Chapter 1: The Big Two: The Popular Acceptance and Use of Marijuana and Alcohol
– Physician Dr. Andrew Weil agrees, “Drug use is universal.In fact, drug taking is so common that it seems to be a basic human activity
– In the book Alcoholism: The Facts, Ann Manzardo states fermented wine juices (wines) and beer were human beings “earliest beverage of choice”. So how many Americans regularly consume pot and alcohol? According to 2007 data published by the US department of health and human services, approximately 66% of the population aged 12 and older (roughly 163 million Americans) imbibed in alcohol in past 1.5 years and just over 127 million drink booze regularly.
– 30% on government polls and most experts assume illegal drug use is grossly under-reported, roughly 25 million Americans have consumed cannabis in the past year and 15 million (6%) define themselves as regular users. Experts estimate the retail value of the domestic marijuana market to be 113 billion per year. A figure that rivals alcohol.
– The alcohol industry is a prominent sponsor of pro sports events and a stapling of long standing amounts of alcohol in stadium parking lots pre-games. Many prominent actors and directors in Hollywood are outspoken about their cannabis use. Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Woody Harrelson, Seth Rogan, Matt McConaughey
Chapter 2: POT 101: Understanding Marijuana
– Marijuana is the most widely used illicit intoxicant in the US (and world), much of the public & some prominent politicians – still remain woefully ignorant about the plants multiple use and it’s psychoactive effects
– today there are nearly as many varieties of marijuana as there are alcohol, all with different names, potencies, purposes and effects.
– Marijuana been used for thousands of years and according to a 2008 medical journal review, there are now more than 17,000 published studies and papers available in the scientific literature analyzing pot. It’s the most studied and widely used plants in human existence.
– During America’s colonial era, many of the founding fathers including George Washington & Thomas Jefferson, espoused cultivating cannabis for the production of rope, sails, cloth and paper. WWII the US government commissioned tens of thousands of domestic farmers to grow marijuana to assist with America’s wartime needs (1943 film Hemp For Victory produced by USDA calls plant indispensable.)
– Unlike alcohol, the overindulgence in which can produce nausea, vomiting, hangovers & death in extreme cases, the use of marijuana produces very few negative side effects. Smoke too much & you’ll most likely end up going to sleep.
– Of the dozens of cannabinoids in marijuana, only THC is significantly psychoactive. Other chemicals such as cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabinol (CBN) possess mildly therapeutic properties but don’t induce euphoria. Other compounds most specifically the chemical cannabidiol (CBD), actually counteract some of the psychoactive effects of the THC – acting as marijuana’s “antimarijuana” mechanism. Endocannabinoids (naturally occurring chemicals in the body, see more on my “endocannabinoid” page) also interact with CB1 & CB2 receptors in the brain to regulate many essential biological functions, including appetite, blood pressure and reproduction. Majority of the body’s CB1 receptors are located in the frontal lobe region of the brain’s cerebral cortex (which regulates emotional behavior) and the cerebellum (controlling motor coordination) but not the brain stem (which controls life preserving functions like breathing), ingesting marijuana is not pharmacologically capable of causing a fatal overdose, regardless of the THC potency.
– According to a 1995 report prepared for the World Health Organization, “There are no recorded cases of overdose fatalities attributed to cannabis and the estimated lethal dose for humans extrapolated from animal studies is so high that it cannot be achieved by recreational users.”
– Many users say that smoking marijuana makes them more talkative and outgoing in social situations and many also say that the marijuana high enhances many of the body’s senses, thus making activities like listening to music, watching a movie, or enjoying a home cooked meal particularly enjoyable.
– Consuming moderate to high qualities of marijuana orally such as in food or tincture (and alcohol based solution) will yield a much different and often far more intense outcome. Users will not feel any psychoactive effects of the drug for a good 45-90 minutes after ingestion making it difficult to regulate the dosage. Once effects take hold they can be far stronger and last far longer (upwards 4-6 hours is typical)
– Statistically, most marijuana users are also successfully academically (Overall performance is generally unaffected by cannabis use) and financially (at least longitudinal study reports that increased marijuana use is associated with earning higher wages) – US CDC report April 19, 2006 – National Vital Statistics Report
– Recently investigators at the U of A in Canada conducted a series of lengthy interviews with male and female cannabis users. They found the majority of adults who use recreationally do so to “enhance relaxation”. They concluded “Most adult marijuana users regulate use to their recreational time and do not use compulsively. Their use is intended to enhance their leisure activities and manage challenges and demands of living in contemporary modern society. Generally participants reported using marijuana because it enhanced relaxation and concentration, making a broad range of leisure activities more enjoyable and pleasurable. Many of the same reasons those who drink alcohol choose to do so.
Chapter 3: Removing the “Toxic” from Intoxication: An Objective Comparison of the Effects of Alcohol & Marijuana
– There are two primary reasons why the consumption of alcohol is so potentially harmful to health. 1) Alcohol acts primarily on receptors and ion channels that when stimulated, depress the inhibitory control mechanisms of the brain. When low to moderate levels of alcohol are consumed, complex mental facilitates such as memory, concentration & judgement are affected as well as ones mood and motor coordination. Ingesting larger quantities of booze, lower brainstem centers are adversely effected. This region of the brain regulates cardiac & respiratory function, depression of the is system may result in a loss of consciousness, breathing or even death.
– After a person ingests alcohol, ethanol is metabolized into aceteldehyde, a carcinogenic substance that can cause a host of deleterious effects to cells and vital organs. Because aceteldehyde is so potentially harmful to health, the body rapidly converts it to a non toxic compound known as acetate which is eventually broken down into carbon dioxide and water. Drinking too much at one time can impeded the body’s ability to properly break down aceteldehyde – the liver can typically only metabolize approximately one drink per hour. Allowing the chemical to linger in the bloodstream. Over time this toxic buildup may have adverse effects on many of the body’s cells and major organs including the heart, liver, breasts & pancreas. By providing this detailed analysis we hope that you, the reader, will better understand why we contend that the legalization and regulation of marijuana will provide adults with an option to use a safer and healthier alternative to their currently recreational drug of choice, alcohol.
– According to government statistics more than 40% of murderers in jail or state prison report they had been drinking at the time of their offenses and nearly 1/2 of those convicted of assault and sentenced to probation had been drinking when those offenses occurred. Further, among those who have suffered an assault at the hands of an intimate partner, about 2 out of 3 say alcohol played a role in the violent behavior.
– As many as 1 in 3 Americans are believed to have suffered from an “alcohol use disorder” (such as sustained periods of binge drinking, or alcoholism) at some point in their lives.
– In 2004, INvestigators from the US CDC wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of death in America, trailing only tobacco smoking and poor diet. By concentration, following a series of evidentiary hearings in 1988, the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s administrative law judge concluded, “In strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many food we commonly consume…marijuana in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”
– Unlike alcohol, ingesting cannabis cannot cause a lethal overdose, nor is its use, even long term, associated with higher levels of mortality.
– Smoking marijuana will give you “the munchies”. Of course if you’re suffering from severe weight loss due to HIV/AIDS, cancer chemotherapy, or cachexia, the munchies is a life saving effect, not a laughing matter. Can use cannabis to treat severe nausea & glaucoma, elevate mood and alleviate anxiety. Can reduce involuntary muscle spasms & incontinence , symptoms commonly associated with MS and other movement disorders. Can induce sleep, alleviate tics associated with Tourette’s and reduce inflammation and pain particularly neuropathy (which is a type of nerve pain that notoriously difficult to treat with standard analgesics.)
– Marijuana possesses strong antioxidant properties that can protect the brain during trauma and potentially ward off the onset of certain neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The US Deparment of Health and Human Services holds a patent – no 6630507 – on the use of cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants
– British researchers concluded, “Cannabis may slow the neurodegenerative processes that ultimately lead to chronic disability in MS and probably other diseases. (The Journal “Brain”)
– Preclinical reports indicate cannabis may moderate the progression of ALS (Lou Gehrigs’ disease) a fatal neurodegenerative disorder and at least one study demonstrated the administration of THC both before and after the onset of ALS halted disease progression and prolonged survival in mice.
– Cannabinoids can prevent the onset of diabetes. Marijuana has also been found to have cancer-fighting abilities, kills malignant cancer cells associated with gliomas (Brain cancer), prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer and lymphoma.
– Marijuana users should always pay attention to their emotional state and setting prior to using it. The drug should not be taken prior to driving or prior to engaging in tasks that require certain learning skills such as the retention of new information.
– Far more people statistically become dependent on booze than ever exhibit symptoms of drug dependence from pot. Confounding factors such as poverty, family history and polydrug use make it difficult, if not impossible, for researchers to adequately determine whether any cause and effect relationship exists between cannabis use and mental illness.
– In he mid 1990’s, the WHO commissioned a team of scientists to compare the health and societal conequences of cannabis use compared to other drugs, including alcohol, nicotine and opiates. After comparing and quantifying the magnitude of dangers associated with these drugs, the researchers concluded: “Overall, most of the risks are small to moderate in size. In aggregate they are unlikely to produce public health problems comparable in scale to those currently produced by alcohol and tobacco on existing patterns of use, cannabis poses a much less serious public health problem than is currently posed by alcohol and tobacco in Western Societies. The WHO ultimately removed these findings from it’s final 1997 report, “Cannabis – A Health Perspective and Research Agenda”, after allegedly receiving political pressure from the US, which argues that such conclusions could undermine its ongoing criminal prohibition of marijuana.
– French scientists at the state medical research institute (NSERM) published a similar review in 1998. Not surprisingly, alcohol, heroin and cocaine were placed in the most dangerous category while tobacco and hallucinogens were categorized as posing moderate risks to the public’s health. Investigators determined that cannabis posed the least dangerous to public health.
– In 2007, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, hired a team of scientists to assess the impact of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs on public health. Predictably, researchers found that the consumption of alcohol was a significant contributor to death and disease. “Alcohol harm was responsible for 3.2% of the total burden of disease and injury in Australia,” they concluded. “OF the 14 risk factors examined, alcohol was responsible for the greatest amount of burden in males under the age of 45.” By comparison, cannabis use was responsible for zero deaths and only 0.2% of the estimated total burden of disease and injury in Australia.
Chapter 4: “Reefer Madness” and All That Jazz: The Origins of Pot Prohibition
– During Congressional hearings leading up to the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914 – the nation’s first federal anti-drug act – witnesses argued against prohibiting cannabis, stating that “as a habit forming drug it’s use is almost nil”
– By early 1920’s, numerous western states including California, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Wyoming had outlawed possessing pot. In many of these states the public rationale for this crackdown was as radically motivated as it was transparent: “All Mexicans are crazy and this stuff (referring to marijuana) is what makes them crazy.”
– The American Medical Association (AMA) repressed the most vocal opposition against the bill. Speaking before Congress, the AMA’s legislative counsel Dr. William C. Woodward challenged the legitimacy of the alleged “Demon weed”. Woodward further argued that the proposed legislation would severely hamper physicians’ ability to utilize marijuana’s therapeutic potential. While acknowledging that the drug’s popularity as a prescription medicine had declined, Woodward nonetheless warned that the Marihuana Tax Act “loses sight of the fact that future investigations show that there are medical uses for cannabis.”
– Despite the AMA’s protests, the House Ways and Means Committee approval House Bill 6385, President Franklin Roosevelt promptly signed the legislation into law. The Marihuana Tax Act officially took effect on October 1, 1937 – thus setting in motion the federal government’s foray into the criminal enforcement of the marijuana laws that continue to this day. (War on drugs)
– In the mid 1960’s – new generation of young people mostly college aged students, began altering their consciousness with marijuana. This explosion of pot use was quickly followed by a proportional rise in pot arrests. Politicians began facing increasing pressure to review their multi-decade long put policies, reducing simple pot possession offenses from felonies to criminal misdemeanors. By 1970 even members of congress felt compelled to act.
– The commission’s report entitled Marihuana: A signal of misunderstanding was issued to congress and president Richard Nixon on March 22, 1972 “Cannabis does not lead to physical dependence,…..the fact should be emphasized that the overwhelming majority of marijuana users do not progress to other drugs…. No substantial evidence existed of a causal connection between the use of marihuana and the commission of violent or aggressive acts.” The commission further recommended that cannabis no longer be classified as a schedule 1 drug under federal law (Same class as heroin and LSD). Nixon did the exact opposite of what the commission recommended and the war on pot still rages today.
Chapter 5: Reality Check Truth Behind Marijuana Myths
– Some of these distortions, such as the claim that pot smoking is linked to violent and psychotic behavior date back to the “Reefer Madness” era of the 1930’s. We will dispel some of the more prominent myths about cannabis by providing sound scientific, health and criminal justice and economic data.
– Myth: Today’s marijuana is significantly stronger and thus more dangerous than the marijuana of the past.
FACT: potency of today’s cannabis is only slightly higher on average than the pot of 20-30 years ago. Marijuana’s increased potency however, is not associated with health risks.
What’s the science say? A 1989 John Hopkins University Study reported their A 2007 University of California assessed in short, the stronger the herb, the less smoke consumers inhale into their lungs.
– Myth: Using marijuana will inevitably lead to the use of “harder” drugs like cocaine and heroin.
FACT: Overwhelming majority of users never try another elicit substance. US Department of Health and Human Services indicates that only 3.5% of US citizens have ever tried crack and fewer than 2% of Americans have ever tried Heroin. Cocaine is the most commonly used illicit drug in America after cannabis, fewer than 15% have tried it. Experts identify “environmental circumstances” not the prior use of a drug, as the primary reason why a handful of people transition from the use of marijuana to harder drugs. Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction: “There are no physically determined tendency towards switching from marijuana to harder substances. Social factors, however, do appear to play a role. Marijuana prohibition, not the use of marijuana itself, that functions as a gateway to the potential use of harder drugs.
– Myth: Marijuana is highly addictive. Millions of Americans seek treatment every year because they’ve become dependent upon marijuana.
FACT: Marijuana lacks the physical and psychological dependence liability associated with other intoxicants – including tobacco and alcohol. Very few cannabis users voluntarily seek drug treatment for pot “addiction”. Majority of marijuana smokers in drug treatment were arrested for pot possession and ordered into treatment as a condition of their probation.
-Numerous reports including British medical journal The Lancet and another cited in the New York Times have found cannabis’s risk of dependence to be mild compared to most other drugs including tobacco and alcohol. Pot’s addiction potential is no great than caffeine’s.
– According to the 267 page report fewer than 10% of those who try cannabis ever meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of “drug dependence”. Investigators report 32% of tobacco users, 23% of heroin users, 17 of cocaine users and 15% alcohol users meet the criteria for “drug dependence”. According to published statistics up to 70% of all Americans enrolled in drug “treatment” for cannabis were ordered there by the criminal justice system. By definition are these people “addicts” in any literal sense of the word.
– Myth: Smoking cannabis is more harmful to health than smoking tobacco and causes lung cancer.
FACT: Smoking cannabis is not associated with higher incidences of lung cancer or any other types of cancer. Compounds in marijuana may even be protective against the spread of various forms of cancer.
– Unlike tobacco smoking, inhalation has not been positively associated with increased incidences of cancers of the lung, mouth, upper aerodigestive tract, breast, colon, skin and prostate.
– Dr. Donald Taskin of the University of California at LA told the Washington Post, “What we found instead was no associate at all and even a suggestion of some protective effect” among marijuana smokers who had lower incidents of cancer compared to non users of the drug.
–Myth: Smoking marijuana impairs driving in a manner that’s worse than alcohol. Marijuana consumption is responsible for tens of thousands of traffic accidents every year.
FACT: Marijuana intoxication appears to play, at most, a minor role in traffic injuries. Unlike motorists under the influence of alcohol, individuals who have recently smoked pot are aware of their impairment and try to compensate for it accordingly either by driving more cautiously or by expressing an unwillingness to drive altogether. Alcohol seemed to make subjects overly confident and caused them to drive faster in control sessions.
–Myth: Smoking marijuana causes permanent damage to the brain.
FACT: Marijuana use by adults – even long term, heavy use of the drug- has at most, only a negligible residual impact on cognition and memory skills.
-Far from damaging the brain, it appears that many of the active components in marijuana may in some instances, actually be good for it. Scientific studies indicate that pot can prevent against brain damage due to stroke, TBI and ironically enough, alcohol poisoning. University of Saskatchewan researchers noted that virtually all other psychoactive substances including alcohol, cocaine, nicotine and opiates suppress rather than promote neurogenesis. Chronic use of marijuana may actually improve learning memory when the new neurons in the hippocampus can mature in 2 or 3 months.
– Myth: Smoking marijuana is linked to violence and psychotic behavior.
FACT: Smoking cannabis does not cause user to engage in violent or delinquent behavior. Marijuana does not appear to be a cause of mental illness in otherwise health individuals.
– Cannabis differs from alcohol…. in one major respect. It does not seem to increase risk-taking behavior.” The British Advirosry Council on the Misuse of Drugs concluded in 2002. “This means cannabis rarely contributes to violence either to others or to oneself, whereas alcohol use is a major factor in deliberate self-harm, domestic accidents and violence.”
– A comprehensive review by the British Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs determined, “The evidence for the existence of an association between frequency of cannabis use and the development of psychosis is, on the available evidence, weak.” In short, smoking pot won’t make you crazy – that is unless you’re the drug czar or the head of the DEA, in which case all bets are off.
Chapter 6: How Society is Systematically Driving Us to Drink
– Being drunk in public is not the sort of behavior that triggers public outrage and social condemnation. Taking a hit or 2 of marijuana on the other hand certainly is.
– In many states adultery is illegal, but you don’t see cops staking out, “No-tell motels” looking to crack down on adults who engage in extramarital fun. The police don’t get to choose which laws exist but they and the local officials and police chiefs that guide them – have an incredible latitude to determine which ones they will enforce vigorously and they have decided they LOVE arresting marijuana users.
– According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, in 1994 police made 402,717 marijuana possession arrests. Juts 3 years later in 1997 they made over 600,000 pot arrests. From 2000-2003 police averaged 641,000 marijuana arrests per year; from 2004-2007 average was 723,612 arrests.
– Beyond the very real risk of fines, probation and court-ordered drug treatment, a marijuana arrest and conviction if it does not result in jail time, can produce additional collateral damage. Depending on where an individual lives, the likelihood of losing their drivers’ licence, their job, their kids, their home (partially subsidized housing), their student financial aid, their right to vote, their ability to adopt children, their food stamps. Virtually no other criminal offenses – including violent crimes like rape and murder – trigger this same plethora of sanctions. Even an armed bank robber remains eligible for federal financial aid following his conviction.
– Evidence of past cocaine or heroin use is no longer detectable on a urine screen after a couple of days. If that same employee smokes marijuana over the weekend and he/she is randomly drug tested the following week, chances are he or she will find him/herself in the unemployment line. Many potential marijuana users are forced to avoid the substance at all times, since a random drug test could be right around the corner. Needless to say, those who choose to drink alcohol after work live under no such threat.
– Over the decades, most media outlets have served the role of megaphone for the governments anti pot crusade, generally echoing rather than challenging the feds outrageous and typically unsubstantiated reefer rhetoric. Sometimes the government and the fourth estate have even worked together hand in hand. 1997 the National Association of Broadcasters announced that it was joining forces with the government and the Partnership for a Drug Free America to “Join the fight against drug abuse.” The following year, the magazine Publishers of America proclaimed that it would collaborate with and provide “Editorial support” for the Clinton administrations anti-marijuana efforts.
– If you consider the total number of Americans consuming alcohol every week, common sense dictates that at least some or perhaps many of them would occasionally or regularly use marijuana instead if there were absolutely no sanctions or stigma associated with it’s use. Are they intentionally driving people to drink? Follow the money. When pondering politicians’ anti-marijuana motives, it’s difficult to ignore the presence of a powerful Washington DC Lobby: The National Beer Wholesalers Association.
– To this day, National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has remained almost entirely alcohol-free. When Congressional leaders reauthorized the Media Campaign in 2006, they inserted a provision encouraging the drug czar to keep positioning marijuana as Public Enemy # 1.
Chapter 7: The Real World Ramifications of Our Pro-Alcohol Culture
– Virtually every sexual assault is associated with alcohol abuse. Almost ever assault of any kind is related to drinking.. University governments and their board of trustees are making conscious, if inadvertent, decision to steer students towards the use of alcohol. As described by Dowdall on “College Drinking”, frequent binge drinkers were 7-10x more likely than the non-binge drinkers to get into trouble with the campus police, damage property, or get injured, not use protection during sex or engage in unplanned sexual activity.”
-Alcohol abuse is a leading cause of fatalities on college campuses. Researchers estimate that every year approximately 600,000 students between the ages of 18-24 are unintentionally injured while under the influence of alcohol.
– It is estimated that each year approximately 700,000 students between 18-24 are assaulted by students who have been drinking and close to 100,000 students between 18-24 are victims of alcohol related sexual assault or date rape.
– According to a 1994 report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), 95% of all campus assaults are alcohol related and 90% of all reported campus rapes involve a victim or an assailant who has been drinking alcohol. People responsible for maintaining safety on college campuses recognize that alcohol use frequently leads to widespread injuries and violent student behavior while marijuana use does not. You’d think that leaders of institutions of higher learning would rationally and impartially examine the data and act accordingly. Think again.
– The belief behind this strategy is that students will learn to appreciate that they do not need to drink to excess to fit in with one another and will recognize that many of their peers find overindulgence in alcohol to be a turnoff. These are laudable goals of course. Yet the schizophrenic nature of this pro-alcohol/anti-alcohol is all too apparent. If 130 University presidents believe we should have a debate about making alcohol legal for students under 21, shouldn’t they also endorse a similar discussion regarding whether to make a less harmful substance available as a legal alternative?
– Alcohol use and abuse costs this nation close to $200 billion annually estimating the overall cost of alcohol abuse in this country come from a p air of National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports entitled Economic Costs of Alcohol Abuse in the US published in 1992 and 1998. Most significant factor is “Lost productivity due to alcohol-related illness”
– Researchers healthcare costs which totalled $15 billion in 1998. Another $36.5 billion was attributed to lost future earnings because of premature deaths, $8.6 billion of which were due to deaths in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents. Violent crime by juveniles (defined under 21) at nearly 30 billion in 1996.
– Government drives people toward use of alcohol and away from cannabis, despite indisputable evidence that marijuana would impose fewer costs on society. 2002 study health care costs stemming from alcohol use totaled $3.3 billion compared to just $73 million from marijuana.
-Empirical data on jail and prison inmates suggest that alcohol consumption also appears to be associated with violence. Inmates are more likely to have been under the influence of alcohol prior to a violent crime than for an economic or other types of crime. US government estimates that alcohol contributes to 25-40% of all violent crime in America, including 30% of homicides and 22.5% of sexual assaults.
– 2006 WHO report assessing alcohol use and violence included the following stats:
– In England and Wales, 56% of victims of IPV reported that the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the assault.
– In Russia, around 3/4 of individuals arrested for homicide had consumed alcohol shortly before the incident.
– In South Africa, 44% of victims of IPV believed their attacker was under the influence of alcohol.
– In Tanjin China, a study of inmates found that 50% of defendants convicted of assault had been drinking alcohol prior to the incident.
– The use of alcohol alone does not always instigate violent behavior, but as the University of Buffalo researchers found this behavior is far more likely lead to a reduction in dometsic and community violence, we are envisioning a future where marijuana is not only legal but where domestic violence counsellors fee lit is appropriate to advise abusive partners to reduce or eliminate their alcohol intake by consuming marijuana as an alternative.
Chapter 8: You Would Think This Would Be Enough: Traditional Arguments Against Marijuana Prohibition
– Reformers maintain that modern marijuana prohibition is a “cure” that is far worse than the disease.
– 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, some 34,000 state inmates and an estimated 11,000 federal inmates are serving time behind bars for violating marijuana laws. In fiscal terms this means US taxpayers are spending more than $1 billion annually just to imprison pot offenders.
– Every hour/hours spent police officers spend arresting and processing minor marijuana offenders is the time they are NOT out on the streets protecting the public from more significant criminal activity.
– One notable study by Florida State University economists Bruce Benson and David Rasmussen determined that serious crimes, such as robbery and assault, increase proportionally when police focus their attention on drug law enforcement, particularly marijuana prohibition. Legalizing marijuana would allow law enforcement prosecutors and the courts to reallocate their existing resources toward activities that will more effectively target serious criminal behavior and keep the public safe.
– An analysis of marijuana-arrest data commissioned by NORML in 2000 found that African Americans accounted for only 12% of the annual marijuana users, but made up 23% of all marijuana possession arrests in the US. 74% of them busted for pot are under 30 and 1 out of 4 are 18 and younger. The imposition of pot prohibition alienates millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens to believe that the police and civic leaders are instruments of their oppression rather than their protection.
– More teenagers now claim it is easier for them to purchase weed than beer or cigarettes. Drug dealers, since they are not acting legally as part of a regulated market, do not ask for ID’s when they make sales to young people.
– Were cannabis to be legally regulated like alcohol – the likelihood of consumers experiencing such inadvertent “bad reactions” would no doubt fall considerably. Separating marijuana from the illicit drug market and regulating its sale in state-licensed stores, as society does with alcohol, would significantly reduce consumer’s exposure to harder drugs and their temptation to experiment with them. By keeping cannabis illegal, our laws are steering young people into an underground market where they will be exposed to more harmful substances.
– According to the Associated Press, Marijuana is the “biggest source of income” for ruthless drug gangs. Legalizing and regulating cannabis like alcohol would eliminate this primary income source for these Mexican drug cartels and, in turn, eliminate much of the growing violence and turf battles that currently surround the drug’s illegal importations from Mexico.
Chapter 9: Not Adding A Vice But Providing An Alternative
– People ask, “IF alcohol causes so much damage to society, why should we encourage the use of another intoxicating substance?” Approximately 1/5 to 1/3 of Americans consider pot to be more harmful than booze. Marijuana legalization advocates have 2 options: 1) demonstrate – a far more powerful and convincing manner than they have so far – that the harms associated with the criminal prohibition of marijuana far outweighs the harms of marijuana itself. 2) Persuade the American people that the use of cannabis is not only less harmful than they currently believe but that making it available to adults could actually reduce the use of a more harmful substance.
– Comparing marijuana prohibition to alcohol prohibition: federal prohibition of alcohol did not stamp out.
– The purpose is to remind the audience that the federal prohibition of alcohol did not stamp out alcohol use rather it significantly increased the crime associated with alcohol and drove its use underground where the lack of regulations made its consumption more dangerous. Yet when reformers make this comparison they downplay that the use of alcohol increased. Prohibition ended.
– Advocates for cannabis regulation want the public to accept legalization despite the fact that a substantial portion of the public considers marijuana to be at least as dangerous as alcohol. Reformers are calling for a society where adults will have legal access to alcohol and marijuana at a time when the public is becoming increasingly aware of the health and societal problems associated with booze. This is an uphill task to say the least.
– By responding to our critics, over and over again, that we are not seeking to add a vice. Instead we are providing adults with a safer and less harmful recreational alternative to alcohol. It is the reason we must make it legal.
– The desire to use – current ability to use: As a result of the demonization campaign, millions of Americans have never stopped to consider whether they might be better off from a health perspective if they used marijuana instead of alcohol. A public education campaign about the relative harms and benefits of the two substances such as we are advocating, could conceivably have the net effect of raising “desire to use” scores. This is true for individuals who have used marijuana in the past and for those who have never tried it.
– The desire to avoid negative consequences of prohibition: In order to dramatically increase the public’s scores on the pro-reform side of the equation, proponents of marijuana regulation must make a much stronger case that marijuana prohibition is producing negative outcomes we can do this by explaining how the prohibition of marijuana, a recreational alternative that is less harmful than alcohol is literally driving Americans to drink. The widespread and encouraged use of alcohol increases the likelihood of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and other forms of violence and is producing serious negative health outcomes, including overdose deaths. Our current laws are perpetuating a society that is demonstrably less safe for our sons and daughters.
– The perceived benefits of reform: It would be a benefit to society as a whole if criminal justice resources were directed away from marijuana law enforcement and toward investigating more serious crimes. It would be a major societal benefit if we were to diminish the strength and reach of drug cartels and gangs by eliminating a major source of their revenue. One major benefit: a taxed and regulated marijuana market would likely generate billions of dollars that could be used for programs like education or drug and alcohol treatment. We believe many citizens will come to appreciate that cannabis tends to foster a more peaceful and enjoyable environment than does alcohol.
– The perceived benefits of prohibition: Many Americans believe the current system dissuades kids and adults from using marijuana by limiting their access to it. Some also believe consuming cannabis is amoral behavior and therefore those who use it deserve to be punished, or at least sent to treatment so they can be “cured of their addiction.”
– The desire to avoid negative consequences of reform: Prohibitionists claim, “Marijuana is evil”; legalization advocates say it isn’t. Prohibitionists claim “Marijuana is a gateway drug”; legalization advocates say it isn’t. Prohibitionists claim that it’s use will lead to the downfall of society. Legal advocates say it won’t.
– Injecting the subject of alcohol into the marijuana legalization debate provides two significant benefits, each which will serve to reduce the public’s concerns about the potential negative consequences of reform. Framing the perceived harms of marijuana relative to the known dangers of alcohol demystifies the plant by providing voters with a familiar point of comparison. Absent this point of reference, people unfamiliar with pot have no way of knowing.
– Many reform advocates would consider it a “victory” to finally, after more than 20 years, convince a majority of Americans that marijuana is not a “gateway drug” and what would be the advocates reward for this “victory”? They could spend the next decade rebutting the allegations that more teenagers are in treatment for cannabis than any other drug.
– The possibility that the use of marijuana might very slightly increase the risk of mental illness does not seem so scary when compared to the fact that the 35,000 Americans die each year from alcohol consumption.
– Unless they are equally willing to demand the arrest and imprisonment of adults who use a more harmful substance that is far more likely to contribute to sexual assault, domestic abuse and other acts of violence, their bias becomes embarrassingly obvious.
Chapter 10: From Theory to Practice: “Safer” to SAFER
– Rather we expect that the advocacy efforts of those inspired by this book will be limited to spreading the gospel through personal interactions with friends and family.
