cannabisnews.com: DEA Admitted MJ is Less Dangerous Than Heroin
function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent(' DEA Admitted MJ is Less Dangerous Than Heroin');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/29/thread29062.shtml');
 site = new Array(5);
 site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
 return false;
}






 DEA Admitted MJ is Less Dangerous Than Heroin
Posted by CN Staff on March 15, 2017 at 16:32:52 PT
By Christopher Ingraham
Source: Washington Post
Washington, D.C. -- Less than two years after the Drug Enforcement Administration officially admitted that “heroin is clearly more dangerous than marijuana,” new Attorney General Jeff Sessions revisited that comparison in remarks today before law enforcement officials in Richmond:I reject the idea that America will be a better place if marijuana is sold in every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana — so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less awful. Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life.
Sessions remarks are contradicted by a wealth of medical and policy research.For starters, researchers and policymakers aren't suggesting that marijuana legalization will “solve” the heroin crisis. As I noted late last month, there is, however, abundant, peer-reviewed evidence suggesting that legalizing medical marijuana has led to decreases in opioid overdose and mortality rates in a number of states.And my list is already out-of-date: A new report published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence last month found opioid hospitalizations decreased in states that allowed medical marijuana. Furthermore, those states saw no increase in the incidence of marijuana-related hospitalizations.That speaks to Sessions's second point: that marijuana dependency is “only slightly less awful” than heroin addiction. Drug dependency of any kind is, indeed, awful. And marijuana dependency is quite real.But there is a spectrum of “awful"-ness of drug dependency, and evidence and common sense suggest marijuana and heroin are miles apart. For starters, heroin is lethal and kills 13,000 of its users each year. Nobody ODs on marijuana alone.Second, the federal government's own research undermines any equivalency between dependency on marijuana and heroin. You can often gauge how bad a given drug addiction is by looking at what happens when a user tries to kick the habit. For heroin, the National Institute on Drug Abuse lists withdrawal symptoms including “muscle and bone pain, sleep problems, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps, uncontrollable leg movements severe heroin cravings.”Heroin withdrawal is so bad that users occasionally die from it, particularly in harsh criminal justice environments where they're unable to receive medical care.For marijuana, on the other hand, major withdrawal symptoms include “grouchiness, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety cravings.”Grouchiness and decreased appetite seem far — not “slightly” — less awful than severe pain and possible death.Finally, researchers have generally ranked marijuana use as far less harmful to individuals and society than heroin use. In a 2010 Lancet report, dozens of researchers and public health experts rated the harm potential of a variety of drugs on a 0 to 100 scale, with 100 being the most harmful. Heroin scored in the mid-50s. Marijuana was rated at a 20.Sessions's remarks are “a sort of starting gun for a new war on drugs,” according to Michael Collins of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group working to reform drug laws. “It's very disappointing that this DOJ and this attorney general are so anti-science and anti-evidence and anti-facts.” Christopher Ingraham writes about politics, drug policy and all things data. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center. Source: Washington Post (DC)Author: Christopher Ingraham Published: March 15, 2017Copyright: 2017 Washington Post CompanyContact: letters washpost.com Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ URL: http://drugsense.org/url/mNOSuSHsCannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help 
     
     
     
     




Comment #29 posted by Hope on March 24, 2017 at 13:31:33 PT
Fears and Facts
Research Suggests Legal Cannabis Is Failing To Corrupt Youthhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2017/03/24/research-suggests-legal-cannabis-is-failing-to-corrupt-youth/#7eef8094305a
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #28 posted by FoM on March 23, 2017 at 10:19:20 PT
Hope
Just the facts! LOL! 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #27 posted by Hope on March 23, 2017 at 09:55:21 PT
Indeed
When I want opinions, I'll watch or listen to pundits and talk shows. If I want accurate news... that's all I want. Just the facts! Lol! No "Alternative" facts!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #26 posted by FoM on March 22, 2017 at 17:55:20 PT
Dots
I will connect my own dots! Just the facts!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #25 posted by FoM on March 22, 2017 at 17:54:08 PT
Hope
I loved Dragnet with Joe Friday: Just the facts, ma’am.That is all I want! Facts not stuff that is spin or theory.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #24 posted by Hope on March 22, 2017 at 10:05:48 PT
Comment 20
I meant Kent State. Not Ohio State.A dreadful day. A very dreadful day.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #23 posted by Hope on March 22, 2017 at 09:49:03 PT
I don't want any social manipulation in my news.
