Comments on: Take a couple of deep breaths and then read this closely: it isn’t dangerous to use marijuana. http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/05/take-a-couple-of-deep-breaths-and-then-read-this-closely-it-isn%e2%80%99t-dangerous-to-use-marijuana/ Human Animals at the Crossroads of Culture, Science, Religion and Media Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:33:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/05/take-a-couple-of-deep-breaths-and-then-read-this-closely-it-isn%e2%80%99t-dangerous-to-use-marijuana/#comment-27712 Erich Vieth Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:35:16 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=2824#comment-27712 President Calderón's announcement earlier this month must have come as a bit of an unwanted surprise to the Bush Administration. On October 2, Calderón proposed legislation that would decriminalize drug possession, ostensibly for personal use. Not just for marijuana, as one might have expected in a country where pot smoke has not been demonized to the same degree as in the U.S., but for cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, as well. http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/102857/as_the_violence_soars%2C_mexico_signals_it%27s_had_enough_of_america%27s_stupid_war_on_drugs/ President Calderón’s announcement earlier this month must have come as a bit of an unwanted surprise to the Bush Administration. On October 2, Calderón proposed legislation that would decriminalize drug possession, ostensibly for personal use. Not just for marijuana, as one might have expected in a country where pot smoke has not been demonized to the same degree as in the U.S., but for cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, as well.

http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/102857/as_the_violence_soars%2C_mexico_signals_it%27s_had_enough_of_america%27s_stupid_war_on_drugs/

]]> By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/05/take-a-couple-of-deep-breaths-and-then-read-this-closely-it-isn%e2%80%99t-dangerous-to-use-marijuana/#comment-24394 Erich Vieth Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:13:26 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=2824#comment-24394 <blockquote>Psychoactives are in the kitchen, in the hardware store, in the greenhouse, in home medicine cabinets, and in fuel tanks across the country. Everyone uses them. Would you believe that nearly 90% of 45-year-olds in the United States have tried an illegal drug in their lifetime? As of 2006, more than 35 million Americans had taken an illicit drug in the previous year. Monitoring the Future (MTF), the best current survey about illegal drug use in the United States,reports that one in five college students used an illicit drug in the past month. Nearly all adults in the U.S. have tried alcohol, while over 80% use caffeine daily. Last year there were over 180 million prescriptions written for opiates alone. . . . Taxpayers spend 8 billion dollars each year to incarcerate drug law offenders, and pay for ideologically driven, abstinence-only education programs that are so factually misleading that they often fail to acknowledge the pleasurable or useful effects of the substances they teach about.</blockquote> http://www.cato-unbound.org/2008/09/08/earth-and-fire-erowid/towards-a-culture-of-responsible-drug-use/

Psychoactives are in the kitchen, in the hardware store, in the greenhouse, in home medicine cabinets, and in fuel tanks across the country.

Everyone uses them. Would you believe that nearly 90% of 45-year-olds in the United States have tried an illegal drug in their lifetime? As of 2006, more than 35 million Americans had taken an illicit drug in the previous year. Monitoring the Future (MTF), the best current survey about illegal drug use in the United States,reports that one in five college students used an illicit drug in the past month. Nearly all adults in the U.S. have tried alcohol, while over 80% use caffeine daily. Last year there were over 180 million prescriptions written for opiates alone. . . .

Taxpayers spend 8 billion dollars each year to incarcerate drug law offenders, and pay for ideologically driven, abstinence-only education programs that are so factually misleading that they often fail to acknowledge the pleasurable or useful effects of the substances they teach about.

http://www.cato-unbound.org/2008/09/08/earth-and-fire-erowid/towards-a-culture-of-responsible-drug-use/

]]> By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/05/take-a-couple-of-deep-breaths-and-then-read-this-closely-it-isn%e2%80%99t-dangerous-to-use-marijuana/#comment-23699 Erich Vieth Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:47:21 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=2824#comment-23699 California NORML director Dale Gieringer had this to say about the measure. "The legislature was right to approve banning employment discrimination of medical marijuana patients. Marijuana is safer than many prescription drugs that workers are allowed to use, and urine testing has never been FDA tested as either safe or effective in improving workplace safety and productivity." For the full story on a proposed California medical marijuana law,<a href="http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7683" rel="nofollow"> see here.</a> California NORML director Dale Gieringer had this to say about the measure. “The legislature was right to approve banning employment discrimination of medical marijuana patients. Marijuana is safer than many prescription drugs that workers are allowed to use, and urine testing has never been FDA tested as either safe or effective in improving workplace safety and productivity.”

For the full story on a proposed California medical marijuana law, see here.

]]> By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/05/take-a-couple-of-deep-breaths-and-then-read-this-closely-it-isn%e2%80%99t-dangerous-to-use-marijuana/#comment-22881 Erich Vieth Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:34:05 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=2824#comment-22881 Marijuana LAWS killed two people recently. <a href="http://www.nukesylo13.com/component/content/article/846-marijuana-laws-killed-two-people-this-week" rel="nofollow">Here's the story. </a> Marijuana LAWS killed two people recently. Here’s the story.

]]> By: Erika Price http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/05/take-a-couple-of-deep-breaths-and-then-read-this-closely-it-isn%e2%80%99t-dangerous-to-use-marijuana/#comment-21127 Erika Price Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:09:57 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=2824#comment-21127 Erich, in your comment you point out another glaring problem that occurs when discussing drug policy: those opposed to the decriminalization of marijuana can't keep themselves from poisoning the well. Drug users are, as you mention, demonized, and all who voice criticism of our drug policy are lambasted as self-interested druggies. I note how even you felt compelled to point out, in your initial post, that you do not use the drugs you discuss. I don't blame you for it- I've felt the same need to clarify my intent when criticizing the criminalization of marijuana. In actual fact, plenty of people want to see marijuana decriminalized who <i>don't</i> actually use the drug. They may disagree with our current drug policy because of its illogic, or because they'd like to see the prison population cut by a huge number, or because they don't think drug use deserves an expensive and ineffective "war" declared upon it. Most of these people keep their position on the back burner, I think, so they don't come across as unstable drug addicts. This election cycle, Mike Gravel certainly came across as a kook because of his stance on marijuana. Erich, in your comment you point out another glaring problem that occurs when discussing drug policy: those opposed to the decriminalization of marijuana can’t keep themselves from poisoning the well. Drug users are, as you mention, demonized, and all who voice criticism of our drug policy are lambasted as self-interested druggies. I note how even you felt compelled to point out, in your initial post, that you do not use the drugs you discuss. I don’t blame you for it- I’ve felt the same need to clarify my intent when criticizing the criminalization of marijuana.

In actual fact, plenty of people want to see marijuana decriminalized who don’t actually use the drug. They may disagree with our current drug policy because of its illogic, or because they’d like to see the prison population cut by a huge number, or because they don’t think drug use deserves an expensive and ineffective “war” declared upon it. Most of these people keep their position on the back burner, I think, so they don’t come across as unstable drug addicts. This election cycle, Mike Gravel certainly came across as a kook because of his stance on marijuana.

]]> By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/05/take-a-couple-of-deep-breaths-and-then-read-this-closely-it-isn%e2%80%99t-dangerous-to-use-marijuana/#comment-21069 Erich Vieth Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:48:49 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=2824#comment-21069 Erika: You nailed it. Yes, a consistently applied set of objective standards would result in most joint smokers being left alone, while most alcohol and tobacco abusers would be hauled away and thrown in the slammer. There's no need to demonize the abusers of any of these drugs, of course. We could all see it better if we (as I alluded to in the title) took a few deep breaths before jumping to rash conclusions. I also agree that <a href="http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/03/dont-overlook-the-explanatory-power-of-path-dependency/" rel="nofollow">path dependence </a>has a lot to do with the way we view the use of the various drugs. Erika: You nailed it. Yes, a consistently applied set of objective standards would result in most joint smokers being left alone, while most alcohol and tobacco abusers would be hauled away and thrown in the slammer.

There’s no need to demonize the abusers of any of these drugs, of course. We could all see it better if we (as I alluded to in the title) took a few deep breaths before jumping to rash conclusions.

I also agree that path dependence has a lot to do with the way we view the use of the various drugs.

]]> By: Erika Price http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/07/05/take-a-couple-of-deep-breaths-and-then-read-this-closely-it-isn%e2%80%99t-dangerous-to-use-marijuana/#comment-21038 Erika Price Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:24:50 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=2824#comment-21038 Imagine if we based the illegality of a drug on a standardized set of criteria. Standards like, for example, the addictive properties of the drug, the ease at which a person can overdose, the long-term physical effects, and so forth. Marijuana would beat out alcohol and tobacco on all counts. Tobacco leads to far more instances of addiction, alcohol can very easily be imbibed in dangerous, overdose-like excess, and both alcohol and tobacco have far more deleterious long-term effects. So why do we keep these harmful substances legal while shunning a relatively harmless one? Path dependence, perhaps? Imagine if we based the illegality of a drug on a standardized set of criteria. Standards like, for example, the addictive properties of the drug, the ease at which a person can overdose, the long-term physical effects, and so forth. Marijuana would beat out alcohol and tobacco on all counts. Tobacco leads to far more instances of addiction, alcohol can very easily be imbibed in dangerous, overdose-like excess, and both alcohol and tobacco have far more deleterious long-term effects. So why do we keep these harmful substances legal while shunning a relatively harmless one? Path dependence, perhaps?

]]>