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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!
Just because its a plant doesn't make it not bad. Some plants can kill you if you eat them.
I would be against pot if someone wanted to open a Pot store next to my house. Which, judging from my neighborhood, they probably would.
It's that simple.
The good news is that virtually anyone who needs it medically can get all they want cheaply. It is the largest cash crop in California. The Feds can't stop it and they hate that.
First, we're not talking pot store. Personally, I'm talking a plant. That you grow. A plant. They said that you couldn't grow your own pot because it would interfere with what you might buy from another state.
Poinsettias are poisonous. No one is outlawing poinsettia. Nor hollyberries. Nor belladonna. Nor mistletoe.
"so now anecdotes trump data!"
In the drug war, they always have--as the opinions of the authoritarian nannies have always trumped the Constitution.
"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."
Right, marijuana has no non-intoxicating uses at all. /sarc
I'm not going off on the notion that medical marijuana makes sense--it generally IS incrementalism by leftists, with notable exceptions embodied in the Constitutionalist freepers here--but to say that pot is all just about an addict's high with no medical usage or no non-intoxicating uses makes no sense.
Watching "Hemp for Victory" alone should tip you off to that.
The plant was made illegal through sensationalism and propagandizing, and remains illegal only through the same. Anyone arguing against its legalization simply can't make an argument for banning pot that they couldn't make against cigarettes or booze. And many of those WoD advocates would make those arguments against cigarettes or booze, failing to see the distinction--but most all of the same crowd that crows here about cigarette laws regulating private eating places would never accept similar local laws banning them from carrying a Bible or a baby or a gun into those places.
I think it all boils down to 'hippies bad.'
Honesty is extremely rare in this world and to be treasured where it can be found. In the meantime, each of us has to make the best judgement we can with the information we have at hand, guided by the principles that keep us civilized.
Do people normally smoke or eat belladonnas? I suppose if you just wanted to grow pot in your house and just admire its natural beauty no one would really have a problem with it.
As I said I really don't care if someone smokes grass but if they legalize it , someone will open a pot store and that pot store will probably open up near my house.
...Anyone arguing against its legalization simply can't make an argument for banning pot that they couldn't make against cigarettes or booze.
Easy to say when you allow yourself to simply ignore arguments that contradict your assertions. Is that you, Dr. Dean?
"I suppose if you just wanted to grow pot in your house and just admire its natural beauty no one would really have a problem with it.'
Yes, they would. It is illegal to grow the plant, illegal to possess the plant. But, AND THIS IS MY POINT, the argument used by SCOTUS can apply to your tomato plant.
"someone will open a pot store"
I grow tomatoes, but I'm not opening a produce store next to your house. If it's legal to grow the plant on your property does not immediately translate into stablishing "pot stores." This is a specious argument.
But mostly, I suggest you move the hell outta that neighborhood.
It's simple.
"The active, useful ingredient in MJ" is a naturally occuring compound, and therefor cannot be patented.
Follow the $$$. Or in this case, the lack of $$$.
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