Posted on 06/23/2018 2:47:03 PM PDT by Mariner
Some day soon, even as sweet, skunky smoke drifts in from the streets outside, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other staunch opponents of marijuana may draw inspiration from a true believer named Morris Sheppard. After the repeal of national Prohibition in 1933 and until his death in 1941, the Texas senator embraced a yearly custom. A progressive Democrat often considered the father of Prohibition, Sheppard would rise on the Senate floor to rail against alcohol and call for a repeal of Repeal.
It was a ritual, Daniel Okrent, author of the 2010 book Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, explained in an interview. Clearly he didnt expect anything was going to happen. It was paying homage to his cause.
Sheppard, a proponent of bank reform and an advocate of womens suffrage, may have been the countrys most sincere Prohibitionist, but he ended up on the losing side of history. As such, he faced a dilemma that may soon become familiar to another group of prohibitionists: marijuana opponents. When society turns away from a cause, how long should its supporters fight on? After committing themselves to a lengthy, even decades-long struggle, how can they simply let it drop?
On July 1, Massachusetts will join states such as Colorado, Washington, and California, whose voters have chosen to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes. The implementation of the law has been bumpy, not least because Sessions and the federal Justice Department still have the authority to crack down on cannabis use.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
“Marijuana is NOT more accessible to teens.”
National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse VI: Teens, https://www.centeronaddiction.org/download/file/fid/447:
Which is easiest for someone your age to buy: cigarettes, beer or marijuana?
33% CIGARETTES
10% BEER
33% MARIJUANA
Yep, I do have this character flaw where I care way more about victims than I do about perpetrators. And I dont think its heartless at all.
You seem to have a serious obsession with alcohol.
Why is that, I wonder?
Love how you moved the goalposts there, Mom. But I appreciate the chance to point your heartlessness out & for you confirming such.
Stay fraudulent, Mom. :)
Not at all - I bring it up as a test of people's professed principles. Sometimes those people evade the question and talk about the other person instead of the topic ... like you just did.
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehab-guide/addiction-statistics/
Both marijuana and alcohol are illegal for teens to purchase. The question is not which is easier to purchase, but which is more accessible. Alcohol is far more accessible because it is in every grocery store, every convenience stores, plus a high percentage of American homes. It also doesnt have the stigma of being illegal.
Its true that marijuana is the most abused illicit drug, but alcohol is the most abused addictive substance overall.
Legalizing marijuana, as Ive said, will only add to the problem. It will make marijuana more accessible.
Thanks for supporting my position - fewer youths have an alcohol use disorder than an illicit drug use disorder.
Both marijuana and alcohol are illegal for teens to purchase.
Only alcohol sellers jeopardize a legal sales channel by selling to teens.
The question is not which is easier to purchase, but which is more accessible. Alcohol is far more accessible
Still wrong:
Which is easiest for someone your age to get: cigarettes, beer, marijuana, or prescription drugs without a prescription, drugs such as Oxycontin, Vicodin, Xanax or Ritalin?
26% Cigarettes
23% Beer
22% Marijuana - https://www.centeronaddiction.org/download/file/fid/1282
Re: Thanks for supporting my position - fewer youths have an alcohol use disorder than an illicit drug use disorder.
Not quite true. According to page 28-29 of:c
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FRR1-2014/NSDUH-FRR1-2014.pdf
679,000 teens between 12 - 17 had alcohol use disorder 2014
667,000 teens had a marijuana use disorder in 2014
You quoted in your last post some ease of getting statistics - but by your own statistics, it shows that beer was slightly easier to get than marijuana:
26% cigarettes
23% beer
22%. marijuana
In that same report you posted, on page 15, it shows an interesting statistic. Among drug-infected schools vs drug-free schools, alcohol was easier to get within an hour (alcohol) 36% as opposed to marijuana (23%).
Look, I must admit I was surprised at how close marijuana use disorder was among teens to alcohol abuse disorder, but none the less, alcohol still is the greater issue. Among all age groups, alcohol abuse is almost four times that of marijuana use disorder (see pages 24-25 of same report).
The legalization of marijuana is coming nationwide in the near future. Im just saying its going to come with a terrible human cost. I dont think its worth it, but by, thats just me.
You can have the last word if you want it.
By a nose - despite alcohol being much more widely used among adults. This evidence indicates that the best way to keep a drug away from teens is to legalize it for adults, thus giving its sellers an economic incentive to not sell to teens.
Among all age groups, alcohol abuse is almost four times that of marijuana use disorder
Exactly my point - alcohol far outruns pot among adults but only narrowly among teens.
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