Edited to clarify the intent, add essential content, April 29, 2014, 8:45 EST
I was going to write an educational, upbeat article about car repair or whether to upgrade that old computer of yours with the now unsupported Window's XP operating system on it. But I can't in good conscience ignore the events surrounding this year's 420 celebrations and media reports of deaths by marijuana and studies suggesting that marijuana causes brain abnormalities. With a government run amok as we have, with multiple infringements on human rights and privacy, along with deceit, it's time for "Truth And Consequences".
Law enforcement and criminologists have long sought a way to positively identify psychopaths and sociopaths, without much success. Perhaps that will change as scientists discover more about how to read our minds and see our thoughts. It's a noble, righteous cause. A goal to make the world a safer place, which brings us closer to being civilized.
However such studies and research are poorly funded. The government teeters on bankruptcy. Our infrastructure is in serious need of repair and upgrades. Our schools are often in crisis, burdened with Bush Era "No Child Left Behind" mandates; without much funding. The reason for these problems is simple. Since 1971 our federal government has been waging a war; a war against millions of our own citizens. It's called the War on Drugs, enacted by President Richard Nixon and he created the DEA as the overseers. He orchestrated the Scheduled Drug policy, making sure marijuana was Schedule One, and making marijuana the Number One Criminal Offense in this country. Trillions of tax-payer dollars have been spent on this war.
A war it appears that may soon be lost, if it wasn't when it started? But is there hope???
A study released a week prior to celebrations of marijuana called "420" was conducted by the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine appearing in multiple news-outlets and will appear in the Journal of Neuroscience. The results of the study suggest, or rather attempt to prove that marijuana causes abnormalities to two parts of the brain, parts that affect memory, learning, good judgement, and motivation. The following is a quote and a link to the news article as reported by Fox News, April 15, 2014, 5 days prior to 420:
"For the first time, researchers at Northwestern University have analyzed the relationship between casual use of marijuana and brain changes – and found that young adults who used cannabis just once or twice a week showed significant abnormalities in two important brain structures".
For the first time...
I don't think so... the federal government has been conducting research on the very same thing since before 1971.
For the first time... maybe this study suggests the human brain is not as static (unchanging) as has been assumed. At the very least if this study has any redeeming qualities, it's that what we take in can cause a change to our brains... not just cannabis, but other things like alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea or milk, to name but a few substances.
An article on Alternet does an excellent job analyzing the study: "Why the Media's Fearmongering on Marijuana Effects on the Brain Is Faulty."
More than likely the study was flawed or simply a joke, like this article about 37 people dying from marijuana in Colorado on the "first day it was legalized":
The Daily Currant, Jan 02, 2014"Marijuana Overdoses Kill 37 in Colorado On First Day of Legalization."
Debunked on FakeNews.Com
That's not to say there haven't been deaths associated with marijuana use this year, as there have been allegedly two such deaths.
One was a man apparently had too much of a marijuana cookie too soon. He didn't take the recommended dose of 1/6th of a cookie and wait 45 minutes to an hour. He became impatient after so many minutes and ate the whole cookie. He went mad and jumped out a window to his death.
The other was death involved a spouse, Whose husband had ingested a marijuana infused edible, and went crazy several hours later, killing his wife who was on the phone with 911.
You can read about them here:
ByCrimesider StaffAP April 18, 2014, 11:04 AM "Two Denver deaths tied to recreational marijuana use..."
One might want to do some research at the very last place we'd consider looking, the CDC. Fact is, "there are approximately 88,000 deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States".
So how much is too much? Where does the mudslinging end? When do we get real and realize Nixon's "War On Drugs" was wrong?
TODAY:
21 states have laws permitting medical use of marijuana, 18 states have decriminalized marijuana to a fine for certain amounts, 2 states allow both medical and recreational use and one city in Maine has outright legalized possession of two ounces.
I began this post with the observation we as a society are suffering. The great benefit of the War on Drugs is our penal system is bursting at the seams. I'm not proud of being a part of that while paying my taxes. Let's be frank, legalizing marijuana is bad for law enforcement. It is the central hub of the wheel of drugs, for money, per popular misconception.
I'm referring to murders, kidnappings, armed robberies, rape, assaults...and why these aren't as important anymore.
Well the following article may help explain that mindset:
It turns out "science" takes third after religion and politics.
Fox News: "AP-GfK Poll: Most agree with scientists on smoking, fewer buy Big Bang, evolution or warming". WASHINGTON – "Few Americans question that smoking causes cancer. But they express bigger doubts as concepts that scientists consider to be truths get further from our own experiences and the present time, an Associated Press-GfK poll found."
President Obama promised an administration that placed science first. It's questionable how successful he's been. Part of the answer might reside in what we take to believe is truth.
Imagine you've never had a cup of coffee, or your first experience drinking a double espresso recommended by a friend? Or you're a good girl, over 21 and you've never been to a bar. Your friends take you out. You have a good time - you get drunk and ...
The science doesn't matter. Now imagine you're 19 and very anti-drug and your best friend offers you some marijuana? Everything you've always been told via politics and religion is it will make me mad and insane and it is illegal! But I try it anyways, fearful and cynical...and I discover it not only feels very good to me, but it has a most profound and extraordinarily beneficial effect on my life and my future. It changed my life for the better, without a doubt!. .
Obviously I care about science. You don't have to use cannabis to be aware the science is out there and that it's at least as safe as alcohol, if not safer. Life is a risk period. Why are we prohibited to take a risk with far fewer dangers than what is already out there? I took a risk in 1973 using cannabis and it changed my life for the better a hundred fold. It also made me a criminal. That's politics. Wrong politics. It's time for a change and it's time to accept the flower children, before we all die off.
I was going to write an educational, upbeat article about car repair or whether to upgrade that old computer of yours with the now unsupported Window's XP operating system on it. But I can't in good conscience ignore the events surrounding this year's 420 celebrations and media reports of deaths by marijuana and studies suggesting that marijuana causes brain abnormalities. With a government run amok as we have, with multiple infringements on human rights and privacy, along with deceit, it's time for "Truth And Consequences".
Law enforcement and criminologists have long sought a way to positively identify psychopaths and sociopaths, without much success. Perhaps that will change as scientists discover more about how to read our minds and see our thoughts. It's a noble, righteous cause. A goal to make the world a safer place, which brings us closer to being civilized.
However such studies and research are poorly funded. The government teeters on bankruptcy. Our infrastructure is in serious need of repair and upgrades. Our schools are often in crisis, burdened with Bush Era "No Child Left Behind" mandates; without much funding. The reason for these problems is simple. Since 1971 our federal government has been waging a war; a war against millions of our own citizens. It's called the War on Drugs, enacted by President Richard Nixon and he created the DEA as the overseers. He orchestrated the Scheduled Drug policy, making sure marijuana was Schedule One, and making marijuana the Number One Criminal Offense in this country. Trillions of tax-payer dollars have been spent on this war.
A war it appears that may soon be lost, if it wasn't when it started? But is there hope???
A study released a week prior to celebrations of marijuana called "420" was conducted by the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine appearing in multiple news-outlets and will appear in the Journal of Neuroscience. The results of the study suggest, or rather attempt to prove that marijuana causes abnormalities to two parts of the brain, parts that affect memory, learning, good judgement, and motivation. The following is a quote and a link to the news article as reported by Fox News, April 15, 2014, 5 days prior to 420:
"For the first time, researchers at Northwestern University have analyzed the relationship between casual use of marijuana and brain changes – and found that young adults who used cannabis just once or twice a week showed significant abnormalities in two important brain structures".
For the first time...
I don't think so... the federal government has been conducting research on the very same thing since before 1971.
For the first time... maybe this study suggests the human brain is not as static (unchanging) as has been assumed. At the very least if this study has any redeeming qualities, it's that what we take in can cause a change to our brains... not just cannabis, but other things like alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea or milk, to name but a few substances.
An article on Alternet does an excellent job analyzing the study: "Why the Media's Fearmongering on Marijuana Effects on the Brain Is Faulty."
More than likely the study was flawed or simply a joke, like this article about 37 people dying from marijuana in Colorado on the "first day it was legalized":
The Daily Currant, Jan 02, 2014"Marijuana Overdoses Kill 37 in Colorado On First Day of Legalization."
Debunked on FakeNews.Com
That's not to say there haven't been deaths associated with marijuana use this year, as there have been allegedly two such deaths.
One was a man apparently had too much of a marijuana cookie too soon. He didn't take the recommended dose of 1/6th of a cookie and wait 45 minutes to an hour. He became impatient after so many minutes and ate the whole cookie. He went mad and jumped out a window to his death.
The other was death involved a spouse, Whose husband had ingested a marijuana infused edible, and went crazy several hours later, killing his wife who was on the phone with 911.
You can read about them here:
ByCrimesider StaffAP April 18, 2014, 11:04 AM "Two Denver deaths tied to recreational marijuana use..."
One might want to do some research at the very last place we'd consider looking, the CDC. Fact is, "there are approximately 88,000 deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States".
So how much is too much? Where does the mudslinging end? When do we get real and realize Nixon's "War On Drugs" was wrong?
TODAY:
21 states have laws permitting medical use of marijuana, 18 states have decriminalized marijuana to a fine for certain amounts, 2 states allow both medical and recreational use and one city in Maine has outright legalized possession of two ounces.
I began this post with the observation we as a society are suffering. The great benefit of the War on Drugs is our penal system is bursting at the seams. I'm not proud of being a part of that while paying my taxes. Let's be frank, legalizing marijuana is bad for law enforcement. It is the central hub of the wheel of drugs, for money, per popular misconception.
I'm referring to murders, kidnappings, armed robberies, rape, assaults...and why these aren't as important anymore.
Well the following article may help explain that mindset:
It turns out "science" takes third after religion and politics.
Fox News: "AP-GfK Poll: Most agree with scientists on smoking, fewer buy Big Bang, evolution or warming". WASHINGTON – "Few Americans question that smoking causes cancer. But they express bigger doubts as concepts that scientists consider to be truths get further from our own experiences and the present time, an Associated Press-GfK poll found."
President Obama promised an administration that placed science first. It's questionable how successful he's been. Part of the answer might reside in what we take to believe is truth.
Imagine you've never had a cup of coffee, or your first experience drinking a double espresso recommended by a friend? Or you're a good girl, over 21 and you've never been to a bar. Your friends take you out. You have a good time - you get drunk and ...
The science doesn't matter. Now imagine you're 19 and very anti-drug and your best friend offers you some marijuana? Everything you've always been told via politics and religion is it will make me mad and insane and it is illegal! But I try it anyways, fearful and cynical...and I discover it not only feels very good to me, but it has a most profound and extraordinarily beneficial effect on my life and my future. It changed my life for the better, without a doubt!. .
Obviously I care about science. You don't have to use cannabis to be aware the science is out there and that it's at least as safe as alcohol, if not safer. Life is a risk period. Why are we prohibited to take a risk with far fewer dangers than what is already out there? I took a risk in 1973 using cannabis and it changed my life for the better a hundred fold. It also made me a criminal. That's politics. Wrong politics. It's time for a change and it's time to accept the flower children, before we all die off.
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