I don't much like marijuana. Never done it. The smell of it makes me sick. And it doesn't much fit in with the way that I lead my life. That's not a judgment. I have plenty of other vices that I won't list here.
But it may just be that, as a study by a sub-division of the National Academy of Science in 1999, and several other studies, the authors of which have had trouble getting published, have shown, smoked marijuana is pretty good at alleviating some of the side-effects of chemotherapy, AIDS medications and other harsh drug therapies, as well as various other causes of nausea, loss of appetite, etc. Of course, the FDA today decided that there are no such studies--even the federal and state-funded studies. This isn't too surprising, since "fact" and "truth" obviously mean something different politically than they do in normal parlance.
But, really, what is the great danger in letting people suffering smoke some weed? I mean we allow cold medicines to be sold over the counter even though the ingredients in them can be used to manufacture meth. Oh, that's right, there's a business interest involved there.
But it may just be that, as a study by a sub-division of the National Academy of Science in 1999, and several other studies, the authors of which have had trouble getting published, have shown, smoked marijuana is pretty good at alleviating some of the side-effects of chemotherapy, AIDS medications and other harsh drug therapies, as well as various other causes of nausea, loss of appetite, etc. Of course, the FDA today decided that there are no such studies--even the federal and state-funded studies. This isn't too surprising, since "fact" and "truth" obviously mean something different politically than they do in normal parlance.
But, really, what is the great danger in letting people suffering smoke some weed? I mean we allow cold medicines to be sold over the counter even though the ingredients in them can be used to manufacture meth. Oh, that's right, there's a business interest involved there.
4 comments:
Welcome back Tyler. I think your one, two or three fans on this Blog contribute more than you do, which of course is a impossibility cause we depend on your musings to counter our own. It just seems that way. That be said, the “Bag” of green weed is something YOU are indeed afraid of, not simply eschewing from it because you have other interests. You are afraid that you will INHALE and turn into just a regular bartender!! Now, to the substance of your commentary: I do not believe in the legalization of pot. Supply and demand is already a given, “we” an obtain it even in the least nefarious situations. But, I am also against, in theory, the “illegalization” of anything, for I am a pure libertarian!! The legalization scheme is unworkable. A government-sanctioned program to produce, distribute, and tax an addictive intoxicant creates more problems than it solves. First, drug use would increase. No student of supply-and-demand curves can doubt that marijuana would become cheaper, more readily available, and more widespread than it currently is when all legal risk is removed and demand is increased by marketing. Second, legalization will not eliminate marijuana use among young people any more than legalizing alcohol eliminated underage drinking. If you think we can tax marijuana to where it costs more than the average teenager can afford, think again. Marijuana is a plant that can be readily grown by anyone. If law enforcement is unable to distinguish "legal" marijuana from illegal, growing marijuana at home becomes a low-cost (and low-risk) way to supply your neighborhood and friends. "Official marijuana" will not drive out the black market, nor will it eliminate the need for tough law enforcement. It will only make the task more difficult. These reasons alone is enough for keeping Pot to the good guys selling on-line.
I would love the opportunity to light one up (simply a very infrequent user I should add) with both you and Fernando at your leisure. Tom (Mullen@scmv.com) (I changed firms).
I'm not sure that we can know where the supply and demand curve would end up settling were to legalize marijuana or any other drug--nor can we know what other effects it might have, recalling that prohibition helped to coalesce organized crime in this country and organized crime has also coalesced around the illicit drug trade--but what really has me incensed about this particular case is the arrogant quality of the lie that the government is involved in. They might argue that marijuana has been shown to have medical benefits but the dangers outweigh the benefits. But they don't make that argument; they just lie and say that there is no evidence of any medical benefit. And that's just not true.
As for the occasional light-up, the smell of the stuff really does make me retch, so none for me. But that's merely a gustatory judgment. There are too many windows in my house for me to start lobbing any pebbles.
And, I'm not a libertarian per se, more of an anarcho-syndicalist or a communitarian.
Regarding who coalesced whom, don't forget Organized Crime and their funky relationship with the Catholic Church - but thats another subject for another day. I am glad to hear your open mind on the subject as to an individual's nuance.
A communitarian? In Hillcrest? PLease IMPOSSIBLE!
Well, I don't live in Hillcrest anymore. And one wouldn't want to confuse the mafia with organized crime. There are lots of different sorts of organized crime; the mafia was and is one of them, but hardly the only.
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