Posted on 01/21/2014 10:12:57 AM PST by Nachum
President Obama’s latest claims about marijuana are contradicted by research and official positions of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which is part of the White House. And Mr. Obama’s words have anti-drug leaders worried about negative repercussions among youth. Mr. Obama claimed to The New Yorker magazine that marijuana is no worse than cigarettes or alcohol and he promoted state efforts by Colorado and Washington to legalize marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law. The National Drug Control Policy’s official stance, posted on the whitehouse.gov website, says the opposite of Mr. Obama on all counts. For example, as documented in agency
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
This is in response to your OpEd in the January 21 DAYTON DAILY NEWS.
My views on marijuana, of many years standing, have not changed. It's nasty stuff and I wouldn't touch it with even the 11-foot pole I keep around for things I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. The idea that it's no worse than alcohol is ridiculous. Twenty-four hours after I take a drink, there are no traces of alcohol left in my body. Maybe some residual damage to brain and liver cells, but no alcohol. A week after someone takes a toke, there are still traces of pot in their body, and there is considerable residual damage to the brain, liver, and other organs.
Having said that, I also say that there is no Constitutional authority whatsoever for the Federal government to have anything to say about growing, possession, or sale of marijuana. When it came to Prohibition, at least the Drys were honest enough to recognize that a Constitutional Amendment was required. The pot prohibitionists are completely dishonest in that regard.
Any authority whatsoever over marijuana resides with the States, under the Tenth Amendment. Individual states are free to experiment with whatever rules they choose, from complete bans to complete legalization. Whether marijuana has any medicinal properties is a scientific and medical question, not a legal one. If it does, let's find out and make it available in the form of pills,injections, or patches, instead of forcing people to flood their lungs with combustion products in the hope of getting some benefit from whatever amounts of "active ingredient" survive the combustion.
It's time for some rationality on this issue instead of "reefer madness."
So which section of the Constitution do you think authorizes fedgov to impose national marijuana prohibition?
Joe,
I hear what you are saying, and it sounds about right.-
We lost a dear friend of ours just a few weeks ago to cancer. She suffered horribly, but sometimes the only thing that gave her any relief from the relentless nausea of her chemo drugs was pot. Her family was thankful they could give it to her.
I also know another person suffers debilitating migraines. The meds are very expensive. Once in a great while, she will use pot to push off the beginning of an episode. It works for her. Another person I know has a horrible case of Crohns’ desease (I think I mangled the spelling). Sometimes pot is one of the things that helps him.
I have NO issue with legalizing pot. None. Yes, it is crap for healthy people true, but in trying to save us all from the reefer madness, those that really need it sometimes cannot get it.
Pot is far cheaper than alcohol for an evening of partying. Even when illegal.
You can also carry enough pot and papers in your pocket to get 50-100 people stoned for an evening. You'd need a small truck full of booze for that.
There is also far less of a hangover and it will never make you feel sick like alcohol. Most people would prefer pot if not for the legal issues.
The alcohol companies (and Feds taxing them) are terrified about legalization. Imagine if millions of people simply grew a plant and never paid a dime for alcohol again. This is a huge incentive to maintain SWAT raids on potted plants and make desk clerks pee in jars.
He's getting to be as delusional as Joe Biden. Biden dispenses firearm advice, now Obama is dispensing medical advice? Where are his credentials?
This certainly explains a lot about Mr. President.
Drug testing is a joke because the ONLY drug you can detect in someone who isn’t a moron is pot.
Everything else is gone in 1-2 days max and flushes out faster with water.
If you’re smart enough to get the job, you’re smart enough to beat the test for anything but pot.
I’ve known Rx, heroin and crack addicts who easily passed drug tests. But someone who smokes 1 joint per weekend will be picked up.
IMO it is a scam to keep average people drinking alcohol and paying taxes for their intoxication. Plenty of people I know would rather smoke but drink instead due to tests.
There is no reason for forcing people to pee in cups unless their immediate physical performance is depended on for people’s lives. Pilots yes, 711 clerks no.
That's what I did, for many reasons.
