Fritz, If they were to legalize Marijuana for medical purposes only, would you be against a law which would prohibit the smoking of this drug?
I can see the benefits of such a drug as natural as marijuana, but after doing some reading...it's not the actual drug that can be harmful, it's the way one uses it. I guess the only way to receive the benefits of this drug would be to digest it, not inhale it. Smoking anything can and will lead to problems with your lungs and/or heart. On Jan 14, 12:49 pm, Fritz_da_Cat <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/8/2009/3343 > > (entire article) > > The parallels between the 1933 coming of Franklin Roosevelt and the > upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama must include the issue of > Prohibition: alcohol in 1933, and marijuana today. As FDR did back > then, Obama must now help end an utterly failed, socially destructive, > reactionary crusade. > > Marijuana prohibition is a core cause of many of the nation's economic > problems. It now costs the U.S. tens of billions per year to track, > arrest, try, defend and imprison marijuana consumers who pose little, > if any, harm to society. The social toll soars even higher when we > account for social violence, lost work, ruined careers and damaged > families. In 2007, 775,137 people were arrested in the U.S. for mere > possession of this ancient crop, according to the FBI’s uniform crime > report. > > Like the Prohibition on alcohol that plagued the nation from 1920 to > 1933, marijuana prohibition (which essentially began in 1937) feeds > organized crime and a socially useless prison-industrial complex that > includes judges, lawyers, police, guards, prison contractors, and > more. > > A dozen states have now passed public referenda confirming medical > uses for marijuana based on voluminous research dating back 5,000 > years. Confirmed medicinal uses for marijuana include treatment for > glaucoma, hypertension, arthritis, pain relief, nausea relief, > reducing muscle spasticity from spinal cord injuries and multiple > sclerosis, and diminishing tremors in multiple sclerosis patients. > Medical reports also prove smoked marijuana provides relief from > migraine headaches, depression, seizures, and insomnia, according to > NORML. In recent years its use has become critical to thousands of > cancer and AIDS sufferers who need to it to maintain their appetite > while undergoing chemotherapy. > > The U.S. ban on marijuana extends to include hemp, one of the most > widely used agricultural products in human history. Unlike many other > industrial crops, hemp is powerful and prolific in a natural state, > requiring no pesticides, herbicides, extraordinary fertilizing or > inappropriate irrigation. Its core products include paper, cloth, > sails, rope, cosmetics, fuel, supplements and food. Its seeds are a > potentially significant source of bio-diesel fuel, and its leaves and > stems an obvious choice for cellulosic ethanol, both critically > important for a conversion to a Solartopian renewable energy supply. > > Hemp was grown in large quantities by George Washington, Thomas > Jefferson, James Madison and many more of the nation's founders, most > of whom would likely be dumbfounded to hear it is illegal (based on > entries in Washington's agricultural diaries, referring to the > separation of male and female plants, it's likely he and his cohorts > also raised an earlier form of "medicinal" marijuana). > > Hemp growing was mandatory in some circumstances in early America, and > again during World War II, when virtually the entire state of Kansas > was planted in it. The current ban on industrial hemp costs the U.S. > billiions of dollars in lost production and revenue from a plant that > can produce superior paper, clothing, fuel and other critical > materials at a fraction the financial cost and environmental damage > imposed by less worthy sources. > > On January 16, 1919, fundamentalist crusaders help pass the 18th > Amendment, making the sale of alcohol illegal. The ensuing Prohibition > was by all accounts a ludicrous failure epitomized by gang violence > and lethal "amateur" product that added to the death toll. Its only > real winner was organized crime and the prison-industrial complex. > > In 1933, FDR helped pass the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition, > which ended a costly era of gratuitous social repression and gave the > American economy---and psyche---a tangible boost. > > Marijuana prohibition was escalated with Richard Nixon's 1970 > declaration of the War on Drugs. There was a brief reprieve when Steve > Ford, the son of President Gerald Ford appeared on the cover of > Rolling Stone barefoot and claiming that the best place to smoke pot > was in the White House. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter’s last year in > office, 338,664 were arrested for marijuana possession. > > Ronald Reagan renewed the War on Drugs and declared his “Zero > Tolerance” policy, despite his daughter Patti Davis’ claim the Gipper > smoked weed with a major donor. Following Reagan, President George > Herbert Walker Bush recorded a low of 260,390 marijuana possession > arrests, but the numbers climbed again under Bill Clinton and George > W. Bush, both of whom are reported to have smoked it themselves > (though Clinton claims not to have inhaled). > > On a percentage basis, at least as many American high school students > smoke pot than students in Holland, where it is legal. In the midst of > the drug war, U.S. students report virtually unlimited access to a > wide range of allegedly controlled substances, including pot. Because > so many Americans use it, and it is so readily available, the war on > marijuana can only be seen as a virtually universal assault on the > basic liberties of our citizenry. > > In a 2005 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services survey, more > than 97 million Americans admitted to having tried marijuana at least > once. President-elect Obama makes it clear in his book Dreams From My > Father that he has smoked---and inhaled---marijuana (he is also > apparently addicted to a far more dangerous drug, tobacco). His > administration should tax marijuana rather than trying to repress it. > Like alcohol and tobacco, a minimum age for legal access should be set > at 21. > > As a whole, the violent, repressive War on Drugs has been forty years > of legal, cultural and economic catastrophe. Like FDR, Obama must end > our modern-day Prohibition, and with it the health-killing crusade > against this ancient, powerful medicinal herb. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
