Pubdate: Thu, 28 Apr 2016
Source: Tomah Journal, The (WI)
Copyright: 2016 The Tomah Journal
Contact:  http://www.tomahjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4120
Author: Chris King
Note: City of Tomah Alderman Chris King represents the Fourth District.

ANTI-MARIJUANA LETTER WORN OUT PROPAGANDA

I was recently scrolling the opinion pages of the Tomah Journal 
online, and buried behind all of the really interesting stuff, I came 
across another letter to the editor from Natalie Carlisle, the Drug 
Free Communities coordinator and member of the Monroe County Safe 
Community Coalition's Marijuana Workgroup.

I have no desire to take things personally on matters of public 
policy. However, before the city of Tomah elected me to serve as 
District 4 Tomah City Alderman, Ms. Carlisle and her coalition 
mentioned my previous column calling for reform of Tomah's municipal 
code in regard to the penalties for possession of marijuana within 
the city limits. Therefore, in the interest of perpetuating a 
necessary conversation and equality of information, I do feel it 
necessary to highlight some of the worn out, tired propaganda and 
misinformation that is used to try to justify the continued violation 
of human rights in the form of arrests for a substance that is widely 
understood to be less dangerous than alcohol.

As such, a point-by-point rebuttal of the old school of the drug war, 
failed policy and unfortunate ignorance perpetuated by well-intended 
but otherwise unwitting individuals who directly have a stake in 
perpetuating the drug war built-up complex that supports the likes of 
for-profit prisons and the such, feasting on the troubles of 
minorities in our inner cities and destroying individual lives 
through the unnatural prohibition of a natural substance in a 
schizophrenic attempt to treat a public health issue as entirely an 
enforcement issue, is called for.

1. "There is a perception that marijuana is less dangerous than 
alcohol. Today's marijuana is not your 'Woodstock weed' with THC 
levels increasing from 3.7 percent in the 1990s to 95 percent in 
marijuana concentrates used by today's users!"

It is not merely a "perception" that marijuana is less dangerous than 
alcohol. It is the reality. No matter the potency of the marijuana, 
there are no known recorded deaths from marijuana poisoning, not one. 
Can you say that about alcohol, or even caffeine for that matter? In 
addition, prohibition is directly tied to the demand for more and 
more potency, as less of the substance is required, leading to lower 
quantities needed to produce the same effects a consumer may seek, a 
bigger bang for the buck if you will. Is not alcohol manufactured and 
sold in varying concentrations? You've got your can of beer and your 
shot of Jack Daniels.

2. "Use of marijuana while driving doubles the risk of car crashes."

To begin with, nobody is calling for the allowance of impaired 
driving, just as it is not legal for anyone to consume too much 
alcohol and get behind the wheel. Somewhere between fear mongering 
propaganda and effective public policy lays the truth, and this type 
of straw man argument is a failure to pursue logical solutions.

3. "Regular heavy marijuana use by teens can lead to an IQ drop of up 
to eight points. These youth are less likely to graduate and more 
likely to earn a lower income or be unemployed."

Here's another straw man. I have yet to hear of anyone encouraging 
marijuana use by teens. In addition, studies such as the one that 
likely formed this misleading conclusion do not account for the 
variance of correlation and causation. If a youth who uses marijuana 
also does not graduate or earn a higher income, can we see causality, 
or could we see that the same teen may already be prone to lower 
achievement and less ambition. It's the old chicken or the egg 
argument, but it is reality, and again, nobody is calling for the 
legalization of cannabis for youth, and certainly I have not even 
called for the legalization of marijuana in the city of Tomah, only 
calling for more rational policy that no longer makes the prohibition 
of the substance the most dangerous part of the substance.

4. "Marijuana is truly a gateway drug. The majority of people using 
heroin and meth were once marijuana users and many are still using 
it. People who are addicted to marijuana are three times more likely 
to become addicted to heroin."

I wonder how many of those who are addicted to heroin have previously 
used any number of controlled substances that are available to adult 
individuals without the risk of life shattering, criminal 
prosecution. How many in treatment for marijuana as a last ditch 
attempt to avoid criminal conviction have previously used caffeine, 
which can kill you, alcohol, which can kill you, cough medicine that 
can get you high and kill you, etc....? (If you don't know about the 
cough medicine, it's a sign that a drug free community coordinator 
might be able to do a better job of keeping our children safe.) The 
gateway theory is debunked, and again perpetuation of these myths is 
truly hurting people more than the substance itself that we are speaking of.

With all of that said, in the interest of continuing the conversation 
and de-legitimizing tired and dangerous propaganda, I will leave you 
with this quote from an individual who has truly seen the insanity of 
the current approach to marijuana or cannabis use, and even considers 
it a viable option for medical purposes.

"In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we 
commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a 
toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat 
enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is 
one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By 
any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within 
the supervised routine of medical care. (DEA Administrative Law 
Judge-1988)" Francis Young
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom