Pubdate: Wed, 8 Oct 2014
Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Palm Beach Post
Contact:  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
Author: Rebecca Turley-Summers

5 FACTS IN THE DRIVE TOWARD MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

So far, the Amendment 2 debate has been a fact-free zone. So everyone
can understand what a fact is, I will offer a couple.

1. After thousands of years of use by humans, there has never been a
recorded death actually caused by marijuana. No cannabinoid even has
an LD-50. That's the dose capable of killing 50 percent of the time.

2. There is only one study showing that marijuana might harm
developing brains, and that study has been widely discredited because
the affected children were mostly living in poverty, which itself
causes the same harm detected. There are no other studies suggesting
harm, only a lot of citations to that study.

3. All members of the cannabis family, whether containing THC or not,
are neuroprotectants that actually aid in healing the brain from any
neurological damage -- including stroke, Parkinson's, ALS, MS,
Alzheimer's and seizure disorders. (Sadly, this research has not been
done in the United States, where we could benefit from it, but in
Israel, Spain, Great Britain, etc.)

4. About every 10 years, the U.S. government commissions a panel to
study the the actual harms of marijuana use. The panel reports back
that they cannot find any significant harm, and the government quietly
ignores the findings.

5. The leading cause of death from injury in the United States is
prescription drug overdose.

After considering No. 1, please explain to me why anyone should be
forced to take a toxic chemical that is physically addictive and can
kill you, when a plant full of phytonutrients can safely do a better
job, and in some instances could actually cure the underlying disease
or even prevent one from developing.

As someone likely facing Alzheimer's in my future from years of
prescription drugs that can increase the incidence of that disease, I
plan on living where I have that alternative. I can leave, but not
everyone has that luxury.

Rebecca Turley-Summers, West Palm Beach
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MAP posted-by: Richard