I just want the facts of what happened or is happening. That's all. I absolutely don't want reporters trying to manipulate or influence how I feel about it with lies, slant, or exaggeration. That manipulation is the best reason not to listen to pundits or talking heads. They aren't reporting or informing... they are manipulating opinions. I don't want them manipulating my opinion with lies and fabrications. They need to report and keep their stinky hands off my opinions!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #22 posted by Hope on March 22, 2017 at 09:42:31 PT
What happened in Ohio that day, 
Still breaks my heart. And the crap that passed for reporting afterwards! One thing still stands out in my mind and I think "Why? Why? For God's sake, why?" The media reported at that time that the students that were killed were dirty and had lice. Lice? Oh my gosh! Why? Obviously, only one reason to spread lies and stories like that. They were trying to find a way to slur the dead and make people not care. It's hard to resist the hate that stirred inside me after knowing about that lie, and others, that were reported and printed to try and make us not care that innocent young lives were taken by our own National Guard. Oh my Lord! It still stirs bile and makes a bad taste in my mouth.The Post and the Times are my favorite sources, too. Although I quickly run out of allowed stories without a subscription. They do a better job of reporting on our issue than some papers, I think. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #21 posted by FoM on March 22, 2017 at 08:44:27 PT
Hope
After doing news all these years I have found the Washington Post, The New York Times and a few others are careful about what is printed. They know they can get sued. I know politicians read these papers so that is why it matters to me. I don't believe we can be denied truth since the development of the Internet. We didn't have that back then when the shootings occurred in Ohio at Kent State. A little song I love by CSNY.                        Ohio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68g76j9VBvM
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #20 posted by Hope on March 21, 2017 at 22:11:05 PT
FoM
That's so true. If they don't check varied sources, they don't get a very realistic picture of what might actually be going on. I'm not very confident in any "News" I read. I got my first realization of how untrustworthy the media is during the shootings at Ohio State. The lies they reported as truths! The bias they purposely used to taint public opinion. It's appalling how biased different sources are. Last week was spring break here and I didn't have time to keep up with news very well at all. I felt better for it. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #19 posted by FoM on March 21, 2017 at 16:53:40 PT
Hope
I just read Breitbart and Alex Jones are being investigated by the FBI for Russia connections and trying to push fake news to help Trump get elected. I read lots of comments in Trending News on Facebook so I see what they think but I won't involve myself in any of it. I flip channels from MSNBC to CNN and then to Fox when something exposing Trump is on and Fox never has anything related to what MSNBC and CNN are covering. I feel sorry for people who don't check other news channels because they don't get the important story if it is negative towards Trump.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #18 posted by Sam Adams on March 21, 2017 at 11:38:48 PT
Washington Post
I just found out the Washington Post was purchased a couple years ago by Steve Bezos, the Amazon billionaire. I suspect the presence of Christopher Ingraham and his articles is directly attributable to this transaction. The Massachusetts legalization initiative was funded by millions of dollars in "dark money" and I read that it's suspected that Silicon Valley executives were behind it. If so I can't thank them enough! We absolutely need help from high tech and the young smart people in that industry.High Tech companies have to earn their money through ingenuity and hard work, they can't profit off some witch-hunt off a scapegoated group, or just use the FDA to push toxic pharma drugs, etc. They need to hire us! 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by Hope on March 21, 2017 at 10:53:02 PT
By the way...
Congratulations to Christopher Ingraham. Again! For another well written and factual article. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by Hope on March 21, 2017 at 10:51:02 PT
I actually hate political discourse...
But when I perceive that people and society are being destroyed by something, be it a government, or individuals, groups, or a freaking pack of wild dogs, I cannot stand by and support the injustice of it by not saying a damn thing. People were and are being killed, robbed, and treated so unjustly under the guise of a war on "drugs". It's like watching people being burned as witches.  
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by Hope on March 21, 2017 at 10:28:45 PT
You'd think "Progressive" is a good word,
Wouldn't you? But of course, it's used as an insult by many in their political discourse. That's why you have to listen to and go look at the media they are getting all their information from.No. You won't agree with them... but you need to know what they are saying to all the people that listen to them.My entire voting and thinking life I have never been a member of any political party and I never voted a straight ticket. Ever. And I always voted. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by FoM on March 21, 2017 at 07:13:26 PT
Hope
This election has shown me a lot about how much hate there is towards progressives. I could never be a Republican. People blindly support a man that is a ego maniac. I worry about him taking us in to a war. I want less government not more. End the drug war, I am for Gay rights, Women's Rights to choose etc. The connection to Bannon and Alex Jones is just too much. Trump might go down when it is all revealed about his Russia connection. I don't like Pence but at least he seems calmer then Trump.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by Hope on March 20, 2017 at 19:13:44 PT
Comments 9 and 10 John Tyler and Sam Adams
So excellent! So very excellent! Some movement to the good, towards sanity, and reason, down deep in the belly of the beast! That's wonderful news.Some of the tightness in my chest eased up with all that information.Some people at NIDA have actually been seeing the real truth of the matter for a long time, I think. Finally, enough of them are beginning to see the truth to start them moving, together, in a saner more reasonable direction. Integrity is rising up and pushing through to places where blind bureaucracy has always prevailed.I'm comforted, somewhat. Thank you, so much.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by Hope on March 20, 2017 at 18:53:13 PT
Comment 7 FoM
Oh my gosh! It amazes me, too. Having always hated labels and trying to avoid them landing on me or labeling anyone else I'm appalled at the viciousness of the labeling and name calling. I really am a gentle soul, I guess. My spirit, at least, is inclined to gentleness, quietness, and caring. I'm pretty sure that in today's world, that makes me a "Bleeding heart liberal".I love the meanings of liberal. I love the meanings of conservative. Both as just meanings and political meanings. Personally, if I have to have a label, I will go with Bill Buckley Conservative. I loved that guy and his thinking. But I have become very uncomfortable about standing too close to any of those who label themselves as Conservative these days. Or Liberals, for that matter. I love people on both sides! I am neither a Democrat or a Republican. Maybe I'm not anything anyone wants to judge me to be. I'm horrified at the hatred, fear, anger, and resentment going on among some people. There are war mongers, fear mongers, and hate mongers among us. They aren't on one side or the other. They are on both sides.I'm very concerned about what I see as nuclear proliferation.I've asked some of these "Conservative" people about why the hatred and anger toward the people they label as liberals. First they say something like have I seen how horrible and nasty the liberals are. They say "The Liberals are outlandishly vicious. They say liberals are so hateful and they want laws out the kazoo and controlling everything and everybody. They want to control you and every aspect of your life. They say Liberals are the original busy bodies. They say Liberals love to saddle people with loads and loads of laws. They say Liberals want laws about everything and anything. Liberals are mean." Conservatives like to say they are all against laws to control your life, property, and personal choices... except for the drug laws. They love the drug laws and all the drug law exceptions to sanity. What? I roll my eyes just thinking about it. I have gone on line and read some of what they are talking about. There are mean, hate filled, bossy, arrogant, and loud Liberals. They are out there and they are just as ugly as the ugly Conservative.A lot of it boils down to the media they hear and believe. Both sides... Liberal and Conservative. That's what the political talk shows are about. Insults. Bitching. Paranoia and hatred. There's very little informative news, if any. It appears to be about indoctrination and setting people against each other. All of them. Talk shows are about indoctrination into what ever cult of anger they want you to join. They constantly insult and call each other names and make outlandish accusations. They like to tell you to be afraid. "Be very afraid". Crap! It does no good about anything to be going around all "Afraid". I've looked at both "Media" sides of the issue. And tried to find the "Middle"... which is amazingly hard to find. I've endured the Fox shows... CNN.. NPR and NBC and ABC and Al Jazeera. All the talking heads! The Wall Street Journal. The Post. The Times. All of them. Most of us have seen so many opinions on facebook (some people seem to think it's assbook) and twitter and comment sections on the internet. Because of the internet, I now know more about everybody and their opinions than I ever wanted to. The hatred. The put downs. The calls to hysteria. It's utterly horrifying.I'm pretty sure that most of the political world is in the hands of nut cases and there's really pretty much nothing we can do about it but be watchful, help the helpless, and pray. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 20, 2017 at 14:33:50 PT
John Tyler--Trump
Trump has hired people to destroy the agenies they're taking over. 
Very irresponsible.
