- 05 Aug 2006 21:55
#932879
There is a great deal of rhetoric being flung about these days when it comes to drugs and drug use. Although many of us now agree that different drugs should not necissarily be lumped in together based on broad generalizations, (the foundation of which is rarely scientific evidence), there is still a massive resistance from authoritarian and right wing advocates to the decriminalization of certain substances across the world. So how do those of us who know better combat social and scientific ignorance regarding the practice of consuming marijuana for it's recreational and medicinal values? More facts, more science and more studies. Only when the average conservative has been almost beaten to death with reality does he or she submit or retreat. So, in keeping with this tradition, I have careful laid out the social and scientific argument against the current state of marijuana prohibition which sends thousands of completely innocent people to count and prison each year in the United States. An authority can only maintain an illogical position so long as the authority is beholden to certain principals, and with the end of the new age of American Political Conservatism in sight, now is a better time than ever to come out swinging on behalf of those who are behind bars for little more than exercising their freedom.
Source - Drug Policy Alliance ( http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/ )
For decades, conservatives have been grabbing at every scrap of false evidence that they can get their hands on in an effort to discredit these sources, but it never seems to work. So, they do the only thing that they know how to do when confronted with solid evidence that prove them wrong... they thump their bibles (which, coincidentally says nothing about the consumption of marijuana, but which sustains that Jesus turned water into wine... http://alcoholism.about.com/b/a/020073.htm ) and bury their heads in the sand until the authoritarian government passes legislation which improves their position. In an effort to break this tradition, I submit to you that nations which have adopted a more open-ended drug policy have actually done better in the long-run economically and socially than nations with systemic, closed policies.
The Netherlands is my example here.
First, let us see how major an impact having an open-ended drug policy and culture has affected this nation. Obviously, if the legalization of Marijuana and other narcotics was in fact to have a negative impact on society, we whould see it in the GDP, crimes rates, HIV infection rates, etc.
Source - CIA Factbook ( https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ )
And what about violent crime?
Source - http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/8Comparison.htm
So a nation which has legalized marijuana for recreational and medical consumption, and which provides clean needles for it's heroin junkies, has a lower crime rate than the United States and a lower HIV infection and growth rate than the United States. Interesting.
And now for the knockout blow!
Those who oppose the decriminalization of Marijuana can't really disagree with the omnipresent CDC (Center for Disease Control), since it is a purely scientific organization beholden to no one, who are also backed by massive authoritarian funding.
These were their findings in 2000:
Deaths from...
Tobacco (Average 1990 - 94): 430,700
Alcohol (1996): 110,640
Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs: 32,000
Suicide (1998): 30,575
Homicide (1998): 18,272
All licit and illicit drug-induced deaths: 16,926
Non-Steroidal Anti- Inflammatory Drugs: 7,600
Marijuana: 0
Source - http://www.reconsider.org/issues/public ... eaths_.htm
So there you have it. And yet, the government of the United States and Christian values advocates continue to take perfectly good, detailed, modern research... and dump it in the trash becuase their rhetoric won't allow them to let go and concede that this has got to be the most rediculous argument going today. College students drink themselves to death... drunk drivers kill entire families... crack addicts sell their homes to buy more crack... Christian religious fanatics judge constantly even though their religious doctrine teaches them not to judge... and countless people sit in a cell for puffing on something that grows out of ground and makes you about a violent as a starfish.
It's a plant people. It makes you thirsty when you smoke it.
Sure it's a de-motivator... but so is alcohol, heat and a lousy marriage.
FACT: In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell cultures. None reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the National Commission in 1972. In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that "the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health."
FACT: Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma. There is also appreciable evidence that marijuana reduces muscle spasticity in patients with neurological disorders. A synthetic capsule is available by prescription, but it is not as effective as smoked marijuana for many patients. Pure THC may also produce more unpleasant psychoactive side effects than smoked marijuana. Many people use marijuana as a medicine today, despite its illegality. In doing so, they risk arrest and imprisonment.
FACT: Marijuana does not cause people to use hard drugs. What the gateway theory presents as a causal explanation is a statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug.
Source - Drug Policy Alliance ( http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/ )
For decades, conservatives have been grabbing at every scrap of false evidence that they can get their hands on in an effort to discredit these sources, but it never seems to work. So, they do the only thing that they know how to do when confronted with solid evidence that prove them wrong... they thump their bibles (which, coincidentally says nothing about the consumption of marijuana, but which sustains that Jesus turned water into wine... http://alcoholism.about.com/b/a/020073.htm ) and bury their heads in the sand until the authoritarian government passes legislation which improves their position. In an effort to break this tradition, I submit to you that nations which have adopted a more open-ended drug policy have actually done better in the long-run economically and socially than nations with systemic, closed policies.
The Netherlands is my example here.
First, let us see how major an impact having an open-ended drug policy and culture has affected this nation. Obviously, if the legalization of Marijuana and other narcotics was in fact to have a negative impact on society, we whould see it in the GDP, crimes rates, HIV infection rates, etc.
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-05, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.
Major European producer of ecstasy, illicit amphetamines, and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering
HIV/AIDS Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 19,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100
Source - CIA Factbook ( https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ )
And what about violent crime?
Murder rate (per 100,000 people):
United States - 8.40
Netherlands - Below 0.70 (did not register)
Murder rate for males age 15-24 (per 100,000 people):
United States - 24.4
Netherlands - 1.2
Armed robbery (per 100,000 people)
United States - 221
Netherlands - Below 1 (did not register)
Source - http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/8Comparison.htm
So a nation which has legalized marijuana for recreational and medical consumption, and which provides clean needles for it's heroin junkies, has a lower crime rate than the United States and a lower HIV infection and growth rate than the United States. Interesting.
And now for the knockout blow!
Those who oppose the decriminalization of Marijuana can't really disagree with the omnipresent CDC (Center for Disease Control), since it is a purely scientific organization beholden to no one, who are also backed by massive authoritarian funding.
These were their findings in 2000:
Deaths from...
Tobacco (Average 1990 - 94): 430,700
Alcohol (1996): 110,640
Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs: 32,000
Suicide (1998): 30,575
Homicide (1998): 18,272
All licit and illicit drug-induced deaths: 16,926
Non-Steroidal Anti- Inflammatory Drugs: 7,600
Marijuana: 0
Source - http://www.reconsider.org/issues/public ... eaths_.htm
So there you have it. And yet, the government of the United States and Christian values advocates continue to take perfectly good, detailed, modern research... and dump it in the trash becuase their rhetoric won't allow them to let go and concede that this has got to be the most rediculous argument going today. College students drink themselves to death... drunk drivers kill entire families... crack addicts sell their homes to buy more crack... Christian religious fanatics judge constantly even though their religious doctrine teaches them not to judge... and countless people sit in a cell for puffing on something that grows out of ground and makes you about a violent as a starfish.
It's a plant people. It makes you thirsty when you smoke it.
Sure it's a de-motivator... but so is alcohol, heat and a lousy marriage.
- By QatzelOk
- By KurtFF8