cannabisnews.com: Potheads, Puritans and Pragmatists





Potheads, Puritans and Pragmatists
Posted by CN Staff on October 17, 2006 at 21:42:49 PT
By Jacob Sullum
Source: Town Hall.com
USA -- Nevada is known for gambling, 24-hour liquor sales and legal prostitution. Yet the main group opposing Question 7, an initiative on the state's ballot next month that would allow the sale and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults 21 or older, is called the Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable. In Colorado, opponents of Amendment 44, which would eliminate penalties for adults possessing an ounce or less of marijuana, are equally certain of their own rectitude. "Those who want to legalize drugs weaken our collective struggle against this scourge," declares the Colorado Drug Investigators Association. "Like a cancer, proponents for legalization eat away at society's resolve and moral fiber."
To sum up, smoking pot is less respectable than a drunken gambling spree followed by a visit to a hooker, while people who think adults shouldn't be punished for their choice of recreational intoxicants are like a tumor that will kill you unless it's eradicated. In the face of such self-righteous posturing, the marijuana initiatives' backers have refused to cede the moral high ground, a strategy from which other activists can learn. The Nevada campaign, which calls itself the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, emphasizes the advantages of removing marijuana from the black market, where regulation and control are impossible, and allowing adults to obtain the drug from licensed, accountable merchants. To signal that a legal market does not mean anything goes, the initiative increases penalties for injuring people while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The "regulate and control" message has attracted public support from more than 30 Nevada religious leaders. The list includes not just the usual suspects -- Unitarian Universalist ministers and Reform rabbis -- but also representatives of more conservative groups, such as Lutherans and Southern Baptists. "I don't think using marijuana is a wise choice for anyone," says the Rev. William C. Webb, senior pastor of Reno's Second Baptist Church. "Drugs ruin enough lives. But we don't need our laws ruining more lives. If there has to be a market for marijuana, I'd rather it be regulated with sensible safeguards than run by violent gangs and dangerous drug dealers." Troy Dayton of the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative, who was largely responsible for persuading Webb and the other religious leaders to back Question 7, notes that support from members of the clergy, which was important in repealing alcohol prohibition, "forces a reframing of the issue." It's no longer a contest between potheads and puritans. The Colorado campaign, which goes by the name SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation), emphasizes that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and asks, "Should adults be punished for making the rational choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol?" This approach puts prohibitionists on the defensive by asking them to justify the disparate legal treatment of the two drugs. So far they have not been up to the task. Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger has implicitly conceded marijuana itself is not so bad by implausibly linking it to methamphetamine. In a televised debate with SAFER's Mason Tvert, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers insisted "the only acceptable alternative to intoxication is sobriety." That's fine for those who avoid all psychoactive substances as a matter of principle. But since most people -- including Suthers, who acknowledges drinking -- like using chemicals to alter their moods and minds, it's reasonable to ask for some consistency in the law's treatment of those chemicals, especially at a time when police are arresting a record number of Americans (nearly 787,000 last year) for marijuana offenses. Despite a hard push by federal, state and local drug warriors who have been telling voters in Nevada and Colorado that failing to punish adults for smoking pot will "send the wrong message" to children, the latest polls indicate most are unpersuaded. Perhaps they worry about the message sent by the current policy of mindless intolerance. Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine and a contributing columnist on Townhall.com. Complete Title: Potheads, Puritans and Pragmatists: Two Marijuana Initiatives Put Drug Warriors on The DefensiveSource: Town Hall.com (DC)Author: Jacob SullumPublished: Wednesday, October 18, 2006Copyright: 2006 King Features SyndicateContact: info townhall.com Website: http://www.townhall.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/Regulate and Control Marijuanahttp://www.regulatemarijuana.org/ Nevadans To Vote on Legalizing Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22294.shtmlHigh Time for Pot Law, Supporters Sayhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22286.shtmlClergy Supports Effort To Legalize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22235.shtml
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Comment #15 posted by whig on October 18, 2006 at 10:38:17 PT
Sadly, No!
If you don't really have time to plow through all of TownHall.com or just want to find out what's going on over there without having to make yourself upset and angry.http://sadlyno.com/archives/3997.html
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on October 18, 2006 at 10:35:45 PT
Two More Articles on Alzheimer's Disease
Marijuana Against Alzheimer’s Disease?***Oct. 18, 2006Courtesy Ohio State University 
and World Science StaffA rat study sug­gests chem­i­cals in ma­ri­jua­na may slow the mem­o­ry loss of Alzheimer’s dis­ease, re­search­ers say.Added to signs that pot-smoking vet­er­ans of the 1960s and 1970s drug cul­ture rare­ly de­vel­op the dev­as­tat­ing con­di­tion, they add, the find­ings could point to new av­e­nues for Alz­hei­m­er’s treat­ment. 
 
Re­search­ers want to de­vel­op a drug with ma­ri­jua­na’s ben­e­fi­cial pro­p­er­ties, but with­out the mind-al­t­er­ing ef­fects, said Ga­ry Wenk of Ohio State Uni­ver­si­ty in Co­lum­bus, Ohio, one of the sci­en­tists.The key to ma­ri­jua­na’s ben­e­fit, he ad­ded, may be its strong ef­fect against chron­ic in­flam­ma­tion, wide­ly be­lieved to be a ma­jor fac­tor in Alz­hei­m­er’s. “In­flam­ma­tion in the brain is part of ag­ing,” he said. “It hap­pens to al­most all of us... But in some cases, this in­flam­ma­tion gets out of hand and causes se­ri­ous da­m­age.”Treat­ment with a syn­thet­ic com­pound si­m­i­lar to ma­ri­jua­na re­duced in­flam­ma­tion in old­er rats and made them “smart­er,” he added. “The com­pound sub­stan­tial­ly im­proved the mem­o­ries of the old­er rats, [who] were able to hold on to key de­tails of a spe­cif­ic task. Un­treat­ed old­er rats, on the oth­er hand, were not.”***Marijuana May Slow Progression of Alzheimer's Disease
Libraries***Description:New evidence in rats suggests that marijuana may contain compounds that slow the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Marijuana has strong anti-inflammatory effects, and many researchers believe that there is a compelling link between chronic inflammation and the progression of Alzheimer’s.  
 
 Newswise — New evidence in rats suggests that marijuana may contain compounds that slow the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease.Marijuana has strong anti-inflammatory effects, and many researchers believe that there is a compelling link between chronic inflammation and the progression of Alzheimer’s, said Gary Wenk, a study co-author and a professor of psychology at Ohio State University.“Inflammation in the brain is part of aging,” Wenk said. “It happens to almost all of us as we age. But in some cases, this inflammation gets out of hand and causes serious damage.”Treatment with a synthetic compound similar to marijuana reduced inflammation in older rats in addition to making the animals “smarter,” said Wenk, who is also a professor of neuroscience and molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics.“The compound substantially improved the memories of the older rats,” he said. “These animals were able to hold on to key details of a specific task. Untreated older rats, on the other hand, were not.”http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/524250/
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Comment #13 posted by Max Flowers on October 18, 2006 at 10:00:44 PT
The name of that town is 
HATESVILLE
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Comment #12 posted by dongenero on October 18, 2006 at 06:52:24 PT
Hope's link
The commentary on politicians faux acceptance of responsibility was excellent.The peanut gallery comments certainly indicate an infestation of closed mind, robotic neocon pundits. Why don't they just stick to Fox News where they will not have to worry about hearing an opposing (honest) viewpoint.
I think it would be less aggravating for them.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on October 18, 2006 at 05:55:52 PT
All You Need is Love La La La La La
I didn't check out the link because neocons like to rain on my parade and I don't like having my parade rained on. LOL!One of those neocons was on a news show the other night and it might have been the author of the article and I was surprised that he voted for Kerry the last election. There might be some nice neocons but they sure are hard to find. 
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on October 18, 2006 at 04:45:47 PT
Bitterness? Bile? Hatred?
Anyone?If you need a dose...it's usually pretty easy to locate at TownHall.com.
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on October 18, 2006 at 04:43:56 PT
Sorry, BGreen...
It is rather vile. Townhall comments often have an "off" note, seems to me.
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Comment #8 posted by BGreen on October 18, 2006 at 04:30:22 PT
Yuck!
I feel really dirty after following that link, Hope. It was gross. I recognized some of those names and now I'm going to have to shower to wash away their filth.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on October 18, 2006 at 03:37:08 PT
Fine example of how TownHallers tend to talk.
http://tinyurl.com/y99pe6
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on October 18, 2006 at 03:23:40 PT
Well said, Mr. Sullum
 "To sum up, smoking pot is less respectable than a drunken gambling spree followed by a visit to a hooker, while people who think adults shouldn't be punished for their choice of recreational intoxicants are like a tumor that will kill you unless it's eradicated. In the face of such self-righteous posturing, the marijuana initiatives' backers have refused to cede the moral high ground, a strategy from which other activists can learn."
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on October 18, 2006 at 03:11:21 PT
 "mindless intolerance"
This is a positive article.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on October 18, 2006 at 03:01:09 PT
Jacob Sullum
though...I didn't think was one.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on October 18, 2006 at 02:58:46 PT
TownHall.com
is pretty much a Neo-Con hell hole.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on October 18, 2006 at 02:57:38 PT
Cancer
Prohibition itself reminds me of a "cancer" on the spirit and soul of this dear country. It's just about consumed all that we were or all that we were supposed to be. The drug war itself has done more harm to this country and this people than the drugs they claim to be warring on.
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on October 18, 2006 at 02:51:29 PT
re: certain of their own rectitude
"Those who want to legalize drugs weaken our collective struggle against this scourge," declares the Colorado Drug Investigators Association. "Like a cancer, proponents for legalization eat away at society's resolve and moral fiber." The sky will fall and it will mean the end of Western Civilization.
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