Posted on 06/10/2005 2:32:31 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!
Favoring traditional views and values, but apposed to liberal reforms.
As a starting point.
You do when you have to pay for it, clean it up, vote on it, or live next to it.
bikepacker67 Since May 29, 2004
Uh huh. Relatively new around these parts, hmm?
Nonsense!
So said the 17 year old pro-choice Dem.
The problem is legalizing it will expand the government exponentially. Why do you think George Soros is supporting? Because it's the step that will make the U.S. government socialist, and bring ubiversal healthcare. Just imagine, the U.S. government is the world's largest drug dealer.
There is a saying in Christian circles..no proof is needed for faith, and no proof is sufficient for unbelievers. Or something like that.
There is the way that George Soros would like to see things & then there's the other way, the way it should be done. Now me?, I'm just wandering off into a place that is no more, where the federal government realized that they've over reached their Constitutional authority.
The US government *is* the world's largest drug dealer & we are already knee deep in socialism. The FDA doesn't test to inform, so we can make good choices as free people. Instead, they regulate for the "common good" & choose for us.
Tax the profits of drug companies, fund research, regulate the market in a multitude of ways & that is only the tip of the iceberg. Drug companies grease the palms of politicians from both parties (campaign contributions) & then give jobs to the ones that no longer wanna play at being "representative of the people" anymore. If there was nothing to sell, the "legal" payola wouldn't be going on.
Course that is the million dollar question. From what you can see around here, overcoming the indoctrination is nearly impossible.
Don't give me that "you're a newbie" crap.
Yeah, it sure does look hopeless at times. In our early years Christians kept the zealots in check. It looks like they're sitting it out these days and don't seem to care that the fundamentalist zealots are giving Christianity a bad name.
...
I'm a fundamentalist Christian. My trust is in God, rather than an Earthly king that appears any form. God didn't give us free will, so that our fellow citizens could take it away from us.
Big government as the answer to what ills society is not limited to Christian "zealots", not by any measure. A good chunk of people who call themselves "progressive" these days also ride that horse.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
I said, "but apposed to liberal reforms."
Limited government doesn't mean all the vice you want. That is a sub-culture infecting the regular culture.
For the dopers on FR, it is "I want my drugs, and listen to me use the word constitution as to sound like this issue belongs on FR".
Actually, my feeling is that grown ups are able to make their own choices about alcohol and marijuana use, so the government doesn't need to do it for them. That and it's the government threatening people with jail time for doing it. So now is where you tell me I'm a heathen libertarian jerk..
Yes! The shadow government funds itself through drugs. The $$ is laundered through Mexican banks. That's the reason Vicente has us by the shorts.Now the US is wedged between an enraged public that can't understand this crazy emigration policy and V Fox threatening to spill the beans. What to do? What to do?
(thats my theory anyway)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.