Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
A petition in California has placed a measure in support of the legalization of marijuana on the ballot for November, and the success of this measure will demonstrate the resolve of the American people not to be ignored by their government.
The federal government has exhausted all avenues through which to block the legalization of marijuana. They have inflated the budgets of law enforcement and bloated our prisons; they have refused the acknowledgment of well-known and well-regarded medicinal benefits, and they have demonized a harmless plant and the proponents of its use. They have done so consciously and maliciously, and the public has lost patience.
There is no political cloud obscuring this issue; it is non-partisan. The issue of the usage of marijuana is amoral because there is no causal harm to identify. The issue of legalization is a moral one. Is this not a victimless crime? Yet marijuana use is considered criminal. We have filled our prisons with more trifling drug users than violent offenders, and given out disproportionate sentences.
What arguments against legalization are left? Claims of marijuana being more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes have no basis in fact. Marijuana itself is not harmful.
According to "Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," published by the United States Department of Justice in 1988, Francis Young, the DEA's administrative law judge, said marijuana is safer than most foods we eat, and eating 10 raw potatoes can induce death while it is impossible to die from marijuana consumption.
"Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man," he said. "By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care."
The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is not harmful. It has a number of superbly beneficial medical applications. According to "Marijuana Cuts Lung cancer Tumor Growth" published by the American Association for Cancer Research on March 17, 2007, THC has been shown in trial research to inhibit tumor growth. If current experimental trends continue, we could see a change in how cancer treatment is approached. Instead of reactionary treatment: preventative care. Instead of chemotherapy: brownies. Safe, effective cancer treatment is a cause every American champions.
Some methods of marijuana consumption can be harmful, namely the smoking of marijuana. All smoke is carcinogenic. According to "Harm Reduction Associated with Inhalation and Oral Administration of Cannabis" by Franio Grotenhermen published in 2001 by the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, the harm to be found in the smoking of marijuana is the same as the harm in the inhalation of any smoke. Cigarettes are more harmful. There is more to a cigarette than carcinogenic smoke. Cigarettes are a combination of carcinogens that damage every organ in your body.
Alcohol is also more harmful than marijuana. Alcohol destroys the liver, among other life- threatening side effects. However, both of these more harmful products are legal.
Marijuana is said to be highly addictive, but according to "Prevalence and Demographic Correlates of Symptoms of Dependence on Cigarettes, Alcohol, Marijuana and ******* in the U.S. Population" published by Drug and Alcohol Dependence in 1997 and retrieved from drugpolicy.org, marijuana does not cause physical dependence. Additionally, medicinal marijuana has been shown to have an extremely low incidence of dependence.
Studies on THC show a lack of an unambiguous mechanism to establish a physical addiction, unlike the legal substance nicotine. Marijuana is addictive in the same way having fun is addictive.
There are many arguments supporting marijuana's legalization.
According to "Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy" by Alison Statemen and published by Time in 2009, Judge James Gray, a superior court justice in Orange County, Calif., said, "Legalizing marijuana and thus ceasing to arrest, prosecute, and imprison nonviolent offenders could save the state $1 billion a year."
These funds could be used for more important issues, like combating terrorism or improving public education.
Legalizing marijuana will allow us to downsize our prison system. After the introduction of our crass "war on drugs," the U.S. has eclipsed all other countries, including China, in per capita inmates.
According to "Drug Related Crime" published by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 200, 25 percent of all federal prison inmates and 41.9 percent of all state prison inmates were incarcerated for drug-related offenses. Reducing the burden on our over taxed prison system would not only reduce cost, but benefit the safety of this society.
If marijuana is legalized, sales tax revenue would represent a significant source of income for the government. According to "Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy," the state of California already brings in about $200 million in medical marijuana sales, and California tax experts claim a potential of $1.4 billion in sales tax revenue if marijuana is legalized.
Alcohol and cigarettes are both significantly more harmful than marijuana, yet citizens have the legal right to use them both. If the government is to uphold the ideals of the Constitution, then they must legalize less harmful substances, or ban all of them. The history of civil rights in the U.S. proves that when public opinion changes, government policy changes to match. Public opinion on marijuana is changing. Old myths and propaganda are falling to increased public awareness of the facts.
Every citizen can be a driving force in the fight for legalization.
Call, e-mail and write letters to members of Congress.
