If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms,marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigrationduring the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. [continues 72 words]
Madelyn Kearns got an arrow-splitting bull's eye exposing cannabis prohibition and extermination hypocrisy ("Half-Baked Excuses Keep Marijuana Unlit," Nov. 4). By extension, the federal government even classifies the God-given plant cannabis - see the first page of the Bible - as a Schedule I substance along with heroin, while meth and cocaine are only Schedule II substances. The farce continues with hemp prohibition. Communist Chinese farmers are allowed to grow hemp, but free American farmers are prohibited. That's unfair for U.S. farmers who must compete in the free world market. [continues 70 words]
Rehabilitation clinics often have a small rack of brochures in the waiting room for anyone curious about the impairment known as addiction. Desperate for something to look at other than stale doughnuts and the blank screen on my phone, I grabbed one such pamphlet during a snack break at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and gave it a gander. The booklet stated that alcoholism, illustrated as a shadow hovering above a lone kneeling man, was a harrowing disease which rendered the inflicted completely hopeless. Having already sat through stories of tremendous loss and irrevocable mistakes because of a bottle, I had a difficult time trying to fathom how an alcoholic, who makes a conscious choice for the shot glass instead of a shot at life, could be considered a victim or disabled. [continues 611 words]
Regarding Kegan Zema's thoughtful Sep. 24 op-ed; If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. Marijuana prohibition has failed miserably as a deterrent. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults over the age of 18. Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy [end]
This November, Maine voters will decide if they want to become the fifth state to allow legal dispensaries for patients prescribed medical marijuana. The amount of diseases that qualify for the use of medical marijuana would increase as well. According to a recent article in the Kennebec Journal, there is no organized opposition to Question 5. Only two state officials have offered a negative stance on the referendum question. It seems that with issues like gay marriage and TABOR II on the ballot, no one cares about a medical marijuana law. The public's back is turned because of the economy. Everyone is too worried about paying their bills, being able to retire or even just being able to heat their home this winter. They don't have time to be bothered with where a glaucoma patient will fill their marijuana prescription. [continues 463 words]
Medical marijuana and the stereotypes it derails was the topic of the final Socialist and Marxist Studies Series lectureof the fall semester. University of Southern Maine professor Wendy Chapkis discussed her experiences with garden growers who produced medical marijuana and how her perception of the drug has changed. Chapkis, a professor of gender studies, said she decided to explore the topic after she found out her friend, Valerie Carrel, smoked marijuana to relieve the pain she endured from cancer. Chapkis initially shrugged it off, thinking it was an excuse. [continues 487 words]
