State-sanctioned marijuana shops are contributing to the rise in lung illnesses and deaths at a higher rate than previously believed. Proponents of the marijuana industry have dismissed the "pot vaping crisis," with its deaths and lung injuries, as an aberration of the illicit market. Legal pot, they say, is regulated and thus not to blame for the recent spate of problems. Victims and families who came forward to warn about purchases made at state-licensed shops were lambasted by legalization advocates. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised against using all marijuana vaping products, industry insiders questioned their motives and called the warnings conspiracy theories. [continues 476 words]
Proponents of legalization and other drug policy reforms make some important points. It is true that most people who try drugs do not get addicted - they stop after using a few times. It is also true - and regrettable - that America's incarceration rate is embarrassingly high and that blacks and Latinos bear the brunt of harsh arrest policies. And, finally, despite our best efforts, fully eradicating drug use and its consequences remains a distant dream. But placing faith that legalization will help any of these issues is misguided. In fact, legalization threatens to further contribute to disproportionate health outcomes among minorities, all the while creating a massive new industry - Big Tobacco 2.0 - intent on addicting the most vulnerable in society. [continues 861 words]
Proponents of legalization and other drug policy reforms make some important points. It is true that most people who try drugs do not get addicted - they stop after using a few times. It is also true - and regrettable - that America's incarceration rate is embarrassingly high and that blacks and Latinos bear the brunt of harsh arrest policies. And, finally, despite our best efforts, fully eradicating drug use and its consequences remains a distant dream. But placing faith that legalization will help any of these issues is misguided. In fact, legalization threatens to further contribute to disproportionate health outcomes among minorities, all the while creating a massive new industry - Big Tobacco 2.0 - intent on addicting the most vulnerable in society. [continues 1244 words]
Proponents of legalization and other drug policy reforms make some important points. It is true that most people who try drugs do not get addicted --- they stop after using a few times. It is also true - --- and regrettable --- that America's incarceration rate is embarrassingly high and that blacks and Latinos bear the brunt of harsh arrest policies. And, finally, despite our best efforts, fully eradicating drug use and its consequences remains a distant dream. But placing faith that legalization will help any of these issues is misguided. In fact, legalization threatens to further contribute to disproportionate health outcomes among minorities, all the while creating a massive new industry --- Big Tobacco 2.0 --- intent on addicting the most vulnerable in society. [continues 580 words]
IF YOU THINK BIG TOBACCO WAS BAD, WAIT TILL YOU GET A WHIFF OF BIG MARIJUANA, SAYS KEVIN SABET Proponents of legalization and other drug policy reforms make some important points. It is true that most people who try drugs do not get addicted - they stop after using a few times. It is also true - and regrettable - that America's incarceration rate is embarrassingly high and that blacks and Latinos bear the brunt of harsh arrest policies. And, finally, despite our best efforts, fully eradicating drug use and its consequences remains a distant dream. But placing faith that legalization will help any of these issues is misguided. In fact, legalization threatens to further contribute to disproportionate health outcomes among minorities, all the while creating a massive new industry - Big Tobacco 2.0 - intent on addicting the most vulnerable in society. [continues 1245 words]
[Asbury Park Press Editor] A bill to legalize marijuana in New Jersey has been introduced by Democratic lawmakers in both the Senate and the Assembly, even though Gov. Chris Christie has indicated he would veto it. The sponsors argue that taxing marijuana would help raise badly needed revenue. Christie says legalization would "send the wrong message" at a time when the state is faced with a heroin epidemic and widespread abuses of prescription drugs.A Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll released last week showed a nearly even split among those who favored and those who opposed legalization of marijuana. Below are essays presenting the cases for and against legalization. [continues 676 words]
The current ballot initiative in Florida will result in 'pot mills,' not unlike the devastating 'pill mills' that have made our state infamous. If trial lawyers and out-of-state billionaires have their way, Florida will join states like California and Colorado by creating a massive industry selling things like marijuana cookies, lollipops and candies - all in the name of "medicine." In those states, the average "medical" marijuana user is a 30-something white male with a history of drug abuse, and no history of HIV, cancer, multiple sclerosis, or any of the conditions touted by advocates in campaign mode. [continues 539 words]
Colorado Will Demonstrate Why Promoting Pot Is a Mistake On Jan. 1, Colorado made history as the first jurisdiction in the modern era to license the retail sales of marijuana. To be sure, there were no bloody fistfights among people waiting in line and, as far as we know, no burglaries or robberies. Legalization advocates cheered. While it is true that most people who use marijuana won't become addicted to heroin or otherwise hurt society as a result, Colorado's experiment with legal pot can be called anything but successful. [continues 514 words]
Like many people, my family too has been hit by cancer. I have seen loved ones suffer the horrible side effects of a disease that kills millions of people a year worldwide. That is why Question 3, which voters will decide on Nov. 6, is such a complex issue. But the initiative has little to do with the truly sick and dying. Indeed, if passed, Question 3 would set up an extensive system of marijuana stores in our state, allow people to grow marijuana in their homes and apartments, and provide a defense to those carrying hundreds of joints under the guise of medicine. Worst of all, it would allow people to get marijuana for any condition, including headaches or stress. [continues 328 words]
Unfortunately, Jenifer B. McKim mixes up apples and oranges in her account of Maine's medical marijuana industry and how it compares to Massachusetts' proposed law ("Maine a case study in medical marijuana," Page A1, Aug. 5). Massachusetts voters will be deciding on whether to license 35 marijuana storefronts that would in turn sell marijuana to virtually anyone with a recommendation for almost any medical reason. The proposed Massachusetts law, funded by drug legalization advocates, would also allow for a person to have on them a 60-day supply - thousands of joints - to claim as "legal medicine." [continues 82 words]
Re: "Legal pot shops do not boost teen drug use, Colorado study says," June 19 news story. The "study" referred to in your article is anything but - it is a paper that has not been peer-reviewed. And that is no wonder. The paper suffers from serious methodological errors, including the fact that the researchers did not take into account the actual implementation of medical marijuana laws. For example, California did not have "dispensaries" until 2003, seven years after the law was enacted. [continues 160 words]
Strategies That Strike a Middle Ground Are Best, Say Kevin Sabet "I personally, and my administration's position, is that [drug] legalization is not the answer." Which U.S. president uttered these words about our nation's drug policy? Was it Woodrow Wilson, a progressive leader who urged the country to unite against drugs? Perhaps it was FDR, who signed the first federal law banning marijuana? Or maybe it was the guy who everyone thinks started the war on drugs (he didn't), Richard Nixon? [continues 578 words]
The reported cause of Whitney Houston's untimely death should get us talking about finding an answer to Hollywood's - and the rest of America's - drug problem. On the day of Houston's death, the great Tony Bennett commented: "First it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the magnificent Whitney Houston. I'd like every person in this room to campaign to legalize drugs. Let's legalize drugs like they did in Amsterdam. No one's hiding or sneaking around corners to get it. They go to a doctor to get it." [continues 297 words]
ACCORDING to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control, drug overdoses have increased almost six-fold in the last 30 years. They now represent the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, having overtaken motor vehicle accidents for the first time on record. One might expect such news to spur politicians to explore new options for drug abuse treatment, prevention and enforcement. Instead, at precisely the wrong time, extremists on both sides have taken over the conversation. Unless we change the tone of the debate to give drug-policy centrists a voice, America's drug problem will only get worse. [continues 555 words]
Scientists have long known that like many plants, marijuana has some medicinal properties. But that does not imply that to derive those medical benefits, the plant should be smoked in its raw form (we don't, after all, smoke opium to get the benefits of morphine). Nor does the potential medical value of marijuana mean that, as medicine, its fate should be left to the whims of the electorate. Unfortunately, rather than advocating better or quicker research protocols so that pharmacists can properly dispense marijuana-based medications with consistent dosing and in a safe delivery manner, many states have bypassed the approval process of modern medicine. The result has been widespread abuses. [continues 101 words]
But a closer look at what resulted from alcohol prohibition and its relevance to today's anti-drug effort reveals a far more nuanced picture than the legalization lobby might like to admit. As argued by Harvard's Mark Moore and other astute policy observers, alcohol prohibition had beneficial effects along with the negative ones. Alcohol use plummeted among the general population. Cirrhosis of the liver fell by 66 percent among men. Arrests for public drunkenness declined by half. Yes, organized crime was emboldened, but the mob was already powerful before Prohibition, and it continued to be long after. [continues 762 words]
Last month, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reignited a heated debate when he called for a civilized discussion on the merits of marijuana legalization. Indeed, the governor was responding to new public opinion polls showing greater interest in the policy idea - and with the mounting problems associated with the drug trade in Mexico and here in the U.S., it is hard to blame anyone for suggesting that we at least consider all potential policy solutions. One major justification for legalization remains tempting: the money. Unfortunately, however, the financial costs of marijuana legalization would never outweigh its benefits. [continues 780 words]
Deterrence Is Preferable to Encouraging Marijuana Use, Which Would Follow Alcohol and Tobacco in Soaring Costs to Society. Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reignited a heated debate when he called for a civilized discussion on the merits of marijuana legalization. Indeed, the governor was responding to new public opinion polls showing greater interest in the policy idea -- and with the mounting problems associated with the drug trade in Mexico and here at home, it is hard to blame anyone for suggesting that we at least consider all potential policy solutions. [continues 770 words]
It's a tempting idea: Legalize and tax a commodity that a lot of people like, collect the revenue, and reap the budgetary benefits. In economic times like these, that might be just the formula we need to pull us out of the red. In this case, the truth does not live up to the hype. Legalizing marijuana will not solve our budget woes, nor will it be good for public health. Introducing marijuana into the open market is very likely to do some other things, however: increase the drug's consumption, and with it, the enormous social costs associated with marijuana-related accidents, illness and productivity loss. [continues 471 words]
It's a tempting idea: Legalize and tax a commodity that a lot of people like, collect the revenues, and reap the budgetary benefits. In economic times like these, that might be just the formula we need to pull us out of the red. In this case, the truth does not live up to the hype. Legalizing marijuana will not solve our budget woes, nor will it be good for public health. Introducing marijuana into the open market is very likely to do some other things, however: increase the drug's consumption, and with it, the enormous social costs associated with marijuana-related accidents, illness and productivity loss. [continues 506 words]
