WAR ON DRUGS:
Prohibition strengthens pot
This is in response to Monday's "Expert Opinion" (Today's marijuana stronger than pot of the 1960s," Health section).
The article mentions an increase in young people abusing prescription drugs. Is anyone surprised by that? Hey, at least they aren't smoking evil pot, right? Great job, government. Demonize the one natural plant that can't possibly kill our kids or anyone else and constantly advertise to kids the nifty little pharmaceutical drugs that will kill them. They're OK, right? They came from a government-licensed pharmacy, after all.
Speaking of pot, addiction expert Beth Gregory drags out the tired, old argument that this is not your father's marijuana, saying it's more potent and can be laced with other illicit drugs. What she and others fail to see is that increased strength and adulterated products are a direct result of the prohibitionist laws they support.
Back during alcohol Prohibition, people went from drinking beer and wine to drinking whiskey. Why? Because whiskey was more concentrated, stronger and easier to smuggle and hide from the "revenuers." It's no different with illicit drugs.
During Prohibition, we also had bathtub gin and gut-rot whiskey that would kill people or make them go blind. Adulterated marijuana is a direct result of drug prohibition. With no market or safety regulations in place, you never know what you'll get. Whenever something is driven underground, this is what happens.
If you are a supporter of drug prohibition, you are getting exactly what you asked for.
Loretta Nall
Alexander City
Drug dealers have the control:
In a recent article ("Today's marijuana stronger than pot of the 1960s," Monday Health), an addiction expert said the marijuana of today is laced with formaldehyde, pills and cocaine. It would appear that if it was legal, regulated and controlled, we wouldn't have that problem.
The way it is now, the drug dealers have all the control. They control what and who they sell to.
Dawn Palmer
Tarrant
Drug use goes through trends:
The Birmingham News is right to report the recent news from the Monitoring the Future survey about teen drug use. Unfortunately, News staff writer Dave Parks made the all-too-common error of accepting without question the statements coming from the government about drugs and their use and abuse.
Statistics are so easily manipulated. If one takes the government data and, instead of comparing today's numbers against a year suitable in portraying the numbers they want us to see, compares the most recent numbers against 1991, drug use has risen in almost all categories. Drug use goes through trends. What was popular in 2007 won't be popular in 2012.
As to the alleged increase in cannabis (marijuana) potency: There has always been pot with high THC content. Today, because the war on drugs has achieved the exact opposite of its intended purpose, there is so much pot available that among that which is seized, there is more high grade compared to the 1960s and '70s. (Trust me; I was there.)
The government's war on drugs actually places our children in harm's way more than it protects them.
Allan Erickson
Drug Policy Forum
of Oregon
Eugene, Ore.
3 comments:
Tha's funny they say pot is more potent,i have been smoking it for 25 years,doesn't seem more potent now. even if it is,alcohol will kill more people in one day,than pot has in the last 25 YEARS! ALCOHOL IS A DRUG!
Great job ladies (and gentleman) :)
A pleasure to join you on the printed page Loretta!
And thanks for calling me a gentleman Christie... my mother would be proud.
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