Pubdate: Mon, 09 Feb 2015
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Rod Hug

NATION OF ADDICTES

EDITOR: I was pleased to read Dennis Byrne's commentary ("Let's face 
it. Were a nation of addicts," Wednesday). Finally, somebody said it. 
My take is: marijuana use began as a culture phenomenon among folks 
protesting societies' mores. Then it spread to the fringe radicals on 
the left. And now it has been adopted as a mainstay of the 
progressive movement, a sort of logo of the left.

The medical, then recreational, labels were adopted to give it a 
measure of legitimacy and to circumvent laws prohibiting drug use. 
Perhaps marijuana use is also a symptom of boredom, overpopulation, 
moral decay or others. Nevertheless, there is a clear inconsistency 
when marijuana is said to be medically good while tobacco and alcohol 
are deemed health hazards. For example, tobacco can hardly be 
advertised as "medical tobacco," nor can alcohol be sensibly 
formatted as "recreational drinking."

Rod Hug

Santa Rosa
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