Pubdate: Fri, 15 Nov 2002
Source: Technician, The (NC State University)
Copyright: 2002 The Technician
Contact:  http://technicianonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2268
Author: Matthew Hulett
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n2093/a02.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

NEW MARIJUANA STUDIES AND PROPOSALS REVISIT

Looking at what is in a joint is not the same as observing how the habit 
affects real people in the real world; therefore the information found in 
Marijuana Unlikely to Cause Head, Neck, or Lung Cancer 
(http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1728.57309) is not true. I might as 
well say hot dogs or oranges are cancerous because they contain carcinogens.

You fail to educate the public about vaporizers, which heat the plant 
material to 190 degrees Fahrenheit without burning it. This releases the 
cannabinoids without combusting the other chemicals.

In addition, you fail to inform that the inhaling and holding of marijuana 
smoke is pointless, and is the outcome of prohibitionist policies that 
inflate the cost of cannabis. The cannabinoids are absorbed by the lungs in 
less than one second. No marijuana smoker should hold the smoke, nor should 
they inhale deeply.

The nineteen districts in Massachusetts instructed their legislators to 
support decriminalization, in general (they had nuanced differences). 
Seventy-two percent of the public supports decriminalization. Every major 
drug policy study done in the past 50 years recommends decriminalization to 
legalization (most legalization) none recommend a law-enforcement solution 
to marijuana regulation.

Matthew Hulett, Short Hills, N.J.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D