Marijuana vs North America

I originally posted this under another title and the link to others comments can be found at the bottom of this post. Thought some of you might find it entertaining.

Boundless hypocrisy and propaganda; North America versus Marijuana

"Marijuana is a plague on society and must remain in check," states an American senator to constituents as he clinks the ice in his glass of fine Kentucky bourbon and revels in the flavor of the finely tailored Cuban cigar resting between his fingers. It's this kind of blatant ignorance that has hindered reform to marijuana laws since the opium and drug act of Canada enacted in 1923 and the full criminalization of the substance in America in 1937.

The economic benefits and the effect legalization would have on crime would convince many people that legalization is desirable, however this essay does not stop there, it is the first of many reasons why legalization is worthwhile. Taxation under legalization would bring in massive revenues that could be directed to areas desperate for money, such as infrastructure, health care, education, and crime prevention programs. Resources that are being directed at law enforcement could be better spent responding to real crime without increased risks to public safety. "In Canada, annually half a billion is wasted enforcing marijuana, yet pot is just as easy to obtain as ever" stated Paul M. from Abbotsford, BC, concerned citizen, and he continues "wishful thinking that prohibition could eliminate marijuana has only fooled us into grossly underestimating the vast resources actually needed. Thus enforcement has been ineffectual, sufficient only to bolster the price of the substance, with out significantly controlling supply, and doing little to curb demand. Ironically, by supporting marijuana prices, we are allowing criminal gangs to reap huge profits, and evolve into powerful drug cartels, bringing weapons, violence and lawlessness to our communities." "In the US over ten billion is spent annually on prohibition of marijuana" according to Dennis Kucinch, US congressman. According to a study of the state justice department budget, between 1976 and 1985 the state of California saved nearly one billion by decriminalizing possession of up to one ounce of the substance, . Legalization or even decriminalization would greatly help collapse the drug-trafficking industry, forcing organized crime to abandon cultivation leaving it to growers not motivated by profit. This brings about questions of conspiracy, are crime bosses supporting political parties in exchange for a strong stance against reform? Citizens living under decriminalization laws, such as Australia, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands consume the drug at rates less than or comparable to those who live in regions where it remains criminalized. Decriminalization has had virtually no effect on use of the drug or related belief's or attitudes towards the substance. In fact in areas where the drug is scarce such as Japan, youth have resorted to sniffing solvents and use of amphetamines. Eliminating the supply can actually encourage more dangerous practices.

Scientific study has shown repetitively that marijuana has proven benefits to disease treatment and that the adverse effects are within acceptable ranges tolerated with other medications. In fact every unbiased commission that has studied the substance has at least recommended decriminalization. Canada's House of commons Special Committee on non-medical use of drugs in 2002 concluded that the scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicated that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and should be treated as a social and public health issue, not as a criminal issue. In Canada, according to information gathered by www.mapleleafweb.com, a web site dedicated to issues of controversy, 90% of Canadians support the decriminalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. According to Dennis Kucinich, US congressman, his sources indicate that 80% of Americans approve of medicinal use and 72% favour fines for minor offences.

Continued criminalization of marijuana senselessly criminalizes so many people with no positive result, it may even prevent a person from fully contributing to society for life, which is a loss for us all. Former president Jimmy Carter once said "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use." Under US federal law, possessing a joint or less is punishable by one year in prison and a $10,000 fine, the same as possession of small amounts of heroin or crack-cocaine, in several states the sentence could mean life imprisonment. Some states that convict pot users are denied federal student aid, welfare and food stamps and may be removed from public housing, in some cases, stripped of driving privileges even if not driving related. In 2000 the US arrested and charged 734,000 individuals for possession of marijuana, far exceeding the total amount of arrests for violent crime. In 64% of counties surveyed in the US African Americans were arrested twice as often as whites. Should otherwise good hard working people have their lives ruined for using a substance that is proven safer and less destructive to society than the beer and alcohol we see advertised in the media everyday? Should not behavior only causing demonstrable harm to others be prohibited such as sale to minors and impaired driving. The government should not be in the business of micromanaging the health choices of adults in a "free society." Since the Volstead act (prohibiting alcohol), was repealed in 1933, the US government has implemented the much more successful policy of focusing law enforcement on irresponsible users. The mentality that any admission that the laws require change is seen as a sign of weakness is unfounded. Decriminalization or Legalization sends a sign of strength, it signals that we are trying to make the laws proportionate. Continued criminalization of marijuana show that our laws are capricious, unfair and unrelated to rational concerns. It encourages disrespect for the laws. Moreover, when people realize that pot is not the demon drug they have been led to believe, they may falsely conclude that harder drugs have been similarly represented. What should be done is development of drug treatment programs instead of incarceration, improve drug education by emphasizing scientific fact over scare tactics, and implement a Department of Justice program that would review the records of and consider sentence reduction or release of inmates convicted of non violent marijuana offences. Simply, in spite of all the lies, adult pot use is not that big a deal.

Marijuana, when considered as a gateway drug one must consider the environment in which the substance is often obtained coupled with an individuals predisposition towards other substances. Alcohol in contrast to marijuana has proven to be a catalyst for emotional and physical abuse, where pot is seldom linked to violent behaviour. Fortunately, alcohol and tobacco consumption is dropping, due to education about the dangers of their use. The fact that different people have different chemistry and prefer different drugs should also be taken into account, as many people prefer the safer alternative of pot to alcohol. Often there is the reasoning that alcohol and tobacco create enough problems already, and that we don't need to add to the problem, keep in mind the benefits that legalization would bring about, which heavily outweighs any problems that are already present. Legalization could give individuals with a substance abuse problem related to marijuana the courage to seek treatment. If a government has predetermined that an individual is a criminal they'll certainly be less likely to admit or address their dependence to any type of authority.

America's "War on Drugs" became the simple answer for what was wrong with the country. Never mind that a whole array of pharmacologically distinct substances were lumped into one term; DRUGS, or that legal recreational drugs were left out of the picture. The Bush administration fear's that if Canada's experiment with decriminalization will underscore the embarrassing failure of it's own drug policy and will increase pressure for US decriminalization. America's current administration is holding Canada's reform back, the US threatens that it would not look kindly on any changes to our current laws regarding marijuana, and has warned that the US would be forced to take action. America's current administration need to recognize that Canada's marijuana cultivation is fueled primarily by the enormous American demand. It's consumer demand that drives the marijuana trade.

Marijuana has suffered a smear campaign in North America. Harry J Anslinger, appointed director of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (predecessor of the Drug Enforcement Agency) in 1931 at the recommendation of his wife's uncle, Mellon, who was Director of the Mellon bank and US Secretary of the Treasury at that time. He and Mellon associated with other wealthy men such as William R Hurst Sr. and the DuPont brothers. Hearst owned a chain of newspapers across the US and a large lumber company. The DuPont family had patented a paper making process using wood pulp some years earlier and had a new invention, synthetic cotton, named nylon. At first Anslinger declared marijuana caused users to go crazy and commit violent acts. Similar to what Canada's own Emily Murphy, the first woman to be appointed a magistrate in the British Empire had written in her book The Black Candle, published in 1922 which led to legislation governing narcotics that remained unchanged until the 1960's. After doctors testified at a second hearing regarding marijuana, Anslinger recanted his testimony, conceding that the drug probably didn't cause insanity or violent behavior, but did add that it could lead to opium use. This was the origin of the gateway myth. In 1937, Popular Science predicted that hemp would become a billion-dollar industry. Unfortunately, the infant hemp industry seemed to threaten these rich men's monopoly in the pulp and paper industry. With the passing of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1933, the hemp industry was suppressed, only to surface during World War Two, when America's supply of manila hemp was cut off by Japans occupation of the Philippines. Hearst's newspaper instigated a smear campaign against the substance, and was imitated by other newspapers across the globe. After hemp was buried in 1938, DuPont came out with nylon. It licensed out the paper making process to Hearst so that wood pulp could easily be made into cheap paper. Meanwhile, the anti-pot propaganda demonized marijuana whilst the alcohol and tobacco companies enjoyed wide advertising.

Hemp produces 4.3 times more pulp fiber per hectare as compared to wood pulp. Hemp products can be recycled seven times while wood pulp products can only be recycled three times. Twenty million hectares of Canadian farmland could see fifteen billion dollars of hemp fiber, marijuana even at one dollar per gram could be worth six million per hectare (at six kilotonnes per hectare). Cannabis hemp legalization in Canada would drastically change the world economy putting us quickly in the same bracket as the US. Worldwide legalization could effectively strengthen each nation, making each one sovereign. And this, more than anything is what the financial capitalists fear the most. The revitalization of the world economy that would ensue may even liberate the world from being a petroleum-based society.

With all this in mind it's make one wonder, after all that has been presented here why does it still fall upon deaf ears. It's simply because those in positions of the greatest power don't want to heed fact, thus the laws remain unchanged and in all likley hood not change for some time. This in truth is more about the unbalace of power than an issue about a single non detrimental substance.

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Well a lot of that was correct however the whole DuPont thing and the wood pulp industry shouldn't be taken as fact although some people have speculated. I have done a lot of research on my own for various papers and what not and the main reasons Marijuana was outlawed had to do with discrimination against Mexicans and Blacks. Hemp was still legal to import to make things. They had already been importing it before it was outlawed because it was a lot cheaper to get hemp overseas then grow it.

It's asinine that it's still illegal. Such a waste of money, time, and effort.

Ah well. Lawmakers are closeminded and self-righteous.

yea, i agree that it had to do with discrimination. i do think there is a major economic motivation though. probably about a 50/50 mix of the two, besides the other reasons.

yep.

I don't know if lawmakers should get all the blame - voters and lobbyists do their part too.

Cuban Cigars are illegal too.

And don't go dissing bourbon.

And why did you post this again, with a link to the time you posted it last week? Are you going to post it every week? You should have just bumped your old thread.

Cuban cigars aren't illegal because they're bad for you, they're illegal because they're from cuba.

*Note to stoners*

We're creeping towards World War III, people are starving and/or dying of AIDS all over the world, and you guys are still bitching about not being able to get high legally?

*Not to posters*

Feel free to post about things besides war, starvation and aids.

I don't smoke...and wouldn't even if it were legal...but I think their beef is with the raging hypocrisy moreso than simply getting high.

Marijuana...a plant found commonly in nature is illegal to possess & use...while things like Xanax, Oxycontin, Valium etc; are perfectly legal and only require a semi-legitimate prescription.

Alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceuticals & gambling are all legalized vices...but pot is "bad" for you.

i highly doubt the voters would notice or care if they weren't riled up by the lawmakers and lobbyists.

Yeah, with all that shit going on who could possibly want to get high?

BTW, as soon as one of your posts cures AIDS, stops a war, or even makes anyone laugh let me know.

MyDogFarted's posts have made me laugh on countless occasions.

Me too. I'm just making a (jerky) point. Leave your facts at home!!

I just read the article briefly...mostly becuase I have a splitting headache and took two codeine (another form of legal drug that I've been accused of being addicted too) Anyway I know that there are states Rhode Island being one of them that allow pot as a medical drug...but they don't provide it at the pharmacy...you still have to buy it from dealers. Next time I go to the doctors I will apply for pot for my headaches becuase I've used it before and it seems to help. Supposidlty it's better for me than Codeine or any other drug becuase it dosen't destory my stomach lining. or liver for that matter. As long as I don't drive. I know there are allot more serious things going on in the world right now but to some people with medical conditions this is a serious issue. If I wasn't in a federal subsizied housing I could actually grown some plants accororing to RI law now passed. However Federal law overriders it. You actually get a card saying you are allowed to have x amount on you and if you get caught you show that to the police. Its not a bad deal. One of the right things this state did. I don't know how the other states work (ie CA) but I"m sure its similar. Belive me I don't want to aide terrorists I just want to feel better.

I have done a lot of research on my own with various papers and what not.

Mucci, I think you are confusing codeine for acetaminophen. Acetaminophen causes liver and stomach problems for many people. Opiates in general are very safe when used as directed.

Coupla points to make. Firstly, even mentioning war, starvation and AIDS at this point is irrelevent, because it has NOTHING to do with this topic. If weed were legalised tomorrow, it would make absolutely no difference to the global situation, so why bring that up?

Secondly, I concur with Cash. The reason we stoners are bitching is that while our/your government imprisons people for weed-related crimes which basically amount to dealing or possession, we are bombarded with alcohol commercials telling us to drink more beer. It's hypocrisy of the highest order.

I declare a jihad on you, infadel swine! I will strike with my short-range glares until my long-range Iranian glares arrive!
*glares ominously*

Well, not sure about the U.K., but I believe the U.S. military frowns on certain criminal convictions to enlist. I know my uncle was booted from the Marines for possession. Perhaps being busted for weed is a good way to evade the draft, which at this point is probably not far off.

I'm all for legalized pot, even though I haven't smoked in years. How many truly stoned people do you know that commit violent crimes? Let the government tax the crap out of it like cigarettes and alocohol and be done with it.

Do you have federal officers/employees policing your housing complex? If not, you probably wouldn't have to worry about it because the state isn't going to notify them if they catch you toking with a card. In fact, they can't as the law specifically states that HIPPA's privacy clause protects the confidentiality of your health information in this case.

That said, I doubt that your headaches would fall under the law's definition of "debiliatating medical condition" if you're able to hold a job, even if it is Dunkin' Donuts (not trying to minimize your condition or your employment here). Additionaly, your "personality disorder nos" diagnosis could disqualify you based on the chance of weed exacerbating the problem or reacting poorly with your legal meds. You should really talk to your shrink about this if you're considering smoking to ease the pain. I've had several clients with similar diagnoses and med regimens have major problems after self-medicating with weed.

I considered finding a shady doctor and playing up some chronic pains I have but after reading the provisions I realized the state's going to do a decent job of keeping recreational users like myself unprotected. The state's dep. of health has all the guidlines and a downloadable application on the web. You should check it out.

Pssssssst.

There are a lot of reasons to legalize of marijuana that have nothing (or at least, little) to do with getting baked and sitting on one's couch. It could be considered a decent cause to support, in many ways.

what not

Cliff's Notes, anyone?