cannabisnews.com: Marijuana: a Gateway Drug










  Marijuana: a Gateway Drug

Posted by FoM on June 20, 2001 at 09:43:07 PT
By Clotilde Bowen  
Source: Denver Post 

When I say, "Been there! Done that!" I ain't talking through my hat. At 3 a.m. Sunday, I read an article about the insanity of Colorado's new medical marijuana law. (Before continuing, I think I should become anonymous. So forget my byline.) This is not a confessional, and I want to make it clear that I abhor the use of illegal drugs, especially marijuana. It leads people - especially children and teenagers - to believe it is harmless. It truly is a gateway drug. 
I took a "hit" from a joint years ago, when I was in college. As opposed to some, I did inhale. Yucksy! As a cigarette smoker, a habit begun at an earlier age, I found the taste was worse than terrible. Also, it was a "downer." I liked the "upper" I got from nicotine. Three days after I received my medical degree from Ohio State University, I said goodbye to Columbus, Ohio, and left for New York City. I have an old snapshot of me partying on fashionable East 80th Street. I was trying to get a drink while everyone else was high on pot, heroin, or cocaine. You see, in those days, the "law" didn't care about us black folks using drugs. I visited a barmaid friend at her apartment. She had a pile of marijuana on the table and was rolling joints to sell. I castigated her for exposing me to arrest if her place was raided, and to the possibility of losing my medical license. Selling drugs was still against the law. Years later, around 1969, I went to a mansion in Sausalito, Calif., with friends. This time I was with upper-class white folks who were zonked out on marijuana, heroin and the most popular drug of that time, LSD. There was not a drink in the house. Disgusted, I napped in a gorgeous bedroom until we piled into a windowless van to return to San Francisco. Back then, the "law" didn't care about you, either, if you had money and smoked in the privacy of your home. Even before I became a psychiatrist, my sub-specialty was the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction. Sometimes I was successful with alcohol addiction. I was mostly unsuccessful with drugs. While in general practice in Harlem, I attempted to treat a young black teacher, a user of pot and heroin. Naively, I thought his sincerity and my treatment would pull him through. No way! Both of us lost. A musician friend from Washington, D.C., stopped by my office one day and begged me for Dolophine (methadone), saying he had to have a fix. He left crying, partly from my refusal to do so and partly from cold-turkey withdrawal from heroin. I knew he smoked pot, but I was surprised he was a doper. The next day, he was found in his hotel room, dead from an overdose of something he'd bought on the street. Years later, I was confronted by his son, who quietly but angrily accused me of killing his father. During my tour of duty in Vietnam, I spent most of my time setting up drug treatment programs for heroin addicts, from the DMZ to the Mekong Delta. The military had ignored the fact that approximately 70 percent of soldiers entering Vietnam were already using marijuana. How easy it was to make the transition to smoking pure heroin, which was readily available in that country, often sold by Vietnamese children for $3 an ampule. By January 1971, we were sending 6,000 troops per month back to the United States for addiction to heroin. After years of research, I have concluded that you can, in fact, become addicted to marijuana. The friend who had taken me to the mansion in Sausalito all those years ago had denied that pot was addictive, or that it could lead to the use of harder drugs. Recently, when we spoke by phone, she admitted that she had been wrong. Although successful in her profession, she had never been able to give up marijuana. The use of marijuana for any reason should never be legalized, medically or otherwise. Prohibition of alcohol could not work because it is part of our culture. If we legalize marijuana, it too will become part of our culture. Clotilde Bowen -- brandiwhiskers aol.com -- or write to her in care of The Post, is a physician, a psychiatrist and a retired U.S. Army colonel. She summarizes her career succinctly: "Been there! Done that!" Compass is designed to provide a platform for members of communities that are often under-represented in The Post's opinion pages. Members of Compass are selected each spring. Source: Denver Post (CO)Author: Clotilde Bowen Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2001 Copyright: 2001 The Denver PostContact: letters denverpost.com Website: http://www.denverpost.com/Related Articles:Should Marijuana Be Legalized? Yeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9324.shtmlShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Nohttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9323.shtml

