The burning issue with invisible supporters

Years ago, marijuana prohibition was likely ill-conceived. It was not even supported by the AMA at the time. Subsequent research has shown that marijuana has less health risks than alcohol. The legal system is jammed and jails are overfull in part because of non-violent pot trafficking and possesion arrest victims. Why is it that we can't get decriminalization on the ballot? Do we even need to? It wasn't voted into law -- not by the popular vote. It was filibustered. The drug war is failing. The lines need to be redrawn.

Drug Use is Here to Stay

In 1999, the National Academy of Sciences published a marijuana study. Here are some of their conclusions. So WHY IS IT STILL A STIGMA?

WAKE UP!!

Short shrift:

Q: Does marijuana lead to harder drugs?    NO
Q: Is marijuana more dangerous than tobacco?    NO
Q: Does marijuana cause cancer?    NO
Q: Does marijuana cause other life-threatening health problems?    NO
Q: Is marijuana useless or unnecessary for medical purposes?    NO
Q: Does marijuana cause brain damage?    NO
Q: Does marijuana cause laziness (a.k.a. "amotivational syndrome")?    NO
Q: Do criminal penalties deter marijuana use?    NO

Medical pot users are not criminals
Montel Williams

You may know me as a television talk-show host, but here in 40 states, I am also a criminal. My crime? Using the medecine that has allowed me to lead a normal life, despite having multiple sclerosis: medical marijuana.

Being diagnosed with MS, in 1999, felt like a death sentence. I honestly couldn't see a future. I had always taken excellent care of my body; I'd worked out, followed a healthy diet and looked the picture of health. What no one could see was the mind-numbing pain that seared through my legs, as if I was being stabbed with hot pokers.

My doctors wrote me prescriptions for some of the strongest painkillers available. I took Percocet, Vicodin and Oxycontin on a regular basis. I was knowingly risking overdose just trying to make the pain bearable. Yet these powerful, expensive drugs brought no relief.

I couldn't sleep. I was agitated; my legs kicked involuntarily in bed, and the pain was so bad I found myself crying in the middle of the night. And all these heavy-duty narcotics made me nearly incoherant; I couldn't take them when I had to work.

Worse, these drugs are all highly addictive. I did not want to become a junkie, wasted and out of control.

In Climbing Higher, my book on living with MS, I write in detail about the severe mental and physical pain that I experienced. It was so bad that I twice attempted suicide.

Finally, someone suggested that I try smoking a little marijuana before going to bed, saying that it might help me fall asleep. Skeptical but desperate, I tried it.

Three puffs and within minutes the excruciating pain in my legs subsided. I had my first restful sleep in months. The effect was miraculous.

But the federal government classifies marijuana in the same category as LSD, PCP and heroin -- considered unsafe to use even under medical supervision. Physicians are allowed to prescribe cocaine, morphine and methamphetamine, but not marijuana.

Ninety-nine percent of marijuana arrests are made by local police, under state law -- but the states can decide not to arrest medical-marijuana patients. Ten states now protect medical-marijuana patients, the latest being Montana, whose medical-marijuana law passed in November with 62 percent of the vote.

Medical and public-health organizations agree that medical marijuana can be beneficial. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, released a study commissioned by the White House that had found marijuana effective in combating pain, nausea and other symptoms afflicting patients with MS, cancer and other illnesses. The American Public Health Association's policy statement summarizes the extensive research showing marijuana's effectiveness, and adds: "Marijuana has an extremely wide acute margin of safety for use under medical supervision ... Greater harm is caused by the consequences of its prohibition than possible risks of medicinal use."

Patients struggling with such illnesses as MS, cancer and AIDS should not be treated as criminals. We need to get beyond politics. We need more research into marijuana's medicinal effects, and we should heed the research already availalbe. The federal government should change marijuana's classification so that phyusicians can prescribe it.

But while we wait for the federal government to act, the states should take action to protect patients.

Because of medical marijuana, I am still alive -- and leading a far more fruitful life than before. I am not alone. There are thousands of patients like me, and we should not be treated as criminals. The Prividence Journal; distributed by Scripps Howard News Service

WARNING -- BLOG!!!

Is anybody paying attention? Helloooo? It seems evident that the anti-pot mindset is primarily from socially detached politicians and media pundits. Bill Clinton "didn't inhale" and takes flak, President Bush did cocaine, but that's okay, huh?

The marijuana prohibition laws were enacted under false pretenses, against the advice of the AMA and without endorsement by any federal health agency. Read about it below.
Few people disagree that pot usage is completely inappropriate for minors.
That being said, pot is far more desirable than inhaling dangerous substances or abusing pharmaceutical drugs.

Apparently people need educating: There is a huge difference between alcohol intoxication and the effects of smoking pot.

Alcohol poisoning is deadly and alcoholism is devastating.

The results of quitting marijuana cause short-term "irritation".

It's not for everybody, but then, neither is skydiving, religion or caviar.

Our jails are staggeringly overcrowded. Dangerous, violent criminals are released having served a fraction of their time. What's wrong with this picture?

Sentence guidelines for distribution are disportionately high, especially when compared to violent crimes.
Ask a police officer. It is rare where, when someone's worse indiscretion is possesion of pot, the "criminal" poses any danger to the officer or society at large.

Getting caught using pot can unfairly cost lost educational and career opportunties.
Casual use should not stigmatize an individual's life or career.

Drug companies might lose money selling less analgesics and pain medication. Powerful drug lobbies are a big reason that pot is still met with such harsh policies and political hard lines.
Local governments profit from seized goods and property.
As a fuel or for use as paper, marijuana is significantly more ecologically sound.
Anecdotally it is said William Randolph Hearst lobbied for marijuana prohibition because he owned millions of acres of California timberland, but hemp is 4 times more efficiently used in making paper and related products, and its production is less harmful to the environment.
Why else? The government trying to protect us from ourselves? Or from Mexican immigrants and black jazz musicians?!?

Moderation in all things...

Here's a preview of an article to follow (please see below):

"...Like most Americans, the vast majority of [the] millions of marijuana smokers are otherwise law-abiding citizens who work hard, raise families and contribute to their communities; they are indistinguishable from their non-smoking peers, except for their use of marijuana. They are not part of the crime problem and should not be treated like criminals. Arresting and jailing responsible marijuana smokers is a misapplication of the criminal sanction which undermines respect for the law in general..."

NORML Tells Congress: Legalize Marijuana! Marijuana Decriminalization: Endorsements by Government Commissions

Marijuana Studies: Decriminalization Does Not Increase Use

NORML testimony before the House, 1996

60 Years of Prohibition - What Have We Learned

Principles of Responsible Use

Testimony of R. Keith Stroup, Esq. Executive Director, NORML before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Committee on Government Reform U.S. House of Representatives July 13, 1999

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has been a voice for nearly 30 years for Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition. A nonprofit, public-interest lobby, NORML represents the interests of the millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens who smoke marijuana responsibly.

Official NORML Position (a) Complete Decriminalization NORML supports the removal of all penalties for the private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults, cultivation for personal use, and the casual nonprofit transfers of small amounts. This model, generally called "decriminalization," greatly reduces the harm caused by marijuana prohibition by protecting millions of consumers from the threat of criminal arrest and jail. It represents a cease fire in the war against marijuana smokers; smokers would no longer be arrested, although commercial sellers would be. (b) Regulation and Legalization NORML also supports the development of a legally controlled market for marijuana, where consumers could buy marijuana for personal use from a safe, legal source. This model is generally called "legalization". The black market in marijuana, and the attendant problems of crime and violence associated with an uncontrolled and unregulated black market, could be eliminated, as was the case when alcohol prohibition was ended in 1933, by providing consumers with an alternative legal market. (c) Responsible Use Most importantly, marijuana smoking is not for kids and must be used responsibly by adults. As with alcohol consumption, it can never be an excuse for misconduct or other bad behavior. Driving or operating heavy equipment while impaired from marijuana should be prohibited. In addition, we recommend that responsible smokers adhere to emerging tobacco smoking protocols in public and private settings. The NORML Board of Directors has adopted the attached "Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use", also available on our web site (www.norml.org), discussing acceptable conduct.

Brief History of Marijuana Prohibition Marijuana cultivation in the United States can trace its lineage some 400 years. For most of our nation's history, farmers grew marijuana -- then known exclusively as hemp -- for its fiber content. Colonialists planted the first American hemp crop in 1611 near Jamestown, Virginia. Soon after, King James I of Britain ordered settlers to engage in wide scale farming of the plant.1 Most of the sails and ropes on colonial ships were made from hemp as were many of the colonists' bibles, clothing, and maps.2

According to some historians, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson cultivated marijuana and advocated a hemp-based economy.3 Some colonies even made hemp cultivation compulsory, calling its production necessary for the "wealth and protection of the country."4 Marijuana cultivation continued as an agricultural staple in America through the turn of the 20th century.

Marijuana first earned recognition as an intoxicant in the 1920s and 1930s. Recreational use of the drug became associated primarily with Mexican-American immigrant workers and the African-American jazz musician community. During this time, hemp was renamed "marihuana" and the plant's longstanding history as a cash crop was replaced with a new image: "The Devil's Weed."

In 1930, the federal government founded the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), headed by Commissioner Harry Anslinger. The group launched a misinformation campaign against the drug and enrolled the services of Hollywood and several tabloid newspapers. Headlines across the nation began publicizing alleged reports of marijuana-induced insanity and violence. Exaggerated accounts of violent crimes committed by immigrants reportedly intoxicated by marijuana became popularized. Once under the influence of the drug, criminals purportedly knew no fear and lost all inhibitions. For example, a news bulletin issued by the FBN in the mid-1930s purported that a user of marijuana "becomes a fiend with savage or 'cave man' tendencies. His sex desires are aroused and some of the most horrible crimes result. He hears light and sees sound. To get away from it, he suddenly becomes violent and may kill."5

Similar reports swept the country. A widely publicized issue of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology asserted that marijuana users are capable of "great feats of strength and endurance, during which no fatigue is felt. ... Sexual desires are stimulated and may lead to unnatural acts, such as indecent exposure and rape. ... [Use of marijuana] ends in the destruction of brain tissues and nerve centers, and does irreparable damage. If continued, the inevitable result is insanity, which those familiar with it describe as absolutely incurable, and, without exception ending in death."6 A Washington Times editorial published shortly before Congress held its first hearing on the issue argued: "The fatal marihuana cigarette must be recognized as a deadly drug and American children must be protected against it."7 This steady stream of propaganda influenced 27 states to pass laws against marijuana in the years leading up to federal prohibition and set the stage both culturally and politically for the passage of the "Marihuana Tax Act in 1937."

Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina introduced the Act in Congress on April 14, 1937 to criminalize the recreational use of marijuana through prohibitive taxation. The bill was the brainchild of Commissioner Anslinger who later testified before Congress in support of the bill.

Congress held only two hearings, totaling one hour of testimony, to debate the merits of marijuana prohibition.8 Federal witness Harry Anslinger testified before the House Ways and Means Committee that "this drug is entirely the monster-Hyde, the harmful effect of which cannot be measured." He was joined by Assistant General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury, Clinton Hester, who affirmed that the drug's eventual effect on the user "is deadly." These statements summarized the federal government's official position and served as the initial justification for criminalizing marijuana smoking.9

The American Medical Association (AMA) represented the lone voice against marijuana prohibition before Congress. AMA Legislative Counsel Dr. William C. Woodward testified, "There is no evidence" that marijuana is a dangerous drug. Woodward challenged the propriety of passing legislation based only on newspaper accounts and questioned why no data from the Bureau of Prisons or the Children's Bureau supported the FBN's position. He further argued that the legislation would severely compromise a physician's ability to utilize marijuana's therapeutic potential. Surprisingly, the committee took little interest in Woodward's testimony and told the physician, "If you want to advise us on legislation, you ought to come here with some constructive proposals ... rather than trying to throw obstacles in the way of something that the federal government is trying to do."10

After just one hearing, the Ways and Means Committee approved the "Marihuana Tax Act." The House of Representatives followed suit on August 20 after engaging in only 90 seconds of debate.

During this abbreviated floor "discussion," only two questions were asked. First, a member of Congress from upstate New York asked Speaker Sam Rayburn to summarize the purpose of the bill. Rayburn replied, "I don't know. It has something to do with a thing called marijuana. I think it is a narcotic of some kind." The same representative then asked, "Mr. Speaker, does the American Medical Association support the bill?" Falsely, a member of the Ways and Means Committee replied, "Their Doctor Wharton (sic) gave this measure his full support ... [as well as] the approval [of] the American Medical Association."11 Following this brief exchange of inaccurate information, the House approved the federal prohibition of marijuana without a recorded vote.

Doughton's bill sailed though the Senate with the same ease. The Senate held one brief hearing on the bill before overwhelmingly approving the measure. President Franklin Roosevelt promptly signed the legislation into law on August 2, 1937. The "Marihuana Tax Act" took effect on October 1, 1937.

Thus began the criminal prohibition of marijuana that remains in place today. It was surely not a thoughtful or considered process that led to the federal prohibition of marijuana, and that tradition persists today when marijuana policy is occasionally revisited.

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