cannabisnews.com: Pot Plan is for Dopes





Pot Plan is for Dopes
Posted by CN Staff on June 01, 2005 at 22:22:15 PT
By Ken Ward
Source: Fort Pierce Tribune
USA -- The proposition that marijuana can alleviate pain and nausea sounds appealing on a humanitarian level. Presenting it as a states-rights issue may intrigue legal minds. And a public-relations campaign that employs Willie Nelson as a front man could fire up country-music lovers. But it's all one big smokescreen put up by those who just want to puff pot.
After more than three decades of pushing pseudo-science, proponents of "medical marijuana" have arrived at Capitol Hill. Reefer madness, in the form of House Bill 2087, seeks to change federal drug laws to allow pot to be dispensed by prescription. The pot initiative is flawed, disingenuous and dangerous on several counts. • Medical marijuana is not widely medically supported. The American Medical Association strongly opposes legalization, medicinal or otherwise. • Marijuana is not "nontoxic." Cannabis contains high levels of tar and other not-so-healthy ingredients found in tobacco. Marijuana smokers who have never smoked a cigarette have contracted lung cancer. • Pot is a gateway drug. You may find a pot smoker who hasn't graduated to crack...yet, but you won't find many cocaine or heroin addicts who haven't done weed. • Pot causes accidents. Police reports are replete with accounts of stoned motorists or equipment operators responsible for industrial and traffic accidents. That's surely a bonanza for trial lawyers, but bad news for everyone else. • Pot impairs learning. Studies have shown cognitive impairment among marijuana users, even weeks after use. Remember, it's called "dope" for a reason. • Pot exacerbates illnesses. Mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia, have been shown to worsen under the influence of marijuana. • There are safe and effective substitutes. Patients who claim a medical need for marijuana's active ingredient, THC, can get legally dispensed prescriptions for Marinol. Nearly 20 other safe and thoroughly tested pharmaceuticals are available to treat the ill-effects that pot is said to alleviate. "How can you be in favor of smoking anything?" asks Rep. Dave Weldon, a physician. "Why anyone would want to introduce another mind-altering, addictive, carcinogenic substance into society is beyond me." The Melbourne Republican, whose district includes Indian River County, says he has never encountered a doctor who felt the need to prescribe marijuana. "This isn't like the 1960s and the early days of chemotherapy. There are dozens of drugs on the market that work and work effectively." But logic and science get lost in the haze at NORML (they don't spell it out, so I will: National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws). They may have traded in their Volkswagens and Grateful Dead albums for BMWs and Willie Nelson, but they still resent the fact that they can be busted for smoking or selling grass. And that's what this all comes down to. Beyond the hyped-up claims of medical necessity, the real agenda is to make marijuana more widely accessible for the general population — as if our hip-hop society needs more mind-numbing substances on the open market. Amid relentless lobbying and behind-the-scenes funding from the likes of liberal financier George Soros, 11 states — mostly on the Left Coast — are now in the "medical" pot distribution business. This might excite libertarians and phony federalists, but it does nothing to promote public safety. Indeed, stripping federal drug statutes opens the barn door to more narcotic mischief and moves this country one step closer to wholesale legalization. Anyone who doesn't think that's the ultimate objective is smoking something. Ward is opinion page editor of the Press Journal. Source: Fort Pierce Tribune (FL)Author: Ken WardPublished: June 2, 2005Copyright: 2005 The E.W. Scripps Co.Contact: tribedit fptribune.comWebsite: http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/tribuneRelated Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Medical Marijuana Advocates Implore Congress http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20627.shtmlTalk Show Host Pleads Medical Pot Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20626.shtmlMedical Marijuana Debate Heats Up http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20624.shtml 
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on June 02, 2005 at 12:54:22 PT
A Suggestion
It was brought to my attention that it might be good to go to the article on the web site and leave a comment directly. It will be read by more people and maybe even Mr. Ward.Both articles are still on the front page but you will need to register. It's free though.http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/tribune
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on June 02, 2005 at 12:20:29 PT
observer I Need Help