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Comment #45 posted by VitaminT on August 24, 2002 at 18:16:55 PT
sassy
I understand the desire to be a responsible smoker, but I question the wisdom of hiding the fact so carefully from your kids. If they do find out, they may think you're a hipocrite if you're saying one thing and doing another.I've never hidden my moderate smoking from my kids because I believe if did I would fail to teach them how to maintain a responsible relationship with substances.Likewise, for the same reason, I wouldn't hide my occasional beer drinking from my kids.I would also say that I am not one who is prone to excess, and I would for example never want to be smash drunk in the presence of my kids and that is one of the reasons I am such a moderate drinker.The legal status of the Good Herb does add a layer of complexity to the issues that must be dealt with when teaching kids - but teach them you must otherwise they're gonna find out for themselves, possibly from someone with much more to sell them than the Cannabis. In many ways, IMHO, it would be just as bad for them to learn about Cannabis from some government propagandist as from a drug dealer. Neither has your childs best interest at heart!BTW I have two well adjusted kids one 21 and one 12. Neither has expressed much interest in using Cannabis, but I know this I have built a relationship of trust with my kids and if/ when they want to know about it or even try it they'll know that they should talk to me first.
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Comment #44 posted by sassy on August 24, 2002 at 16:53:23 PT:
Marijuana use
I have smoked pot since I was 13, I am now 46 and I have had no problems. I do not EVER smoke around or anywhere near my kids.I firmly believe if you are responsable and careful it is no differant then drinking.I am not addicted,I usually only smoke on the weekends if my kids are gone with their friends.I am sorry I can't agree when people say it is so bad.
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Comment #43 posted by ganjaM on March 12, 2002 at 15:28:07 PT:
legalization
im new to useing marajuana (this is relatiove to my town seein as im considered a newbie because ive only smoked 50 or so times and ive never hit a bong) but some ppl have become to dependant on pot to get away from the problems in there lives and these are the ppl who are trying to legalize it because they are the ones getting caught if we get rid of all of these "junkies" then less ppl would get caught and it would start to seem like ppl have stopped using weed and the rest of us wouldn't have to worry about getting busted because the cops would cut down on trying to bust us.Im sure most of you saw the commercials during the superbowl saying that we (ppl who use drugs) are responsible for funding terrorism. well i dunno if anyone else noticed but Osama was born filthy rich so i doubt he would need to deal drugs to get money and why would he it would just be another way for him to get caught and potentially bust so i thing these anti drug groups need to stop with the bullshit and cut to the facts like the fact that drugs are bad for you and can destroy your life but remember every thing is good in moderation so dond't be a dumbass and ruin it for every one else
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Comment #41 posted by ouellie on November 30, 2001 at 22:29:43 PT:

Live and let live
I am a mere young'n, but I feel that marijuana should not be forced into legalization. Being aggressive towards the prohibition only makes matters worse. It should be legalized because it is a safe substance, but not under the control of the black market. Most potheads complain to ppl who object their opinion. Well isn't everyone entitled to their own opinion? You say, 'peace', but do u really know what it means? I don't agree that everyone should smoke marijuana, especially un-centered ppl, because it controls your life. But right now it is a personal choice. Can you not buy marijuana whenever you want? Ya, it is illegal, so don’t get caught. If you are smart to how police catch users, then u will know ways around it.So if you want to smoke pot, then do it, and stop forcing your opinion on others or you are no better then self-righteous morons. Ignorance is bless for some ppl, and you can’t change that. Complaining to them is a waste of time and life.peace
If you don't like my opinion, my world remains the same
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Comment #40 posted by smokedout on June 27, 2001 at 19:23:39 PT

just wrong
Its seems this woman has lost her logic. It seems she admits that alcohol is bad for you, but it's part of the culture. So because the masses consume a beverage that i known to be detremental to ones health its ok. I am curious to see what she thinks of nicotine. It is defintely a drug that give you that "higher" feeling, but thats ok too. And she also said she was an addicted smoker when she was younger and then went on to do other things. Wouldn't that make nicotine the Gateway drug. From her experiences, marijuana was the opposite of a gateway drug and led to never experience with drugs. Whose to say that anything thats in our culture has to be acceptable anyway. There are a lot of things that are present in our culture that are just bad for us. Fatty foods, we know they are horrible for us and will lead us to our deaths, but they're are more than acceptable. They don't serve us in anyway good, except that we like how they taste. Marijuana is defintely part of our world, or else so many americans wouldn't fight for its legality. And i think its totally absurd to name anything a gateway to something else, when there is no proof. I just think this woman is too ignorant to understand anything about the drug cultureAbout the vietnam thing, the fact that a lot of the soldiers smoked some pot and no effect on them doing heroin. The state of mind that they were in was the only cause. If you're totally complete, you don't need to do any drug, wether it be nicotine or heroin or whatever.  
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Comment #39 posted by The GCW on June 21, 2001 at 21:09:44 PT

The Clotilde mentality.
It sounds like Clotilde is comfortable with putting humans in a cage for consuming cannabis.That is so hard to comprehend.
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Comment #38 posted by Randøm_ on June 21, 2001 at 19:58:43 PT

go get 'em, Kevin Hebert
Great letter, Keith, just had to say that.~ Randøm_
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Comment #37 posted by Kevin Hebert on June 21, 2001 at 12:07:21 PT:

My Response to Ms. Bowen and the Denver Post
Dear Editors:Clotilde Bowen's Marijuana: a Gateway Drug was an unclever blend of propaganda, hypocrisy, and untruths.Ms. Bowen is obviously ignorant of marijuana's every aspect. First, she claims she has first-hand knowledge that marijuana is addictive. However, extensive research shows that marijuana is about as addictive as cheeseburgers: some people enjoy it so much they would like to do it allthe time, but deprival from marijuana does not cause any physical withdrawal symptoms.Ms. Bowen classifies marijuana as a gateway drug. However, there is no pharmacological property of marijuana that makes users seek other drugs. In fact, 99% of marijuana users never try a harder drug.Finally, Ms. Bowen despicably proclaims her love of tobacco, saying "I liked the "upper" I got from nicotine." Let me remind you that tobacco kills 400,000 Americans every year and is strongly addictive. Marijuana isnonaddictive and has never killed one single person.I would like to know why the Denver Post chose to print an article of one woman's love of alcohol and tobacco, flavored with a hypocritical and inaccurate attack on marijuana.Propaganda and fear tactics have been used to keep marijuana, a relatively harmless substance, illegal. It is sad when a reputable newspaper continues this trend. But it is far worse to couple that with gleaming accolades for alcohol and tobacco, which kill half a million of us everyyear.     The next time you print an article about marijuana, perhaps you will stick to the facts, rather than nonsense.            Sincerely,              Kevin M. Hebert              Chicopee, MA 01020       
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Comment #36 posted by Jose Melendez on June 21, 2001 at 10:41:26 PT:

note the email address
I was wondering about her email address:Brandy Whiskers?It does seem odd that someone supposedly against drug use would choose an alcoholic substance as a nickname...Oh well, remember that the prosecutor in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter was the father of Hester Prynne's child.Methinks she doth protest too much. Someone please email me at news narcosoft.com if you have received any replies from brandiwhiskers aol.com, or the publication. Also, I am still looking for an editorial cartoonist... cash reward for best work.
everyone does drugs
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Comment #35 posted by m segesta on June 21, 2001 at 09:51:42 PT:

Answering Ovches
While I am here, I thought I would answer a question posed by Ovches, infra at # 27, to wit:"p.s. what gives some cunt in a black uniform or posh suit to tell us what we can put into our own bodies?Nothing gives them any kind of superiority over anyone else.We have just as much right to be here as they do."The answer is simple yet powerful, Ovches: it's her name! All fear the mighty Dr. Cnidoblast* (or whatever) Bowen!*-- Cnidoblast = a modified interstitial cell in coelenterates that produces a nematocyst. (Webster's). For those not in the know, I think "coelenterates" and "nematocyst" are Dr. Bowen's siblings. "Interstitial" may be a second cousin.Y'all hoot up that jib now, ya hear?
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Comment #34 posted by m segesta on June 21, 2001 at 09:35:17 PT:

OKay, Jose!
Jose --I'll accept your premise -- viz., "It does NO GOOD to chastise this woman for being ignorant to the truth" -- as seconded by Imprint and Neil.However, if we can't chastise her, can we at least make fun of her name? I mean, come on: Clotilde? No wonder she hates ALL psychoactive substances (other than alcohol, for which I detect from her writing, she has quite a proclivity!She probably thinks her parents were totally wasted and stoned when they named her Clonidine, or whatever, and because she has likely spent a lifetime taking abuse because of her idiotic name -- which I THINK is the generic name for Minoxidil -- and blames her parents' substance use for it. Wouldn't you feel compelled to hate drugs if you were subject to harassment throughout entirety of your schooling -- which would be a long time if you wanted a lot of initials after your funky name of Colostrum, or whatever -- because your funky name was also the generic name of a pharmaceutical?In fact, all the taunting she has no doubt received for bearing the moniker "Clostridia", or whatever, is likely the reason she is a closet alcoholic! (Note: she must be an alkie as she confesses to having taken a drink -- crossing the prohib's "gateway", their psychotropic equivalent of the river Styx -- and we all know, thanks to the PDFA, there is NO DIFFERENCE between casual use and abuse, right? Have fun all,M
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Comment #33 posted by Imprint on June 21, 2001 at 09:24:36 PT

Kaptinemo
Kaptinemo,Great Letter! Powerful, to the point and full of facts. You’re a great American.Thanks,Imprint
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Comment #32 posted by Pontifex on June 21, 2001 at 09:05:32 PT:

brown, bowen, whatever
Hmm... it's actually "Clotilde Bowen".
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Comment #31 posted by Pontifex on June 21, 2001 at 09:03:49 PT:

what awesome letters
It fills me with such a warm fuzzy feeling to read the retorts to Clotilde. They were great, from Lehder's succinct, four-letter admonition, to nl5x's exhaustive proof of marijuana as essential to American political and medical culture, to kaptinemo's scorching and brilliant indictment of craven military "ticket-punchers".If Clotilde Brown has an ounce of self-reflection, she will wither in shame.I hope she has the basic human dignity to attempt to justify or reconcile her position, in light of the letters sent.Keep it burning!
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Comment #30 posted by Jose Melendez on June 21, 2001 at 06:28:45 PT:

Drug war ends...
Who said- "There is no such thing as a good war, or a bad peace."In the 60's they said "No Justice, No Peace"But the reason I disagree with the drug war is it's insistence on winning at all costs; the ends do not justify the means... I say:Yes Justice, YES PEACE!We shall overcome!:)Jose
www.narcosoft.com
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Comment #29 posted by kaptinemo on June 21, 2001 at 05:31:35 PT:

My epistle to Ms. Brown.
Ms. Brown, having served in the Army, I'm sure you've heard of the phrase "ticket-puncher". I saw plenty of that particular sub-species when I was In. You know why such a phrase evokes disgust amongst those who served proudly in this great country's military. The shallowness. The political toadying and willingness to mouth popular (but no less false for their popularity) platitudes. The callousness necessary to expend precious lives for self-serving purposes. The latest military term, describing a person with such attributes, (derived from Anton Myrer's classic "Once An Eagle", now being taught at West Point) is "Massengale".You're a Massengale in the War on Drugs, Ms. Brown.As someone who has also served my country, I have seen the slow deadly slide from a nation where individual rights and liberties were jealously and fiercely guarded, to one where they are almost non-existant. A nation where the technology once used to preserve our borders and our way of life is being used to spy upon the very citizens who paid for that 'protection'. I've witnessed a nation where a power-hungry, self-seeking bureaucrat risked life and limb for encroaching upon those rights, become a nation where you have to pee-pee in front of said bureaucrat in order to get or retain a job. A nation that once championed liberty around the planet at enormous cost in lives (we'll never know the full tally of the cost of the Cold War, so many died in secret) and our nation's treasury (why do you think we've had such a huge National Debt?) now denies that liberty to it's own people. All for their own good, of course.A nation where once "Mind your own business" was the surest way of keeping nosy government do-gooders at bay from committing all manner of mischief has become a nation where if you don't like your neighbor, the surest way to destroy him is to give the local gendarmerie an anonymous tip that he possesses illicit drugs. In the case of 11 year old Alberto Sepulveda, such a tip, received from an unreliable source, cost that child his life; he was shotgunned in the back by an adrenaline-tripping SWAT team member while laying face down on the floor of his home as he was ordered. And he is not the only innocent victim killed by the DrugWarriors; Ismael Mena, Patrick Dorismond, Donald Scott, Esequiel Hernandez (murdered by a US Marine Sniper team on anti-drug patrol on the US/Mexico border) are but a few of the names of those sacrificed on the dark altar of the DrugWarrior's jihad.I ask you, Madame Expert, is the death of innocents worth trying to stop a fool from sticking powder up their nose or a needle in their veins? IS IT? If you believe so, then kindly deposit your own children upon that same altar to prove your fealty to your twisted masters...but don't demand the rest of us do so.There has been a process underway in this country. A process that, like the proverbial Road to Hell, has loudly proclaimed it's good intentions. Some may actually believe the attendant propaganda that accompanies that process. But others in their camp are less naive. They are people who see their continued ride on the DrugWar gravy-train dependant upon speaking outright lies in the face of easily available truths. (I'm sure you've learned by now, Ms. Brown, of the 1999 Institute of Medicine's Report stating that cannabis is not a 'gateway drug'.) People like you, Ms. Brown People like you have caused us to lose the lives of innocents at home, endanger our few remaining freedoms, involved us in the civil wars of other nations (like Colombia, Ms. Brown; you were in the 'Nam, right? So you'd think someone who was there would know better. Evidently, you haven't learned a blessed thing, Colonel) spraying toxic herbicides (remember Agent Orange?) on the indigs, sickening their children and dooming them to starvation...and giving another generation of foreigners reason to kill Americans.People like you, loudly trumpeting your cause while stuffing your wallet, are the real reason why this nation may someday go the way of Rome.All for our own good, of course.sincerely,(Me).
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Comment #28 posted by nl5x on June 20, 2001 at 22:05:47 PT

my letter to the doc
i focused on one area in general.culture and historye-mail title: history and culture lesson“Certainly no good reason can be assigned why theHemp of New Zealand should not thrive with us, asthat country lyes [sic] in about the same Southern lati-tudethat our middle States do in the Northern. TheHemp of the East Indies grows well here (from my ownexperience) and I have no doubt of the {Tea plant} suc-ceedingin So. Carolina and Georgia.”LETTER FROM PRESIDENT WASHINGTONTO JOHN SINCLAIR ,December 10, 1796 "Make the most of the Indian Hemp Seed and sow it everywhere." George Washington May 12-13 1765: "Sowed Hemp at Muddy hole by Swamp."    August 7, 1765: "--began to seperate (sic) the Male from the Female Hemp at Do--rather too late." George Washington     ...In 1762, "Virginia awarded bounties for hempculture andmanufacture, and imposed penalties upon those who did notproduse it." "Hemp is of the first necessity to the wealth and protection of the country." - Thomas Jefferson  `A society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both, and deserve neither'- Thomas Jefferson "Prohibition... goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control mans' appetite through legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not even crimes... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our Government was founded" President Abraham Lincoln (December 1840): `It has ever been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues'- Abraham Lincoln – “The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.”- Albert Einstein –  `Wise people, even though all laws were abolished, would still lead the same life'- Aristophanes - In 1619, America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia, “ordering” all farmers to “make tryal of” (grow) Indian hempseed. More mandatory (must-grow) hemp cultivation laws were enacted in Massachusetts in 1631, in Connecticut in 1632, and in the Chesapeake Colonies into the mid-1700s. Benjamin Franklin started one of America’s first paper mills with cannabis. This allowed America to have a free colonial press without having to beg or justify paper and books from England. 	Cannabis hemp was legal tender (money) in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800s. Why? To encourage American farmers to grow more.1 	 1. Clark, V.S., History of Manufacture in the United States, McGraw Hill, NY, 1929, Pg. 34. You could pay your taxes with cannabis hemp throughout America for more than 200 years. 	 You could even be jailed in America for not growing cannabis during several periods of shortage, e.g., in Virginia between 1763 and 1767. (Herndon, G.M., Hemp in Colonial Virginia, 1963; The Chesapeake Colonies, 1954; L.A. Times, August 12, 1981; et al.)  	George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on their plantations. Jefferson,3 while envoy to France, went to great expense—and even considerable risk to himself and his secret agents—to procure particularly good hempseeds smuggled illegally into Turkey from China. The Chinese Mandarins (political rulers) so valued their hemp seeds that they made their exportation a capital offense. 	 	3. Diaries of George Washington; Writings of George Washington, Letter to Dr. James Anderson, May 26, 1794, vol 33, p. 433, (U.S. govt. pub., 191); Letters to his caretaker, William Pearce, 1795 & 1796; Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson’s Farm Books; Abel, Ernest, Marijuana: The First 12,000 Years, Plenum Press, NY, 1980; M. Aldrich, et al. 	 The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp “plantations”* (minimum 2,000 acre farms) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas, and even the cordage used for baling cotton. Most of these plantations were located in the South or in the border states, primarily because of the cheap slave labor available prior to 1865 for the labor-intensive hemp industry. (U.S. Census, 1850; Allen, James Lane, The Reign of Law, A Tale of the Kentucky Hemp Fields, MacMillan Co., NY, 1900; Roffman, Roger, Ph.D., Marijuana as Medicine, Mendrone Books, WA, 1982.) * This figure does not include the tens of thousands of smaller farms growing cannabis, nor the hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of family hemp patches in America; nor does it take into account that 80% of America’s hemp consumption for 200 years still had to be imported from Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland well into this century. 	Benjamin Franklin started one of America’s first paper mills with cannabis. This allowed America to have a free colonial press without having to beg or justify paper and books from England. 	 	In addition, various marijuana and hashish extracts were the first, second, or third most prescribed medicines in the United States from 1842 until the 1890s. 	 Cannabis extract medicines were produced by Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Tildens, Brothers Smith (Smith Brothers), Squibb, and many other American and European companies and apothecaries. During all this time there was not one reported death from cannabis extract medicines, and virtually no abuse or mental disorders reported, except for first-time or novice-users occasionally becoming disoriented or overly introverted. (Mikuriya, Tod, M.D., Marijuana Medical Papers, Medi-Comp Press, CA, 1973; Cohen, Sidney & Stillman, Richard, Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana, Plenum Press, NY, 1976.) 
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Comment #27 posted by ovches on June 20, 2001 at 20:22:15 PT

Legalize marajuana
There is nothing wrong with smoking cannabis.That doctor has got some nerve talking BOLLOCKS.- 25,000 people die each year in the u.k. alone due to alcohol related deaths.- 2000 limb amputations in the u.k. alone are caused by tobacco each year.- 111,000 premature births in the u.k. alone are caused each year by tobacco use.- Someone who is under the influence of alcohol is 500 times more likely to commit rape,sexual abuse and criminal damage opposed to that of someone who is under the influence of cannabis.- Cannabis reduces the activity of tumors.This has been proven.Mice were inserted with cancerous lungs and then exposed to marajuana smoke.During the period of being exposed to marajuana smoke,the actuvity of the tumor was reduced by 75%.- Marajuana causes no health problems,as opposed to someone who is under the influence of alcohol who would probably die of liver damage,alcohol poisining,or choking on there own vomit.- No one has ever been known to die of a cannabis related death.- You would have to smoke 40,000 times more marajuana when you are already stoned to die.- If anything should be thought of as bad and a gateway drug,it is tobacco and alcohol.LEGALIZE MARAJUANAp.s. what gives some cunt in a black uniform or posh suit to tell us what we can put into our own bodies?Nothing gives them any kind of superiority over anyone else.We have just as much right to be here as they do.
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Comment #26 posted by Neil on June 20, 2001 at 19:42:51 PT

Jose
Jose--what little innocent ones are you talking about? The ones at Waco that government agents murdered at the orders of Bill Clinton and Janet Reno or the ones being used as a shield for government workers to hide behind in OK. City? The United States Constitution is dead. The government killed it. If it requires that some people die to revive it, die they must. War is terrible mainly because kids get in the way but it's really no excuse not to lose it if the enemy chooses to hide behind children. During the Somalian War when American convoys were caught in enemy territory trying to make their way back to their base, Somali fighters held children up in front of themselves as shields. American soldiers did what any soldiers should, could and would do. They shot right through the child to kill the enemy behind it. The U.S. government too is not beyond nurturing an overblown sentiment for children to hide behind so that they don't have to reign themselves in to an inferior position under the United States Constitution. Peace and harmony will only exist when the Constitution is alive. Peace under any other conditions is treason.
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Comment #25 posted by Jose Melendez on June 20, 2001 at 19:22:42 PT:

PEACE!
You can each choose for yourselves what your reality will be. But I challenge each and every one of you, gay or straight, pro or con, pothead or alcoholic pill-popping freak in denial ;)...Choose the truth: be on the right side of life, if you must choose death, at least have the balls to make it your own, not some innocent little ones...Power does not egual success. Otherwise, we would be bowing to TRex...Jose Melendeznarcosoft.com  technology with substance"Because drug war is TREASON"Did anyone else here notice that the racketeering lawsuit against Big Tobacco ended today, just before it implicated Congress?Think about THAT!
drug war is TREASON
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Comment #24 posted by PastorMark on June 20, 2001 at 19:06:35 PT

And then she goes.
So for whatever reason this former cigarette addict is putting down marijuana, you cannot change her mind. She appears to be just one of those people who really wants to believe in something and no one can convince her otherwise. So marijuana will be legal one day - not because we will email this woman and others like her, but (as bad as it sounds) because they are all going to die some day. Upcoming generations will have less and less of these ignorant bastards and some facts will eventually rise to the top. 
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Comment #23 posted by lookinside on June 20, 2001 at 18:58:30 PT:

neil...
i agree with you...if you work for our corrupt and illegal government, you takeyour chances...the only thing going for them right now is that most of usreally do hate violence...but they keep on pushing........
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Comment #22 posted by Neil on June 20, 2001 at 18:29:56 PT

Clotilde is looking for a job
I think she's probably looking for a job in government somewhere. By spouting anti-marijuana rhetoric she attempts to create notoriety so that along with the psychologist and military and minority credentials she might be chosen for some cushy no-work government job. (Notice how the article is almost a resume) The government needs people to fight their drug war for them but they're finding it increasingly difficult to find anyone to fight it for them. Clotilde has a strategy for scamming the system to get a highly overpaid position within the taxpayer funded government system. She's an opportunist with no integrity and no sentiments concerning the United States Constitution, she'll be great at it.Jose--It would be best to leave McVeigh out of the this. The Founding Fathers killed a lot of people to have the right to form a United States Constitution and the country has killed a whole lot more through the years to preserve protect and defend it. I'm not sure but I wonder a lot about it. I wonder, if there is an after life, if George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were waiting for Tim on the other side waiting to greet him with a warm congratulatory hand shake. I'm sorry 168 had to die because the government felt it their right to usurp the Constitutional rights of those they murdered at Waco but Janet Reno and Bill Clinton should have been receiving their injections right next to Tim. 
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Comment #21 posted by Imprint on June 20, 2001 at 18:09:56 PT

Right On
Jose is right on. So, I challenge each and every one of you to use the email link and write her and give her the straight poop on marijuana. Inform her on where she has gone wrong and what she needs to understand. Win her over. We will only win the war by engaging the drug warriors and letting them know we have brains and are intelligent folks that make a positive contribution to our society. 
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Comment #20 posted by Jose Melendez on June 20, 2001 at 17:55:12 PT:

WHOA!
Listen folks,It does NO GOOD to chastise this woman for being ignorant to the truth. Just like McVeigh was WRONG to hurt people, we would be wrong to let misinformation or even lies get us so freaked out that we forget the goal:Marijuana, Cannabis, what ever you call your drug of choice has helped each of us improve our lives, why muck up the success we've enjoyed by giving them anarchy to present as their image of us?If she's lying, EXPOSE THE TRUTH.If she believes she is correct, CORRECT HER.Remember, PEACE is IN.:)Jose Melendeznarcosoft.com  technology with substance"We'd rather sell Cannabis."(202) 777-2644 x7545 - voicemail/fax
DRug war is TREASON!
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Comment #19 posted by MikeEEEEE on June 20, 2001 at 17:36:01 PT

Anywhere
Any country this guy goes to he would be an idiot there too.
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Comment #18 posted by jeff gilmore on June 20, 2001 at 17:27:38 PT:

oh my god
just like Nixon another baby killer
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Comment #17 posted by Doug on June 20, 2001 at 16:55:38 PT

Not Part of OUR Culture
I find this an ironic statement from a member of a "minority" culture in the United States, that is African-American. How would she feel about white folks, who are the dominant cuture, to say about, say rap music, or jaszz, or your-choice-here, it's not part of our -- the majority, white anglo culture -- and so we want it illegal.The rule of thumb in these cases is if 1 in 20 have done some activity, that activity is already a culture. And unfortuantely for her, that 1 in 20 figure for marijuana use has been passed a long time ago. I guess the appropriate phrase is 'locking the barn after the horses have escaped'.
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Comment #16 posted by Randøm_ on June 20, 2001 at 16:33:38 PT

cow-patties!
When I was a baby I was fed infant formula, now I smoke marijuana. Hmmm, maybe the formula is the real gateway drug.Don't ya love the rantings of one who obviously suffered more from a weak sense of discipline and now chooses to blame a plant for her short-comings? ...stupid people shouldn't breed.Peace out, Randøm_
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Comment #15 posted by 420toker on June 20, 2001 at 16:20:37 PT

