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 . . . .