supporters of the legalization of cannabis would have us believe that it is a gentle, harmless substance that gives you little more than a sense of mellow euphoria.
Sellers of the world's most popular illicit drug know better. Trawl through websites offering cannabis seeds for sale and you will find brand names such as Armageddon, AK-47 and White Widow. "This will put you in pieces, then reduce you to rubble -- maybe quicksand if you go too far," one seller boasts. This is much closer to the truth.
In Canada, as in most parts of the world, cannabis is by far the drug of choice. An estimated 4 per cent of the world's adult population -- that's about 162 million people -- consume cannabis at least once a year, more than all other illicit drugs combined.
Does that matter? I firmly believe it does, because the cannabis now in circulation (like Canada's BC Bud) is many times more powerful than the weed that today's aging baby boomers smoked in college. The characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.
Evidence of the damage to mental health caused by cannabis use -- from loss of concentration to paranoia, aggressiveness and outright psychosis -- is mounting and cannot be ignored. Emergency room admissions involving cannabis are rising, as is demand for rehabilitation treatment. These health problems are increasingly being seen in young people.
North America is the world's largest cannabis market and most of its cannabis is homegrown. The U.S. market alone has been valued at more than $10-billion. As Canadians are starting to discover, a market that size inevitably attracts organized crime. So cannabis is a security threat as well as a health risk.
Amid all the libertarian talk about the right of the individual to engage in dangerous practices, provided no one else gets hurt, certain key facts are easily forgotten.
Firstly, cannabis is a dangerous drug, not just to the individuals who use it. People who drive under the influence of cannabis put others at risk. Would even the most ardent supporter of legalization want to fly in an aircraft whose pilot used cannabis?
Secondly, drug control works. More than a century of universally accepted restrictions on heroin and cocaine have prevented what would otherwise have been a pandemic. Global levels of drug addiction -- think of the opium dens of the 19th century -- have dropped dramatically in the past 100 years. In the past 10 years or so, they have remained stable.
Cannabis is the weakest link in the international effort to contain the global drugs problem. In theory, it's a controlled substance. In practice, it's running rampant. It grows under the most varied conditions in many countries, a high-yielding plant that can be grown indoors. This makes supply control difficult.
But we can tackle demand, particularly among the young. That need not mean sending them to jail. Young people caught in possession of cannabis could be treated in much the same way as those arrested for drunk driving: fined, required to attend classes on the dangers of drug use and threatened with loss of their driving licence for repeat offences. Prison would be a last resort. Schools and universities should apply zero tolerance.
National policies on cannabis vary and sometimes change from one year to the next. The experience of countries that were more tolerant of cannabis use is ambiguous and not persuasive. The distinction between "soft" and "hard" drugs is, at best, artificial, especially with such a damaging psycho-active substance as modern-day cannabis. Even some advocates of cannabis as a "soft" drug are now reconsidering as they observe the devastating health consequences of abuse.
Canada was a pioneer in introducing systematic anti-smoking policies, which are now being copied around the world. Their success demonstrates that preventive measures can help to change attitudes. Similar policies are needed to prevent cannabis use getting completely out of control.
Let's draw the right conclusions. Cannabis is dangerous. We ignore it at our peril.
Antonio Maria Costa is executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
I had some 101 yesterday! My wife made a good observation. She said "only a complete dumb ass would drink something that causes their face to contort in such ways". I told her its all in the after effect. hehe
Tell her to keep her eyes closed!
Well.... yes. It's called one of the disadvantages of living in a free society. Some people are just gonna make bad decisions. The only way to stop that is totalitarianism.
Maybe, since children are indoctrinated from birth to take vast quantities of drugs courtesy of the Allopaths and Madison Avenue, widespread drug use by adults is simply one of the consequences. That's why I laugh whenever I see a "Drug Free Zone" sign on a schoolyard. What hypocrisy.
No Child Left Behind!
In words relevant here, the late President Ronald Reagan aptly described government intervention this way: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, “I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
On one end of the spectrum, we have the legalization advocates calling marijuana "a gentle, harmless substance that gives you little more than a sense of mellow euphoria." On the other end of the spectrum, we have advertisements calling their strain of marijuana capable of "reduc(ing) you to rubble".
Now, obviously, the truth lies somewhere in between. Years ago, perhaps it was closer to the "gentle" side. Today, the author is claiming it's closer to the "rubble side". Using BC Bud as the example, I don't see this as BS.
The best way to avoid being labelled menatally ill is to cancel any insurance coverage you have for treatment. Apparently only people with good coverage get labelled mentally ill. And when the money runs out they are miraculously cured and then released to pursue a productive life begging on freeway off ramps.
LOL!
I see that the United Nations has continued its fine tradition of hiring from the shallow end of the gene pool.
Yep.
< whiney voice > "If we didn't have gun control, we'd have people shooting each other every day over fender-benders." < off whiney >
< whiney voice > "If we didn't have the welfare system, millions of people would have to live off dog food." < off whiney >
etc ad nauseam
>>The characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.<<
That just doesn't sound reasonable.
They continuously solicit to get me into the mental health program. I tell them I smoke cigars, and they tell me about their cessation groups. I do get good care, though.
I met a few of the vets here (I would be banned if I mentioned their NoLA connection) that are working the system for a free ride. There is one that drives a 'vette and a new Continental. Your tax dollars being thrown away, while vets are being turned away from care they used to depend on...
I'm sick of the hypocrites in the White House, and the Bushbots that lick their feet! I'm sick of standing in line listening to Spanish. I speak it fairly well, and know illegals are bad for our country.
It's Sunday, and I'm getting ready to watch some racing. Next month, I can see some NFL action, too. Thank God for DVR! /rant
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Good point. We live in a drug culture that's supported by the regulatory-industrial complex.
I'm against "recreational" marijuana use, but there is something horrible about jailing plant abusers while celebrating corporate drug consumers.
No, you and your cow-orkers are the weakest link in any effort to accomplish anything worthwhile in this world.
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