Thread: Marijuana Myth Busters

Originally Posted by Shapka

The worst thing about it is that you can make it from virtually any normal cleaning products/decongestents, which means the government wastes time creating stupid laws regulating how many boxes of over the counter Benadryl you can buy at your local pharmacy.

Yes, that is another problem I have seen. I've worked in the grocery bisiness, and seen how the tweak dealers get around this "regulation." Its led to massive theft of over the counter medication. They just grab the back of the product, and sweep them all off the shelf into their bag.

Fact: Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States

Fact: illicit Drugs kill

Fact: Medicines are not approved in this country by popular vote. Before any drugs can be released for public use they must undergo rigorous clinical trials to demonstrate they are both safe and effective, and then be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Our investment and confidence in medical science will be seriously undermined if we do not defend the proven process by which medicines are brought to market.

Fact: While some would argue that problems such as these would be solved by simply legalizing marijuana, it’s important to remember that the drug is illegal because it causes harm—physical, social, behavioral, and academic—especially to young users. Even most people who support legalization agree that kids should not be using marijuana.


Fact: The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate.

Fact: Studies has indicated that an abuser's risk of heart attack more than quadruples

Fact: A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers8. Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.

Fact: Some of marijuana's adverse health effects may occur because THC impairs the immune system's ability to fight disease.

Fact: Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances have been associated with chronic marijuana use.

Fact: Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their nonsmoking peers21,22,23,24. A study of 129 college students found that, among those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the 30 days prior to being surveyed, critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired, even after the students had not taken the drug for at least 24 hours20

Fact: A 2002 SAMHSA report, Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and Implications, concludes that the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults.

Fact: Of an estimated 106 million emergency department (ED) visits in the U.S. during 2004, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates that 1,997,993 were drug-related. DAWN data indicate that marijuana was involved in 215,665 ED visits

Fact: DAWN also collects information on deaths involving drug abuse that were identified and submitted by 128 death investigation jurisdictions in 42 metropolitan areas across the United States. Cannabis ranked among the 10 most common drugs in 16 cities, including Detroit (74 deaths), Dallas (65), and Kansas City (63). Marijuana is very often reported in combination with other substances; in metropolitan areas that reported any marijuana in drug abuse deaths, an average of 79 percent of those deaths involved marijuana and at least one other substance


Fact: There were an estimated total of 1,889,810 state and local arrests for drug abuse violations in the United States during 2006. Of the drug arrests, 4.8% were for marijuana sale/manufacturing and 39.1% were for marijuana possession

Fact: During FY 2006, there were 6,423 Federal defendants sentenced for marijuana-related charges in U.S. Courts. Approximately 96% of the cases involved marijuana trafficking


Fact: The threat associated with marijuana trafficking and abuse is rising, which is largely the result of a growing demand for high-potency marijuana and a related increase in the drug's availability. An increase in domestic cannabis cultivation by drug trafficking organizations contributes to this threat, particularly the recent expansion of cultivation operations by Mexican, Asian and Cuban organizations

Fact: Most foreign-source marijuana smuggled into the United States enters through or between points of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. During 2006, 1,115,710 kilograms of marijuana were seized along the Southwest Border. Cannabis cultivation in Mexico remains high and most of the marijuana produced in that country is destined for U.S. drug markets

Fact: Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data indicate that a total of 5,231,658 marijuana plants were seized in the U.S. during 2006. This is up from 4,209,086 plants seized during 2005. The recent increases in cannabis cultivation and marijuana production within the United States coincide with the continued flow of marijuana from foreign sources, which may lead to market saturation in major markets. This saturation could reduce the price of the drug significantly


Fact: According to officers with the Forest Service and other agencies, many of California’s illegal marijuana fields are controlled not by peaceloving flower children but by employees of Mexican drugtrafficking
organizations carrying highpowered
assault weapons. During the growing season, the officers say, the cartels smuggle hundreds of undocumented Mexican nationals into the U.S. to work the fields, bringing with them pesticides, equipment, and guns. Hunters, campers, and others have been threatened at gunpoint or fired upon after stumbling into these illegal gardens.

