Jamaica: Ganja and crime (shocking new suggestion that pot may be related to crime in some way)

The Jamaica Gleaner ^ | November 27, 2005

[Stoat]

Ganja and crime
published: Sunday | November 27, 2005

The scientific debate in Jamaica about the dangers of marijuana use is often obfuscated by a subtle cultural bias based in part on a support of Rastafarians who claim that the herb is a sacramental part of their religious practice, but also by years of its use in folk medicine.

Now comes Dr. Winston De La Haye, director of the detoxification unit at the University Hospital of the West Indies and president of the Psychiatry Association of Jamaica, who believes that the use of ganja may well be a major contributing cause to the level of crime and violence in the society.

Dr. De La Haye points out that marijuana contains tetrahydro cannabinol which has been proven to exacerbate aggressive behaviour. If this is so, and given the wide use of ganja in Jamaica, the doctor's warning certainly deserves serious consideration and further objective assessment.

He contends that the drug can drive a person mad and, with understandable prudence, asks: Why take a chance?

We note that Professor Fred Hickling, another respected expert, while not disagreeing with Dr. De La Haye's bottom line warning about the dangers of using the drug, defuses the argument by listing a number of other social causes of violence such as poverty and despair, a position that can readily be conceded without in any way detracting from what might be a significant breakthrough in lessening the degree of violence in Jamaica.

Other causes of violence there may well be, but if smoking ganja is like throwing gasolene on smouldering coals, the unequivocal condemnation of its use may be worth trying, backed up with a strong public education campaign to bring home to the populace, especially the youngsters, that by smoking ganja, they may be playing with fire in more ways than one.

This suggestion runs counter to the present popular attitude that the use of ganja should be decriminalised, supported by the recommendations of the National Commission on Ganja which was set up in November 2000.

But in light of Dr. De La Haye's pronouncement, a renewed debate about marijuana use would seem to be in order, one that is non-emotional and focused, not on the general question of whether marijuana is good or bad, but whether it is indeed a contributory cause to violent behaviour.

Certainly there has developed in Jamaica an almost knee-jerk violent reaction to 'dissing' or other relatively minor provocations which needs some explanation. Dr. De La Haye has provided one such possible reason and we think his warning should be heeded.

[blabs]

And those who think they have the truth want to shove it down the throats of others so they conform with their warped version of how society should be, yeah I see your relativity.

Laws are based on many ideals. If God ordained truth, then God will judge truth. If a Christian chooses to interpret the bible in a manner different that those of another, who has put the authority into the other man to change his interpretation. The world-is-flat mentality hinders growth, and only individual experience can change the mind of a dullard.

Some will rule, others will be ruled. Every man should have an opportunity for both.

[little jeremiah]

"I have my own idea of right and wrong, and I'll be damned if some fascist pig is going to tell me how to live."

Evidence supporting my above position.

[blabs]

Yeah, I believe that having a drink is not wrong. Many Christians believe that you shouldn't drink and that it is evil. Do tell, why would Christ change water to wine if he thought it was evil? A kingdom divided against itself shall not stand.

Consensus is an anvil in a breeze aspiring to fly. It ain't gonna happen...

[little jeremiah]

Your comments are interesting. I guess you think they are related to each other. I'm wondering if you thought them up or read them somewhere.

But not wondering very much.

Keep toking up! You'll come up with some more gems, no doubt. I know when I used to use drugs, my thoughts appeared very wise to myself, too.

[blabs]

I don't use drugs. I limit myself to 1-2 glasses of wine a day, to keep the doctor away. I'm not going to tell you how to live or what to think, or even insinuate that you use drugs.

As you're well aware, the 27000 different flavors of Christianity, not to mention the thousands of variants of other religions, have brought a consensus of right and wrong to the populace. That's why we all get along, there are no wars, that we share the bounty of the earth, we don't charge usury, etc, etc. (/sarcasm off).

Did you know that people actually believed the moon was made of cheese?

[little jeremiah]

I apologize for assuming you use drugs.

Most people who identify as Christians would not call me a Christian, since I don't accept the exclusivity that many think is an integral part of Christianity. I see universal truth wherever it is.

People who think their own minds are the arbiter of truth are the cause of much ill in the world. It's the root of Might Makes Right, and leads to the worst totalitarianism anyone can imagine. We're headed there soon, if things don't change.

[kajingawd]

I guess personal opinion is relative...i, on the other hand, have watched, many times, drunks fighting ( i was one of them)...
Never did my friends and i, when stoned or baked out of our minds ,conjure up ill feelings towards one another or go out to look for trouble. NEVER!...

Mind you i dont drink or smoke anymore, but , other than being in Compton where you're ready to shoot anyone that owes you 200 bucks for an ounce, i've hardly seen or heard any violent tendancies with habitual pot smokers...

[mugs99]

A lot of them are sex perverts...

ROFL!
Your posts always point to sex and perverts. Dude...you need to get laid!
.

[mugs99]

Winston Churchill was dangerous to the National Socialists

Winston Churchill was a pot smoker. You might want to do a quick search before you use a famous name.
.

[mugs99]

Such offenses always have negative repercussions, sooner or later, and when people en masse commit them, society is disturbed

Benito Mussolini?
ROTFLMAO!!!
.

[mugs99]

Many Christians believe that you shouldn't drink and that it is evil.

Many of them just identify with Christianity. No real Christian would call alcohol or pot evil.

"For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him." Romans 14: 2-3

[muawiyah]

Knew you'd understand Jorge ~ ol' Fizziwig, wigged out though. Some folks just have no sense of humor.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Take a trip to Jamaica and tell the doctor that his eyes are telling him lies.

I've been to Jamaica. I'd guess that abject poverty, an almost unimaginable gap between the rich and the poor (i.e., hardly any noticeable middle class), and public/official corruption has more to do with the crime rate in Jamaica than does the use of marijuana.

[muawiyah]

Not all poor people become criminals. Try again.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Not all poor people become criminals. Try again.

Do you have a Ph.D. in Obvious, or are you still at the Masters level?

[JTN]

I've been to Jamaica. I'd guess that abject poverty, an almost unimaginable gap between the rich and the poor (i.e., hardly any noticeable middle class), and public/official corruption has more to do with the crime rate in Jamaica than does the use of marijuana.

Funny, isn't it, how these guys have shown no interest in discussing other factors that might lead to a high crime rate? A high unemployment rate, an uneducated populace, and a lack of official action have nothing to do with it. It's the pot.

[JTN]

Not all poor people become criminals. Try again.

The fact is that poverty is a contributing factor to criminal activity, and none of the prohibitionists here seem to want to recognize that Jamaica has a lot of it.

[PaxMacian]

"Objective truth and right and wrong exist, independently of my opinion about them. Generally, this world view is accepted by people who sincerely believe in God"

"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?" --Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia, 1782.

GOD MADE HERB
GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD
GOD GAVE IT TO MAN

Genesis 1:11
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.

Genesis 1:12
And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:29
And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.

[JTN]

As a person who agrees with worldview #2, I'd like to point out to you that it gives us very little help in determining practical public policy regarding such questions as drug use. Everyone can see that murder and rape are wrong, but the issue at hand is whether it is acceptable for the government to enforce particular conceptions of morality in activities where the morality of an activity is ambiguous at best. I don't see that there is anything immoral about responsible drug use. You may disagree, but why should your view carry the day, when a drug user is only hurting himself? Morality may be perfect and absolute, but man's perception of it is not. I submit to the C.S. Lewis (a man who certainly subscribed to worldview #2) rule, regarding "sin laws."

I quite agree with the Archbishop that no sin, simply as such, should be made a crime. Who the deuce are our rulers to enforce their opinions about sin on us? - a lot of professional politicians, often venal time-servers, whose opinion on a moral problem in one's life we shd attach very little value to.

Letters of C.S. Lewis

[JTN]

My response and commentary are not subject to your regulation, nor are they dependent on your approval. Your permission is not required...

So you're just going to blow by an argument about the link between drug policy and crime (the subject of the thread) in order to make unsupported statements about "sex perverts?"