– In the summer of 2004, Steve Fox was the federal lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). He had been working for the organization since 2002, with the primary responsibility of convincing members of Congress that they should prohibit the US Drug Enforcement Administration from circumventing state medical marijuana laws. He became an avid reader of survey data collected by MPP in advance of its state-based reform efforts. Fox believed that support for marijuana-policy reform would increase significantly if the truth about the relative harms of pot and alcohol could be ore effectively conveyed to the public.
– In January 2005, the SAFER campaign was officially launched on the campuses of Colorado State University (CSU) and the University of Colorado at Boulder
– “What’s the difference between the mayor and a marijuana dealer?” The answer as it appeared on the banner, “Mayor Hickenlooper deals a more dangerous drug.” Tvert acknowledging that marijuana was assuredly not harmless, but arguing that it was certainly less likely than alcohol to lead to domestic abuse, sexual assault and other acts of violence.
– Denver became the first city in the US to eliminate all penalties for the adult possession of marijuana. The victory produced some incredible icing on the public-education cake, as Tvert was able to make SAFER message national with appearances on the numerous national news outlets including Fox news and MSNBC.
Chapter 11: Toward A Tipping Point: Creating a Buzz – And Sparking Change
– Sociologist Malcolm Gladwell describes a tipping point as “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point” at which an idea, trend or behavior takes off, goes viral and becomes a social epidemic.
– If you happen to find yourself in a conversation about the rising number of sexual assaults on college campuses, you could mention that University Presidents have acknowledged that most of these incidents are alcohol related and very few, if any, are caused by marijuana.
– Once people like this have heard the same message repeated from a variety of sources, they will have to look inward and reconcile why they continue to support laws that steer adults toward a substance that is far more dangerous than cannabis.
– Once one contrasts the two drugs’ impact on mortality (35,000) annual deaths in the US from alcohol consumption; zero from marijuana, emphasizes alcohol’s far greater association with sexual assault and domestic abuse and adds for good measure that alcohol is about twice as addictive as pot, well, there’s not much left for someone on the pro-booze side to say.
– After more than 7 decades of marijuana prohibition, it is hard for many people to envision anything else – at least at first.
– “Lying about the relative dangers of pot and alcohol, as our social and criminal policies do now, is sending the wrong message to our children. We are misinforming kids that alcohol is safer than marijuana. This message has literally killed thousands of teens and will continue to cause countless more deaths. We recognize that kids are exposed to both substances and the truth is we don’t want our adolescents using either one. But we don’t do them any favors by creating the false impression that alcohol is safer to consume than marijuana. Even putting aside the multitude of societal problems associated with alcohol use- like violence and sexual assault – the truth is that the teenagers can die from an alcohol overdose. This is not possible with marijuana. Yet some surveys show that teens falsely believe that it is safer to binge drink than use cannabis. We must be honest with kids about the relative harms of the two substances, while discouraging the use of either one.”
– “Lazy” stereotype of stoners – their behavior is no different than the way many adults consume alcohol.
– In the case of celebrity busts for marijuana possessions: 2004, Art Garfunkel of Simon and Garfunkel singing duo was found with marijuana in his jacket when his driver was pulled over for speeding. Garfunkel is hardly alone. Other celebrity pot busts include Oliver Stone, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Dennis Hopper, Mick Jagger, Neil Diamond, Dionne Warwick, Carlos Santana, Joe Cocker, David Lee Roth, Bob Denver and Dawn Wells (Gilligan and Mary-Ann from Gilligan’s Island) and the late Tupac Shakur (while he was in jail already no less)
-Bar fights, celebratory riots after professional or college sports championships, disruptive and drunken behavior at sporting events, out of control fraternity or off-campus parties and news about professional athletes arrested for violent behavior after a night of drinking (Which is an all too common occurrence) are all incidents that can serve as a starting point to initiate a conversation about the folly of steering Americans toward alcohol use and prohibiting them from using cannabis instead.
Chapter 12: Our Vision of The Future
– “Legal market” without proper context, this phrase can mean entirely different things to different people. Oranges are legal. So are alcohol and tobacco. Aspirin is legal, as are thousands of prescription meds-including highly dangerous ones like oxycodone. (or now fentanyl)
– The sale of alcohol and tobacco are legal yet both substances are heavily taxed and tightly controlled.
– Adult may legally produce certain types of alcohol like beer and wine, privately in their home – of their production is intended for their own personal consumption and not for sale to the public. By contrast, federal and state laws tightly regulate the commercial production of any type of alcohol.
– Rules regulating the sale and use of many legal products and alcohol in particular, one complex and vary greatly according to state and local laws. We propose that similar standards should govern the regulated sale and use of cannabis.
– Legal Regulated Market might look like the Dutch system: Consumers of proper age who possess a valid ID may legally enter a coffee shop, resembling a conventional bar or cafe. Patrons then may elect to sit at a table or the counter where they may then order any number of cannabis based goods (Based on herbal and edible preparations) from a bartender or waiter. Customer select items/items desired from the menu in a manner that is little different from how most of us would order a beer or sandwich at a popular restaurant.
– Following the passage of the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996, additional dispensaries began operating all throughout the state – though these facilities were not technically legal under the state law until some years later. California’s legislature eventually codified the sale and distribution of cannabis by licensed businesses in 2004. By 2008, even California’s attorney general had issued formal guidelines articulating legal business practices for the distribution of cannabis by dispensaries. These guidelines were incorporated after legislators engaged in extensive meetings with representatives from the patient community and dispensary owners. A handbook outlininig “best business practices” for the community-based distribution of cannabis is also available on the internet –> Two models of defacto legal cannabis distribution.
– Most European nations as well as China, Australia and Canada have enacted regulations allowing for licensed farmers to grow industrial varieties of marijuana (hemp) as an agricultural product. Commercial farmers in these countries obtain a government permit to plant, grow and harvest cannabis and of course no nation has yet to license commercial businesses to manufacturer and distribute marijuana in a manner similar to the production and sale of drugs like alcohol and tobacco, but that’s not to say that the government couldn’t do so. During WWII the US government licensed farmers to grow commercially to cultivate cannabis for recreational purposes as well.
-As with the sale of alcohol or tobacco, commercial sales of cannabis should be united to designated venues. Like liquor stores such venues would be subject to community zoning laws and their access would be restricted to only those of legal age. Businesses authorized to sell cannabis that failed to abide by these standards would face strict sanctions such as fines, loss of their business license as well as possible criminal penalties.
– In short, laws allowing for the legal use of cannabis, like booze, should not permit its use whenever and wherever one chooses. Private employers would still have the discretion to prohibit their employees’ marijuana use on company time just as they do for alcohol.
– The manufacturing and sale of cannabis by licensed companies should be subject to taxation. State and local taxes would apply to cannabis sold at state licensed retail outlets, just as these same taxes apply to the sale of alcohol, tobacco and gasoline now.
– Imposing regulatory and licensing requirements on the commercial production and sale of cannabis would not necessarily restrict the activities of the small time “home grown”. Just as America’s alcohol regulations allow for the unlicensed, private production of home brew by adults, we believe individuals should also be able to engage in legally the noncommercial production of cannabis without having to obtain a government license or pay a state or federal surcharge.
– We believe most marijuana consumers, like most adults who drink alcohol, will elect to purchase cannabis products produced by a licensed, regulated manufacturer and sold at state sanctioned stores.
– Marijuana’s adverse impact on psychomotor skills is less severe than that of alcohol. Just as public education campaigns targeting the use of alcohol have significantly reduced incidences of drunk driving by the general public, we believe that a similar high profile effort should be directed toward discouraging the use of cannabis and driving. Public service campaigns targeting drugged driving behavior should be aimed particularly towards those aged 18-25.
– Implementing legal yet restricted access to cannabis is not necessarily associated with increased marijuana consumption among young people.
– The development of cannabis-sensitive technology to rapidly identify the presence of THC in drivers, such as a roadside saliva test, would also assist police in their efforts to better identify intoxicated drivers.
– Under our current system of criminal marijuana prohibition, almost 90% of teenagers report on government surveys that marijuana is easy to get. CASA reported 23% of teens said they could buy pot in an hour or less.
– We are not going to deny that some young people will still gain access to marijuana under a regulated system just as some today have access to alcohol. Of course those who do will be obtaining a regulated product of known quality that’s sold at a state licensed retail outlet. This is far better than the situation that exists today where millions of children are purchasing an unregulated product of unknown quality from millions of unlicensed sellers who have financial incentive to encourage their customers to use other illegal substances like cocaine and methamphetamine.
– It’s not the illegality of cannabis that dissuades teens from using it. It’s the adolescents’ personal like or dislike for the intoxicating effects of cannabis, as well as their perceptions regarding its health effects, that ultimately shape their decision to smoke marijuana. The only federal government study ever to evaluate the attitudes and use patterns of young people and marijuana in states that liberalized it’s possession determined, “Overall, the preponderance of the evidence which we have gathered and examined points to the conclusion that decriminalization has had virtually no effect either on the marijuana use or on related attitudes and beliefs about marijuana use or on related attitudes and beliefs about marijuana use among American young people.
– In 2007, one of the authors was asked to assist in updating a drug curriculum known as Safety First: A Reality Based Approach to Teens and Drugs. This curriculum is now taught in a handful of high schools and junior high schools in the US.
The core tenets of Safety First are:
– provide honest, science based information
– encourage moderation if youthful experimentation persists;
– promote and understanding of the legal and social consequences of drug use and
– prioritize safety through personal responsibility and knowledge
– Further, we make it clear that the use of alcohol, while acceptable for adults, is often inappropriate for young people, many whom lack the maturity to responsibly engage in the use of a mind altering substance. (Through when doing so, we acknowledge that many adults also lack the maturity to engage in a health relationship with booze).
– By doing so we hope that our children will refrain from the use of alcohol – or at least the irresponsible use of alcohol – and that they will seek help and assistance when they or someone they love is engaging in a dangerous, abusive relationship with the drug. We believe that these same principles should apply to the way parents discuss the subject of marijuana.
– Just as many parents today speak to their children openly about the use of alcohol, we believe that parents will finally be unburdened to talk objectively and rationally to their kids about pot.
-Here’s what we do know. When marijuana is legal, an abusive husband or boyfriend somewhere in America will realize that he is better able to control his temper when he ingests pot instead of alcohol and will cut down on the Budweiser and switch to the kinder bud.