Force open the eyes of the establishment. Bring marijuana out of the dark. Legalize today.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: dixiesunlink.com
Author: Richard Bracken
Copyright: 2010 The Dixie Sun
Contact: The Dixie Sun
Website: Legalizing marijuana just makes sense - Opinion
The federal government has exhausted all avenues through which to block the legalization of marijuana. They have inflated the budgets of law enforcement and bloated our prisons; they have refused the acknowledgment of well-known and well-regarded medicinal benefits, and they have demonized a harmless plant and the proponents of its use. They have done so consciously and maliciously, and the public has lost patience.
There is no political cloud obscuring this issue; it is non-partisan. The issue of the usage of marijuana is amoral because there is no causal harm to identify. The issue of legalization is a moral one. Is this not a victimless crime? Yet marijuana use is considered criminal. We have filled our prisons with more trifling drug users than violent offenders, and given out disproportionate sentences.
What arguments against legalization are left? Claims of marijuana being more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes have no basis in fact. Marijuana itself is not harmful.
According to "Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," published by the United States Department of Justice in 1988, Francis Young, the DEA's administrative law judge, said marijuana is safer than most foods we eat, and eating 10 raw potatoes can induce death while it is impossible to die from marijuana consumption.
"Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man," he said. "By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care."
The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is not harmful. It has a number of superbly beneficial medical applications. According to "Marijuana Cuts Lung cancer Tumor Growth" published by the American Association for Cancer Research on March 17, 2007, THC has been shown in trial research to inhibit tumor growth. If current experimental trends continue, we could see a change in how cancer treatment is approached. Instead of reactionary treatment: preventative care. Instead of chemotherapy: brownies. Safe, effective cancer treatment is a cause every American champions.
Some methods of marijuana consumption can be harmful, namely the smoking of marijuana. All smoke is carcinogenic. According to "Harm Reduction Associated with Inhalation and Oral Administration of Cannabis" by Franio Grotenhermen published in 2001 by the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, the harm to be found in the smoking of marijuana is the same as the harm in the inhalation of any smoke. Cigarettes are more harmful. There is more to a cigarette than carcinogenic smoke. Cigarettes are a combination of carcinogens that damage every organ in your body.
Alcohol is also more harmful than marijuana. Alcohol destroys the liver, among other life- threatening side effects. However, both of these more harmful products are legal.
Marijuana is said to be highly addictive, but according to "Prevalence and Demographic Correlates of Symptoms of Dependence on Cigarettes, Alcohol, Marijuana and ******* in the U.S. Population" published by Drug and Alcohol Dependence in 1997 and retrieved from drugpolicy.org, marijuana does not cause physical dependence. Additionally, medicinal marijuana has been shown to have an extremely low incidence of dependence.
Studies on THC show a lack of an unambiguous mechanism to establish a physical addiction, unlike the legal substance nicotine. Marijuana is addictive in the same way having fun is addictive.
There are many arguments supporting marijuana's legalization.
According to "Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy" by Alison Statemen and published by Time in 2009, Judge James Gray, a superior court justice in Orange County, Calif., said, "Legalizing marijuana and thus ceasing to arrest, prosecute, and imprison nonviolent offenders could save the state $1 billion a year."
These funds could be used for more important issues, like combating terrorism or improving public education.
Legalizing marijuana will allow us to downsize our prison system. After the introduction of our crass "war on drugs," the U.S. has eclipsed all other countries, including China, in per capita inmates.
According to "Drug Related Crime" published by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 200, 25 percent of all federal prison inmates and 41.9 percent of all state prison inmates were incarcerated for drug-related offenses. Reducing the burden on our over taxed prison system would not only reduce cost, but benefit the safety of this society.
If marijuana is legalized, sales tax revenue would represent a significant source of income for the government. According to "Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy," the state of California already brings in about $200 million in medical marijuana sales, and California tax experts claim a potential of $1.4 billion in sales tax revenue if marijuana is legalized.
Alcohol and cigarettes are both significantly more harmful than marijuana, yet citizens have the legal right to use them both. If the government is to uphold the ideals of the Constitution, then they must legalize less harmful substances, or ban all of them. The history of civil rights in the U.S. proves that when public opinion changes, government policy changes to match. Public opinion on marijuana is changing. Old myths and propaganda are falling to increased public awareness of the facts.
Every citizen can be a driving force in the fight for legalization.
Call, e-mail and write letters to members of Congress.
Force open the eyes of the establishment. Bring marijuana out of the dark. Legalize today.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: dixiesunlink.com
Author: Richard Bracken
Copyright: 2010 The Dixie Sun
Contact: The Dixie Sun
Website: Legalizing marijuana just makes sense - Opinion
