cannabisnews.com: Official Tackles Marijuana Myths










  Official Tackles Marijuana Myths

Posted by CN Staff on February 18, 2004 at 07:56:00 PT
By Tonya Alanez, Staff Writer 
Source: Press Journal  

Indian River County — "Marijuana is not medicine" and we need to keep it away from our children was the message delivered by a Washington anti-drug official at a lecture Tuesday. Andrea G. Barthwell, from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, is deputy director for Demand Reduction, a youth drug prevention program. She introduced a "fact-based marijuana initiative" to a group of more than 100 at the Indian River Community College's Mueller campus. 
Barthwell outlined the following five "marijuana myths:" • It is harmless. • It is not addictive. • Youth experimentation is inevitable. • We should legalize marijuana. • Prisons are filled with marijuana users. "The legalizers are back and they're trying to convince Americans that smoked marijuana is a medicine and you can use drugs responsively," Barthwell said at the lecture sponsored by the Substance Abuse Council of Indian River County. Since 1996 eight states, including Arizona, Alaska, California, Maine and Oregon, have passed medical marijuana laws. Approval of medical marijuana has also been approved in Canada. "The people that have this as an agenda are not concerned for the sick or dying," Barthwell said. "They are concerned about getting marijuana into the hands of more people for personal use." Barthwell presented information that said marijuana acutely affects learning, attention and motor skills and lends to gaps in a user's "fund of knowledge." She said these are some of the reasons to be concerned about youth and marijuana use. In her hour-long discussion, Barthwell advocated for student drug testing and increased parental involvement in the fight to keep kids off drugs. "We know that people do more of that which is sanctioned and allowed than that which is prohibited," Barthwell said, citing statistics that showed marijuana use nearly tripled in the Netherlands since coffee shops began selling it. "It is important to have a non-drug-using norm to prevent children from using marijuana," she said. Sgt. Brad Fojtik of the Indian River County Sheriff's Office School Resource Team said, "It's nice for somebody to step up to the plate and say what we've been trying to preach to our kids. There is no medicinal value in (marijuana), period." Source: Press Journal (FL)Author: Tonya Alanez, Staff WriterPublished: February 18, 2004Copyright: 2004 The E.W. Scripps Co.Website: http://www.pressjournal.com/Contact: laurence.reisman scripps.comRelated Articles:Marijuana Called New 'Trojan Horse'http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17577.shtmlTranscripts: Online News Hour with Jim Lehrer http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17576.shtml

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Comment #17 posted by FoM on February 23, 2004 at 12:07:02 PT
LTE: Official Tackles Marijuana Myth
More responses to the Press Journal's Feb. 18 article, "Official tackles marijuana myth"February 23, 2004The Press Journal received several letters in response to its Feb. 18 article, "Official tackles marijuana myths." Here are a few of the online readers’ correspondences: Andrea G. Barthwell, a deputy despot from the office of the drug czar, shows up to propagandize, and the Press Journal follows along, calling all dissenting information "myths." Cannabis was in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia until 1940, when it was stuffed down George Orwell’s memory hole by one of Barthwell’s predecessors. The office of the drug czar commissioned the Institute of Medicine to report on cannabis. In 1999 they reported that it does indeed have significant medical uses. As with alcohol, prohibition is not the way to regulate anything. Prohibition yields up control of the market to the criminal underworld. District attorneys consistently upgrade charges against users to the status of distributors, and the prisons are indeed full of casual users. If everything that is not harmless were to be prohibited, what a clearly authoritarian state we would have. Were users of the addictive substances coffee, nicotine, and alcohol imprisoned at the rate of cannabis users, the revolt would be immediate. Wise up America, LEGALIZE. Jay Bergstrom Kernville, Calif. ***It is too bad that the speaker from the U.S. drug policy office did not introduce a "fact-based marijuana initiative" in her presentation to the students at Indian River Community College. If she had, of course, she would have had to admit that the "myths" she was decrying are in truth, the facts, and the myths and lies are contained in what she and the cop said. This administration seems to be operating on the same premise as the Nazis in 1930s Germany: The bigger the lie, and the more often it is told, the more it will be believed. If one views the information readily available on the Internet or reads the excellent book, "Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts," by Lynn Zimmer and John P. Morgan, where the myths she spoke are dealt with in a fact-based manner and the truth of cannabis is revealed, one can know immediately that the government lies and so do the police. It is past time that the media asked these minions of the public service to justify their position with facts, not lies, half-lies and myths, instead of constantly giving them a free walk. You do a disservice to the citizens of the world when you allow these lies to be spread in your medium unchallenged. Bruce Symington Medicine Hat, Alberta ***Apparently, Andrea Barthwell doesn’t realize that parolees get sent back to prison if they test positive for cannabis. As I’m sure would second or third time offenders for simple possession. There are plenty of people in prison for using cannabis. And plenty of lives and families torn apart due to criminal convictions for something that past presidents and many other politicians have admitted to doing. Nor does she realize that in 1986 the DEA heard a petition to have cannabis rescheduled, from Schedule I to Schedule II. The administrative law judge that heard the case was Judge Francis Young. In 1988, after an exhaustive two-year investigation into cannabis as medicine he concluded: "One must reasonably conclude that there IS accepted safety for use of marijuana under medical supervision. To conclude otherwise, on this record, would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious." "The cannabis plant considered as a whole HAS a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, there is NO LACK of accepted safety for use under medical supervision and it may lawfully be transferred from Schedule I to Schedule II. The judge recommends that the Administrator transfer cannabis." Here is a link to the complete ruling: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/YOUNG/young.html Please note that his judgment was overturned in appeals court based on a technicality, not based on error of facts. 
The technicality was that the person(s) bringing forward the petition had no right to because they weren’t being harmed by its current scheduling. Meaning, they, themselves, weren’t medical-marijuana patients. Sgt. Brad Fojtik can keep telling himself that cannabis has no medical value but he cannot deny the existence of the cannabinoid receptors in our brain that doctors around the world know are activated by the cannabinoids found in cannabis. We’ve had more than 80 years of propaganda. Enough is enough. Just Say KNOW. Scott Russ Baton Rouge, La. ***Andrea Barthwell of the White House Drug Czar’s office continues to spread misinformation about marijuana. Barthwell’s biggest whopper: "The people that have this [medical marijuana] as an agenda are not concerned for the sick or dying." Barthwell knows full well that legal access to medical marijuana is supported by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of HIV Medicine and hundreds of other medical and public health organizations. To claim that these groups don’t care about the sick and dying is a reprehensible lie. In a 1997 editorial, in no less than the New England Journal of Medicine — widely considered the world’s most prestigious medical journal — called the federal prohibition on medical use of marijuana "misguided, heavy-handed and inhumane," and called for marijuana’s legalization for medical use. It is Barthwell, not these respected medical organizations, who is spreading myths and falsehoods. Bruce Mirken Director of Communications Marijuana Policy Project San Francisco ***Had they insisted cannabis has no medical properties under oath, the Office of National Drug Control’s deputy director for demand reduction, Andrea Barthwell, and Sgt. Brad Fojtik of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Team could be charged with perjury. At a minimum, such fraudulent testimony is correctly dismissed as ignorance. It is a fact that the THC and CBD in cannabis ameliorate symptoms of nausea, pain and stress far safer than almost every legal medication or intoxicant on the market, even if smoked. In fact, two studies prove carcinogenic tumors were reduced when exposed to cannabinoids. The mantra that medical marijuana is a cruel hoax on the sick and dying is absurd, perhaps criminal, when one notes that millions die from smoked cigarettes. That Ms. Barthwell and her paid cronies wage war on American citizens while turning a blind eye to pending FDA regulation of cancer sticks as medical devices ought to be the subject of antitrust investigations. Note also that treason is defined by the Constitution as waging war on us, or providing aid and comfort to our enemies. Marijuana is not legally prohibited, and compared to incarceration, asset forfeiture and legal poisons, is relatively harmless. If you really believe all drug use is abuse, have another drink, and think it over. Jose Melendez DeLand ***I am ashamed that we are paying Dr. Andrea Barthwell to lie to us. A doctor should honestly know the truth about such a simple subject. The plain truth is that cannabis has not killed one person in the 5,000 years of its use. It is less addictive that cigarettes, and it is less mind-altering than alcohol. Why should it be so surprising that the plant, cannabis sativa, could be so medically beneficial when so may pharmaceutical drugs are derived from plants? It is because we have been told for more than 70 years that marijuana, the flower of cannabis, is a dangerous drug that will ruin lives. If cannabis were legalized, many jobs that depend on processing marijuana laws offenders would be lost. If cannabis were legalized, not one drug lord would make another penny from selling it. Because drug dealers don’t ask for I.D., children find it easier to buy marijuana than beer. If a person is concerned about children ruining their lives, please let them focus their argument on alcohol and homemade meth. Melanie Marshall Jacksonville Beach ***As I read through the list of myths in your Feb. 18 article, I couldn’t help but notice the omission of the biggest marijuana myth of all: Marijuana prohibition is an effective strategy to keep drugs out of the hands of children. Dr. Barthwell’s claims not withstanding, no credible drug law reform activist asserts marijuana is totally benign. Nor are we intent on "getting marijuana into the hands of more people," especially children. We do understand, however, that so long as there is no legal market where adults can obtain marijuana, criminal syndicates are more than willing to step in to fill the void. And unlike licensed, regulated vendors, drug dealers don’t check ID, making marijuana more available to children than are alcohol or tobacco. Maintaining the status quo of a never-ending Drug War Inc. protects the interests of drug criminals and the jobs of those doing the prohibiting. It does not keep drugs away from children. Sgt. Fojtik’s concluding comment inadvertently reveals much of what is wrong with our current strategy and why it hasn’t kept kids drug free, when he speaks of "what we’ve been trying to preach to our kids." Take it from me, a parent and a school counselor, when we "preach" to our kids, they tune us out. Sgt Fojtik may wish to start listening instead. Greg Francisco Educators for Sensible Drug Policies Paw Paw, Mich.
Medical Marijuana Information Links
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Comment #16 posted by E_Johnson on February 18, 2004 at 17:37:38 PT
But think of this VitaminT
"I agree that senseless insults are no way to open a dialog w/others but I find that most people who partake of discussions such as these usually develop a thick skin to strident words.
"Or maybe the people who are the most sensitive to rage and aggression end up feeling silenced and drop out of the discussion.
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Comment #15 posted by VitaminT on February 18, 2004 at 15:28:56 PT
E_J
Thanks for reading my post.My ad hoc renaming of Mr. Dean was intended to be discriptive of the fate of his campaign. He went from the proverbial House-Afire to well . . . . I harbor no Ill will towards the man or anyone who supports him.I agree that senseless insults are no way to open a dialog w/others but I find that most people who partake of discussions such as these usually develop a thick skin to strident words.To stay on point though, my characterization of Mr. Dean was not devoid of purpose as I have explained, nor was it spilling over with a wanton disregard for the feelings of others. My regret centers on the fact that, of my 300 or so words "Dink" is so far the only one to be found worthy of comment!?!I'm glad you're not subject to my almost daily remarks about GWB! Those tend to be far sharper and are spoken with the same sort of astringency as your comment to which I now respond. Your critique is well taken and I will keep it in mind when I feel the need to toss in my 2 cents.
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Comment #14 posted by observer on February 18, 2004 at 13:53:28 PT
Mythed, Again
Barthwell outlined "marijuana myths: ... Prisons are filled with marijuana users."Oh, I see. Prohibitionists like Barthwell fight any attempt to stop locking up pot smokers, because pot smokers are never locked up. Barthwell doesn't pass the straight face test. We all know that their whole stinking corrupted cesspool pork-barrel drug war rests on jailing pot smokers. We know it. Barthwell knows it. Every little pig on the beat and every DEA bureaucrat knows it. The drug war collapses into a fraction of what is is today, if the drug warriors stop going after pot smokers. It is in their vested interest to the extreme, to continue to jail pot smokers. Their own stats show it, over and over.''Marijuana offenders are referred for federal prosecution in greater numbers than any other drug offenders, according to a study released Sunday by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The authors reported that of the 38,288 suspects referred to U.S. attorneys in 1999 by federal law enforcement agencies, nearly one third were involved with marijuana.''
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4341So, Andrea Barthwell, White House Drug Propagandist, just out and lied to us again. Ho hum, What's new? 
marijuana news bot, 24/7
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Comment #13 posted by E_Johnson on February 18, 2004 at 11:37:42 PT
VitaminT
I am really very seriously very sick and very tired of name calling and insults in politics.I don't care whose side you're on -- I hate it.I would have censored you for saying Howard Dink, and I don't even like Dean.That's how sick and disgusted I am with the childish name calling and childish attitudes being expressed over very serious and very adult issues.When you write Howard Dink -- what effect are you aiming for?What you are aiming for when you write that is to intimidate people who support him.Name calling is done because it hurts and intimidates people.I don't want to hurt or intimidate the people on the other side. What putrpose does such behavior serve?To prove that we're stronger or something? What??????If we can't make our case calmly and rationally, then we can't make our case.I know why people feel compelled to use strong language and hate speech in this movement. Because we are hurting and feeling a lot of pain and fear that more mainstream people are not seeing.The way to handle pain and fear is to be an open huiman being and explain openly -- like a human being -- that the scurrent system is hurting people.Once you get obnixious and start trying to show how cool and powerful you are by tossing around insults --- people are going to forget all about the possibility that you might be in pain.Pure honesty is our best weapon.But you have to start by being honest with yourself, and confront the feelings of pain and fear within you that you are trying to mask with name calling and blustery macho bravado.
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Comment #12 posted by Truth on February 18, 2004 at 10:20:13 PT
pot doesn't kill
prohibition does http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/7979497.htm
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 18, 2004 at 09:46:38 PT
VitaminT
A little advice about comments on Kerry's board. If you are positive and show hope that Kerry might change the laws on Cannabis it should get posted by the moderators I believe. If they know you don't like Kerry they probably won't allow it to be posted because it could get nasty. 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on February 18, 2004 at 09:43:07 PT
VitaminT
I don't mind your posting your comment here. I just finished going over the 2 threads on Kerry's board that I have bookmarked. We stand a chance with Cannabis Reform if we keep the focus on Cannabis I believe. I haven't posted on the Kerry Board but I like reading how different people see the war on drugs and what they feel is important. A Cannabis thread would be ideal but I doubt that will happen.
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Comment #9 posted by VitaminT on February 18, 2004 at 09:37:02 PT
FoM if you don't mind
Since it appears that The John Kerry "Townhall" is censoring my posts because they found my first few comments to be critical of the Democratic Party and some of Kerry's positions, I'd like to post my comments here just so I won't feel that my effort was a total waste of time. Two of my posts were diverted to "moderators" or rather Censorators - folks reading here probably know that I'm not prone to needless profanity of wild personal attacks so I have to assume that they just want me to shut up for political reasons as I followed all the rules of common courtesy.Context: National Polls show Kerry and Bush tied 47% to 47% the other 6% includes many drug policy reformers who told Gore to take a hike in 2000 when he wouldn't even throw us the tiniest of bones!Censored Post:Al Gore Squandered his chance! He needed us but wouldn't stoop to ask for our votes.Now the party faithful whine on about Ralph Nader! I'm all choked up.Howard Dink bit the dust hard and it all started with Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana. They hammered him with simple questions and he gave all the wrong answers.Don't believe me? look at the polling data, 28% said they were LESS likely to vote for Dean because of his position on Medical Marijuana. He lost by a mile and he lives right next door to New Hampshire!?!It might make you mad Democrats, but sometimes you have to COMPROMISE - That means Give and Take, NOT just Take.Here are a few modest policy goals for the next four years:Acknowledge right of states to determine their own policies on Medical Marijuana.***Reschedule Marijuana (HR2233) or deschedule Marijuana (preferred)
***Promote research into the benefits of Cannabnoid therapies.
***Provide for Medical Necessity defense in Federal Courts (HR1717.)End all Federal prohibitions against the cultivation of Hemp for industrial purposes.***Hemp is not psychoactive
***Hemp is good food, fiber, fuel etc. Save the Family Farm!
***Hemp is an Ideal crop - no pesticides, no fertilizers, great for the environment.Release low level, non-violent drugwar POW's.***Return them to their Families and to Productive Life.
***Prison is expensive, needed only for Real criminals i.e. theives, rapists, killers...
***No more Police State in America!Legalize and support needle exchange programs.***HIV/AIDS can be stopped.
***Hep C can be stopped.
***DOES NOT INCREASE PREVAILENCE OF ABUSE! Ignorance must be stopped.Provide voluntary treatment on demand for the Drug and Alcohol dependent.***This and Mental Health Care are essential to our Medical System.
***Treatment is about 1/7 of the cost of prison!
***Pot smokers, by and large do not need treatment unless they ask for it.This list contains only those issues with broad popular support. It should contain the Elephant in the room: full debate on Pot decrim./Legalization but I'll leave that one for a second term just to make the first term super easy. If John Kerry can achieve any three of these five goals in his first term he will certainly have a second term.My apologies for the OT post, I feel better now.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 18, 2004 at 09:29:58 PT
darwin
Besides doing CNews I enjoy making web pages. I don't know how to do fancy things just a basic page and can't make graphics but it is fun and challenging. Good Luck to you!Thanks afterburner for the links!
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on February 18, 2004 at 09:23:09 PT:
Dr. Humphry Osmond remembered + Entheogenesis
CN BC: LSD Doctor Dies 16 Feb 2004 
Province, The (CN BC) 
http://www.mapinc.org/ccnews/v04/n282/a02.htmlSpeakers from the first annual Entheogenesis Conference [19 shows]
http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/series/pottvseries-124-0.html
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Comment #6 posted by darwin on February 18, 2004 at 09:18:10 PT
Thanks FOM
I don't know the URL yet, but it will be for the COHR.
I heard about them right here at cnews and volunteered to help.
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread17894.shtml
When It's finished, I'll post the link. 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 18, 2004 at 08:39:25 PT

darwin 
Please use the graphic. Post the link to your web site when it's ready and I will add it to my FTE web site. 
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Comment #4 posted by darwin on February 18, 2004 at 08:23:19 PT

Question for FOM
Fom, I am developing a local website for a ballot initiative and need graphics. Do I need permission from anyone to use some of the graphics you have used?
Specifically I would like to use the red cross picture on this page: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/research.htm
I wouldn't think anyone would care but I want to make sure before I put a bunch of work into it.
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Comment #3 posted by OverwhelmSam on February 18, 2004 at 08:22:28 PT:

I Agree
We need to restrict marijuana use by minors through legaliztion and regulation for adults.
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Comment #2 posted by cloud7 on February 18, 2004 at 08:05:19 PT

ummmm
• It is harmless. 
-- True myth, but it is insignificant compared to the harm caused by either alcohol or tobacco.• It is not addictive. 
-- True myth, but it has been shown to be less addictive than caffeine.• Youth experimentation is inevitable. 
-- This isnt a myth, as long as it is illegal, every high school will have a dealer and every student will have ready access.• We should legalize marijuana. 
-- This is a mistake, it must have got copied from the marijuana truths list.• Prisons are filled with marijuana users. 
-- Ok, maybe they arent "filled," but the fact is there are plenty of people in jail on marijuana charges being placed side by side with violent criminals.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 18, 2004 at 08:05:07 PT

News Brief from The Associated Press
Marijuana Advocates Attempt To Legalize Pot in Nevada, Again
 February 18, 2004Las Vegas, Nevada -- An initiative petition seeking to legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana will be filed with the secretary of state's office Wednesday despite a similar measure's sound defeat on the ballot in 2002.The Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana will attempt to make Nevada the first state in the nation to legalize possession of marijuana. The initiative must qualify by June 15, and represent at least 10 percent of the voters in 13 of Nevada's 17 counties to qualify.Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. 

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