cannabisnews.com: Feds' Myths About Medical Marijuana Feds' Myths About Medical Marijuana Posted by FoM on September 06, 2000 at 09:35:39 PT By Marsha Rosenbaum Source: San Francisco Chronicle Studies dispel arguments that passage of Prop. 215 led to increased teen drug use. Four years ago, when Californians were about to vote on Proposition 215, the medical marijuana initiative, opponents predicted that if seriously ill patients were allowed to use marijuana, recreational use among young people would increase. Drug czar Barry McCaffrey warned: ``Teens stop using drugs when they become aware of the risks involved. Sending them the wrong message that marijuana is medicine will cause drug use to skyrocket.` Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services released its annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. As a Californian and mother of a 16-year-old boy, I read with keen interest the data on teenage use of marijuana. Here's what I learned. In 1999, just under 8 percent of the nation's 12- to 17-year- olds used marijuana regularly. In California, the percentage was identical. Despite the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes in the Golden State, in each subsequent year California teenagers have ranked about average compared to the rest of the country. In 1997, the year after the initiative passed, almost 7 percent of California teenagers used marijuana regularly, compared with nearly 9 percent nationwide. And in 1998, there was not much difference, with just over 7 percent of California's 12- to 17-year-olds using marijuana regularly, compared with 8 percent of the nation's teenagers. As it turns out, the sky did not fall, and the predicted spike in marijuana use among teenagers never materialized. But Californians would never know it, because we're not supposed to. In 1997, immediately after the passage of the medical marijuana initiative, a study was commissioned by the federal govern ment's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to demonstrate the (presumably negative) implications of Proposition 215. But the results of that study indicated that although marijuana use rose among high school students in other parts of the country, use actually leveled off in California after passage of the initiative. The report was suppressed, and according to its author, Professor Rodney Skager of the UCLA Graduate School of Education, ``I wonder if (the report) will ever see the light of day. Two years have passed since delivery of the first draft. People in the sponsoring agency undoubtedly fear the consequences of release of the data. The findings are politically incorrect because federal propaganda about the medical marijuana initiative insisted that passage would send the wrong message to young people.'' Indeed, young people are getting all kinds of ``wrong messages'' about marijuana. And many are confused, which is not surprising. As high school civics teachers lecture about democracy, students are witnessing a thwarting of ``the will of the people'' in the name of protecting them. Last week, the Supreme Court weighed in. By a 7-to-1 vote, the court responded to an ``emergency'' request by the Department of Justice to prohibit the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative from distributing marijuana to its (fewer than 20) medical necessity patients who are extremely, even terminally ill. Evidently, the Clinton administration pursuaded most Supreme Court justices that medicinal use by the sick and dying will result in compromising our ability to enforce our drug laws and marijuana-is-evil posture. The one dissenting voice was that of Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the government ``has failed to demonstrate that the denial of necessary medicine to seriously ill and dying patients will advance the public interest or that the failure to enjoin the distribution of such medicine will impair the orderly enforcement of federal criminal statutes.'' Justice Stevens is right. If the statistics collected by our government tell us anything, it is that there is no relationship whatsoever between providing medicine to sick people and erosion of our ability to enforce our drug laws. Last year alone, some 700,000 individuals were arrested on marijuana charges (87 percent for simple possession) -- more than any other year in our history, and more than any other country in the world. As for ``the public interest,'' marijuana use in the general population remained constant last year, if not in decline. If any messages have been sent to young people, they are that our system of government does not reflect voters' decisions when those decisions are inconsistent with federal dogma. The reality is that medical marijuana, this small step toward rational drug policy, has not resulted in increased teenage use or in fewer arrests in the general population. What surely has increased among young people is cynicism and mistrust of our government's drug policy. Marsha Rosenbaum, Ph.D., directs the San Francisco office of the Lindesmith Center- Drug Policy Foundation, http://www.drugpolicy.org/ an institute based in New York. By Marsha RosenbaumPublished: Wednesday, September 6, 2000 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Copyright: 2000 San Francisco ChronicleContact: chronletters sfgate.com Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/Related Article:Survey Finds Teens Using Cigarettes, Drugs Lesshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6898.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Kanabys on September 07, 2000 at 06:45:50 PT I'd like to shove it..... Down McCrappie's throat. "Teen usage will skyrocket". How much crap can one individual deal out? It didn't happen in the Netherlands, why should it happen here? I like this newpaper. This nation needs more like it to tell the REAL truth about things. Peace [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Frank on September 06, 2000 at 19:02:41 PT It's Non Narcotic and Safe I hurt my back last week and went to the emergency room. The physician gave me a shot of morphine. Am I a drug addict? I hope this action by the physician doesn’t give the “wrong message to kids.” The morphine just helped the terrible pain I had. After receiving the morphineI did not steal my Grandmother’s china or rob a liquor store to get more. Why can a physician administer morphine and not prescribe marijuana if required? The definition of a narcotic is this:1. Suppress repiration with a increasing doses2. It’s water soluble3. It has nitrogen in its molecular structure Marijuana is non-narcotic, as it does not fit the criterion that defines a narcotic. People need this medication for their health stop this insane war against a helpful herb.God damn the Government who would let people die of pain. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Martin on September 06, 2000 at 17:08:59 PT: Convenient Politics.... This study shows that the American people who do elect these "high brows," to DO work FOR them possess at least a modicum of common sense and a more than bleak amount of intelligence. The conservative movement in this Country hoists their hefty Elephant laden flag atop their most sacred of ALL platform planks , that being States Rights. They then turn around 180 degrees and saying NO to States where initiative for the use of Medical Marijuana has become LAW... Is there anything crazy looking about this notion?Power to the States and their residents respectively, say the conservatives except in the case where States and their residents choices do not agree with their consevative views respectfully.... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by observer on September 06, 2000 at 14:36:38 PT The Message to The Children If any messages have been sent to young people...This "message to the kids" line is most obviously a flimsy lie. a) since when do kids' misunderstandings become reasons to jail adults? b) given that "the message to the kids" is rationale for jailing adults, who gets to decide what "the message" is that "the children" hear concerning a goven policy?c) besides cannabis policy, when else are adults ever jailed to (supposedly) avoid confusing the kids? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: