Marijuana: Opiate Of The Asses

     Anyone who has not been stoned to the bejesus over the last 20 years realizes that potheads, and the politicians who benefit from a stoned electorate, have been very successful in decriminalizing marijuana in the minds of the many Americans who do not use it. In fact, recent polling has found that a majority of Americans see marijuana as no more harmful than alcohol, and that it should be legalized. That may have been true 30 years ago, I doubt most of those none-users would support legalization if they realized that today's marijuana contains 8 times the amount of THC, the chemical that is responsible for the drug's effect and addictive nature, than marijuana of a generation ago.
     The potheads, and their political masters, have pointed to Colorado's recent legalization as a positive experience for the taxpayers of that state due to the increase tax dollars brought into its treasury. Of course they conveniently ignore the very real statistics from the state's law enforcement bureaus, which show substantial increases in marijuana-related crimes and deaths. Also the state of Colorado has seen a thirty percent rise in the number of 12-17 year olds that smoke marijuana since its legalization.
     The comparison of marijuana to alcohol has always befuddled me. Mainly because if trying to deflect criticism of marijuana by veering into the evils of alcohol is the primary argument from the pro-pot crowd, it shows the weakness of their argument. Even if everything they say about alcohol is true, so what! Does that mean we as a society should legalize yet another substance just as harmful? The fact is that even without legalization, according to the American Psychological Association, there are more teens in rehab in the United States for marijuana addiction than for all other drugs combined. Anyone think legalization is going to decrease that number?
     The potheads have advanced the specious argument that for some patients suffering from pain, smoking marijuana is the only way on earth they can achieve some kind of relief. Smoking marijuana as opposed to getting the same benefits from THC in pill form from the drug Marinol, is like ramming your head into a wall to alleviate a headache. And well over 70% of recipients for medical marijuana in California are males between the ages of 18-25. The vast majority of which suffer from "back problems."
     University studies have continually shown a link between regular marijuana use (which can be defined as at least one time a week) and depression, anxiety, lung disease, heart disease, kidney disease, lack of motivation, and an inability to set and achieve goals. Recently it has also been discovered that use of marijuana can reduce a user's IQ by a full 8 points. There is only one reason that political leaders, mostly on the Left, are supporting legalization of this harmful substance, i.e. it is easier to extract honey from a beehive when the inhabitants are under the influence of smoke. And it is easier to extract freedoms from Americans when a substantial portion are stoned and docile, not to mention made more dependent on government by this "innocuous" drug.