Pubdate: Fri, 23 Sep 2005
Source: Sandspur, The (FL Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The Sandspur
Contact: http://www.thesandspur.org/home/lettertotheeditor/
Website: http://www.thesandspur.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4904
Author: Issac Stolzenbach

REEFER MADNESS!

At the request of some of our readers, I've developed a column to try and
offset the blatant fundamentalist-conservative view purported by this
publication. I am not on the right or the left; I am a dissenter who
believes in progressive thought, a veteran, and a patriot.

[pulls soapbox from back pocket and steps up] The fascist swine
facilitating this tabloid (who are trying to prove me wrong by running
this article) will not hinder my quest for Truth. With that in mind, let's
get right down to business. As of late, our government has reinvigorated
their noun sodomy-the war on drugs-with an ad campaign reminiscent of the
1930's anti-marijuana propaganda hit, "Reefer Madness," in Newsweek and
The New York Times.

I often use "Reefer Madness" as a marker to argue how trustworthy our
government is when it comes to deciding what is good for the American
people. Now let's be honest with ourselves, if only for a moment. When was
the last time you witnessed some random violent & craze-eyed stoner
wearing semen-stained bib and tucker . . . chasing after little red-headed
boys with big ears and freckles?

You haven't! Nor have I. But I have observed, and interviewed, what the
establishment considers "stoners"; people who use medical marijuana. Rest
assured, they don't have fluids siggering from every pore, nor do they
have any desire to molest Opie. Some look just like you and me; some look
like you are staring into the face of Death.

The new anti-drug campaign posits marijuana use by teens causes
"depression, suicidal thoughts, and schizophrenia." Ha! Our teens will
have these inclinations regardless of their interaction with pot because
they are witnessing the death of the American dream. Matter of fact,
marijuana actually helps with depression. Using the Center for
Epidemiologic Studies' Depression Scale, researchers at the University of
Southern California found in June 2005 that marijuana use actually lowers
depression levels. For the other claims, our government played "pick and
choose" in gathering their evidence by gathering isolated cases from
around the globe, which by the way is not endorsed by our own National
Agency on Drug Abuse.

Earlier this summer I visited Portland, Oregon (when marijuana was legal
for medicinal purposes) to visit friends and investigate the possibility
of picking up a prescription for pot. I found I couldn't just "pick it up"
but I was eligible for a grower's card, which would entitle me to six
plants: four growing and two mature.

I am a legal addict, suffering from degenerative disc disease (DDD),
osteoarthritis, and a herniated disc that visits occasionally, which
require seven prescriptions to make me "normal" like you: Bextra,
Skelaxin, Oxycodone, OxyContin, Xanex, some steroidal, and name any random
antidepressant you like; about one to two hundred dollars worth of meds
every day to quell the constant pain and make me affable in public. All of
which can be replaced with a two-dollar joint in the evening.

I spoke with Oregonians who suffered similar ailments as myself, and worse
illnesses. One sufferer, Ed, informed me, "We have found different strains
of the plant that work for different ailments. Some for pain relief that
doesn't make you 'stoned' per se, others that excite the appetite of
chemotherapy patients," Ed removed his beanie hat to reveal a shiny head,
and only then did I notice the purple bags under his eyes, "I was dying
from the treatments [chemotherapy] because I couldn't eat, but now I have
a grower's card and a strain of the plant to help with appetite and pain.
I will survive!"

Sitting at the airport on my way back to Florida, I heard the Supreme
Court's ruling on CNN echo through the lounge, "The court has ruled that
medical marijuana users are still liable for federal prosecution
regardless of state laws." I thought of the reaction Ed and others
sufferers might have when they heard this and my heart sank. Would Ed
still survive?

A few basic questions came to me: Why such a fuss? Why won't our country
legalize such a cheap and effective non-chemically addictive drug? Further
research revealed that the main lobbyists against pot are the tobacco and
alcohol conglomerates that don't want competition in the recreational drug
arena. And of course the pharmaceutical companies don't want any
chemically addictive substances replaced-at a fraction of the cost-by a
natural remedy. I don't think our teens should be using drugs, but we
should reserve anti-drug campaigns for drugs that ruin lives like cocaine,
heroine, opium . . . OxyContin . . . save that currency for the real
battles down the road.

What a tragic joke. The people who peddle alcohol and cigarettes, the true
"gateway drugs" in this country, work hard pushing the hand of our
government to lie to us. Even worse, the pharmaceutical companies are
allowed to push drugs that make their users addicts. The chief offender in
that line of prescriptions I mentioned earlier is OxyContin, a drug that
leaves a cavernous scar on every cell of the user. Victims of this
legalized drug addiction, if and when they are able to kick the habit, are
left searching for excess in all things . . . trying to fill the gaping
wound in their soul. I speak from experience.

[raises goblet] So, here's a toast to Bacchus in hopes that here at the
newspaper we don't lower ourselves to adolescent column-banter because I'd
rather not engage in a battle of wits with the unarmed . . . .