Posted on 08/01/2002 5:16:08 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines
Edited on 05/07/2004 8:00:51 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
As we endeavor toward a more lucid and informed discussion of substance abuse, let's deconstruct the mystique of marijuana and recognize it for the dangerous drug that it is.
Marijuana is a substance that's worthy of our concern. It is the most prevalent of all illicit drugs used in the country. The 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reported that 34 percent of Americans have used marijuana in their lifetime and 5 percent are current users.
(Excerpt) Read more at theithacajournal.com ...
I suspect it's a threat to a lot of industries.
Yesterday, the Dutch Justice Minister, who is also a Christian Democrat, issued a statement that reaffirmed current policies and dropped any mention of even closing the border shops.
Do you believe that drug-using gang-bangers are going to lose their desire for your cars, car stereos, cash, gold chains, other jewelry, tv's, vcr's and everything else, because you legalized recreational narcotics?
They still have to steal to party, to eat, to afford tatoos and body piercings. That stuff doesn't come cheap, you know?
So, if drugs are illegal, punks steal to pay the high prices of drugs and if they're legal, punks will steal to pay for other things.
Are you saying that only punks on drugs want to "party, to eat, to afford tatoos and body piercings"? If so, I have news for you: punks stole to get these and similar things before the drug scene.
That would be good. I think more people need to know about Mr. Anslinger, and the role he played in getting marijuana prohitition enacted. Everyone should know what he had to say about it, and what he stood to gain from it.
You still haven't made your point.
And they'll continue to steal, MORE to get them even after recreational narcotics are legalized. Just like crime increased in The Netherlands.
Thanks for helping me make my point.
And what is so bad about temporarily escaping from reality? Ever played a video game? Drink a beer/glass of wine? Gone on vacation? Gone fishing? Played a sport? And my point wasn't that "cool" people were doing it. I was never into who was popular in HS or college, my point was that intelligent people do it, so your 'stoner hippy' ad hominem attack is baseless and shows how intellectually bankrupt your argument is. While I'm not convinced the legality of pot is any business of the FedGov, at least for now it's the law of the land. But nor am I convinced that allowing pot to be possessed and used freely would be in our people's best interests.
Again, it was the law of the land to round up and kill jews in Nazi Germany, the law of the land today says abortion is ok. Just because it is the law does not make it right. And again, due to every possible scenario (economic costs, societal costs, addictive properties, intoxication), marijuana is SAFER than alcohol so for you to say that alcohol should remain legal while marijuana not makes you a hypocrite of the worst type.
As for the Libertarians, all I see is mounting evidence this party exists solely for the purpose of legalizing narcotics, prostitution and queer marriages--things that in the end would only exacerbate social ills and give the monster State an even bigger excuse to step in and "help" us.
Actually the LP was create to protest many of Nixon's policies but what on earth does the LP have to do with anything I've said. Aand the LP would not legalize queer marriages, the LP doesn't think that the government even has a legal right to regulate marriage, and that marriage is between you, God, your spouse and your Church. As for legalization prostitution, yes its part of the LP platform, but its hardly a big thing. Go to lp.org and harrybrowne.org and see if you can even find an article on prostitution. And for drugs, i've already shown that most drugs are no more harmful than alcohol.
Tobacco | 430,7001 |
Alcohol | 110,6402 |
Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs | 32,0003 |
Suicide | 30,5754 |
Homicide | 18,2725 |
All Licit & Illicit Drug-Induced Deaths | 16,9266 |
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Such As Aspirin | 7,6007 |
Marijuana | 08 |
Source:(1996): "Smoking-Attributable Mortality and Years of Potential Life Lost," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control, 1997), May 23, 1997, Vol. 46, No. 20, p. 449.
Source: "Number of deaths and age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 population for categories of alcohol-related (A-R) mortality, United States and States, 1979-96," National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, from the web at http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/databases/armort01.txt, last accessed Feb. 12, 2001, citing Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System, Saadatmand, F., Stinson, FS, Grant, BF, and Dufour, MC, "Surveillance Report #52: Liver Mortality in the United States, 1970-96" (Rockville, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Division of Biometry and Epidemiology, December 1999).
Source: Lazarou, J, Pomeranz, BH, Corey, PN, "Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis of prospective studies," Journal of the American Medical Association (Chicago, IL: American Medical Association, 1998), 1998;279:1200-1205, also letters column, "Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients," JAMA (Chicago, IL: AMA, 1998), Nov. 25, 1998, Vol. 280, No. 20, from the web at http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v280n20/ffull/jlt1125-1.html, last accessed Feb. 12, 2001.
Source: Murphy, Sheila L., "Deaths: Final Data for 1998," National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, No. 11 (Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, July 24, 2000), Table 10, p. 53, from the web at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvs48_11.pdf .
Source: Murphy, Sheila L., "Deaths: Final Data for 1998," National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, No. 11 (Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, July 24, 2000), Table 10, p. 53, from the web at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvs48_11.pdf .
Source: Murphy, Sheila L., Centers for Disease Control, "Deaths: Final Data for 1998,", National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, No. 11 (Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, July 24, 2000), pp. 1, 10, from the web at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvs48_11.pdf .
Source: Robyn Tamblyn, PhD; Laeora Berkson, MD, MHPE, FRCPC; W. Dale Jauphinee, MD, FRCPC; David Gayton, MD, PhD, FRCPC; Roland Grad, MD, MSc; Allen Huang, MD, FRCPC; Lisa Isaac, PhD; Peter McLeod, MD, FRCPC; and Linda Snell, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, "Unnecessary Prescribing of NSAIDs and the Management of NSAID-Related Gastropathy in Medical Practice," Annals of Internal Medicine (Washington, DC: American College of Physicians, 1997), September 15, 1997, 127:429-438, from the web at http://www.acponline.org/journals/annals/15sep97/nsaid.htm, last accessed Feb. 14, 2001, citing Fries, JF, "Assessing and understanding patient risk," Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology Supplement, 1992;92:21-4.
Source: Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), available on the web at http://www.samhsa.gov/; also see Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A. Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999), available on the web at http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed/; and US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition" (Docket #86-22), September 6, 1988, p. 57.
NO THANKS! For the above stated reasons among many others, I remain a Republican, a Conservative, and an opponent of legalized drugs.
You are so conservative that you can continue to support FDR's & WW drug policies, how very conservative of you!
If you potheads need a fix so bad, why not try Prozac?
Another baseless ad hominem attack, I am not a pot head, alcohol is my drug of choice. BTW prozac is illegal to take also unless you have a prescription for it. NO THANKS! For the above stated reasons among many others, I remain a Republican, a Conservative, and an opponent of legalized drugs. If you potheads need a fix so bad, why not try Prozac?
Huh? First of all, why did you post this to me? I commented on the double standard of another poster, I did not comment on maryjane at all. Now, since you started this dustup, let's consider your point. I'll merely substitute your concept into other sins.
What, the point that people can use cocaine recreationally and hold down professional jobs, lead a productive life, pay their taxes, go to church, essentially run their own lives without help from you or a nanny, puritan government? You can't be serious right? You don't get out much, do you?
What, the point that people rape and murder recreationally and hold down professional jobs, lead a productive life, pay their taxes, go to church, essentially run their own lives without help from you or a nanny, puritan government? You can't be serious right? You don't get out much, do you?
And so on. You get the point.
Scourge
That is entirely beside the point. You can't criticize others for not doing research, then fail to offer your own research to back your point!
Scourge
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