Pubdate: Wed, 18 Sep 2013
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2013 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Emily Brosious

MARIJUANA MISCONCEPTIONS

It is curious that there is such fear surrounding the new medical 
marijuana law, especially if we examine the drug in question.

While not necessarily harmless, cannabinoids are considerably safer 
than many legal substances, including alcohol, tobacco and countless 
prescription medications.

The alarmist rhetoric coming from the anti-pot campaign is not only 
misleading, it undermines productive drug education. Lumping illegal 
drugs all into the same category teaches young people that the 
dangers of marijuana use run parallel to the dangers of, say, cocaine 
or heroin use.

It also teaches them that legal drugs are inherently safer than 
illegal ones, but recent studies show that prescription painkiller 
overdose is responsible for more fatalities than those of heroin and 
cocaine combined. Notably, there has never been a recorded fatality 
attributed to cannabis overdose.

Misinformation does not educate or protect; it only shelters and disservices.

- - Emily Brosious, Chicago
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom