The "Pain And Suffering Index" Is High For Many In U.S.

(The photo of Dan Rather is from his Facebook page.)

Donald Trump likes to brag about how well the Sack Market is doing. That is good for the rich, but has little to do with the lives of most Americans. Dan Rather thinks we should be considering something different -- the Pain And Suffering Index of ordinary Americans. He writes:

President Trump and his allies like to crow about the record highs in the stock market. But what if there was a different kind of index with which we could take stock of the health of our republic? Let's call it a pain and suffering index. How would that be doing today?

Is it a bull market or a bear market for the anxiety of the hundreds of thousands of "dreamers" who fear for their future as Washington plays political games? What is the value of the stock of hardship for the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who are still living without electricity - or those others still suffering in the wake of natural disasters in the US Virgin Islands, Texas, Florida, and the wildfire (and now mudslide) regions out West? What would we see if we could measure the stock of the millions of Americans of the Muslim faith who wonder if this nation still believes in religious freedom, or those immigrants from countries who the President disparaged with profanity? What about the millions of Americans who worry about losing their newfound health insurance? Or the vast majority in this country who understand that the future of this planet is at risk with climate change?I think it's fair to say that the stocks in safety and security plummeted recently in Hawaii when it seemed that a nuclear weaponized missile was hurtling their way. 

The list could go on and on. I personally feel it every day. And I know that I am much more fortunate in my circumstances than most of my fellow citizens. Even though I am a newsman I wake up each morning with a certain dread at what new crisis or catastrophe broke overnight. I know that when someone asks me, "have you heard the latest?" my heart skips a couple beats. Each buzz of the phone leads to a brief gasp of "oh no." 

There is an onslaught of negativity, norm breaking, and recklessness. I think even some of Mr. Trump's most ardent supporters feel the shattering of a sense of peace. Judging from the campaign rallies, that's what they seemed to be voting for. Well here we have it.

All I can hope and believe is that, as with business cycles, this cycle of pain will pass. Sadly, for some, they will lose their life savings of peace of mind in the process. It will be up to the rest of us to rebuild an economy of trust, empathy, and healing. 

I have found myself trying to take many more walks lately - even in the cold of a New York City winter. I breath in and deeply. And the stock ticker of anxiety fades for a while. I can remember a time when we had a president who didn't seem to cast a shadow over almost every recess of our minds - and I can picture a future where the stocks of sanity and equilibrium are once again in ascendence.

Marijuana Not Only Has Medicinal Value - It Saves Lives

(The cartoon image above was found in The Oklahoma Observer.)

Ever since the federal government made marijuana illegal to possess in the 1930's, they have been claiming that marijuana has no medical value -- and because of that claim, they made it a Schedule I drug (like heroin) and came down hard on those who would use it. Of course that was a lie.

People have known for many centuries that the gentle herb known as cannabis (marijuana) has many medicinal uses. But the government couldn't admit that -- because if they did, then the public would never have allowed it to be made illegal. The truth is that marijuana is not dangerous (probably the least dangerous drug known to mankind), and has many medicinal uses.

Marijuana was not made illegal because it had no medicinal use, or because it is a dangerous drug (because neither of those claims is true). It was made illegal so it could be used as a social weapon against minorities (and after the 1960's) against young people -- the groups that might challenge the policies of the White power structure. It was a tool to quash social unrest.

But now at least half of all Americans have tried marijuana (and probably even more than that, since many people won't admit to breaking a law -- even in the past). And these people know they have been lied to about marijuana. They realize that it is not a dangerous drug, and they are starting to understand it has many medicinal uses. That's why a growing number of states are starting to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Now we learn, through a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, that in the states with legal medical marijuana, that marijuana use as an analgesic may actually be saving thousands of lives. Those states offer marijuana as an alternative to other painkillers -- painkillers that can not only have serious side effects, but can easily be overdosed (causing death). Marijuana cannot be overdosed and has no side effects (other than a gentle euphoria).

The study was done between 1999 and 2010, and it showed the states which had medical marijuana (13 states during that time period) had a lower percentage of overdose deaths among those trying to treat their pain. Dr. Marcus Bachhuber (the study's lead author) said, "We found there was about a 25% lower rate of prescription painkiller overdose deaths on average after implementation of a medical marijuana law."

The study found that those 13 states have about 1,700 fewer overdose deaths than would have been expected without the medical marijuana laws (using statistics from before those laws were passed). That's an average reduction in overdose deaths of 131 for each of those 13 states. Just imagine. If all 50 states had a medical marijuana law during that period, more than 6,500 deaths could have been prevented.

This means our ridiculous prohibition of marijuana is not only making criminals of otherwise honest and hard-working citizens, and costing our governments huge sums of money -- it is actually costing thousands of lives. I personally believe marijuana should be legal for use by adults and taxed -- but at the very least, it should be made legal for medicinal purposes in all 50 states as soon as possible. All people trying to control serious pain (from a variety of sources) should have the option of using this far safer drug.