DEA, Medicinal Marijuana, Legalization
DEA, Medicinal Marijuana, Legalization
So a Judge ruled that the DEA has no right to restrict the University of Massachusetts from growing and researching marijuana for medicinal purposes. Judge Mary Ellen believes that there is not enough research on marijuana as it is, and in fact MDMA (Ecstasy) has more research than marijuana. Which is kind of funny, seeing how pot has been around for thousands of years, and MDMA has been around since the early 90's.
The DEA are afraid. They are afraid that the truth will come out, that pot isn't all that bad. What they don't want is for people to realize that the drugs themselves aren't bad, it's the people using the drugs. And who are using the drugs when it's illegal? Well, the people who are tied into the Black Market, of course. Why? Because when drugs are illegal, it's being manufactured and sold by not-so-trustworthy people. People who are also selling illegal guns. People who are connected to gangs and violence. If drugs were legal, taxed and regulated, guess who will be selling it? Gas stations, supermarkets, etc. Are these places evil? No. Do these places harbor criminals? No. Pot is a gateway drug only because it is being sold by people who are also selling drugs like heroin and meth. Of course, not all drug dealers sell these, and most pot dealers only sell pot. But if someone is tied into the Black Market, even from pot, chances are they know how to get something else from the Black Market. They know people who know people. If pot was legal, how would kids get involved into the Black Market? The answer is they wouldn't. They wouldn't know people who sell harder stuff. The DEA is afraid of this, because they want people to do drugs. Why would an organization designed to fight drugs want people to use them? Well, look at this. The DEA makes a budget of 2.4 BILLION dollars. Why would they want drug use to stop if they are making that kind of money?
While we are on the subject of the DEA, I went and looked at their website. They have a spot that talks about why we should fight against drug legalization. I would like to go through all of their points and explain why they are just completely idiotic.
#1 We have made significant progress in fighting drug use and drug trafficking in America. Now is not the time to abandon our efforts.
From 1979 to 2001, the Reported illicit drug use from ages 12 and up increased from 31.3% to 41.7%. So obviously, they haven't made significant progress, or any progress for that matter, in fighting drug use. All they have done is made it worse.
#2A balanced approach of prevention, enforcement, and treatment is the key in the fight against drugs.
These are all true, but the problem is that the DEA doesn't have a balance between them. I don't see any prevention going on. The closest to prevention I saw was the stupid DARE program which DIDN'T WORK. All they ever did was lie about the drugs. If people are going to smoke marijuana, they are going to smoke it. And if their head is filled with lies about marijuana, and when they smoke it they realize that these lies ARE NOT TRUE, they are going to assume the lies about the other drugs aren't true, so they are going to ignore the fact that other drugs are harmful. That is not prevention. Enforcement shouldn't consist of raiding MEDICINAL MARIJUANA FACILITIES. All they are doing at this point are prolonging the pain of people who absolutely need it. I believe that if someone is hurting that bad, and they don't want to take any type of painkiller or opiate, they should be allowed to smoke pot. Why not? It's not hurting me. It's not hurting anyone. If the pot was hurting these patients, THEY WOULDN'T BE SMOKING IT.
#3 Illegal drugs are illegal because they are harmful.
Well Oxycotin and Loretabs are harmful, they aren't illegal. Alcohol is harmful, it's not illegal. Cigarettes are harmful, they aren't illegal. If illegal drugs are illegal because they are harmful, why are legal drugs legal when they are also harmful?
#4Smoked marijuana is not scientifically approved medicine. Marinol, the legal version of medical marijuana, is approved by science.
It's not scientifically approved because there is a lack of studies for it. Marinol is actually very dangerous. It doesn't work like marijuana does. And besides, being approved by the FDA does not mean that it isn't approved by science. In fact, many studies said that it does have medicinal value, and other studies have shown that even if it didn't have medicinal value, it didn't do harm as well. Look at Chemotherapy patients. When people go through Chemotherapy, they loose their appetite, which is really important to keep nutrition up, which is needed during Chemotherapy. Our brains have things called Cannabinoid Receptors. These receptors are specifically designed to "catch" Cannabinoids (the most famous being Tetrahydracannabinol, or THC) and put them to specific parts of the brain. One of these spots is the area that controls hunger. In simpler terms, it causes the "Munchies." If Chemotherapy patients need to have an appetite, isn't that easily fixed by Marijuana? That's Medicinal Value to me.
#5 Drug control spending is a minor portion of the U.S. budget. Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction, government spending on drug control is minimal.
This is complete and utter bullshit. Every single president since Richard Nixon has increased the spending on this War on Drugs. This money could be used for something so much better. Like, for example, fixing our National Debt.
#6 Legalization of drugs will lead to increased use and increased levels of addiction. Legalization has been tried before, and failed miserably.
In other countries where marijuana was legalized, studies have shown that hard drug use has dropped! So how did legalization fail anyway? On the DEA website, they claim that it was tried in Alaska and they were forced to re-criminalize it in 1990...but the last time I checked, it is lawful to possess pot in your home, and unconstitutional to make it illegal as long as it is in your home.
#7Crime, violence, and drug use go hand-in-hand.
No, crime and violence go hand-in-hand and drugs join the group when it is illegal. When drugs are illegal, they are being sold by the Black Market. The Black Market consists of gang members, and violent people. When drugs are legal, they are being sold by supermarkets and gas stations. In countries where drugs were legalized, violence actually went DOWN, not up.
#8 Alcohol has caused significant health, social, and crime problems in this country, and legalized drugs would only make the situation worse.
But look at the damage Alcohol did when it was illegal. It was being produced and sold by members of The Mafia. Violence increased over it. Yeah, people may die from drunk driving, but that's better than people getting shot in our streets over alcohol. Alcohol does cause all these problems that they mention, but other drugs, especially marijuana, are nothing like Alcohol. When someone smokes pot, they are less prone to violence than people who drink. The only crime that Marijuana smokers commit is the act of smoking Marijuana.
#9 Europe’s more liberal drug policies are not the right model for America.
This is just completely stupid, and shouldn't even be reason to fight against anti-prohibition.
#10Most non-violent drug users get treatment, not jail time.
Even if they don't get jail time, their lives are still permanently screwed. A college student who gets busted with pot will be kicked out of college, his whole life ruined right there. Whether he gets jail time or not, he still suffers. He still has to go through the system, eaten up and regurgitated back out again all jumbled up. And what kind of treatment do they get? 12-step program bullshit? You know, only 5% of the people who go through the 12-step program actually succeed. What about the other 95%? They go back to drugs, then get busted again, and this time there is not treatment for them...they get jail time. And you know, there were studies done on LSD and Alcoholics, and it showed that LSD actually had a success rate of 50%! That is waaaaaaayyy more than 5%. There is a drug called Ibogaine. Ibogaine actually stems opiate addictions after ONE USE. The only "problem" is that it sends you through a three day hallucination. But by the time your done, there is no more addiction. But...it's illegal.
In other words, the DEA is full of shit. All they care about is their paychecks. Well, that felt good to get all that off my chest. Have a nice day.
-The Kapnobatai
So a Judge ruled that the DEA has no right to restrict the University of Massachusetts from growing and researching marijuana for medicinal purposes. Judge Mary Ellen believes that there is not enough research on marijuana as it is, and in fact MDMA (Ecstasy) has more research than marijuana. Which is kind of funny, seeing how pot has been around for thousands of years, and MDMA has been around since the early 90's.
The DEA are afraid. They are afraid that the truth will come out, that pot isn't all that bad. What they don't want is for people to realize that the drugs themselves aren't bad, it's the people using the drugs. And who are using the drugs when it's illegal? Well, the people who are tied into the Black Market, of course. Why? Because when drugs are illegal, it's being manufactured and sold by not-so-trustworthy people. People who are also selling illegal guns. People who are connected to gangs and violence. If drugs were legal, taxed and regulated, guess who will be selling it? Gas stations, supermarkets, etc. Are these places evil? No. Do these places harbor criminals? No. Pot is a gateway drug only because it is being sold by people who are also selling drugs like heroin and meth. Of course, not all drug dealers sell these, and most pot dealers only sell pot. But if someone is tied into the Black Market, even from pot, chances are they know how to get something else from the Black Market. They know people who know people. If pot was legal, how would kids get involved into the Black Market? The answer is they wouldn't. They wouldn't know people who sell harder stuff. The DEA is afraid of this, because they want people to do drugs. Why would an organization designed to fight drugs want people to use them? Well, look at this. The DEA makes a budget of 2.4 BILLION dollars. Why would they want drug use to stop if they are making that kind of money?
While we are on the subject of the DEA, I went and looked at their website. They have a spot that talks about why we should fight against drug legalization. I would like to go through all of their points and explain why they are just completely idiotic.
#1 We have made significant progress in fighting drug use and drug trafficking in America. Now is not the time to abandon our efforts.
From 1979 to 2001, the Reported illicit drug use from ages 12 and up increased from 31.3% to 41.7%. So obviously, they haven't made significant progress, or any progress for that matter, in fighting drug use. All they have done is made it worse.
#2A balanced approach of prevention, enforcement, and treatment is the key in the fight against drugs.
