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