Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jun 2016
Source: Reno News & Review (NV)
Copyright: 2016, Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/issues/reno/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2524
Author: Dennis Myers

POT TALE OF THE WEEK

In a June 7 editorial, the Las Vegas Review-Journal claimed, "And no 
matter how much pot enthusiasts argue otherwise, marijuana is both 
addictive-one in 10 people who try pot will become hooked on it-and a 
gateway to more deadly drugs that kill more than 45,000 Americans a year."

The gateway theory has been around for decades-long before any 
research on drugs had been done. Thus, it plainly originated as a 
product of supposition, not of science. One version of it in the 
early 20th century said that tobacco always leads to harder stuff. 
Con man Charles Towns, who ran "clinics" where alleged cures for drug 
addiction were offered, said, "It [tobacco use] always precedes 
alcoholism and drug addiction. I've never had a drug case or an 
alcoholic case (excepting a few women) that didn't have a history of 
excessive smoking."

In the case of marijuana, once outside the realm of supposition and 
into practical tests, there is evidence that marijuana-far from 
acting as a gateway-actually serves as a barrier to "harder stuff."

In 1969, the Nixon administration launched what it called "Operation 
Intercept"-slowing traffic at Mexico/U.S. border towns and thoroughly 
searching every vehicle. It certainly dried up supplies of marijuana 
in the Southwest-and demand for harder stuff shot up. New users of 
smack crowded into clinics. As marijuana slowly became more available 
again, heroin cases declined. California physician David Smith told 
Newsweek, "The government line is that the use of marijuana leads to 
more dangerous drugs. The fact is that the lack of marijuana leads to 
more dangerous drugs."

The previous year during the Johnson administration, a military 
crackdown on marijuana in Vietnam reduced supply and prompted an 
upsurge in heroin use by U.S. servicepeople.

Incidentally, the Review-Journal has changed its position on 
marijuana since it was purchased by billionaire Sheldon Adelson.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom