cannabisnews.com: Drug Laws Send Message To Youngsters Drug Laws Send Message To Youngsters Posted by CN Staff on February 08, 2003 at 23:25:52 PT By Jerry W. Kilgore Source: Free Lance-Star Richmond -- The laws we choose to enact and enforce indicate what kind of society we want to affirm and what minimum standards we as a people say are acceptable. Our laws against illegal drugs, marijuana included, say that we do not want our children and others subjected to physical health problems and violence, which would lead to a gradual and inevitable decline of American society. Children and teenagers are the most susceptible to the dangers of marijuana use. In addition to marijuana's status as a "gateway drug"--that is, a drug that will lead to the use of stronger, more dangerous substances--there is the concern of serious health and mental consequences of its use. Marijuana users absorb from three to five times as much carbon monoxide as cigarette smokers, most likely because the smoke is held inside the lungs for longer periods of time. It is plain to see that pot smoking is at least as dangerous to the lungs as tobacco use. In addition, science tells us that THC, the main active chemical in marijuana, affects the human brain in gravely detrimental ways. Use of the drug leads to learning difficulties, memory problems, trouble in controlling emotion, and reduced attention span and motivation. Further, young people are far more likely to engage in sexual behavior when they are under the influence of alcohol or marijuana. As adolescents enter the most crucial time in their development into adults, this is not the behavior we should be endorsing as a society. While it is true that many young people can gain access to alcohol, the supposition that some children may also acquire marijuana--despite our society's stance against it--is not a valid argument for removing barriers to its availability.But, more than just the physical and mental problems brought on by the use of marijuana among young people, the societal ills that stem from this substance abuse are enormous. Students who cannot concentrate or motivate themselves to succeed in school are far along the road to a life of underachievement. If a student does not perform well, if he does not seek to make his way optimistically in life, the chances that he will quickly become a contributing member of society are reduced. The idea that we should embrace behavior that numbs a person's ability to be a benefit to society is wrong.There has been admirable work done to curb drunken driving, among teenagers especially. I recently had the honor of presenting a program aimed at high school students called "Brandon Tells His Story," during which I met Brandon Silveria, a young man who was severely injured in a drunken driving accident in 1992. Though his speech and motor skills are still mightily impaired, he and his father, Tony, travel the country telling their very personal story about lives forever affected by misguided choices. As we fight to limit underage drunken driving in the best ways we know how, to send the message that the use of another dangerous drug is perfectly acceptable is a mistake.Thus the argument that marijuana use affects only the users is faulty. Not only do we see the effects in the dimmed future of users and the dangers of injury, we also learn about the violent perils of drug use by reading newspapers articles and watching the evening news on television. Law-enforcement authorities will tell you that most violent crime is drug-related, either combined with some form of robbery or vicious battles over drug-dealing territory. Legalization of pot, likely to include some form of government regulation, will not completely take the industry away from the criminal element. There will still be a thriving market below the governmental radar screen, just as we see in the example of cigarettes smuggled from state to state to avoid varying rates of taxation. Violence will still occur, people will die and families will be destroyed.No argument against the legalization of any illicit substance would be complete without raising the memory of Sept. 11, 2001. On the day that 19 hijackers commandeered the cockpits of passenger airliners, they were powered by several tangible energies: jet fuel, which propelled the airplanes and turned them into massive bombs; intense hatred for America, which convinced them they were on a righteous mission; and drug money, which helped prop up the planning and execution of the attack. The Bush administration reports that 12 of 28 terror organizations identified by the State Department in October 2001 are supported in part by the drug trade. Indeed, the Taliban, which provided a haven for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network, used drug profits to stay in power. The United States of America owes it to its citizens to take a stand against terrorism, against illegal drugs, and against the profits that fund such unimaginable violence.This is a time when Americans must reaffirm what we are as a nation. We are the finest, fairest nation in history and we have always endeavored to set an example to the world by what sort of behavior and standards we expect from ourselves. This is not the time to back away from statements that certain behavior is wrong. Instead, it is a time to declare that our laws are meant to protect people from harm, and we as a society intend to support them.JERRY W. KILGORE is attorney general of Virginia.Source: Free Lance-Star, The (VA)Author: Jerry W. KilgorePublished: February 9, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Free Lance-StarContact: letters freelancestar.comWebsite: http://fredericksburg.com/flshomeCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #13 posted by FoM on February 09, 2003 at 19:33:46 PT afterburner It was really good. The first part is about strange partnerships in the natural world and the later part is about animals and getting intoxicated. Great program. The lemurs and the millipedes was particularly good.Humans aren't the only animals with potential addiction problems. Monkeys get drunk, cats get high on catnip and reindeer eat magic mushrooms. Studies on monkeys show human traits in drinking habits. Madagascan black lemurs have a passion for biting millipedes: the gentle bite stimulates the release of a toxic chemical spray that leaves the lemur in a drug-induced state. Bees intoxicate themselves on the sap from lime trees that's six per cent proof! [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 09, 2003 at 19:21:07 PT AlvinCool That makes me feel sad that you haven't been published. You're right that you are published here because this site is read by many people. If our purpose is to teach others about looking at the drug war from a different perspective that we are. Every word written that is written with heart will touch someone. It might give a writer an idea or an anti a different way of seeing this mess of a drug war we have. I believe that nothing is overlooked that needs to be seen. Nothing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by AlvinCool on February 09, 2003 at 18:47:32 PT Thanks Thanks for the comment on my LTE Afterburner. I do put a lot into actually answering the article. I never get published so I sometimes wonder if it's worth the effort.Except here, of course. I always get published here! I had stopped writing them but have started again. One day, when this is all over, maybe all the regulars on CNEWS can meet and have a real party. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by afterburner on February 09, 2003 at 18:38:44 PT: i420 & FoM It was once alleged that every culture, with the exception of Inuit, had consciousness-altering plants. I had the privilege to meet someone from Inuit culture who stated to me that in his culture people used a consciousness-altering moss. That makes it unanimous for humans.unanimous [Merriam-Webster OnLine] Etymology: Latin unanimus, from unus one + animus mind. 1 : being of one mind : AGREEING. 2 : formed with or indicating unanimity : having the agreement and consent of all.And the animals use consciousness-altering plants too. It has been said that coffee was discovered by a shepherd who noticed that goats got especially frisky when they ate certain red berries [coffee beans].There seems to be a symbiosis between the plant and animal kingdoms. ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.I can't wait to videotape the Weird Nature program you mentioned. It shows on Wed., 12.Feb.2003 in Canada. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on February 09, 2003 at 17:14:57 PT i420 It was great and I found a short video clip about the cats and catnip.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15411.shtml#4I found a web site and short video clip. It will be repeating on the Discovery Channel on Direct TV later on tonight and we'll watch the whole thing. It shows that animals seek to alter their consciousness just like people do.Weird Nature Symbiotic relationships exist between very different animals. Find out how unlikely relationships can be beneficial to both animals. Then, discover how the animal kingdom handles the effects of drugs and alcohol among its inhabitants. BBC: Weird Nature: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/weird/Short Video Clip About Cats and Catnip: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/weird/video/preview6_potions.ram [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by i420 on February 09, 2003 at 17:10:29 PT give kids a leap.cc in life... You know as well as I know kids are gonna be kids and one thing kids do is experiment so instead of us elders doing the morally right thing and responsibly guide these youngsters through their "wonder years" we turn our backs make it a crime and give our youth a great head start in life with a criminal record for doing something that has been done for centuries and to add has been proven it is just part of human nature. An amazing show was on the science channel showing animals doing things that we do, get a buzz. bees, hedge hogs, and others in the show did exactly that, it is part of our nature to alter our senses.I bet there are animals that eat the mj plant. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by afterburner on February 09, 2003 at 17:02:48 PT: Alvin... Cool-est...LTE...ever.ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by AlvinCool on February 09, 2003 at 09:44:12 PT Another LTE We as a people did not chose to criminalize marijuana. Lawmakers with no debate took the word of a person, Harry Anslinger, who was hungry for power and position in the federal government. While we do not want our children subjected to violence, it is because adults are not allowed legal access to marijuana that they see these facets of society and prey on our children. The marijuana market spans 35 - 40 million Americans and must be regulated in order to both reduce children's access and allow adults to have truthful conversations with their children. Children and teenagers would be less susceptible to the dangers of marijuana use if they had a harder time obtaining it. A large percentage of Mr. Kilgore's article deals with children using marijuana, not with adult usage. Doesn't making marijuana harder for children to obtain and allowing their parents, by making it legal for adults, to talk truthfully to them make sense?The traditional marijuana gateway theory has long been debunked and is not worth mentioning. What we need to do is stop adults from fueling the black market by removing marijuana from it. With a severely reduced market it will be much easier for law enforcement to ensnare dealers of cocaine, heroin, meth and other harmful drugs. The majority of the black market would dissolve.Mr. Kilgore is correct that legalization of marijuana will not take the industry completely away from the criminal element. However the reduction should be in the range of about 90% and it will be almost immediate. That's an incredible accomplishment just be repealing a law. Once brand recognition sets in the black market reduction for marijuana will be almost complete. Also note that cigarette smuggling exists only because of state and federal tax manipulation. The more tax the more smuggling.Mr. Kilgore's attempt to use Sept 11th is sickening. The excuse he uses is just one more reason to break the black market by legalizing marijuana, not to keep the market thriving. We have time and again shown and informed the government that we feel that marijuana prohibition is wrong. The money taken in the name of marijuana prohibition is merely the substitute for the toilet seats and hammers that used to cost 20 thousand each. Lets end it and use the money for something we both need and helps our society.And thank you for presenting both sides of the debate. Kevin Zeese presents a very common sense aproach to this debate, in his article Seize Marijuana Market From Criminal Class, and should be commended. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by freedom fighter on February 09, 2003 at 07:29:58 PT When we finally did re-legalize the Alcohol, there were criminals still brewing the drink. Just a couple weeks ago, the state of Colorado seized 2500 bottles of whiskey that were "illegal". The company who smuggled the bottles did not have license to sell in that state. The owner of the bottles did not face any jail or criminal charges. He only lost his bottles. That is the value of human's life is worth to the author. It is all right to put a human being in a cage for growing a plant. ff [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by BGreen on February 09, 2003 at 07:13:46 PT FoM, BC Bud is worth $2,841 an ounce in Ohio! That's what your state troopers are saying. Will the lies ever stop? I don't know of anybody EVER paying $710 per quarter ounce of cannabis. They're full of crap and unchallenged in their propaganda. I couldn't make this up.You can trade the British Columbia marijuana for cocaine," confirmed Vern Dunn, resident agent in charge of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency office in Toledo.As a result, troopers used the going rate for cocaine of $2,841 an ounce, or nearly $45,500 a pound, to estimate the street value of the marijuana at $16 million. Here's how they did the math:Cocaine is valued at $100 a gram on the street and a kilo equals 1,000 grams, so a kilo of cocaine is worth $100,000. The 352 pounds of seized marijuana, divided by 2.2 pounds ( a kilo ), represents 160 kilos. At $100,000 a kilo, the 160 kilos of marijuana would be worth $16 million. US OH: Marijuana Seized In Turnpike Drug Bust [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by John Tyler on February 09, 2003 at 05:54:50 PT Some laws do harm too "Instead, it is a time to declare that our laws are meant to protect people from harm," This is only partly true. There are also many laws that are solely for the purpose to benefiting some at the expense of others, some laws that are used to oppress certain individuals and groups, some laws that express the prejudices and biases of a by gone era, and some laws that are just plain stupid. I think cannabis prohibition laws fall the the latter group. We need to elect politicians that understand this. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by JSM on February 09, 2003 at 05:45:48 PT compare Read this and then compare it to Kevin Zeese's article. Which one makes sense? I do not know about anyone else, but for me it is night and day. Legalize!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by JHarshaw on February 09, 2003 at 02:27:55 PT Utter Nonsense! This is a prime example of a government stooge lying to the very people he has sworn to protect. What we need is a truly accurate lie detector that each and every politician should be connected to when speaking in an official capacity. On an off note, a thought occurred to me last night. What do you think would be the response if the U.N. demanded that the U.S.A. destroy all its "weapons of mass destruction".peace and pot [ Post Comment ] Post Comment