I've noticed a couple times that the hits on an article often aren't the same as on the front page. I know archiving articles throws them off down towards the bottom and then when it goes to view next thirty it is fine. As of now the front page say 13 comments but in the comments on the article it says 12 comments. Maybe you might be able to figure out if something needs fixed for me. I sure would appreciate it.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20753.shtml
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Comment #16 posted by jose melendez on June 02, 2005 at 11:16:48 PT
Proof: Pot Prohibitions Cause Youth Heroin Spike
Persuaded Pot Prohibitions Protect Preteens?Wrong, and wrong again:" . . . use of heroin among 12th graders increased 36 percent (from 1.1% to 1.5%) and snorting or smoking as the route of administration increased 60 percent (from 1.0% to 1.6%).  NOTE: This increase in heroin use for 12th graders may be a cohort effect, reflecting the aging of the 8th graders of 1996, who showed increased heroin use for that year."http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:6cJ3YFz-gLQJ:media.shs.net/prevline/mtf2000.ppt+percent+marijuana+use+heroin+study&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
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Comment #15 posted by jose melendez on June 02, 2005 at 11:04:19 PT
Heroin: A Red Herring
Strengthening Public Trust in Our Marketshttp://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2005/03/27/randAndAmericanEnterpriseI.html Curiously, although marijuana is a much smaller contributor to crime than heroin or crack, 58 percent of treatment admissions where the primary drug of abuse was marijuana were criminal justice system referrals. By comparison, only 13 percent of heroin treatment admissions and 26 percent of crack admissions were criminal justice system referrals. The likely explanation for the higher marijuana figure is the large number of young individuals who enter treatment programs as part of a plea bargain or pretrial negotiations. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301638_pf.html The study of FBI data by a Washington-based think tank, the Sentencing Project, found that the proportion of heroin and cocaine cases plummeted from 55 percent of all drug arrests in 1992 to less than 30 percent 10 years later. During the same period, marijuana arrests rose from 28 percent of the total to 45 percent.Coming in the wake of the focus on crack cocaine in the late 1980s, the increasing emphasis on marijuana enforcement was accompanied by a dramatic rise in overall drug arrests, from fewer than 1.1 million in 1990 to more than 1.5 million a decade later. Eighty percent of that increase came from marijuana arrests, the study found.see also: *Breach of Public Trust:
*Exempted, along with the incarceration and 'treatment' industries .
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Comment #14 posted by runderwo on June 02, 2005 at 10:41:41 PT
warhater
I think we are on the same wavelength! This article was easy pickin's. I *seriously* hope this guy was just playing devil's advocate.
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Comment #13 posted by observer on June 02, 2005 at 10:23:42 PT
Why did he forget to mention JAIL or PRISON?
... strongly opposes legalization ... one step closer to wholesale legalization ...Hmmm. I detect a pattern with prohibitionists. They love to put down that scary pot "Legalization" as an obvious non-starter. ("What? Give crack to toddlers?!" etc.) But did our prohibitionist propaganda person mention jail or prison at all? Nah.A favorite prohibition propaganda game is to scream "FEAR!" "MARIJUANA!" and "LEGALIZATION!" over and over, while nary a mention of the prison pot smokers have awaiting them in the US prison industrial complex escapes their lips. (see: http://www.spr.org http://www.november.org et al.)Shouldn't we help people remember the exactly those truths such propagandists so carefully avoid? 
http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pot
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Comment #12 posted by goneposthole on June 02, 2005 at 08:54:18 PT
What's he drinking?
Moonshine? "Oh, the buzzards in the sky get so dizzy they can't fly just from sniffin' that good ol' mountain dew... them that refuse it are few."George McMahon is a medical cannabis patient.http://www.texansformedicalmarijuana.org/profiles/george.htmlThe prohibitionist propaganda machine whirrs, spins, smokes, steams and makes loud noises 24/7 and distill their junk science into a pure extract of genuine snake oil. It's amazing. It's tough to keep up with such a gizmo. Those good-hearted prohibitionists keep yappin' and yappin' till the cows come home. The moos eventually will drown out their cacophonous chorus. This stuff takes time. 68 years or so of prohibitionist propaganda is tough to overcome.When it all finally comes to an end, the cement will flow on top of the radioactive prohibitionist propaganda for another 68 years. Prohibitionist propaganda is hot stuff, hotter than the Chernobyl still burning nuclear reactor.