I have seen it before
I have seen this behavior many times, I have an atention disorder that requires 2 doses of dexadrine a day and I have been stable on that amount for about 14 years now with no problems, except one, I will become increadibly tired If I dont get my second dose of the day, so much so that operating a car is dangerous and if none is administered I will sleep for 24-48 hours. But then the hell really starts because it takes 1-2 weeks of stomach pains and weight loss and mood swings when I get back on them. The purpose of this long explanation of this private problem;I was going out of town with my family and the cargo shell on top leaked (large family=lotso crap) well my dexadrine was reduced to melted multi-colored goo. I managed to get into a clinic with a physician on staff and who totally refused to refill my script (sched 2 requires doctors sig each time) said he didnt belive in doping people up on speed and if you couldn't do things yourself you shouldn't be trying (or some such horse sh*t) he kicked me out after trying to give me a bill, anyway I went over to the next town but the previos doctor had already called them about a junkie coming over looking for DEX. (I had my medical records with me as well as the soaked bottle of goo) They turned me away at the counter.  Long story we drove 80 miles, to a hospital before a doctor (who strangly hardly cared if I had a bottle or a medical record) who spoke to me about my problem and my explanation of my symtoms and what happens if I cant get my pills. He wrote me a script, zeroxed my previos bottle script (only after I offered it) and offered me 2 bottles for half the amount in each in order to store one somewhere else. I thought how nice he really does care.  Point is 1 of those clinics imposed his personal views on my medical records/problems and with no question in his head got up on his ritous soapbox and make things very hard for me. plus its nice to see a doctor who will speak to and diagnose a problem acording to the patients wishes. 
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Comment #14 posted by ras james rsifwh on June 20, 2001 at 15:09:08 PT

Damn Fool
Bob Marley said it all long before...about the likes of the lady with a medical degree from Ohio State University.  "I don't have education. I have inspiration. If I were educated, I'd be a damn fool."Fortunatley by the Amazing Grace of the Almighty, many including Ras James have overcome our former misunderstandings. Yes! Hope burns I-ternal...even for a fool like Doctor Bowen.
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Comment #13 posted by Luke on June 20, 2001 at 14:49:04 PT:

I have forwarded my email to this person....
Words almost fail me.....A few points1. Marijuana has and ALWAYS WILL BE a part of our culture2. Prohibition leads to misery. Why should I be a criminal for toking on a joint? Who am I harming? I am not stealing, murdering etc!!!3. In my opinion, so many people want it legalized that one day the barriers will come down and the sacred weed will be free!!!
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Comment #12 posted by aocp on June 20, 2001 at 14:06:57 PT

good for the goose/gander
This is not a confessional, and I want to make it clear that I abhor the use of illegal drugs, especially marijuana. It leads people - especially children and teenagers - to believe it is harmless. It truly is a gateway drug.Right backatcha. The prohibition of MJ leads people - especially children and teenagers - to believe that it is Satan incarnate. When they find this is blatantly not the truth, they throw any respect they had for anything else you have to spout about - legit or not, bear in mind - right out the freakin' window. And i ain't talkin' through my hat either, nimrod.
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Comment #11 posted by Lehder on June 20, 2001 at 13:25:11 PT

My responce to Clotilde Bowen 
Die, you're not wanted.
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Comment #10 posted by jAHn on June 20, 2001 at 13:12:34 PT

In other words, SPORTS ARE DANGEROUS...
...Been there---------------DONE THAT!!!
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Comment #9 posted by jAHn on June 20, 2001 at 13:11:52 PT

I wish...
...that someone like her would, in fact become Addicted to pot to mellow her ass out! Perhaps, these Ideologues would prefer us to jump in a Fast-Car, buckle-up and "Drive Toward the Goal of Happiness?" TOO BAD Get your own DUMMIES to Sponsor YOUR Racism! On the track, against the black or behind our backs! Get BACK!!! Prohibitionists of the 1910's/20's are still having their way! Gubbies'Gangstahs are even more tyrannical than Al Capone and those "sets" of Goons. Maybe "Un-Cool Sam" would rather us KIDDIES ((im 24)) be sent off to Military training so we can Lose Our Lives-DIE- Practicing a Military Drill with a 30 year old Helicopter with Rusty Blades? Or some Old ASS boat that'll just sink!  Maybe "Un-Cool" Sam's people would want us to...just Imagine it...ALMOST ANYTHING A HUMAN INDULGES IN IS F #CKING DANGEROUS AND A THREAT TO ONES" PERSONAL MORTALITY.  Of course I'm yelling...Don't YOU feel alone, too?I sure feel Alienated by this "Dangerous American Society"...  I would NEVER "play" a sport for fun---It's TOO Dangerous--For Me ((and other Sensitive Humans, i'm guessing))  I, HONESTLY, would rather take a chance Toking off a Joint rather than Joining the National Hockey League. I don't find the Fighting, the REAL bleeding ((although I'm a BIG fan of Fictitious Gore/Violence)) the ANGRY, stressed out Mentality that can be assumed of EVERYONE involved- right down to the manager- even furthermore- down to the Bench-Warmers. For those of YOU who still find it hard to see this point and its' DIRECT relationship with a persons' will to "Destroy" themselves- through Whatever personal Freedom- So Be IT...Haven't we PRETENDED to know what's "Best" for our Neighboring citizens?  I know, this is probably asking of TOO much from a bunch of TV-Poisoned-People, but HEY!!!  It couldn't've HURT to BEG of your Attention.  
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Comment #8 posted by Imprint on June 20, 2001 at 13:05:36 PT

My responce to Clotilde Bowen 
Response to your gateway drug articleThe gateway drug theory has been found to be not true and marijuana is not an additive drug. As a doctor I’m very surprised that you are so naïve about this. I would strongly encourage you to read “Marijuana Myth’s Marijuana Facts”. This book explains the errors in these concepts so clearly that I can even understand them; as a doctor you should be able to grasp these explanations in your sleep. I’m also suspicious of your “Tour of Duty” in Vietnam. It doesn’t take much brainpower to realize that solders placed in such a horrible situation would be more apt to entertain anything that would give them an escape from the killing and mayhem. Your article provided me with the conclusion that you may be a heartless person. I’m not trying to be cruel to you I’m just trying to give a dose of reality. To not be able to see the simple fact that solders in Vietnam wanted escape and that a heroin user would need real medical help instead of dirty street drugs is a big flag for me. Finally, I would like to bring to your attention that marijuana is already part of our culture. Your reasoning is so out of step, so out of touch with society it is obvious to me how you have come to the misguided conclusions in your article. Providing your misconceptions to a large audience simply perpetuates the lies about marijuana and continues to fuel the drug war, which is killing and imprisoning innocent people for a lifestyle choice. You may not realize that in the United States there are hundreds of thousands of people that smoke marijuana regularly while raising healthy families and are happy productive citizens. Just like the heroin addict you helped kill you are hurting these innocent people with your pro drug war stance. Not everyone is like you, nor do we want to be like you, so stop trying to force your self-righteous views on us. Please learn from your past mistakes and allow some compassion to come into your heart and help people live their lives in freedom. Thank you for your time,
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on June 20, 2001 at 12:49:58 PT

Thanks Robbie
Well you would have thought I would have caught that but it went right over the top of my head! Thanks!
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Comment #6 posted by Robbie on June 20, 2001 at 12:10:31 PT

"Just Say No" to clueless buffoons
I took a "hit" from a joint years ago, when I was in college. As opposed to some, I did inhale. Yucksy! As a cigarette smoker, a habit begun at an earlier age, I found the taste was worse than terrible. Also, it was a "downer." I liked the "upper" I got from nicotine.1) How does this person figure that nicotine is not the gateway drug? Oh, because it's a "habit" as opposed to a dangerous, addictive substance.2) She liked the "upper" instead of the "downer." Hey lady! That same decision you enjoyed all those years ago? Would it be too much to ask you to let others make their own choices? I don't see demonization of tobacco use in this article. Certainly she's not saying marijuana use is more dangerous than tobacco!And a "BWAHHHAHAHAHA" to this next "point" she makes:The friend who had taken me to the mansion in Sausalito all those years ago had denied that pot was addictive.... Recently...she admitted that she had been wrong. Although successful in her profession, she had never been able to give up marijuana.And she had to give up marijuana why? Lessee, she's still successful in her profession and still living in a mansion...hmmmmm. Sounds like she's doing just fine for her "hopelessly addicted, burden on society" self.This is not a confessional, and I want to make it clear that I abhor the use of drugs, especially . It leads people - especially children and teenagers - to believe it is harmless. It truly is a gateway drug.Couldn't have said it better myself... Oh, woops! I did say it myself ;-)PS Hey FoM...that original link to rxmarihuana was to ".org" That's why it didnt work.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on June 20, 2001 at 10:28:50 PT

soundoff2
Hi soundoff2,I'm going to post the link in two places here to see why the link didn't work. Just trying to figure out why it didn't.Dr. Lester Grinspoon's Websitehttp://www.rxmarihuana.com/
Dr. Lester Grinspoon's Website
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Comment #4 posted by soundoff2 on June 20, 2001 at 10:21:19 PT

URL correction
Dr. Grinspoon's site...
Working Link
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Comment #3 posted by soundoff on June 20, 2001 at 10:18:42 PT

Prohibition creates self-rightious, murdering docs
sounds like she did kill the man by not prescribing something to keep him from using street heroin.
Dr. Lester Grinspoon's Website
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Comment #2 posted by lookinside on June 20, 2001 at 10:01:07 PT:

she's a doctor?
is she saying she doesn't prescribe ritalin or lithium orany of the myriad psychiatric drugs so popular today? if iwas sick, i would avoid her like the plague...i think herprejudices make her a bad doc...
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Comment #1 posted by Dave in Florida on June 20, 2001 at 09:58:45 PT

She should try again, with kind bud.
The use of marijuana for any reason should never be legalized, medically or otherwise. Prohibition of alcohol  could not work because it is part of our culture. If we legalize marijuana, it too will become part of our culture. Sorry, It already is part of our culture
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