Marijuana Myths

TheCollegeConservative ^ | 02/03/2012 | Alan Groves

[sigzero]

Are they distinguishing “medical” usage from “recreational” usage? I would be for the former but not for the later.

[rightwingextremist1776]

I just had to laugh at this one... Marijuana has a history of being linked to crime in the United States and throughout the world..,p. And Alcohol isn't? Truth is that legalization would suck the wind right out of the sails of the narco-terrorists just as it did to the mop that controlled alcohol during prohibition.

[starlifter]

You can't legalize drugs without putting a lot of cops and prison guards out of work.

Can't have that happen, can we?

[bgill]

The former would lead to the later. I’m not for either.

[svcw]

For better or for worse, alcohol as been part of human history for millennia.

And so has cannabis.

[wideawake]

In empirical reality, the distinction is meaningless.

"Medical" users are recreational users with paperwork from prescription mills.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

Of the many falsehoods in this article, the following may be the most glaring:

"marijuana is far more likely than alcohol to be cause addiction"

Exactly the opposite is true: according to research cited by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, of all those who ever used marijuana, 9% have at some point been addicted to it - whereas the corresponding figure for alcohol is 15%.

[wideawake]

Truth is that legalization would suck the wind right out of the sails of the narco-terrorists just as it did to the mop that controlled alcohol during prohibition.

If a person of reasonable intelligence thinks about the issue for more than five seconds, he will realize that legalization will have no meaningful impact on "the narco-terrorists" - just as the end of Prohibition had negligible impact on organized crime in America.

Unless you are prepared to argue that the mob ceased to exist on December 5, 1933.

[dblshot]

An issue not usually addressed is that many occupations, such as oil and gas work, require by law, drug testing. And for good reasons. So assuming those safety requirements stay on they books, we have an another society polarizing effect. Those who are cool or at least cool to it and those that aren't, as the saying went. Can I enjoy a concert filled with pot smoke if I am subject to losing my job if I fail a wiz quiz? Considering the hate towards tobacco smoke these days, what's it going to be in public places against the smell of burning rope? Legalizing may still mean some boundaries exist but it is more likely that people who don't care for smoke will be affected if pot is more prevalent. Now if people would go to hookah houses or eat marijuana brownies that might work.

[Berlin_Freeper]

Drugs are a tax on your health.

[svcw]

There is much evidence that THC has medical benefits. (Kaiser did a ten year study, showing that people with medial of various sort, or are effective negatively from some treatments had relief). I can’t figure out why there aren’t pills or creams or whatever available for people who might be able to benefit.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

the end of Prohibition had negligible impact on organized crime in America.

Unless you are prepared to argue that the mob ceased to exist on December 5, 1933.

False dichotomy - there is a spectrum of outcomes between "negligible impact" and "ceased to exist."

That being so, the burden of proof falls on the one making the claim. Where is the evidence for your claim that "the end of Prohibition had negligible impact on organized crime in America"?

[Responsibility2nd]

That Heritage Foundation article is simply outstanding.

 

It's long. But read it. Read it now.

 

Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No

 

 

It is beyond belief that there are so many liberals here at FR who want to legalize this.

[rhombus]

Can I enjoy a concert filled with pot smoke if I am subject to losing my job if I fail a wiz quiz?

Wow, I haven't been to a concert where anybody was allowed to smoke anything in years. Get smashed - You bet but smoke tobacco or cannibus or anything else? Not a chance. Where are you going?

[qam1]

In fact, in Amsterdam, one of Europe’s most violent cities, pot is legal and a prevalent aspect of society (Stimson 6). Heritage reports that “Officials are in the process of closing marijuana dispensaries, or ‘coffee shops,’ because of the crime associated with their operation” (Stimson 6).

Stupid

Amsterdam's crime is from Islamic immigrants who I doubt are big pot heads

In addition to its lack of historical precedent in America’s historical experience, marijuana also has much more severe health effects than alcohol. 1) marijuana is far more likely than alcohol to be cause addiction, 2) it is usually consumed to the point of intoxication, 3) it has no known intrinsically healthful properties (it can only relieve pain –and artificially at that), 4) it has toxins that can result in birth defects, pain, respiratory damage, brain damage, and stroke, 5) it increases heart rate by 20% to 100% elevating the risk of heart attack (Stimson 4).

Everything in the above is flat out lie

I haven't smoked pot in 10+ years and have no desire to do so again, but come on now, if you have to resort to half truths, distortions and flat out lies like those found in this article, then it's really time to reexamine your position.

Who ever wrote this tripe is an embarrassment to Conservatives, regardless of which position you take. Liberals use tactics and lies like this, not Conservatives

[Sudetenland]

This must have been published in The Onion. It's hysterical, the logic is flawed in all of the arguments, but "mythbuster" #3 is downright absurd.

Alcohol has destroyed more lives, destroyed more families, been responsible for more abused wives, abused children and general violent crime and killed more people--either directly or indirectly--than all the other drugs combined.

You can't successfully legislate behavior or morality and attempting to do so only increases criminality and scorn for the law.

Legalization is one of the areas where libertarians are right.

[Neidermeyer]

The conclusion is not supported by the “facts” ... In no place in the USA can someone grow their own supply free from threat of arrest ,, that keeps the bad elements involved and the price high (creating the crime in myth#2) ... Marijuana is not Alcohol (myth#3) , marijuana is far more benign... especially if the price were low enough where people could afford to use it in ways other than the most efficient (smoking) ... cooking or heated inhalation devices ...

The biggest fraud in this “study” is the arrest statistics ... sure a large percentage of people arrested test positive ... it is a fat soluable drug ... you could use crack or meth and test “clean” the next day where 6 months later you will test positive for THC.

P.S. before the “smart people” chime in ... I don’t use.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

Now we know where the blogger got this lie: "marijuana is far more likely to cause addiction". See post#8 for the truth.

[A CA Guy]

Fact from direct sources in California prisons. The violent offenders LOVE their pot.