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Comment #11 posted by jose melendez on June 02, 2005 at 07:56:37 PT
Papier, Bitte: Papers Please Big Pharma 
Since its inception, the policy of prohibition has been enabled by yellow journalism to benefit industrial interests:http://www.jackherer.com/chapter04.htmlThe editor of this newspaper follows in the tradition, and it's not as if they do not know. This is from an article linked to their front page:"Bebe Lewis, 69, begins every day with a check of her blood sugar, followed by a handful of pills. By the time she goes to bed, she has taken a combination of 11 pills, inhalants and breathing treatments."http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/local_news/article/0,2545,TCP_16736_3823999,00.html
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Comment #10 posted by jose melendez on June 02, 2005 at 07:30:12 PT
Who said cannabis was nontoxic?
" . . . study tested the efficacy of (cannabinoid) HU-211 in combination with antimicrobial therapy in reducing brain damage in experimental pneumococcal meningitis . . . "http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8627042Cannabis Neuroprotective?http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_science1.shtmlSTUDY SHOWS VAPORIZER CAN DRASTICALLY
       REDUCE TOXINS IN SMOKEhttp://www.onlinepot.org/medical/vapstudy.htmNicotine presents a high degree of toxicity and was first used as an insecticide in the 18th century. Caffeine, though far less than nicotine, is also toxic to the body. And whereby excessive alcohol consumption can be lethal, marijuana is medically nontoxic and not lethal to humans. Cannabis metabolites are nontoxic.As with any legal substance, be it tobacco or alcohol, adults are able to decide if and when they will use those substances, without government intrusion.http://www.hemp.net/wchr/facts.htmlProven: Cannabis is safe medicinehttp://www.ukcia.org/research/safe-medicine.htmThough tobacco and alcohol cause hundreds of thousands of deaths every year, cannabis is completely nontoxic and has never caused a single death in thousands of years. Yet tobacco and alcohol users can avail themselves of a regulated market, while cannabis users are subjected to arbitrary prosecution and punishment by enforcers of this unjust law.http://www.thc-foundation.org/home.html CANNABIS/HEMP/MARIJUANA is non-toxichttp://www.jackherer.com/Cannabinoid receptor activation and elevated cyclic AMP reduce glutamate neurotoxicityhttp://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.0953-816x.2001.01536.x/abs/Forethought:Marijuana Eases Traumatic Memories http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13601.shtmlFood for Thought:" . . . with the observation that different types of opioid- (Standifer and Pasternak, 1997) and cannabinoid- (Cook et al., 1995) induced antinociception may be mediated in part by specific G subtypes, it might be possible to develop agonists that at optimal concentrations preferentially activate G subunits responsible for the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids (i.e., antinociception), while avoiding activation of other G subunits potentially mediating undesirable actions (i.e., disruption of short-term memory)."http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/57/5/1000For Thought:Dr. Ethan Russo wrote an article on Rosenfeld after giving him a battery of tests over a two day period. Russo, a neurologist in Missoula, Mont., said Rosenfeld has normal lung capacity and a functioning immune system."The cannabis he receives acts as a muscle relaxant and an analgesic," Russo said. "It reduces pain at the tissue level, and the spinal cord and brain levels."Rosenfeld exhibits none of the lethargy, lack of short term memory or other common effects of marijuana. He makes sure to tell every one of his new clients about his treatment.Rosenfeld smoked marijuana as a treatment for several years before joining the federal program, buying from dealers on the street. If the president should decide to stop providing the cannabis, then he would be forced to get it illegally, he said.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread14794.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by potpal on June 02, 2005 at 05:08:17 PT
Kenny want a cracker?
Sounds like this guy lost his high school girlfriend to a pothead.
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Comment #8 posted by OverwhelmSam on June 02, 2005 at 04:43:27 PT
A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste.
This guy talks like cannabis is not widely available now, and that somehow legalizing it will make it more available. Hello! Prohibition makes it more available than regulation. And by the way, my first recreational gateway drug was coffee at age six.People like this are experts at playing mind games with their own minds, but they're not fooling anyone else.
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on June 02, 2005 at 04:11:54 PT
A Few Beefs; I Ignore Many That Have Been Refuted
"Reefer madness, in the form of House Bill 2087, seeks to change federal drug laws to allow pot to be dispensed by prescription.""Reefer madness," a two-word slur to discredit all the *real* science that has broken the 70-year blockade of disinformation and information suppression. "Reefer madness," a two-word slur that evokes memories of Harry Anslinger's false testimony to Congress based on William Randolph Hearst's sensationalistic yellow journalism, the 1930's equivalent of supermarket tabloids.'Marijuana is not "nontoxic."' Who said it was? What medicine has no side effects? Read the label, listen to the commercials. Cannabis is SAFER, not harmless or nontoxic."The American Medical Association strongly opposes legalization, medicinal or otherwise." The AMA, see they have an acronym too, is a lobby group for the medical status quo. In the past they have condemned many new medical techniques, including vitamin and mineral supplements, nutrition, acupuncture, and herbs. These were once ignored at medical colleges as irrelevant to health, as was at one time the simple sanitation technique of washing your hands before an operation. How can doctors whose education omitted many of these valuable health-aiding techniques be expected to recommend such therapies or even to be convinced that they might help a patient? The AMA is not a democratic organization; its policies are dictated by its leadership, not decided by consensus of its membership or democratic vote. The leadership of the CMA, let me spell it out, Canadian Medical Association, has threatened censure of its members and suggested that its doctors not recommend medical cannabis, even though it is a legal remedy in Canada. Who has a hidden agenda?
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Comment #6 posted by Toker00 on June 02, 2005 at 04:01:20 PT
OMG
"There are safe and effective substitutes. Patients who claim a medical need for marijuana's active ingredient, THC, can get legally dispensed prescriptions for Marinol. Nearly 20 other safe and thoroughly tested pharmaceuticals are available to treat the ill-effects that pot is said to alleviate."Safe and thoroughly tested? Except for the destructive side-effects, you mean? Thoroughly tested like the drugs being recalled on a regular basis because of their ability to cause death, serious injury or blindness? You mean the Marinol which patients say doesn't work anywhere near as well as smoked, vaporized or eaten Cannabis? So we're suppose to be satisfied with second or third best? Not the very best of whole Cannabis? Well, ok. But only because YOU say so.Jesus, thump this guy up side his head, please.Peace. Legalize, then Revolutionize!(medicine)(energy)(nutrition)
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on June 02, 2005 at 03:59:02 PT
Ken Ward
Surely Ken Ward isn't dumb enough to believe this cripe he writes. The paper simply had to have someone write an opposing view to Paul Armentano's article. But if he does beleive this...But it's all one big smokescreen put up by those who just want to puff pot.Tell that to Montel Williams,Angel Raich and the thousands of other Americans who have tried every pharmaceutical drug on the market but can only find relief from cannabis.I have news for you, Ken Ward. Over 80% of Americans disagree with you on this issue. You are in the ever shrinking 20% that are fools enough to believe the government's absurd propaganda. 
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Comment #4 posted by observer on June 02, 2005 at 01:01:09 PT
propaganda analysis
[6]
Reefer madness, in the form of House Bill 2087, seeks to change federal drug laws to allow pot to be dispensed by prescription.
(Sentence 6) re: "Reefer madness" - Prohibitionist propaganda claims that horrible dangers are caused by "drugs." (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[9]
The American Medical Association strongly opposes legalization, medicinal or otherwise.
(Sentence 9) re: "American" - The health of the "community" (read: government) is assured, prohibitionists explain, because drug users are punished. Jailing drug users is thus painted as upholding society. (Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme3.htm#3 ) 
 
 
[12]
Marijuana smokers who have never smoked a cigarette have contracted lung cancer.
(Sentence 12) re: "Marijuana smokers" - Prohibition propaganda often uses crude forms of name-calling to link a targeted drug with groups the majority dislikes. (Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme1.htm#1 ) 
 
 
[13]
Pot is a gateway drug.
(Sentence 13) re: "gateway" - Prohibition propagandists try to smear targeted drugs by announcing they are "gateways" to other truly wicked behavior. (Use is Abuse, Gateway (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#4 ) 
 
 
[14]
You may find a pot smoker who hasn't graduated to crack...yet, but you won't find many cocaine or heroin addicts who haven't done weed.
(Sentence 14) re: "addicts" - The rhetoric of prohibition will try to use labeling and guilt by association to link drugs and drug users with hated groups. (Hated Groups (propaganda theme 1) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme1.htm#1 ) 
 
 
[15]
Pot causes accidents.
(Sentence 15) re: "accidents" - Drugs, scream prohibitionists, cause all bad things in life: crime, violence, insanity, etc. If not for prohibition (i.e., jailing drug users), then criminality, violence and psychotic behavior would explode upon the land, the prohibitionist assures us. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[16]
Police reports are replete with accounts of stoned motorists or equipment operators responsible for industrial and traffic accidents.
(Sentence 16) re: "accidents" - Prohibition propaganda rarely misses an opportunity to link crime, violence, and insanity with "drugs". The propagandist insinuates that prohibited drugs cause evil, and if it weren't for "drugs" bad things would not exist. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[19]
Studies have shown cognitive impairment among marijuana users, even weeks after use.
(Sentence 19) re: "impairment" - Drugs, claim the prohibitionist, cause insanity, violence, and terrible sickness. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "marijuana users" - The rhetoric of prohibition will assume that "use" and "abuse" are identical. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) 
 
 
[22]
Mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia, have been shown to worsen under the influence of marijuana.
(Sentence 22) re: "schizophrenia" - Drugs, the prohibitionist explains, are a wicked bane on modern man. Why if not for the noble drug war (i.e. jailing drug users), exclaims the propagandist, then people will run amok, and violence, death, psychosis, and plague shall cover the land. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[28]
"Why anyone would want to introduce another mind-altering, addictive, carcinogenic substance into society is beyond me."
(Sentence 28) re: "carcinogenic", "addictive" - The rhetoric of prohibition asserts that insanity, crime, and violence are caused by drugs, or are controlled by prohibition. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "society" - The survival of society is assured, -- says the propaganda of prohibition -- as long as drug users are punished (jailed). (Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme3.htm#3 ) 
 
 
[35]
Beyond the hyped-up claims of medical necessity, the real agenda is to make marijuana more widely accessible for the general population  as if our hip-hop society needs more mind-numbing substances on the open market.
(Sentence 35) re: "society" - Because of prohibition (prohibitionists assure us), society is protected: the community is safe, and the nation is saved. (Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme3.htm#3 ) 
 
 
[36]
Amid relentless lobbying and behind-the-scenes funding from the likes of liberal financier George Soros, 11 states  mostly on the Left Coast  are now in the "medical" pot distribution business.
(Sentence 36) re: "George Soros" - People who step forward in disagreement with prohibition are attacked and sometimes jailed. (Dissent Attacked (propaganda theme 8) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme8.htm#8 ) 
 
 
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Comment #3 posted by warhater on June 02, 2005 at 00:40:06 PT:
Ken Ward is no journalist
"Medical marijuana is not widely medically supported. The American Medical Association strongly opposes legalization, medicinal or otherwise. "AMA has a vested interest in keeping the big pharma healthy. They are biased."Marijuana is not "nontoxic." Cannabis contains high levels of tar and other not-so-healthy ingredients found in tobacco. Marijuana smokers who have never smoked a cigarette have contracted lung cancer. "Many medicines have toxic effects. Occasionally people who don't smoke at all contract lung cancer."Pot is a gateway drug. You may find a pot smoker who hasn't graduated to crack...yet, but you won't find many cocaine or heroin addicts who haven't done weed."This means nothing. There is no evidence that pot causes people to take harder drugs. You won't find many heroin addicts who haven't drank milk, but that doesn't mean milk leads to heroin use."Pot causes accidents. Police reports are replete with accounts of stoned motorists or equipment operators responsible for industrial and traffic accidents. That's surely a bonanza for trial lawyers, but bad news for everyone else."Cute assertion, but "police reports are replete with" does not constitute an authoritative reference. Our legal drugs cause plenty of accidents. Let's see a study that compares MJ with some legal drugs' with respect to driving ablity. "Pot impairs learning. Studies have shown cognitive impairment among marijuana users, even weeks after use. Pot exacerbates illnesses. Mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia, have been shown to worsen under the influence of marijuana."Actually some studies show impairment dissappears completely in occasional users within 24 hours. Once again this author compares MJ to nothing. We know chronic alcohol use causes cognitive impairment. I am willing to bet that a number of prescription drugs also do. The "they call it dope for a reason" comment is so witty and original. Pot exacerbates illnesses. Mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia, have been shown to worsen under the influence of marijuana.Hey, this is first time I ever heard an anti summarize the 
schizophrenia issue honestly. I'm suprised that he didn't say it causes schizophrenia. I think everybody agrees that it is not a good idea for schizophrenics to take recreational drugs."There are safe and effective substitutes. Patients who claim a medical need for marijuana's active ingredient, THC, can get legally dispensed prescriptions for Marinol. Nearly 20 other safe and thoroughly tested pharmaceuticals are available to treat the ill-effects that pot is said to alleviate."THC is not MJ's only active ingredient. THC is metabolized differently when it is absorbed through the lungs than when it is absorbed through the stomach."How can you be in favor of smoking anything?" asks Rep. Dave Weldon, a physician.Vaporizers allow inhalation without the smoke. "Why anyone would want to introduce another mind-altering, addictive, carcinogenic substance into society is beyond me."It has been in society for a long time. We aren't introducing anything.The author's prejudices are apparent thoughout the article. "But logic and science get lost in the haze at NORML (they don't spell it out, so I will: National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws)." He seems to imply there is something dishonest about using an acronym. I suppose he doesn't like NASA or the FBI either."They may have traded in their Volkswagens and Grateful Dead albums for BMWs and Willie Nelson, but they still resent the fact that they can be busted for smoking or selling grass"What a glittering generalization. Sound like he believes anyone in NORML is a deadhead ex-hippie, who now drives a BMW."Beyond the hyped-up claims of medical necessity, the real agenda is to make marijuana more widely accessible for the general population"Many medical MJ advocates are not interested in legalization for recreational use. Marijuana is already widely accessible."— as if our hip-hop society needs more mind-numbing substances on the open market."A blatantly racist comment; it reflects the bigotry that started this ridiculous war in the first place. He could have said "Black musicians use MJ to corrupt our white women.". This statement is code speak for that.
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Comment #2 posted by jose melendez on June 02, 2005 at 00:30:48 PT
runderwo
Pick any three claims from the article above, then read this link: http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html
 now send a brief, professional letter to the editor:Contact: tribedit fptribune.comWebsite: http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/tribuneGood on you for pointing out there are no citations, be sure to include some yourself!
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Comment #1 posted by runderwo on June 01, 2005 at 23:33:35 PT
dumbass
This article is beyond hope."* Medical marijuana is not widely medically supported. The American Medical Association strongly opposes legalization, medicinal or otherwise."... yet he doesn't mention the scads of medical associations that DO support it. Nor does he mention why an absolute consensus in the medical community is required?"* Marijuana is not "nontoxic." Cannabis contains high levels of tar and other not-so-healthy ingredients found in tobacco."Okay, so he won't have a problem with vaporizers, sprays, or brownies? And in any case, the tobacco comparison is irrelevant. Marijuana smoking does not cause lung cancer, emphysema, or COPD as tobacco does. Hell, even chewing tobacco causes cancer."Marijuana smokers who have never smoked a cigarette have contracted lung cancer."Ordinary people who have never smoked a cigarette or marijuana have contracted lung cancer. Your point? Please cite even one study which has shown marijuana smoking to be a risk factor for lung cancer."* Pot is a gateway drug. You may find a pot smoker who hasn't graduated to crack...yet"Is this guy for real? Please demonstrate the mechanism used by marijuana to cause people to seek out crack. Over 40% of the population has used marijuana recreationally at some point in their life. How many have used crack? Does crack relieve nerve pain?"but you won't find many cocaine or heroin addicts who haven't done weed."Nor will you find many who haven't done alcohol or cigarettes or coffee."* Pot causes accidents. Police reports are replete with accounts of stoned motorists or equipment operators responsible for industrial and traffic accidents."Yet studies show that even the most stoned drivers are no risk to others, as long as ALCOHOL is not intermingled. Google for "stoned drivers are safe drivers"."That's surely a bonanza for trial lawyers"Nice neo-con jab, but unfortunately it's irrelevant."* Pot impairs learning. Studies have shown cognitive impairment among marijuana users, even weeks after use."What studies? Note the lack of citation. In fact, many studies have shown just the opposite, except in the heaviest of chronic recreational users, and in any case the effects are not permanent."Remember, it's called 'dope' for a reason."Here's an idiot trying to be witty. See http://www.wordorigins.org/wordord.htm and note that the word "dope" was coined to describe opium, not marijuana, and its use to describe people under the influence came later."* Pot exacerbates illnesses."Oh? This could be interesting."Mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia, have been shown to worsen under the influence of marijuana."Oh. Maybe not. Hey, ibuprofen affects your liver, should it be illegal? I hear you can get really stoned on Prozac, should users go to jail? Or should this sort of thing be left to the doctor's discretion like everything else?"* There are safe and effective substitutes. Patients who claim a medical need for marijuana's active ingredient, THC, can get legally dispensed prescriptions for Marinol."... a SYNTHETIC form of THC, which includes no other cannabinoid, must be taken orally so it is useless against nausea, has numerous side effects because the dosage cannot be controlled, and is EXPENSIVE to boot, nearly $30 per pill."Nearly 20 other safe and thoroughly tested pharmaceuticals are available to treat the ill-effects that pot is said to alleviate."So patients are LYING when they say cannabis treats pain or nausea that no other substance is successful with? This guy has a lot of balls (or a big paycheck coming).""How can you be in favor of smoking anything?" asks Rep. Dave Weldon, a physician."What works works, as much as you may hate the people that you have taken an oath to treat."Why anyone would want to introduce another mind-altering, addictive, carcinogenic substance into society is beyond me."It was introduced into society long ago, pal, and apparently you missed that train. This makes no difference to those of us who are scoring or growing on our own for non-medical purposes. It makes a difference to those people who have a legitimate need and whose doctors agree it is the best solution."he has never encountered a doctor who felt the need to prescribe marijuana. "This isn't like the 1960s and the early days of chemotherapy. There are dozens of drugs on the market that work and work effectively."What's the claim here? That marijuana doesn't work? Or that the patients who demand it are lying? I forgot, they are all lying liars who just want to get high. +1 for 1960's hippy liberal jab."But logic and science get lost in the haze at NORML"+1 cheap shot, and I certainly see far more science and objective studies being quoted over at NORML than I do in schlep like this."(they don't spell it out, so I will: National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws)."GASP! SHOCK!"but they still resent the fact that they can be busted for smoking or selling grass."Yup. You're damn right I resent it. And I resent tools like you that hate freedom."And that's what this all comes down to. Beyond the hyped-up
claims of medical necessity,"Yup, again, lying liars all of them. Including Irv Rosenfeld and Montel Williams."the real agenda is to make marijuana more widely accessible for the general population"Certainly, if they can demonstrate a medical need. There's no question that NORML's agenda overlaps with those of medical cannabis advocates. Does someone you disagree with agreeing with you somehow undermine your position?"* as if our hip-hop society needs more mind-numbing substances on the open market."-1 America Bashing, can't you do better than this? As for your point, these substances are already on the open market, and you're doing a rather poor job of keeping them out of children's hands. Criminals don't check ID."Amid relentless lobbying and behind-the-scenes funding from the likes of liberal financier George Soros,"Ooh! The CONSPIRACY! Never mind the funding sources of the ONDCP, DEA, DARE, DFAF, ....."11 states * mostly on the Left Coast *"Even if I was a bible-thumping status quo conservative, I'd be getting the feeling of being pandered to by now."This might excite libertarians and phony federalists,"Oh, it excites the real ones too!"but it does nothing to promote public safety."This non sequitur is just a gem. Medical cannabis is about public HEALTH, and public safety is not demonstrably affected by medical cannabis since your speculation about smoking and about driving are trivially refuted."Indeed, stripping federal drug statutes opens the barn door to more narcotic mischief"How? Narcotics are already legal for doctors to prescribe. People already use them recreationally if they want to. What exactly has changed in your doomsday scenario?"and moves this country one step closer to wholesale legalization."Yup, isn't it great? Or it could just stop right there if you could provide a good reason why it should. Unfortunately, you haven't yet."Anyone who doesn't think that's the ultimate objective is
smoking something."+1 Character assassination, and yes, legalization is the ultimate objective of some people, but as for others, they just want their medicine and for others to have access to safe, cheap, effective medicine. For example, Montel Williams has repeatedly said that he does not endorse marijuana legalization, but only the federal rescheduling. He may not be against legalization, but he states that it isn't his fight.Ken, you seem to have constructed a paranoid conspiracy that all of these medical reformers have a hidden agenda. Do you have any evidence at all for this, or are you just blowing smoke?
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