YES WE CANNABIS! Obama to Legalize Marijuana?!? …3 Reasons Why This Could Be Good
December 26, 2008 27 Comments
ATLANTA— The Obama team is clearly trying to think outside of the box as they address the current economic crisis gripping the United States. Esquire magazine is reporting that the Obama team is privately considering the legalization of marijuana as an economic stimulus. Such a move would be similar to FDR ending prohibition as part of his economic stimulus plans. Pent up demand at the time drove huge private investments into the production and distribution of alcohol, creating jobs and igniting a slight boost to an otherwise miserable economy. The thinking on pot is that people are buying the stuff anyway- why not legalize it and save on government enforcement and incarceration costs while earning new tax revenues on the sale of pot? Further, while pot may not be as widely used as alcohol, it could nonetheless spur investment and job growth.
The likelihood of the Obama administration actually doing this is pretty slim, in my view, for a number of reasons. If Mr. Obama wants to attract evangelicals away from the Republican Party (reference his pick of Rick Warren to pray at his inauguration), legalizing marijuana would certainly not be helpful. Even apart from the evangelical response, I could foresee enormous backlash from many other sectors on this one.
While I come to this topic with many personal reservations, I have nonetheless heard plenty of arguments in favor of the idea of legalizing marijuana over the years. After all, Milton Friedman, that famous free-market libertarian, was a big advocate for the legalization of the drug trade, for a number of very interesting moral, political and economic reasons. If all of the arguments I have heard are true, there are scenarios in which marijuana legalization could be a great idea. Here are just a few of the reasons I have heard for why legalization could be good.
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The legalization of marijuana would likely save billions in enforcement costs while simultaneously providing billions in new tax revenues. According to a report released in 2005 by John A. Miron, a Harvard economist, titled The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition, “ending prohibition enforcement would save $7.7 billion in combined state and federal spending… while taxation would yield up to $6.2 billion a year.” That is admittedly a drop in the bucket when compared against the current federal, state and local government deficits we are suffering through. Nonetheless, it would be incrementally helpful at all levels of government.
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Legalizing marijuana would bring a black market product into the mainstream and might depress marijuana prices, which would put a financial squeeze on the criminal organizations that currently distribute it. Prices might decline because the risk and supply premiums sellers currently charge would decline. The obvious legal risks associated with the production and distribution of the drug would be severely reduced for those who operated within the law. Further, as regulated suppliers develop more efficient methods to produce and distribute it, costs would invariably decrease, driving down prices. With the price collapse, an entire segment of the drug black market would take a financial hit. It might be like stripping the Big Mac from McDonald’s- criminals would still have the quarter pounder and fries, but they wouldn’t be as profitable. Accordingly, there would be a limiting of revenues to support certain types of criminal behavior.
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For those like me who would be concerned about marijuana achieving broader use if legalized, its legalization could ultimately reduce its use. With marijunana more in the mainstream, it might become less appealing to youth. Rather then being the rebellious drug smoked to “stick it to the man,” it would become part of the commercial, capitalist machine many of its biggest fans seek to disassociate themselves from. Not only that, but anytime they buy bags of it at head shops and other regulated retailers, the bags would likely be covered in surgeon’s general warnings about lung cancer, etc. Infinitely less cool that way.
These are only a few reasons legalization could be good- there are surely plenty more. But despite these reasons, as a Christian, this is one that I would wrestle with significantly. My reservations are these. Marijuana is still considered a “gate-way” drug. If legalized, point 3 above could be wrong and its use could become more widespread. As the usage increases, would more people then start to dabble in other, more hard-core drugs? Separately, my general observance of regular pot users is that it breeds lethargy (no offense to my readership- there are some notable exceptions to this). It is not, in my view, a helpful drug. Again, if it becomes more widely used upon legalization, how would that impact worker productivity? Finally, while there are no bright-line prohibitions against marijuana use in the Bible, I nonetheless believe it is a drug that is difficult to use “in moderation.” What I mean by this is that I believe marijuana is difficult to use in such small doses that you can remain sober throughout the experience. Technically, you can- but how many people have you met who honestly prefer to use it in this way? I believe use in moderation is the litmus test for a Christian in judging the extent to which they should partake in alcohol and tobacco products. Accordingly, my convictions are that pot is still wrong to use, even if legal. I would have difficulty arguing for the production and distribution of a drug I am convicted is inappropriate to use.
In summary, I can see the arguments for why marijuana legalization could be a good idea. However, I am not without my reservations.
What are your thoughts? Should Obama legalize marijuana?
About Stephen VanNuys
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You’ve made some very good points here Steve but let me share my story with you and please look at it with an opened mind. I suffer from diabetic neuropathic gastroparesis (paralyzed stomach.)This causes chronic nausea, vomiting and wait loss syndrome. I have lost over 100 Lbs in the past year. In today’s pharmacopeia there is no safe drug that controls chronic nausea and vomiting. I have taken every anti nausea medication appropriate for my condition. Each one causes nausea after several months of regular use and the most commonly prescribed drug for this illness is Reglan/Metoclopramide. When my Dr handed me my prescription for Reglan he said, “Do not take Reglan on a regular basis for it causes Irreversible Parkinson like shakes and tremors.” This is not only legal but prescribed because there is nothing else, legal that is. Inhaled marijuana vapors, or even smoke, gives immediate relief of chronic nausea and is non-toxic to the body, this is fact not just my opinion. It is non-addictive, for example I smoked marijuana recreationally for 25 years then quit for 10 years cold turkey. There were no withdrawals or strong urges to use marijuana or any other drug for that matter. I started smoking marijuana again to control my chronic nausea. I have been on Marinol for years. It is at best an extremely expensive placebo. It takes an hour to get into the bloodstream and then it doesn’t work. I refuse to put myself at risk of developing a nervous disorder just to follow our archaic, cruel and racially motivated anti marijuana laws. Marijuana is not a hard drug like heroin, cocaine or alcohol as much as our gov’t would like you to believe. Marijuana is a soft, non-toxic, non-addictive extremely therapeutic drug. The most dangerous thing about marijuana are the laws against it. The “Will it Send the Wrong Message to the Youth” argument is wrong. Studies have shown that in all 12 states, its to early for Michigan, that have legalized Medical Marijuana recreational use by teens has gone down. I am a Christian also and I have one question for you, “Man made booze, God made Cannabis, who would you trust?” Marijuana would save our economy, Obama could do for this country what FDR did when he repealed Alcohol Prohibition. It created Millions, today it is billions, of dollars in earned income from the unemployed and generated millions, again today it is multi-billion, of dollars in tax revenue. Not to mention the money and lives saved from arrest and prosecution. Marijuana is so safe, effective and non-toxic I am willing to risk arrest, prosecution, imprisonment and forfeiture of money and property to safely control my chronic nausea and vomiting. What would you do? Would you take the Reglan and risk a nervous disorder? Please think about it.
I have suffered from an injury that required surgery to both my shoulder and my neck. The resulting snowball effect took place. My insurance would not cover the injury, I was on the roof preventing melting ice from ripping off my gutters and I fell off. My insurance company used this to justify denying my claim. I lost my job, I was physically unable to continue. I had to lose my house, my dogs and my way of life as my shoulder was shattered and I required surgery. I was able to finally get surgery, 22 months later from the U. of Virginia. Since then, I have suffered from high blood pressure, hypertension and chronic spasms throughout my body. In addition, the economic situation has caused continued stress and lack of appetite. I am now taking 5 “legal” prescriptions daily. I pay out of pocket and I am fighting the affects while going to school full time to change careers. I never took pills before. The hypertension medication is suppose to address my stress, I don’t consciously feel the difference, especially constantly my upset stomach. I have used Marijuana in the past and a friend shared his story of how “weed” helped his appetite and upset stomach. It works. It immediately changes the negative side affects from all the pills and inhibits my appetite. It grows on trees… no Pharmaceuticals required.
Jeff- thanks for dropping by and beginning an interesting discussion. You bring up an angle on this debate that I honestly did not have in mind when I wrote the above. I was considering only the recreational marijuana use angle when I wrote the above article- I was not thinking in terms of medical marijuana.
As a recreational drug exclusively, I continue to hold my convictions about it being an unhelpful drug. I agree it is not as “addictive” as cigarettes are, but I am afraid the “lifestyle” it brings with it can become addictive- not in a chemical sense, but in a social sense. By lifestyle, I mean the gateway into further drug experimentation, etc. Generally, I have observed that lifestyle to be destructive to people I have known- though again, there are certainly exceptions to this. I just would be afraid of this happening to more people if made legal. As always on this blog, I welcome your disagreement here.
As for the medical side, my views may be different. When considered from this angle, you can disregard my previous comments about it being “unhelpful,” etc. It sounds to me like you have some very serious and unique concerns that have led you to use marijuana for medicinal purposes and it seems to be helpful. I certainly respect your viewpoint.
I have not fully formed an opinion for myself on the medicinal use of the drug, as I have never been in your circumstances. Because there are no “bright-line” prohibitions against marijuana use in the Bible, I am open-minded to the idea it could be used ethically for medicinal purposes. I suppose my concern would be again that if used for medicinal purposes, that it be used in moderation and not “abused.” Like any prescription pain-killer, there is certainly a line between helpful use and abuse.
Anyway – hope my comments make sense. And I appreciate again the discussion.
Should the line between helpful use and abuse be defined by the government? As a free man I would appreciate the right to make that decision personally or with my Dr. Is alcohol useful, destructive, legal? Could the lifestyle of sitting in a bar drinking be destructive? Of course it can, but we allow free people(over 21) to make that decision personally. Why would marijuana, which I think we can agree is less harmful and addictive than alcohol, be traeted so differently? Keep in mind the motives behind the original marijuana prohibition. They were told back then that it made black men rape white women. Purely profit motivated. Do some research on William Randolph Hearst and his interest in making marijuana and especially hemp illegal. I would rather make my own lifestyle choices as opposed to the government as long as I am not harming anyone else leave me the hell alone!
This is the issue that I have. Who is to be the judge of morality, the government or society? At what level does the government have a right to say something is harmful.
Marijuana can be harmful and addictive. I’ve seen it first hand be a gateway to other drugs and a life of lackluster performance. On the other hand alcohol can be argued to be more harmful then Marijuana; however, would that be the case if marijuana was more readily acceptable and legal. Would we have as much a problem with marijuana abuse as alcohol abuse? That question is not so easily answered. And while I buy the argument that marijuana morality might not be regulated by government what about other things. Speed limit, driving ages, prostitution, pornography, etc.. The government regulates these things for example NBC doesn’t show porn and who is to say what is a safe speed limit is 65 really safer then 70? If it is what about 55? Sometimes we want government to regulate morality to an extent. It is the balancing of this that is the challenge. Of course, murder is illegal because it takes another’s life and is a crime against society and that person. Marijuana could fall into the same category if legal and a father smoked it and his job performance suffers and his families income suffers has he not harmed others?
The same could be said for alcohol though as if a father drinks and misses work due to a hang over the same result happens and yet it is illegal. I tend to agree that it should be legalized and taxed.
Stephen;
Here’s an interesting thought on the gateway component of marijuana that Aaron posted below with references:
I think of some people in college they didn’t go onto hard drugs because of marijuana. If there hadn’t been marijuana they would have tried whatever was the most popular drug and gone on to try other drugs. Even myself I experimented heavily in college and didn’t need my gateway to be marijuana. In fact marijuana end up being the last illegal drug I ever used cutting it out many years ago. In fact I know a lot more people with whom marijuana was the last drug they used (aside from alcohol).
In fact if there hadn’t been marijuana I would have tried and enjoyed something substantially more addictive most likely. Like the inner cities where crack is the drug of choice the results are much worse. Whatever the reason people use, to escape, to relax, to have a good time, etc whether it be alcohol, crack, or marijuana people are going to choose what is most easily accessible and acceptable. Of course hard work, a good book, time with my kids, cuddling with my wife, are the escapes I choose today but who am I to dictate my morality or have the government dictate morality. Except where it becomes a harm to society like crack or heroin, which are highly addictive and deadly.
Stephen, I guess it would be easy enough for you to go through my blog, to understand how I’ve made the war against drugs ,my foundation to restore our human rights in this country. Consider this one point, for every use which oil has, marijuana can replace each and every one of them and more. Since we live in a world where industries buy politicians, is it any wonder that this drug might remain illegal despite the DEA’s own attorney general’s argument it be legalized? That attorney general was Francis Young. If you google him, you will start to question why it remains illegal. Thanks for having the whole article by Esquire available. I especially enjoyed the excerpt from the FDR book, “Nothing to Fear”, which scarily paralleled our present situation. Or should I say optimistically paralleled? Thanks, Jim
Interesting perpective Jim- thanks for sharing. But despite the many uses of hemp, I still have my reservations about its decriminalization for broader (non-medical) use, as stated above.
I do have one question though on the uses for the marijuana plant- what is it specifically about that plant that makes it so useful? Do you have a good article/blog post you can reference here? I’ve heard a lot second-hand about this, but I was always a little skeptical. Why is hemp specifically so useful- why not other, legal plants?
Anyway – be curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks for dropping by.
The way I see it, if you legalize marijuana, it’s so easy to grow everybody will just add 1 or 2 rows to their vegetable garden. This will certainly cripple the criminal element but it will also be virtually impossible to collect any taxes on. It would be like taxing tomatoes. One guy could grow enough for the whole neighborhood.
Ha- good point. I didn’t even go into that here in my post, but regulating and taxing marijuana would be difficult indeed. They don’t call it weed for nothing- the stuff grows anywhere and everywhere.
It would be like taxing tomatoes. One guy could grow enough for the whole neighborhood
Yes. But Tomatos are still sold in stores and taxed. And I’d guess that more are grown commercially than privately.
The major benefit would be in a reduction of money spent incarcerating college kids for smoking a joint. Cops wouldn’t have to waste their time with it. The Criminal system wouldn’t have to waste its time with it. And, eventually people will find it easier to go to the store and buy it instead of growing it in their back yard (as they could do with tobacco but choose not to due to the time needed to care for the plant and cure it when the harvest is ready).
I read somewhere that drinking during the prohibition was higher than after prohibition. But Chicago remained just as corrupt.
I think that even if the legal marijuana was sold in stores with a normal sales tax plus a nominal revenue generating “sin tax,” the price would still be enough to generate an extensive black market. Then what? Use the authorities to crack down on the tax evading mary jane bootleggers? If we make it legal, we may as well justify it as a crime fighting tool rather than a revenue generator. I’ll say this, too; driving stoned is just as dangerous (maybe even more so) as driving drunk. That’s just my own personal observation, you see.
Thank you for your thoughtful question.
As a Christian, it should concern you that almost 900,000 people are arrested each year for non-violent cannabis possession. An arrest can mean job loss, loss of student funding, loss of property, homes and even loss of children.
It should also concern you that half of those incarcerated in America’s prisons are there for non-violent drug offenses. That America with 5% of the world’s population has 25% of the world’s prison population.
It should also concern you that this unilateral “war” on drugs was declared 40 years ago, and in spite of the weaponry, killings, jail time, etc. the problem has not diminished, and in fact, has only gotten worse. War and law enforcement is not a successful model to deal with this problem – public health, on the other hand, is.
Smoking tobacco (which actually does kill you) has been reduced to it’s lowest historical level not through jailing but through regulation and education.
It is a model we should follow in cannabis reform.
“I’ll say this, too; driving stoned is just as dangerous (maybe even more so) as driving drunk.”
We could impose laws on driving under the influence of anything, like we do with alcohol.
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You wrote:
“…These are only a few reasons legalization could be good- there are surely plenty more. But despite these reasons, as a Christian, this is one that I would wrestle with significantly. My reservations are these. Marijuana is still considered a “gate-way” drug. If legalized, point 3 above could be wrong and its use could become more widespread. As the usage increases, would more people then start to dabble in other, more hard-core drugs? …”
I am also a Christian. I am 30. I found and accepted Jesus Christ at the age of 23 after a two year battle with crack that left my reputation destroyed and left me broke and in debt…and still searching for more crack. I have experience with literally dozens of dealers.
This is what I know for sure: cannabis IS THE ONLY gateway drug. I ask you though; what does that mean? Gateway drug? Does that mean that it starts with pot, and then sooner or later, pot won’t “do it” anymore, so one graduates to something harder? That is what pops into people’s minds when the term “gateway drug” is mentioned.
I happen to know that that is not the whole truth. It is only few and far between true in any situation. Pot is very mildly addictive. Less than coffee or sugar. What truly comes into play when choosing a drug to purchase are price, effect, and peer pressure.
Put yourself into the mind of a dealer. You do this for a living! You are very much For Profit. You take constant risks on a daily basis. You know that the more customers you have, the higher the risk of one of them getting arrested and telling who they bought it from. So, you want to maximize profit, minimize risk, and that by minimizing the number of customers.
Now, lets say you sell cannabis. You pay about $800 per pound, and sell it for $100 per ounce. You double your money. If it cost 1200, then you charge $150. If you aren’t doubling your money, the risk is not worth it. A common street phrase is “If it ain’t double, it’s too much trouble”. The average pot smoker will go through two ounces per month MAX. I never used more than one per month due to the quality I demanded. So, to make $24,000 per year (just above poverty level), you need to move 60 lbs at $100 per ounce per year. That is 960 ounces per year. That is 80 ounces per month. So, you need 40 heavy smokers, or 80 light smokers who buy exclusively from you.
Now, let me tell you about cocaine/crack. you buy one kilo for $20,000. That is 1000 grams. You MUST cut this stuff at least 50/50 or you will chance killing your customers. Anyone who says that they have used 99% pure cocaine is a ghost who has come back from the dead…or maybe they are just lying to impress you. So, after you have cut it 50/50, you now have 2000 grams. It sells for $50 to $100 per gram depending on how much you buy and your locale (availability). $50 x 2000 = $100,000 from a $20,000 investment. If you sell it in small bags, the number is $200,000. With coke, you can quintuple to decuple your money. Now, the average coke user uses as much as they can get for the amount of money they have in the world. In other words, it is so addictive, that when you run out, you are literally panic style desperate for MORE! If you can’t find any for about 8 to 12 hours, the mood goes away. Until you take your next line/hit, and the mood is immediately full strength again (but you are high, so you don’t care). Give it twenty minutes without a hit, back to panic. Long story short, as a coke dealer, you only need about five good customers. They will buy for their buddies too. Lower risk of getting caught or ratted out, and a LOT bigger profit.
Cannabis is the only gateway drug because it is illegal, and the only people who have it for sale are drug dealers. Drug dealers will gladly give you a gram of cocaine for free, just to try, you know. This is in the hopes that you will stop smoking pot, and start sniffing coke. If cannabis were legal to grow for personal consumption, or if it were for sale legally at a store, then there would be fewer “new” coke users and eventually, the coke users will die out and coke will not be as popular. Why do coke when you can smoke pot for free?
I say one more thing, if alcohol was illegal, it would be the only other gateway drug. Even now, a lot of first users do it to “sober up” after getting smashed at a bar an hour away from the house. A friend says, hey I have something you NEED. Friends don’t let friends drive drunk. Coke will indeed pull you out of a semi-passed out drunken stuper in less than five minutes and only one eighth of one gram; $20 worth.
I hope this helps.
Michael
Correction to my previous: On average, only 30 lbs of cannabis per year would have to be moved at $100 per ounce to profit $24,000. This equates to 20 hard smokers, or 40 light smokers to make a basic living.
OOPS,
Michael
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I started with alcohol in college and it never sat well with me. Call me “puss” or whatever but I just can’t stomach it. So I tried pot, I find it to be a better alternative (for me, I don’t recommend people to use it) than getting drunk. I’m more lucid stoned than I am drunk, even though it doesn’t take much at all for me to get drunk as I stay away from the stuff. I don’t have a terrible problem with it being illegal, its readily available everywhere already. It would be great if it were cheaper, that would be a plus, but I’m not going to stop smoking just because someone who never tried it says it is “evil” and a “gateway drug” (even though I’ve never tried another drug besides pot, been on plenty of prescription meds though, that make me sick). I prefer it over alcohol, like a glass of wine after work, I even enjoy it with my wife. and other loved ones (who I won’t implicate, because they are important people around here). It isn’t for everyone, but for some its a great alternative. Even Jesus turned water to wine for his very first miracle, that has to say something about how your god feels about getting “high” or “lit”. Jesus thought it was awesome! I think everyone needs to let out a little steam every now and again, I just don’t want to sit at a bar and get wasted and kill someone behind the wheel of a car, not to mention the other dangers from going to the bar over just sitting at home and watching some television while getting stoned with some friends.
that has to say something about how your god feels about getting “high” or “lit”. Jesus thought it was awesome!
Joshua: Thanks for dropping by and commenting. We’d love to have you around more.
As to your comment, I wouldn’t go so far as to say Jesus thought it was awesome to get “high”, “lit”, or drunk. He turned water into wine because wine is not inherently evil. Wine in and of itself is not a sin. To drink wine is not a sin. But to abuse it is. Hence, getting drunk is not something Jesus would think is “awesome.” It’s about moderation and responsible use or consumption.
Perhaps this one might interest you as well: http://americanmissive.com/2009/06/24/the-cannabis-petition/
Joshua – thanks for dropping by.
I concur with TP’s points on Jesus, as referenced above.
But I guess my other observation or question would be, why do you feel the need to get stoned? Seems you are weighing the alternatives of getting stoned versus getting lit. Maybe you ought to give sobriety its fair shake. There really is much more to life than drugs or alcohol.
From http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/
Myth: Marijuana Can Cause Permanent Mental Illness. Among adolescents, even occasional marijuana use may cause psychological damage. During intoxication, marijuana users become irrational and often behave erratically.
Fact: There is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults. Some marijuana users experience psychological distress following marijuana ingestion, which may include feelings of panic, anxiety, and paranoia. Such experiences can be frightening, but the effects are temporary. With very large doses, marijuana can cause temporary toxic psychosis. This occurs rarely, and almost always when marijuana is eaten rather than smoked. Marijuana does not cause profound changes in people’s behavior.
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Iverson, Leslie. “Long-term effects of exposure to cannabis.” Current Opinion in Pharmacology 5(2005): 69-72.
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Weiser and Noy. “Interpreting the association between cannabis use and increased risk of schizophrenia.” Dialogues in Clincal Neuroscience 1(2005): 81-85.
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“Cannabis use will impair but not damage mental health.” London Telegraph. 23 January 2006.
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Andreasson, S. et al. “Cannabis and Schizophrenia: A Longitudinal study of Swedish Conscripts,” The Lancet 2 (1987): 1483-86.
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Degenhardt, Louisa, Wayne Hall and Michael Lynskey. “Testing hypotheses about the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis,” Drug and Alcohol Dependence 71 (2003): 42-4.
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Weil, A. “Adverse Reactions to Marijuana: Classification and Suggested Treatment.” New England Journal of Medicine 282 (1970): 997-1000.
Myth: Marijuana is Highly Addictive. Long term marijuana users experience physical dependence and withdrawal, and often need professional drug treatment to break their marijuana habits.
Fact: Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans – less than 1 percent – smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. Others seek help from drug treatment professionals. Marijuana does not cause physical dependence. If people experience withdrawal symptoms at all, they are remarkably mild.
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United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. DASIS Report Series, Differences in Marijuana Admissions Based on Source of Referral. 2002. June 24 2005.
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Johnson, L.D., et al. “National Survey Results on Drug Use from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1994, Volume II: College Students and Young Adults.” Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996.
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Kandel, D.B., et al. “Prevalence and demographic correlates of symptoms of dependence on cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine in the U.S. population.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence 44 (1997):11-29.
