WEED DEALINGS - WEED AND FEAR

Cannabis has been around for a long time. Before anyone settled the "new world" cannabis was being cultivated as hemp, and utilized medicinally. Hemp was a grown as a major crop with a variety of industrial applications. Over the course of the 19th century cannabis was largely accepted, but as the 20th century approached, that acceptance was challenged. At every turn though, it was never the plant itself being prohibited, but newly arrived ethnic groups being discriminated against by way of the plant. From Sikhs in California, to Mexicans in Texas, to Blacks in Louisiana, the prohibition of marijuana has always been linked to racism and bigotry. The problem is, very few people alive today are likely to remember a time when cannabis was accepted and even prescribed by doctors. Most folks grew up in the era of prohibition and facts falsified in order to demonize and persecute ethnic minorities. It's sickening, it's saddening, and it's shameful. The prohibition of marijuana isn't about the cannabis plant, it's about a history of hate, oppression, and intolerance.

If you look at the real reasons for outlawing it, they usually have nothing to do with the plant and much to do with what it represents. And what does it represent? Fear. Fear that it will lead to more drugs. Fear that it will lead to bad behavior. Fear that it will cause our society to collapse. The fear is real, but it's being misdirected. No one really fears the plant, they fear black skin or people from Mexico and Asia. Call it what you want, but supporting the cannabis prohibition is supporting racism.

Here are some facts about the plant, and how our society has chosen to react to it. The next time someone asks you why marijuana should be legalized, remind them that prohibition is in fact the exception. It's not about legalizing marijuana, it's about restoring justice—it's about abandoning habits born by hate. Print this out and review it, and you can easily give them a few reasons why prohibition isn't sensible:

* According to the FBI there were 13,687,241 arrests in 2009. 858,408 of those arrests were for marijuana. 758,593 of those arrests were for possession of marijuana.

* Because possessing large amounts of marijuana can warrant serious penalties it's dealt in small quantities. Because it's dealt in small quantities it is sold at prices affordable to teenagers.

* 52% of the people that are arrested for marijuana possession are males between 15 and 24.

* The marijuana possession arrest rate for young men with black skin is 300% higher than the rate for young men with white skin.

* According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's calculation standards, we spent $10.3 billion on marijuana arrests in 2006. The total cost for all arrests was $178 billion. Marijuana arrests were 5.77% of total arrests.

* In 2006, California saved $857 million by decriminalizing marijuana and issuing citations instead of arresting offenders.

* In 2006, the US produced $35.8 billion worth of cannabis.

* Nixon's 1972 Shafer commission was unable to show any harmful effects and concluded that more studies needed to be conducted. Nixon, however, ignored their findings, and used the commission as a straw man to initiate the war on drugs.

* Here's a link to transcripts of some of Nixon's talks with his advisors regarding marijuana. They show pretty clearly that this was not about cannabis.

* In the DEA's 2010 report on marijuana they claim that it is unsafe, and harmful, thus justifying their continued war on drugs. However, these claims are not substantiated with any evidence from scientific studies.

* At worst, cannabis is as dangerous as tobacco, and this is simply because it's being smoked. However, we know that tobacco is far more dangerous than cannabis.

* In 2006 Donald Tashkin—an open opponent to cannabis, and chief consultant for the DEA—concluded that cannabis does not cause lung cancer.

* It is impossible to overdose on cannabis. Even in cases of extreme overdose, users do not experience any kind of corporeal damage.

* Cannabis can't create psychological issues where there aren't any. Cannabis can exacerbate existing conditions.

* Cannabinoids have been shown to have neuroprotective capacities. That is, they don't cause brain damage, but actually preserve neurons against degradation, and have been shown to play a part in the re-growth of brain tissue.

* Cannabinoids have been shown to possess substantial analgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties.

* Researchers are currently investigating the use of cannabinoids in treating Autism, Tourette's, Obesity, and myriad other ailments that plague the contemporary humans of first world nations.

* No one has ever died from a cannabis overdose. There are 0 known deaths from cannabis.

* In a war on drugs what sense does it make to persecute citizens?

ZACHARY G MOLDOF

PREVIOUSLY ON WEED DEALINGS