BIG MYTH: The government sends
otherwise innocent people to
prison for casual marijuana use.
(See next Big fact )

Big Fact: On the contrary, it is extremely rare for anyone, particularly firsttime
offenders, to get sent to pr ison just for possessing a smal l amount
of marijuana. In most states, possession of an ounce or less of pot is a
misdemeanor offense, and some states have gone so far as to
downgrade simple possession of marijuana to a civil offense akin to a tr affic violation. The numbers speak for themselves. In 1997, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), only 1.6 percent of the state inmate population had been convicted of a
marijuan a only crime, including trafficking. An even smaller percentage of state inmates were imprisoned with marijuana possession as the only charge (0.7 percent). And only 0.3 percent of those imprisoned just for marijuana possession were firsttime offenders.72
More recent estimates from the BJS show that at midyear 2002,
approximately 8,400 state prisoners were serving time for possessing
marijuana in any amount. Fewer than half of that group, or about
3,600 inmates, were incarcerated on a first offense.73 In other words, of
the more than 1.2 million people doing time in state pr isons across
America,74 only a small fraction were firsttime
offenders sentenced just for marijuana possession. And again, this figure includes possession of any amount.

Many inmates ultimately sentenced for marijuana possession were initially crimes but were able to or lighter sentences through plea agreements with prosecutors. FACTS charged with more serious negotiate reduced charges
On the federal level, prosecutors focus largely on traffickers, kingpins, and other major drug criminals, so federal marijuana cases often involve hundreds of pounds of the drug. Cases involving smaller amounts are typically handled on the state level. This is part of the reason why hardly anyone ends up in federal prison for simple possession of marijuana. The fact is, of all drug defendants sentenced in federal court for marijuana offenses in 2001, the vast majority were convicted of trafficking. Only 2.3 percent—186 people—were sentenced for simple possession, and of the 174 for whom sentencing information is known, just 63 actually served time behind bars.75
It’s important to point out that many inmates ultimately sentenced for marijuana possession were initially charged with more serious crimes but were able to negotiate reduced charges or lighter sentences through plea agreements with prosecutors. Therefore, the 2.3 percent figure for simplepossession
defendants may give an inflated impression of the true number, since it also includes those inmates who pled down from more serious charges.
The goal of drug laws is not merely to punish, but to reduce drug use and help keep people from harming themselves and others with this destructive behavior. In recent years, with the introduction of drug courts and similar programs, there has been a shift within the U.S. criminal justice system toward providing treatment rather than incarceration for drug users and nonviolent
offenders with addiction problems. Today, in fact, the criminal justice system is the largest source of referral to drug treatment programs.


The clutter of messages about marijuana in the popular culture creates an atmosphere of confusion and sends kids mixed signals about the drug. But what should be clear is that no responsible person thinks young people should use marijuana. Kids can learn the truth about marijuana at www.freevibe.com.
Parents can help keep their children away from marijuana by letting them know its dangers, and by monitoring their activities and staying involved in their lives. For more information and useful tips about talking to kids about marijuana, visit www.theantidrug.com. Both of these Web sites are supported by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Schools and communities can also play an important role by providing activities that keep kids interested and involved in healthy, drugfree
programs.
If you want to help dispel misperceptions and spread the truth about marijuana to help kids grow up drugfree,
you can:
•Educate yourself about the dangers of marijuana and keep up with scientific research into its harmful effects. For a wealth of good information, visit the Web site for the National Institute on Drug Abuse at http://www.nida.nih.gov
•Help kids in trouble with marijuana get into drug treatment programs
•Be an advocate for better, more informed druggeddriving
laws
•Support afterschool
programs and get involved in local antidrug
coalitions
•Stay informed about the marijuana laws in your state, and take a stand against changes in legislation that would increase the drug’s availability in your community



Working together for a drug FREE America. We can keep the political figures out of office that continue to push for legislation advocating uses of illicit drugs.
Federal drug laws have been implemented in this country for many reasons the page has only listed a few.
A vote for a political candidate that down plays drug addiction as a personal problem an advocates state laws legalizing illicit drugs is a vote that will cause harm to you, to your children, to your family and to your friends and community.

Originally Posted by GREGAGREATAMERICAN

Fact: Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States

Fact: illicit Drugs kill

Fact: Medicines are not approved in this country by popular vote. Before any drugs can be released for public use they must undergo rigorous clinical trials to demonstrate they are both safe and effective, and then be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Our investment and confidence in medical science will be seriously undermined if we do not defend the proven process by which medicines are brought to market.

This has nothing to do with marijuana

Fact: While some would argue that problems such as these would be solved by simply legalizing marijuana, it’s important to remember that the drug is illegal because it causes harm—physical, social, behavioral, and academic—especially to young users. Even most people who support legalization agree that kids should not be using marijuana.

There is NO proof of this assertion


Fact: The short-term effects of marijuana can include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate.

All at significantly lower levels than alcohol

Fact: Studies has indicated that an abuser's risk of heart attack more than quadruples

BS, marijuana use LOWERS blood pressure

Fact: A study of 450 individuals found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems and miss more days of work than nonsmokers8. Many of the extra sick days among the marijuana smokers in the study were for respiratory illnesses.

I'd sure like to SEE that study

Fact: Some of marijuana's adverse health effects may occur because THC impairs the immune system's ability to fight disease.

More BS. Studies NOW show that THC acts as a cancer INHIBITOR

Fact: Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances have been associated with chronic marijuana use.

WHAT research?

Fact: Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades and are less likely to graduate from high school, compared with their nonsmoking peers21,22,23,24. A study of 129 college students found that, among those who smoked the drug at least 27 of the 30 days prior to being surveyed, critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning were significantly impaired, even after the students had not taken the drug for at least 24 hours20

Don't believe it about the grades from personal experience. Their less likely to graduate because they're MORE likely to get ARRESTED on possession charges. The college student assertion is completely ridiculous. 27 out of 30 days?? OK, so if you smoke out for a SOLID MONTH you might not pay attention so well the next day. Try that same study with alcohol and get ready to dial 911.

Fact: A 2002 SAMHSA report, Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and Implications, concludes that the younger children are when they first use marijuana, the more likely they are to use cocaine and heroin and become dependent on drugs as adults.

Due to the FACT that marijuana is ONLY available from illicit sources.

Fact: Of an estimated 106 million emergency department (ED) visits in the U.S. during 2004, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) estimates that 1,997,993 were drug-related. DAWN data indicate that marijuana was involved in 215,665 ED visits

so 2% were 'drug-related' and marijuana was involved in 0.2%. That's a really FRIGHTENING statistic. NOT!

Fact: DAWN also collects information on deaths involving drug abuse that were identified and submitted by 128 death investigation jurisdictions in 42 metropolitan areas across the United States. Cannabis ranked among the 10 most common drugs in 16 cities, including Detroit (74 deaths), Dallas (65), and Kansas City (63). Marijuana is very often reported in combination with other substances; in metropolitan areas that reported any marijuana in drug abuse deaths, an average of 79 percent of those deaths involved marijuana and at least one other substance

That means that marijuana was responsible for 0% of drug abuse deaths

Fact: There were an estimated total of 1,889,810 state and local arrests for drug abuse violations in the United States during 2006. Of the drug arrests, 4.8% were for marijuana sale/manufacturing and 39.1% were for marijuana possession

That's 831,000 arrests for a harmless substance

Fact: During FY 2006, there were 6,423 Federal defendants sentenced for marijuana-related charges in U.S. Courts. Approximately 96% of the cases involved marijuana trafficking

If it were legal there'd be NONE


Fact: The threat associated with marijuana trafficking and abuse is rising, which is largely the result of a growing demand for high-potency marijuana and a related increase in the drug's availability. An increase in domestic cannabis cultivation by drug trafficking organizations contributes to this threat, particularly the recent expansion of cultivation operations by Mexican, Asian and Cuban organizations

Legalize it and the Mexican, Asian and Cuban 'organizations' lose a large source of funding.

Fact: Most foreign-source marijuana smuggled into the United States enters through or between points of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. During 2006, 1,115,710 kilograms of marijuana were seized along the Southwest Border. Cannabis cultivation in Mexico remains high and most of the marijuana produced in that country is destined for U.S. drug markets

Legalize it and the Mexican smugglers have one less product to profit from

Fact: Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) data indicate that a total of 5,231,658 marijuana plants were seized in the U.S. during 2006. This is up from 4,209,086 plants seized during 2005. The recent increases in cannabis cultivation and marijuana production within the United States coincide with the continued flow of marijuana from foreign sources, which may lead to market saturation in major markets. This saturation could reduce the price of the drug significantly

Translated...The 'War on Drugs' is an abject failure

Fact: According to officers with the Forest Service and other agencies, many of California’s illegal marijuana fields are controlled not by peaceloving flower children but by employees of Mexican drugtrafficking
organizations carrying highpowered
assault weapons. During the growing season, the officers say, the cartels smuggle hundreds of undocumented Mexican nationals into the U.S. to work the fields, bringing with them pesticides, equipment, and guns. Hunters, campers, and others have been threatened at gunpoint or fired upon after stumbling into these illegal gardens.

Legalize it and they're out of business

Where do you get this stuff from, anyway???

THE WAR ON DRUGS WORKS !!!
DEA Picture of the year




January 17, 2007 –– 11 Federal search warrants were executed at marijuana distribution centers throughout Los Angeles County. As a result, DEA agents seized several thousand pounds of processed marijuana, marijuana plants, and large quantities of marijuana-laced edibles like the ones pictured above.

January 22, 2007 –– 15 of the world’s most violent and ruthless criminals including Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, the kingpin of the Gulf Cartel, were extradited to the United States are now awaiting trial. Cardenas-Guillen, pictured above, ran an organization that smuggled multi-hundred kilogram quantities of cocaine into neighborhoods all across this nation.

February 28, 2007 –– Operation Imperial Emperor uncovered this sandbag bridge which traffickers used to transport drugs across the U.S. - Mexico border. In addition to closing down this makeshift bridge, Imperial Emperor also resulted in the arrest of 400 individuals nationwide and the seizure of over $45.2 million in cash and several tons of drugs.

March 20, 2007 –– The $207 million dollars pictured above was seized from chemical brokers that were supplying chemicals to Mexican cartels to manufacture huge quantities of methamphetamine—most destined for the United States. It is the largest single drug cash seizure the world has ever seen.

March 21, 2007 -- The U.S. Coast Guard, acting on intelligence provided by the DEA, seized over 17.4 metric tons of cocaine—denying Mexican drug lords $300 million in drug revenue. This was the largest-ever worldwide maritime seizure of recovered cocaine.

May 23, 2007 –– Operation Jacket Racket uncovered one of the more heinous attempts by drug traffickers to hide their heroin…they did so by concealing it in the linings of baby blankets like the one seen here. Over 100 people were arrested as part of the international operation which involved DEA offices in New York, New Jersey and San Diego.

June 8, 2007 –– DEA arrested Monzer al Kassar, an international arms dealer and charged him with conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) -- a designated foreign terrorist organization -- to be used to kill Americans in Colombia. This schematic of a vessel used to transport weapons was provided by al Kassar and his associates to undercover investigators.