I didn't vote for this clown. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on March 20, 2017 at 12:27:44 PT
NIDA repping medical cannabis
my, how times have changed. NIH/NIDA, which for decades suppressed cannabis research, is now apparently updating their medMJ page to push back at Sessions and Trump! What a great story, check out the new page:>>>A profound shift in the federal governmentÕs stance on cannabis was marked by subtle changes made this month to one webpage. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, now has a webpage titled Marijuana as Medicine. Prior to March 2017, it was titled Is Marijuana Medicine?http://thefreethoughtproject.com/for-the-first-time-ever-the-federal-govt-is-referring-to-marijuana-as-medicine/#yv7xcoXTJTmDccLI.99Marijuana as Medicine
Revised March 2017
What is medical marijuana?https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by John Tyler on March 20, 2017 at 12:12:31 PT
Local newspaper disputes Sessions on cannabis
Jeff Sessions came to Richmond VA to try to sell his misinformed ideas about cannabis to anyone who would listen. The local newspaper, which is not liberal in any way, took him to task with this editorial on March 18, 2017.
http://www.richmond.com/opinion/our-opinion/editorial-jeff-sessions-reefer-madness/article_77bf7193-e886-5445-9efa-447e914fb609.htmlCheck it out. Cool Reefer Madness graphic mocking him also.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by SoupHerb on March 20, 2017 at 07:49:11 PT:
Money, Money, Money
The corporations simply buy the government representatives they need to do the law making so as to maximize profits...
Never has been any other way since the beginning of time.
Which to me makes them all crooks and the system of government an on going crime...sigh.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by FoM on March 19, 2017 at 10:10:30 PT
A Thought
I try to understand why Liberals that mostly live in the north and northeast and the west coast are hated so. Why would people vote against those who value all people? The Christian principles that people believe are good caring ones so why do they fight against it all? Do they just hate us for no good reason?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 19, 2017 at 08:35:28 PT
Off-topic: Land of the stupids update 
I had predicted some stupids would have regrets, seems there are more and more of them now. Here is one, perhaps he had a rise in IQ (press on the link below to see the photo of a regretful Trump supporter). 
http://m.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/17/1644618/Most people coming from NYC could tell you trump is the typical scammer. I'm not sure why other people did not see that, oh thats right, lack of experience or we are talking about the land of the stupids. He is going to make America (himself and his corporate weasel friends) great again, with your sacrifices, and run the environment into the ground. 
Enjoy the disaster! 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by Hope on March 16, 2017 at 09:52:56 PT
About that girl that beat heroin addiction.
She WANTED to beat the addiction... and she did.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by Hope on March 16, 2017 at 09:49:02 PT
I KNOW that cannabis can be a useful tool
in fighting heroin addiction.I know it, because I've seen it.I saw it with my own eyes, some forty years ago!That girl, then, is sixty and alive and healthy today. It's a long story, but basically, she knew she would die if she kept it up and it had already brought her lower than she had ever imagined it could, and she did not want to commit to the state's heroin addiction program at that time. A sack full of snickers. A gallon or two of milk, some good weed, sleep, being watched over in a quiet, safe place... she survived. The full story is somewhere in the back rooms of Cannabis News from years back.Of course, Sessions is not happy with leaving off the pharmaceutical companies and a slew of government agents and shrinks. He wants to DO THINGS, drastic things, to addicts! And everybody knows that methadone is safer than weed. NOT!When you have a lunatic for a leader... and he wants to lead you into a jungle of hideous expense and deadly traps on every hand and you know he's wrong... but you can't stop him. Aaargh.It's so frustrating, terrifying, and ANGER inducing. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Hope on March 16, 2017 at 09:31:55 PT
Jeff Sessions... Pathological liar?
When Jeff Sessions said, "Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life" he is clearly lying. The truth is, "That using certain drugs will cause Jeff Sessions to destroy your life".
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by HempWorld on March 16, 2017 at 08:36:58 PT
Marijuana/Cannabis is safer than Water!
This is a statistical and toxicological FACT!But facts don't matter to ideologues!Round and round we go!On the backs of we the people and our communities!Ignorance and especially willful (i.e. ideological) ignorance, is very expensive, harmful and deadly!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by The GCW on March 15, 2017 at 17:39:07 PT
He should lose His platform
Ingraham, spoke My words except I'd go a bit further.This perp should not be allowed, in any way, to force His southern hospitality on America.In fact, He should lose His platform.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment