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.
    

Heroin Deaths, Another Downside Of Marijuana

     Heroin deaths have quadrupled in Cuyahoga county, Ohio. This massive increase is a result of a new wave of heroine use taking place not only in Ohio, but across the country. Heroin has also become cheaper and more plentiful in recent years, the price for a single hit falling from $10 to $4. The reason for the increased supply and lower cost can, in part, be attributable to Colorado and Washington legalizing Marijuana, and other states beginning to consider its legalization.
     The legalization of Marijuana in two states, and its further decriminalization in many more, have driven the cost down to a level that the wholesale price for a kilo of the wicked weed has dropped from $100 to less than $25. Many farmers connected to the Mexican drug cartels have found it to be more profitable to grow poppies for the production of heroin, than to continue to plant their fields in cannabis. Hence the influx of more heroine and more deaths attributable to overdoses.
     So for all those who say marijuana is a harmless substance, the increase in heroin use and deaths linked to the legalization of pot, is just another reason in a long list against further legalization. Along with deaths from heroin overdoses, are the deaths that Colorado and Washington are experiencing in marijuana related traffic fatalities due to its use. Since the law legalizing marijuana was passed in Colorado, that state has seen a twenty percent increase in marijuana related traffic fatalities. And Colorado law enforcement has also reported an increase in other crimes, such as domestic violence, in which marijuana use was present. Poking huge holes in pot supporters arguments that people smoking marijuana are not violent or in any other way larcenous.
     Recent studies have linked the long term use of marijuana to anxiety and depression, especially in teens and young adults. Not to mention the lack of motivation, desire, and connection to everyday life that long term users experience. There are now more teens and young adults in drug rehabilitation for marijuana use than for all other drugs combined. Marijuana is in many ways more dangerous than other addictions because its addicts think the drug makes them better, and they do not see it as a detriment to their lives. Speak with addicts of most other drugs or alcohol, and they will tell you that they know their drug of choice is making their life worse not better and they want to quit. Not so with marijuana users.
     All of the aforementioned would be bad enough, but is made worse by the fact that today's marijuana has levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical that produces the "high" and addicts the user, that approach 80%. The marijuana of the 60s, 70s, and 80s had THC levels of only 15-20%. The increased strength of modern marijuana, the legalization of it, and the effort by some to mitigate its dangers, has lead to greater use of drugs like heroin. Many defenders of pot say it is not a gateway drug. The fact is that while few marijuana users ever escalate to harder drug use, most who addict themselves to heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine have begun by smoking pot.
     The drug debate in this country has at times been contentious, with supporters of legalized marijuana being very vociferous in their desire to have ubiquitous, cheap, and legal pot. But with the recent revelation that driving down the price of marijuana only increases the production and importation of heroin, those who support legalization are on the ultimate fool's errand.

Rocky Mountain High

     It has been one year since the voters of Colorado chose to believe the arguments of the pro-marijuana crowd, and legalize the sale and use of that harmful drug. And after only one year, teen use has risen substantially in the state, traffic fatalities as a result of driving under the influence of marijuana have seen a forty percent increase, and there are more cannabis shops in Colorado than in Amsterdam. The Colorado experiment with legalized marijuana should be enough to convince any reasonable person that it is a practice that should be avoided in other states.
     The level of THC (the chemical in marijuana that produces the high and addiction) has gone from 3-4% 40 years ago to over 30% today. This has caused not only more addiction, but an almost epidemic rise of personality disorders such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia, especially in teens and young adults. So much so that there are now more young adults in drug treatment programs for marijuana use than all other drugs combined.
     The pro-marijuana crowd has always tried to convince the unsuspecting that marijuana is a harmless drug. One argument that they have trotted out from the stables of misleading statistics is the fact that persons under the influence of marijuana commit fewer violent crimes and cause fewer traffic fatalities than those under the influence of alcohol. But in using this statistic, the pot pushers conveniently omit the fact that alcohol is legal, and therefore is in much wider use than marijuana. This fact alone would cause a spike in crimes and traffic fatalities due to alcohol use. We see the proof of this theory at work in Colorado, where after making marijuana legal, a spike was seen in crimes and traffic fatalities caused, or at least involving, marijuana.
     Another tactic used by the pro-marijuana lobby is what they say are the drug's medical benefits to those suffering from any number of illnesses. This "argument" is just a shameless use of the sick to justify the recreational use of the drug. Marijuana's use as an elixir for the ill has been greatly exaggerated, and besides, its benefits in this area have been available for years in the prescription drug Marinol. For ninety five percent of the afflicted who would benefit from marijuana use, Marinol is a seamless substitute. With a quick perusal of the side effects of Marinol, which are often sited by the pro-marijuana crowd as a reason to legalize pot, one would quickly notice the striking similarity to the side effects of smoking marijuana. Not to mention the "gateway" qualities of marijuana, which the pro-marijuana crowd say are a myth. But while many who smoke marijuana never escalate to other drugs like heroine or crack, the vast majority of heroine and crack addicts have begun their journeys of addiction with marijuana use.
     In recent years, with the aid of fresh studies and millions of case histories, I have seen that marijuana is not some miracle substance that is at the same time a harmless recreational drug, and a powerful medicine that can relieve the symptoms of those suffering from serious illness. In my mind, the Colorado experiment has illustrated that any small benefit to society that legalization of marijuana may have, is obliterated by the deleterious effects the drug has on society at large, especially among the young. And the future of this great nation, and the continuation of liberty itself, depends on the lucidity of thought that is almost impossible with the use of marijuana.