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!
Yeah, many pain killers far better, and less addictive than pot...
Let's see...
Oxycotin (Check)
Vicodin (Check)
Morphine (Check)
ah....
I've never seen anyone become violent or aggressive due to use of pot.
Yeah, and Putnam for the last 20 years was screaming about illegal immigration from the south.
He seems always right, doesn't he.
Wow, so fifty years ago, George also found the same thing we find today with our violent offenders in state prison, that almost all violent offenders use pot in connection with their other drugs or it was their gateway drug...
More of what we all already know.
Our prisons are filled with violent offenders. But they hardly stop with pot Sender, what they do is mix pot with all kinds of junk then go out and kill or do other nasty stuff.
It's better to avoid it altogether IMO.
Those kinds of things are needed for people with cancer who are going to die or for those with bad backs where the disks have permanently damaged nerves who wish they were already dead.
Those poor people will have no life. It's a tough break.
That's probably true, better to avoid it altogether. However I don't think there should be anyone in prison, learning violent and criminal ways, just for possession of pot.
These guys are all dirty, and the way the MJ gets on their rap sheet is they plea bargain down to it.
The debate is not about drug use.
Could be they had lots of MJ, growing or distributing it through sales.
I would call the sales of pot drug dealing.
So would most sane people.
I've never touched pot, but I've been around potheads before.
Know what? I perfer them to drunks.
The article by Putnam was "exactly" about how the use of the drug pot was horrible.
What did you think of the modern links of pot to depression and schizophrenia?
Like the American democrat party.. except not as bad..
And increasingly like the republican party too..
I don't do the stuff but have in the past.. The democrat party is much much worse of a negative influence than marijuana.. it appears to be worse than even Crack..
Legalizing home grown grass would make the grass market nose dive..
SOoo, thats not going to happen..
WHY.?.. WHY indeed... A good question that will NEVER be asked..
WHY.?.. Why Indeed..
( I could on like this for many more iterations BUT)..
You got it..
Pot is a dangerous drug, there is no reason to defend it.
Here's about pot and it's cause of depression and schitzophenia for you.
http://www.jhunewsletter.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/04/11/3e95e7d8a6ea7
Just so you see the bad stuff about this illegal drug unfolds still.
I'm sure this will completely change your mind being this is from a reputable source.
Or maybe no proof in the world is good enough for someone who wants their recreational drugs.
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