Drugs R Bad... mmmkayy???
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Posted on 06/10/2005 2:29:28 PM PDT by Nachum
It is this reporter's opinion that each generation in turn takes a new look at the marijuana question. Now it's this generation's turn. In a 6-to-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-marijuana statutes overrule the laws in ten states that allow the use of marijuana plants to ease pain or nausea.
Fifty years ago, as a much younger television reporter, I did a series of interviews with Dr. Hardin B. Jones, Professor of Medical Physics and Physiology at the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Jones, in his thorough study, raised disturbing questions about marijuana's effects on the vital systems of the body, on the brain and mind, on immunity and resistance, and on sex reproduction.
Dr. Jones addressed such problems of society as the hazards to non-smokers, crime, the law, and the effect of widespread smoking among the military – including atomic weapons personnel. And he didn't stop there. The good doctor included telling comments from interviews conducted with scores of marijuana users and ex-users.
I concluded, after this exhaustive study, that the very idea of legalizing marijuana is to follow a senseless, immoral, perilous path – a slippery slope, that the use of marijuana is dangerous on many fronts, that it impairs memory, alters time perception, reduces coordination, damages the immune system, is psychologically habit-forming and creates a wide range of effects on moods and behavior.
Dr. Jones offered an open letter to parents. Following are the main points discussed in his letter:
Marijuana is not a benign drug. Use of this drug impairs learning and judgment and may lead to the development of mental health problems.
Smoking marijuana can injure or destroy lung tissue.
Teens who are high on marijuana are less able to make safe, smart decisions about sex, including knowing when to say "no."
Marijuana can impair perception and reaction time, putting young drivers and others in danger.
Marijuana use may trigger panic attacks, paranoia, and even psychoses.
Marijuana can impair concentration and the ability to retain information during a teen's peak learning years.
Recent research indicates a correlation between frequent marijuana use and aggressive or violent behavior.
Dr. Jones concludes: MARIJUANA IS ADDICTIVE, and says that more teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined.
Personally, I recall one visitation to a rehabilitation center where we interviewed recovering heroin addicts. We had to interview 25 hard-core drug users before we found a single one who had not started with marijuana!
As for those who say they must rely on marijuana to treat their pain, Dr. Jones cited a Washington University School of Medicine study on the subject: the experiment on twenty young men who were experienced marijuana smokers. Before and after they smoked reefers, electric impulses of different strengths were applied to their fingers and pain thresholds recorded. It was a method that earlier had verified the pain-killing effects of morphine, aspirin and codeine. MARIJUANA NOT ONLY FAILED TO LESSEN PAIN, IT ACTUALLY INCREASED IT! That finding casts doubt on the usefulness of marijuana as an analgesic.
The same facts and conclusions are repeated generation after generation with the same conclusion: DON'T EVER LEGALIZE POT!
Considering that alcohol has non-intoxicating uses, its legaility really has nothing to do with the question of allowing marijuana to be used for medical purposes.
I agree that this was a lousy decision. Pot should be legalized across the board. Alcohol is much, much more destructive to some peoples' lives than pot is (or could be, in my opinion). Keeping marijuana illegal is asinine.
Drugs R Bad... mmmkayy???
I have no problem with marijuana being prescribed as a drug for cancer etc. There are many drugs that cause horrible things to happen to people when not used in a regulated way. That's why you can only get them with a prescription. I don't get why marijuana can't be treated the same way. Perhaps someone can explain this to me.
There are people who give exactly that reason... have been, for a long time, far longer than the medical angle has been around. To not support legalization just because of the medical-pot movement strikes me as a bit... phony. Either it's the right thing to do or it's not, what other people say about it shouldn't make a difference.
Oh I see, we should wait for the FDA to do a 5 year study and for permission to be given to the drug companies to test it so it can be properly regulated and taxed. Then, after it is found effective, it can be sold to the public for $100 a pill.
In the mean time, chemo sufferers who might have benefitted and could have had the drug cheaply can go to hell?
No offense, but most of the people I know like you are the first ones to hunt for some pot when their loved ones are puking their brains out after they start doing chemo.
Are you saying that they've created an accurate tool to measure feelings?
The reason they can't perscribe marijuana is because it varries so much from one batch to another. There is no quality control. Some batches may be normal and some my be super strong depending on how & where it is grown. I have friends whose offspring (and some not so young -- some of them now 50 years old) have made total messes of their lives over use of this drug. When you get close enough to inquire what happened to this formerly handsome, bright, educated young man (who is now schlepping around living off his folks) invariably it goes back to pot use.
Zofran is held under the tongue until it disolves. I can't see that as being any worse than drawing hot gas into your lungs.
You may have answered your own question. Just as chemical companies like DuPont didn't want to compete against natural hemp, drug companies like Purdue Pharma (manufacturer of OxyContin) probably don't want to compete against natural marijuana.
She only said that the other drugs did not work and that MJ did.
The war on pot was initially justified by raising the fear that white girls would be seduced by black musicians using pot. The arguements have changed a bit since then, but not much.
OK -- using pot has potential bad consequences for some people.
That is an arguement for not USING pot, and arguement that should be presented to every young person.
That is NOT an arguement for CRIMINALIZATING pot.
Many of us hold two beliefs at the same time without contradiction:
1) Using Drugs, including Pot, is bad.
2) The War on Drugs is worse.
I am past 60, and I still haven't heard a good approach for discouraging vices (e.g., use of pot, tobacco, alcohol, prostitution, promiscuous gay sex, etc.) which do not create worse consequences than the vices being discouraged.
The war on pot has killed more people and destroyed more lives (e.g., due to mandatory minimum sentences for simple drug possession) than the pot would have if left alone and discouraged with education. It has resulted in the formation of a police state, and the loss of rights, the loss of restraints placed on the government by the Constitution. It has resulted in the waste of billions of dollars extracted from taxpayers at the point of a gun. It has resulted in the corruption of the justice system, from cops to prosecuters to judges to legislators.
It is time to look at ways of reducing harm, not exchanging the "use of drugs" harm for another which is much worse.
Guess you'd better go tell them. Pssst ~ don't take your gun.
Where ever did you get the idea chemical companies led the battle to ban MJ?
In a nutshell, why FR is chock full of Lepers.
States should be able to regulate all drug use.
The only time the feds should stick their heads in is when there are inter-state trensactions involved.
If I wasn't so much sharper and smarter than you I would get mad at that.
Guess I'm just in a bad mood.
:>)
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