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Stephens, R.S., et al. “Adult marijuana users seeking treatment.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 61 (1993): 1100-1104.
Myth: Marijuana Is More Potent Today Than In The Past. Adults who used marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s fail to realize that when today’s youth use marijuana they are using a much more dangerous drug.
Fact: When today’s youth use marijuana, they are using the same drug used by youth in the 1960s and 1970s. A small number of low-THC samples seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration are used to calculate a dramatic increase in potency. However, these samples were not representative of the marijuana generally available to users during this era. Potency data from the early 1980s to the present are more reliable, and they show no increase in the average THC content of marijuana. Even if marijuana potency were to increase, it would not necessarily make the drug more dangerous. Marijuana that varies quite substantially in potency produces similar psychoactive effects.
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King LA, Carpentier C, Griffiths P. “Cannabis potency in Europe.” Addiction. 2005 Jul; 100(7):884-6
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Henneberger, Melinda. “Pot Surges Back, But It’s, Like, a Whole New World.” New York Times 6 February 1994: E18.
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Brown, Lee. “Interview with Lee Brown,” Dallas Morning News 21 May 1995.
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Drug Enforcement Administration. U.S. Drug Threat Assessment, 1993. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 1993.
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Kleiman, Mark A.R. Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1989. 29.
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Bennett, William. Director of National Drug Control Policy, remarks at Conference of Mayors. 23 April 1990.
Myth: Marijuana Offenses Are Not Severely Punished. Few marijuana law violators are arrested and hardly anyone goes to prison. This lenient treatment is responsible for marijuana continued availability and use.
Fact: Marijuana arrests in the United States doubled between 1991 and 1995. In 1995, more than one-half-million people were arrested for marijuana offenses. Eighty-six percent of them were arrested for marijuana possession. Tens of thousands of people are now in prison or marijuana offenses. An even greater number are punished with probation, fines, and civil sanctions, including having their property seized, their driver’s license revoked, and their employment terminated. Despite these civil and criminal sanctions, marijuana continues to be readily available and widely used.
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United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports for the United States. 1996. Washington: U. S. Dept. of Justice, 1997.
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Gettman, Jon B. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Crimes of Indescretion: Marijuana arrests in the United States. Washington: NORML, 2005.
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Marijuana Policy Project. Smoke a Joint, Lose Your License. July 1995 Status Report. Washington: MPP, 1995.
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Treaster, J. “Miami Beach’s New Drug Weapon Will Fire Off Letters to the Employer” New York Times 23 February 1991: A9.
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Reed, T.G. “American Forfeiture Law: Property Owners Meet the Prosecutor.” Policy Analysis 179 (1992): 1-32.
Myth: Marijuana is More Damaging to the Lungs Than Tobacco. Marijuana smokers are at a high risk of developing lung cancer, bronchitis, and emphysema.
Fact: Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs. Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains a number of irritants and carcinogens. But marijuana users typically smoke much less often than tobacco smokers, and over time, inhale much less smoke. As a result, the risk of serious lung damage should be lower in marijuana smokers. There have been no reports of lung cancer related solely to marijuana, and in a large study presented to the American Thoracic Society in 2006, even heavy users of smoked marijuana were found not to have any increased risk of lung cancer. Unlike heavy tobacco smokers, heavy marijuana smokers exhibit no obstruction of the lung’s small airway. That indicates that people will not develop emphysema from smoking marijuana.
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Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. “Legalization: Panacea or Pandora’s Box.” New York. (1995): 36.
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Turner, Carlton E. The Marijuana Controversy. Rockville: American Council for Drug Education, 1981.
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Nahas, Gabriel G. and Nicholas A. Pace. Letter. “Marijuana as Chemotherapy Aid Poses Hazards.” New York Times 4 December 1993: A20.
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Inaba, Darryl S. and William E. Cohen. Uppers, Downers, All-Arounders: Physical and Mental Effects of Psychoactive Drugs. 2nd ed. Ashland: CNS Productions, 1995. 174.
More Marijuana Myths
* Marijuana Has No Medicinal Value
* Marijuana Is a Gateway Drug
* Marijuana’s Harms Have Been Proved Scientifically
* Marijuana Causes an Amotivational Syndrome
* Marijuana Policy in the Netherlands is a Failure
* Marijuana Kills Brain Cells
* Marijuana Impairs Memory and Cognition
* Marijuana Causes Crime
* Marijuana Interferes With Male and Female Sex Hormones
* Marijuana Use During Pregnancy Damages the Fetus
* Marijuana Use Impairs the Immune System
* Marijuana’s Active Ingredient, THC, Gets Trapped in Body Fat
* Marijuana Use is a Major Cause Of Highway Accidents
* Marijuana Related Hospital Emergencies Are Increasing, Particularly Among Youth
* Marijuana Use Can Be Prevented
Myth: Marijuana Has No Medicinal Value. Safer, more effective drugs are available. They include a synthetic version of THC, marijuana’s primary active ingredient, which is marketed in the United States under the name Marinol.
Fact: Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma. There is also appreciable evidence that marijuana reduces muscle spasticity in patients with neurological disorders. A synthetic capsule is available by prescription, but it is not as effective as smoked marijuana for many patients. Pure THC may also produce more unpleasant psychoactive side effects than smoked marijuana. Many people use marijuana as a medicine today, despite its illegality. In doing so, they risk arrest and imprisonment.
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Vinciguerra, Vincent; Moore, Terry and Eileen Brennan. “Inhalation marijuana as an antiemetic for cancer chemotherapy.” New York State Journal of Medicine 85 (1988): 525-27.
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McCabe M, Smith FP, Macdonald JS. “Efficacy of tetrahydrocannabinol in patients refractory to standard antiemetic therapy.” Investigational New Drugs 6.3 (1988): 243-46.
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Gorter, R., et al. “Dronabionol effects on weight in patients with HIV infection.” 1992. AIDS 6 (1992):127-38.
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Foltin, R.W., et al. “Behavioral analysis of marijuana effects on food intake in humans.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 25 (1986): 577-82.
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Crawford, W.J. and Merritt, J.C. “Effect of tetrahydrocannabinol on Arterial and Intraocular Hypertension.” International Journal of Clinical of Pharmacology and Biopharmaceuticals 17 (1979):191-96.
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Merritt, J.C., et al. “Effects of marijuana on intraocular and blood pressure on glaucoma.” Ophthamology 87 (1980):222-28.
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Baker, D., Gareth Pryce and J. Ludovic Croxford. “Cannabinoids control spasticity and tremor in a multiple sclerosis model.” Nature 404.6773 (2000): 84-7.
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Hanigan, W.C., et al. “The Effect of Delta-9-THC on Human Spasticity.” Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 39 (1986):198.
Myth: Marijuana is a Gateway Drug. Even if marijuana itself causes minimal harm, it is a dangerous substance because it leads to the use of “harder drugs” like heroin, LSD, and cocaine.
Fact: Marijuana does not cause people to use hard drugs. What the gateway theory presents as a causal explanation is a statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug.
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Morral, Andrew R.; McCaffrey, Daniel F. and Susan M. Paddock. “Reassessing the marijuana gateway effect.” Addiction 97.12 (2002): 1493-504.
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United States. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Population Estimates 1994. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1995.
*
—. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1994. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996.
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D.B. Kandel and M. Davies, “Progression to Regular Marijuana Involvement: Phenomenology and Risk Factors for Near-Daily Use,” Vulnerability to Drug Abuse, Eds. M. Glantz and R. Pickens. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1992: 211-253.
Myth: Marijuana’s Harms Have Been Proved Scientifically. In the 1960s and 1970s, many people believed that marijuana was harmless. Today we know that marijuana is much more dangerous than previously believed.
Fact: In 1972, after reviewing the scientific evidence, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that while marijuana was not entirely safe, its dangers had been grossly overstated. Since then, researchers have conducted thousands of studies of humans, animals, and cell cultures. None reveal any findings dramatically different from those described by the National Commission in 1972. In 1995, based on thirty years of scientific research editors of the British medical journal Lancet concluded that “the smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health.”
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United States. National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse. Marihuana: A signal of misunderstanding. Shafer Commission Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.
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“Deglamorising Cannabis.” Editorial. The Lancet 356:11(1995): 1241.
Myth: Marijuana Causes an Amotivational Syndrome. Marijuana makes users passive, apathetic, and uninterested in the future. Students who use marijuana become underachievers and workers who use marijuana become unproductive.
Fact: For twenty-five years, researchers have searched for a marijuana-induced amotivational syndrome and have failed to find it. People who are intoxicated constantly, regardless of the drug, are unlikely to be productive members of society. There is nothing about marijuana specifically that causes people to lose their drive and ambition. In laboratory studies, subjects given high doses of marijuana for several days or even several weeks exhibit no decrease in work motivation or productivity. Among working adults, marijuana users tend to earn higher wages than non-users. College students who use marijuana have the same grades as nonusers. Among high school students, heavy use is associated with school failure, but school failure usually comes first.
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Himmelstein, J.L. The Strange Career of Marihuana: Politics and Ideology of Drug Control in America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983.
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Mellinger, G.D. et al. “Drug Use, Academic Performance, and Career Indecision: Longitudinal Data in Search of a Model.” Longitudinal Research on Drug Use: Empirical Findings and Methodological Issues. Ed. D.B. Kandel. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1978. 157-177.
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Pope, H.G. et al., “Drug Use and Life Style Among College Undergraduates in 1989: A Comparison With 1969 and 1978,” American Journal of Psychiatry 147 (1990): 998-1001.
Myth: Marijuana Policy in the Netherlands is a Failure. Dutch law, which allows marijuana to be bought, sold, and used openly, has resulted in increasing rates of marijuana use, particularly in youth.
Fact: The Netherlands’ drug policy is the most nonpunitive in Europe. For more than twenty years, Dutch citizens over age eighteen have been permitted to buy and use cannabis (marijuana and hashish) in government-regulated coffee shops. This policy has not resulted in dramatically escalating cannabis use. For most age groups, rates of marijuana use in the Netherlands are similar to those in the United States. However, for young adolescents, rates of marijuana use are lower in the Netherlands than in the United States. The Dutch people overwhelmingly approve of current cannabis policy which seeks to normalize rather than dramatize cannabis use. The Dutch government occasionally revises existing policy, but it remains committed to decriminalization.
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Fromberg, E. “The Case of the Netherlands: Contradictions and Values in Questioning Prohibition.” 1994 International Report on Drugs, Brussels: International Antiprohibitionist League, 1994. 113-124.
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Sandwijk, J.P., et al. Licit and Illicit Drug Use in Amsterdam II. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 1995.
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Gunning, K.F. Crime Rate and Drug Use in Holland. Rotterdam: Dutch National Committee on Drug Prevention. 1993.
Myth: Marijuana Kills Brain Cells. Used over time, marijuana permanently alters brain structure and function, causing memory loss, cognitive impairment, personality deterioration, and reduced productivity.
Fact: None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. An early study reported brain damage in rhesus monkeys after six months exposure to high concentrations of marijuana smoke. In a recent, more carefully conducted study, researchers found no evidence of brain abnormality in monkeys that were forced to inhale the equivalent of four to five marijuana cigarettes every day for a year. The claim that marijuana kills brain cells is based on a speculative report dating back a quarter of a century that has never been supported by any scientific study.
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Heath, R.G., et al. “Cannabis Sativa: Effects on Brain Function and Ultrastructure in Rhesus Monkeys.” Biological Psychiatry 15 (1980): 657-690.
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Ali, S.F., et al. “Chronic Marijuana Smoke Exposure in the Rhesus Monkey IV: Neurochemical Effects and Comparison to Acute and Chronic Exposure to Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Rats.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 40 (1991): 677-82.
Myth: Marijuana Impairs Memory and Cognition. Under the influence of marijuana, people are unable to think rationally and intelligently. Chronic marijuana use causes permanent mental impairment.
Fact: Marijuana produces immediate, temporary changes in thoughts, perceptions, and information processing. The cognitive process most clearly affected by marijuana is short-term memory. In laboratory studies, subjects under the influence of marijuana have no trouble remembering things they learned previously. However, they display diminished capacity to learn and recall new information. This diminishment only lasts for the duration of the intoxication. There is no convincing evidence that heavy long-term marijuana use permanently impairs memory or other cognitive functions.
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Wetzel, C.D. et al., “Remote Memory During Marijuana Intoxication,” Psychopharmacology 76 (1982): 278-81.
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Deadwyler, S.A. et al., “The Effects of Delta-9-THC on Mechanisms of Learning and Memory.” Neurobiology of Drug Abuse: Learning and Memory. Ed. L. Erinoff. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse 1990. 79-83.
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Block, R.I. et al., “Acute Effects of Marijuana on Cognition: Relationships to Chronic Effects and Smoking Techniques.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 43 (1992): 907-917.
Myth: Marijuana Causes Crime. Marijuana users commit more property offenses than nonusers. Under the influence of marijuana, people become irrational, aggressive, and violent.
Fact: Every serious scholar and government commission examining the relationship between marijuana use and crime has reached the same conclusion: marijuana does not cause crime. The vast majority of marijuana users do not commit crimes other than the crime of possessing marijuana. Among marijuana users who do commit crimes, marijuana plays no causal role. Almost all human and animal studies show that marijuana decreases rather than increases aggression.
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Fagan, J., et al. “Delinquency and Substance Use Among Inner-City Students.” Journal of Drug Issues 20 (1990): 351-402.
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Johnson, L.D., et al. “Drugs and Delinquency: A Search for Causal Connections.” Ed. D.B. Kandel. Longitudinal Research on Drug Use: Empirical Findings and Methodological Issues. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1978. 137-156.
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Goode, E. “Marijuana and Crime.” Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Appendix I. National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972. 447-453.
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Abram, K.M. and L.A. Teplin. “Drug Disorder, Mental Illness, and Violence.” Drugs and Violence: Causes, Correlates, and Consequences. Rockville: National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1990. 222-238.
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Cherek, D.R., et al. “Acute Effects of Marijuana Smoking on Aggressive, Escape and Point-Maintained Responding of Male Drug Users.” Psychopharmacology 111 (1993): 163-168.
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Tinklenberg, J.R., et al. “Drugs and criminal assaults by adolescents: A Replication Study.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 13 (1981): 277-287.
Myth: Marijuana Interferes With Male and Female Sex Hormones. In both men and women, marijuana can cause infertility. Marijuana retards sexual development in adolescents. It produces feminine characteristics in males and masculine characteristics in females.
Fact: There is no evidence that marijuana causes infertility in men or women. In animal studies, high doses of THC diminish the production of some sex hormones and can impair reproduction. However, most studies of humans have found that marijuana has no impact of sex hormones. In those studies showing an impact, it is modest, temporary, and of no apparent consequence for reproduction. There is no scientific evidence that marijuana delays adolescent sexual development, has feminizing effect on males, or a masculinizing effect on females.
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Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education. Marijuana and Cocaine. Atlanta, GA: PRIDE, 1990.
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Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Female Adolescents and Marijuana Use; Fact Sheet for Adults. Rockville: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1995.
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Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Marijuana: Tips for Teens. Rockville: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1995.
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Swan, Neil. “A Look at Marijuana’s Harmful Effects.” NIDA Notes. 9:2 (1994): 16.
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Clinton, President Bill. Speech at Framingham High School. Framingham, Massachusetts. 20 Oct. 1994.
Myth: Marijuana Use During Pregnancy Damages the Fetus. Prenatal marijuana exposure causes birth defects in babies, and, as they grow older, developmental problems. The health and well being of the next generation is threatened by marijuana use by pregnant women.
Fact: Studies of newborns, infants, and children show no consistent physical, developmental, or cognitive deficits related to prenatal marijuana exposure. Marijuana had no reliable impact on birth size, length of gestation, neurological development, or the occurrence of physical abnormalities. The administration of hundreds of tests to older children has revealed only minor differences between offspring of marijuana users and nonusers, and some are positive rather than negative. Two unconfirmed case-control studies identified prenatal marijuana exposure as one of many factors statistically associated with childhood cancer. Given other available evidence, it is highly unlikely that marijuana causes cancer in children.
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Mann, Peggy. The Sad Story of Mary Wanna. NY: Woodmere Press, 1988. 30.
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Fried, Peter. Quoted in “Marijuana: Its Use and Effects.” Prevention Pipeline. 8:5 (1995): 4.
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American Council for Drug Education. Drugs and Pregnancy. Rockville: Phoenix House, 1994.
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Swan, Neil. “A Look at Marijuana’s Harmful Effects.” NIDA Notes. 9. 2 (1994): 16.
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Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education. Marijuana – Effects on the Female. Atlanta, GA: PRIDE, 1996.
Myth: Marijuana Use Impairs the Immune System. Marijuana users are at increased risk of infection, including HIV. AIDS patients are particularly vulnerable to marijuana’s immunopathic effects because their immune systems are already suppressed.
Fact: There is no evidence that marijuana users are more susceptible to infections than nonusers. Nor is there evidence that marijuana lowers users’ resistance to sexually transmitted diseases. Early studies which showed decreased immune function in cells taken from marijuana users have since been disproved. Animals given extremely large doses of THC and exposed to a virus have higher rates of infection. Such studies have little relevance to humans. Even among people with existing immune disorders, such as AIDS, marijuana use appears to be relatively safe. However, the recent finding of an association between tobacco smoking and lung infection in AIDS patients warrants further research into possible harm from marijuana smoking in immune suppressed persons.
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Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education. Marijuana and Cocaine. Atlanta: PRIDE, 1990.
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Preate, Ernest D. Blowing Away the Marijuana Smokescreen. Scranton: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, [no date]: 2.
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Spence, W.R. Marijuana: Its Effects and Hazards. Waco: Health Edco, [no date].
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Voth, Eric A. The International Drug Strategy Institute Position Paper on the Medical Applications of Marijuana. Omaha: Drug Watch International, [no date].
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Drug Watch International. By Any Modern Medical Standard, Marijuana is No Medicine. Omaha: Drug Watch International, [no date].
Myth: Marijuana’s Active Ingredient, THC, Gets Trapped in Body Fat. Because THC is released from fat cells slowly, psychoactive effects may last for days or weeks following use. THC’s long persistence in the body damages organs that are high in fat content, the brain in particular.
Fact: Many active drugs enter the body’s fat cells. What is different (but not unique) about THC is that it exits fat cells slowly. As a result, traces of marijuana can be found in the body for days or weeks following ingestion. However, within a few hours of smoking marijuana, the amount of THC in the brain falls below the concentration required for detectable psychoactivity. The fat cells in which THC lingers are not harmed by the drug’s presence, nor is the brain or other organs. The most important consequence of marijuana’s slow excretion is that it can be detected in blood, urine, and tissue long after it is used, and long after its psychoactivity has ended.
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Committees of Correspondence. Drug Abuse Newsletter 16 (March 1984).
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Mann, Peggy. Marijuana Alert. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. 1985. 184.
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Nahas, Gabriel. “When Friends of Patients Ask About Marihuana.” Journal of the American Medical Association 233 (1979): 79.
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DuPont, Robert. Getting Tough on Gateway Drugs. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1984. 68.
Myth: Marijuana Use is a Major Cause Of Highway Accidents. Like alcohol, marijuana impairs psychomotor function and decreases driving ability. If marijuana use increases, an increase in of traffic fatalities is inevitable.
Fact: There is no compelling evidence that marijuana contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities. At some doses, marijuana affects perception and psychomotor performances- changes which could impair driving ability. However, in driving studies, marijuana produces little or no car-handling impairment- consistently less than produced by low moderate doses of alcohol and many legal medications. In contrast to alcohol, which tends to increase risky driving practices, marijuana tends to make subjects more cautious. Surveys of fatally injured drivers show that when THC is detected in the blood, alcohol is almost always detected as well. For some individuals, marijuana may play a role in bad driving. The overall rate of highway accidents appears not to be significantly affected by marijuana’s widespread use in society.
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Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. “Legalization: Panacea or Pandora’s Box”. New York. (1995):36.
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Swan, Neil. “A Look at Marijuana’s Harmful Effects.” NIDA Notes. 9.2 (1994): 14.
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Moskowitz, Herbert and Robert Petersen. Marijuana and Driving: A Review. Rockville: American Council for Drug Education, 1982. 7.
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Mann, Peggy. Marijuana Alert. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985. 265.
Myth: Marijuana Related Hospital Emergencies Are Increasing, Particularly Among Youth. This is evidence that marijuana is much more harmful than most people previously believed.
Fact: Marijuana does not cause overdose deaths. The number of people in hospital emergency rooms who say they have used marijuana has increased. On this basis, the visit may be recorded as marijuana-related even if marijuana had nothing to do with the medical condition preceding the hospital visit. Many more teenagers use marijuana than use drugs such as heroin and cocaine. As a result, when teenagers visit hospital emergency rooms, they report marijuana much more frequently than they report heroin and cocaine. In the large majority of cases when marijuana is mentioned, other drugs are mentioned as well. In 1994, fewer than 2% of drug related emergency room visits involved the use of marijuana.
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Brown, Lee. Quoted in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Press Release, National Drug Survey Results Released with New Youth Public Education Materials. Rockville: 12 September 1995.
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Shalala, Donna. “Say ‘No’ to Legalization of Marijuana.” Wall Street Journal 18 August 1995: A10.
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Shuster, Charles. Quoted in Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Legalization: Myths and Misconceptions. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 1994. 5.
Myth: Marijuana Use Can Be Prevented. Drug education and prevention programs reduced marijuana use during the 1980s. Since then, our commitment has slackened, and marijuana use has been rising. By expanding and intensifying current anti-marijuana messages, we can stop youthful experimentation.
Fact: There is no evidence that anti-drug messages diminish young people’s interest in drugs. Anti-drug campaigns in the schools and the media may even make drugs more attractive. Marijuana use among youth declined throughout the 1980s, and began increasing in the 1990s. This increase occurred despite young people’s exposure to the most massive anti-marijuana campaign in American history. In a number of other countries, drug education programs are based on a “harm reduction” model, which seeks to reduce the drug-related harm among those young people who do experiment with drugs.
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Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. “National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse.” New York (1995):28.
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Brown, Lee. Director of National Drug Control Policy, remarks at National Conference on Marijuana Use: Prevention, Treatment, and Research. Sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Arlington, VA (July 1995).
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Califano, Joseph A. “Don’t Stop This War.” Washington Post 26 May 1996: C7.
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Shalala, Donna. “Marijuana: A Recurring Problem.” Prevention Pipeline 8.5 (1995): 2.
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Burke, James. [Partnership for a Drug-Free America]. Interview. MS-NBC with Tom Brokaw. MS-NBC, 3 September 1996.
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Falco, Mathea. The Making of a Drug-Free America: Programs That Work. New York: Times Books, 1992. 202.
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Wow, that’s quite a mouthful there, Aaron. Thanks for sharing. I’ve actually read various, similar things in the past, though some of those studies I had not hear of before.
My views on marijuana being a gate-way drug probably are skewed by my personal experiences and observations from high school and college. Many of the people I knew who smoked marijuana went on to try other things.
I found this statement interesting among all of those you listed.
>People who are intoxicated constantly, regardless of the drug, are unlikely to be productive members of society.
Again, I think the most interesting discussion in all of this is the assessment of why there is a need for people to “escape reality” through the use of drugs (or alcohol, for that matter). I think when you really confront that question, a lot more interesting discussion rises to the forefront.
I think that’s the question people have to ultimately come face to face with.
Thanks for dropping by and sharing.
I was a pretty heavy drug user at one time. When it came time to quit I didn’t have any problem or withdrawal issues. Just stopped having as much free time to get “high” as I started getting high from hard work. I’ve smoked a few times since quiting and had no big deal. Cigarettes now there is something that addictive.
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