FMCDH(BITS)
____________________________________
“...Its use is not generally associated with violent or antisocial behavior...”
Well, impaired judgment has many consequences, the list of which is potentially limitless in discussion. And no sane or sober person enjoys dealing with a Pothead's brain numbed idiocy. So it depends on how you view ‘antisocial behavior’. I consider a stoner a very antisocial person. They hide behind the personality the drug gives them and are numbing up to avoid reality and sobriety. Seems pretty antisocial IMO.
As for the other potential effects of the drug:
“Risks of Marijuana Use
The risks of smoking marijuana go up with heavy use. Although the link has never been proven, many experts believe heavy pot smokers are at increased risk for lung cancer.
Heavy marijuana use lowers men's testosterone levels and sperm count and quality. Pot could decrease libido and fertility in some heavy-smoking men.
Contrary to what many pot smokers may tell you, marijuana is addictive, at least psychologically. Even among occasional users, one in 12 can feel withdrawal symptoms if they can't get high when they want to. Among heavy pot smokers, the rates of dependence are higher.
Many experts also believe that marijuana is physically addictive. Symptoms of withdrawal from pot might include:
Aggression
Anxiety
Depressed mood
Decreased appetite”
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/marijuana-use-and-its-effects
And this:
“Lungs
Smoking marijuana has a direct impact on lung function. The NIDA reports that marijuana smoke contains up to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons, which are toxic chemicals, than regular tobacco smoke. The repeated introduction of marijuana smoke to the lungs increases the risk of developing respiratory problems such as bronchitis, cancer of the respiratory tract and chronic lung infections. The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard further implicates marijuana smoking in diminished immune system functioning, making the body more susceptible to fungi, bacteria and tumor cell development in the lungs...”
Heart
After smoking marijuana, the heart rate increases by up to 100 percent, which can last for three hours. The NIDA explains that due to the increased heart rate, the likelihood of a heart attack within the first hour after use is four times higher than no use at all. Additionally, people with existing cardiac problems are vulnerable to the risk of abnormal heart rhythm and palpitations after smoking marijuana. Other research from the NIDA suggests that cardiac problems are likely in marijuana smokers because the drug itself raises blood pressure rapidly while also reducing the oxygen carried to and from the heart in the blood.”
http://www.livestrong.com/article/161333-health-effects-from-marijuana/
So what makes you think I think the Constitution of the United States authorizes the fedgov to impose national marijuana prohibition?
If you’re willing to support the 10th Amendment - even though you may despise pot and want it kept illegal at the state level- then my hat is off to you, sir.
You get enough people on it and they don’t give a crap what is happening in the world much less in the USA.
I watched my stoned out of their gourds sis and her husband use it for a decade. It came before their kids, rent, utilities.
Just as cigs do with my eldest. No commonsense. Why are you spending $300 a month on them when all you have is a PT job no ins, that will just barely pay rent and utilities? And you have a wife with breast cancer and a 12 year old who are on Medicaid. But you don’t qualify for it to treat your type 2 Diabetes, and can’t get a better job until her Chemo is finished, because she will lose her treatment if you get a better job. And you a US Male with type 2 Diabetes don’t qualify for Medicaid. Your Script has run out, no money for the ENDO and testing, much less test strips.
Agree completely. Marijuana is a medicine, but it isn’t regulated like a medicine, and THAT’s the problem.
If it were prescribed and used like a medicine, I’m not sure we’d be having referendums.
It’s incredibly effective in treating the conditions for which it is indicated in other countries, and it is CHEAP to boot.
Funny how you couldn’t buy Zyrtec over the counter until a few years ago, but suddenly here in the People’s Soviet of Washington you can buy and use marijuana like you can coffee filters.
We need to learn where to draw the line between too much government and not enough government.
So did you turn your sis and her husband in to the authorities for their criminal behavior? If not, why not?
That would be fedgov rules.
but suddenly here in the People’s Soviet of Washington you can buy and use marijuana like you can coffee filters.
That's WA's prerogative under the Tenth Amendment. Agreed?
We need to learn where to draw the line between too much government and not enough government.
The Founders created just such a roadmap back in 1787.
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