If you pay attention at all, you know that Colorado and Washington (state) legalized recreational marijuana in the November, 2012 election. So, given all the scary, horrible things we hear about pot, I thought I'd write a wee blog highlighting the content of this article at Toke Signals.
I've been hearing scary things about pot since Michelle Summers' mom (a cop) came to my class in school and showed us how to recognize drugs and explained why they are all dangerous. I was a kid. It would have been dangerous. Anyway, she also told us how bad cigarettes and alcohol are, so YAY for Michelle's Mom! But there are things we've all been told about marijuana use that are not true (although I cannot recall if any of these untruths came from Michelle's Mom).
There are a lot of myths about grass. Despite the panic-mongering, it becomes more popular and more widely used every year. Here's a summary:
1 Smoking weed does not cause lung cancer. It's been studied. A lot. For a long time. It does not cause lung cancer.
2 Legalized medical marijuana has not been a huge logistical or administrative problem. In LA, it has, because LA didn't deal with their crap. Everywhere else, it's been pretty smooth (excluding federal enforcement efforts).
3 Legalizing marijuana is no more a "slippery slope" than any other law. The "slippery slope" argument is the last trench in a losing battle. Suggesting that legalizing pot will lead to legalizing heroin is like suggesting that allowing 16-year-olds to drive will lead to 10-year-olds driving. That would be stupid. We, as a society, know the difference between pot and heroin just like we know that a 16-year-old is different from a 10-year-old. FYI always reject the "slippery slope" argument. It's always lame.
4 Legalizing pot will not result is serious DUI problems and carnage on the roads. There is simply no evidence to suggest this. Given the pervasive use of pot NOW, do you ever wonder why we never (or rarely) see new articles about a stoner driving into oncoming traffic? Because it just is not happening all that often, if at all. Pot does not impair motor function the way alcohol does. But whatever the reason, we are not experiencing pervasive Driving While High accidents.
5 We are not all going to become potheads. There are HUGE numbers of people who refrain from smoking and/or drinking alcohol despite their being legal. We are not all lemmings.
I understand the change in law in Colorado will result in 10,000 fewer incarcerations in that state. Way to go, Colorado and Washington. Way to get Above Your Raisin' and make decisions based on fact and common sense. 'Ere's to you!
Many years ago, when I still had teenagers at home, I did a lot of research at my local library on marijuana. I cannot swear by this, but if I remember correctly, science stated that there were like 180-something chemicals released into the body while smoking pot.. and most of them stayed in the body. The cumulative results have to have severe consequences.
ReplyDeleteI knew quite a few "potheads" in my younger years, and most of them seemed to go around in a fog. I wish science would do some followup research on some of the "hippies" of my generation who have continued to smoke pot well into their senior years. The ones I am aware of ended up either going on to using stronger drugs, or were/are viewed as a little dim-witted. Of course, I know a lot of senior alcoholics, too!
The point of the blog was not to suggest that pot is a "health food" but simply to relay some info. The reason I think Washington and Colorado are on the right track is that IMO criminalizing vices is simply a waste of time, especially when the substance is less harmful than either cigarettes.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if what you are recalling from "science" is correct, but here's a link that has some information.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/marijuana2.htm
Do you know how many chemicals enter your body when you eat a steak?