These are all true, but the problem is that the DEA doesn't have a balance between them. I don't see any prevention going on. The closest to prevention I saw was the stupid DARE program which DIDN'T WORK. All they ever did was lie about the drugs. If people are going to smoke marijuana, they are going to smoke it. And if their head is filled with lies about marijuana, and when they smoke it they realize that these lies ARE NOT TRUE, they are going to assume the lies about the other drugs aren't true, so they are going to ignore the fact that other drugs are harmful. That is not prevention. Enforcement shouldn't consist of raiding MEDICINAL MARIJUANA FACILITIES. All they are doing at this point are prolonging the pain of people who absolutely need it. I believe that if someone is hurting that bad, and they don't want to take any type of painkiller or opiate, they should be allowed to smoke pot. Why not? It's not hurting me. It's not hurting anyone. If the pot was hurting these patients, THEY WOULDN'T BE SMOKING IT.
#3 Illegal drugs are illegal because they are harmful.
Well Oxycotin and Loretabs are harmful, they aren't illegal. Alcohol is harmful, it's not illegal. Cigarettes are harmful, they aren't illegal. If illegal drugs are illegal because they are harmful, why are legal drugs legal when they are also harmful?
#4Smoked marijuana is not scientifically approved medicine. Marinol, the legal version of medical marijuana, is approved by science.
It's not scientifically approved because there is a lack of studies for it. Marinol is actually very dangerous. It doesn't work like marijuana does. And besides, being approved by the FDA does not mean that it isn't approved by science. In fact, many studies said that it does have medicinal value, and other studies have shown that even if it didn't have medicinal value, it didn't do harm as well. Look at Chemotherapy patients. When people go through Chemotherapy, they loose their appetite, which is really important to keep nutrition up, which is needed during Chemotherapy. Our brains have things called Cannabinoid Receptors. These receptors are specifically designed to "catch" Cannabinoids (the most famous being Tetrahydracannabinol, or THC) and put them to specific parts of the brain. One of these spots is the area that controls hunger. In simpler terms, it causes the "Munchies." If Chemotherapy patients need to have an appetite, isn't that easily fixed by Marijuana? That's Medicinal Value to me.
#5 Drug control spending is a minor portion of the U.S. budget. Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction, government spending on drug control is minimal.
This is complete and utter bullshit. Every single president since Richard Nixon has increased the spending on this War on Drugs. This money could be used for something so much better. Like, for example, fixing our National Debt.
#6 Legalization of drugs will lead to increased use and increased levels of addiction. Legalization has been tried before, and failed miserably.
In other countries where marijuana was legalized, studies have shown that hard drug use has dropped! So how did legalization fail anyway? On the DEA website, they claim that it was tried in Alaska and they were forced to re-criminalize it in 1990...but the last time I checked, it is lawful to possess pot in your home, and unconstitutional to make it illegal as long as it is in your home.
#7Crime, violence, and drug use go hand-in-hand.
No, crime and violence go hand-in-hand and drugs join the group when it is illegal. When drugs are illegal, they are being sold by the Black Market. The Black Market consists of gang members, and violent people. When drugs are legal, they are being sold by supermarkets and gas stations. In countries where drugs were legalized, violence actually went DOWN, not up.
#8 Alcohol has caused significant health, social, and crime problems in this country, and legalized drugs would only make the situation worse.
But look at the damage Alcohol did when it was illegal. It was being produced and sold by members of The Mafia. Violence increased over it. Yeah, people may die from drunk driving, but that's better than people getting shot in our streets over alcohol. Alcohol does cause all these problems that they mention, but other drugs, especially marijuana, are nothing like Alcohol. When someone smokes pot, they are less prone to violence than people who drink. The only crime that Marijuana smokers commit is the act of smoking Marijuana.
#9 Europe’s more liberal drug policies are not the right model for America.
This is just completely stupid, and shouldn't even be reason to fight against anti-prohibition.
#10Most non-violent drug users get treatment, not jail time.
Even if they don't get jail time, their lives are still permanently screwed. A college student who gets busted with pot will be kicked out of college, his whole life ruined right there. Whether he gets jail time or not, he still suffers. He still has to go through the system, eaten up and regurgitated back out again all jumbled up. And what kind of treatment do they get? 12-step program bullshit? You know, only 5% of the people who go through the 12-step program actually succeed. What about the other 95%? They go back to drugs, then get busted again, and this time there is not treatment for them...they get jail time. And you know, there were studies done on LSD and Alcoholics, and it showed that LSD actually had a success rate of 50%! That is waaaaaaayyy more than 5%. There is a drug called Ibogaine. Ibogaine actually stems opiate addictions after ONE USE. The only "problem" is that it sends you through a three day hallucination. But by the time your done, there is no more addiction. But...it's illegal.
In other words, the DEA is full of shit. All they care about is their paychecks. Well, that felt good to get all that off my chest. Have a nice day.
-The Kapnobatai