Not Allowing Marijuana For Medical Use Is Just Wrong

Back in the 1930s, the United States government made marijuana illegal -- both for recreational use and for medical use. And in the 1970s, the Nixon administration doubled-down on that by declaring a "war on drugs" (and made marijuana one of the primary drugs they attacked).

The reason they gave for making marijuana illegal was that it was a dangerous drug. At the time, many people accepted that, but we now know it was just a lie to get people to accept the law. Marijuana is probably the safest drug known to man -- a drug that cannot cause death by overdose, and is much safer that almost every legal drug.

The truth is that the law wasn't passed because marijuana was dangerous. It was passed as a tool for social control -- first for the control of Blacks and Hispanics, and then later for White counter-culture young people. Fortunately, people are starting to realize that the government lied to them. More now know marijuana is not dangerous, and should never have been labeled as a dangerous drug.

But that was not the only lie the government told about marijuana. They also claimed there was no legitimate medical use for marijuana. That laughable, because marijuana has been used for medical purposes for thousands of years. And most doctors today will admit that marijuana has properties that can be used to treat many medical conditions.

Now we learn that marijuana may be even more medically useful than even its supporters knew. The federal government now admits that marijuana may well be useful in the treatment of cancer -- a vicious disease that afflicts far too many people in this country (and the world). Take note of this quote from a report by the National Institute of Health's National Cancer Institute (a U.S. government agency):

Antitumor activity

• Studies in mice and rats have shown that cannabinoids may inhibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow. Laboratory and animal studieshave shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.
• A study in mice showed that cannabinoids may protect against inflammation of the colon and may have potential in reducing the risk of colon cancer, and possibly in its treatment. 
• A laboratory study of delta-9-THC in hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cells showed that it damaged or killed the cancer cells. The same study of delta-9-THC in mouse models of liver cancer showed that it had antitumor effects. Delta-9-THC has been shown to cause these effects by acting on molecules that may also be found in non-small cell lung cancer cells and breast cancer cells.
• A laboratory study of cannabidiol (CBD) in estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative breast cancer cells showed that it caused cancer cell death while having little effect on normal breast cells. Studies in mouse models of metastatic breast cancer showed that cannabinoids may lessen the growth, number, and spread of tumors.
• A laboratory study of cannabidiol (CBD) in human glioma cells showed that when given along with chemotherapy, CBD may make chemotherapy more effective and increase cancer cell death without harming normal cells. Studies in mouse models of cancer showed that CBD together with delta-9-THC may make chemotherapy such as temozolomidemore effective.

We already knew that marijuana was very effective for cancer patients in combating nausea, treating pain, and restoring appetite after radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Now it looks like it could be an effective treatment in killing off cancer cells.

Personally, I think marijuana should be legalized for possession and use by any adults. But one thing is becoming very clear -- that denying sick people the medicinal benefits of marijuana is unethical and immoral. Marijuana should, at the very least, be legalized for medical use in every state. And the federal government should investigate much more thoroughly the medical uses for this wonder drug.

The Racist Roots Of Marijuana Prohibition

The man in the picture above is Harry Anslinger. He was a racist. He was also the "father" of marijuana prohibition in the United States. More than any other single person, Anslinger was responsible for the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 -- the law that made marijuana illegal, and has ruined the lives of countless Americans simply for using the harmless herb. He didn't do it because marijuana was a danger to anyone, because there was no evidence that was true (and still isn't). He wanted the law so he and other racists could have a tool to keep minorities "in their place".

And the law worked well for them. Although minorities have never used marijuana in greater numbers than whites, a far larger percentage of them have been arrested and convicted for its possession and use. And that continues to this day. A study by the American Civil liberties Union found that while Blacks and Whites use marijuana at the same rate, Blacks are more than four times likely to be arrested for it -- and in some states, that climbs to eight times as likely. Between 2001 and 2010, there were 8 million people arrested for marijuana in the United States, most for possession of small amounts of the harmless drug -- and a huge majority of those arrests were of minorities.

With the civil unrest of the 1960s and 1970s, the government began to also use marijuana prohibition as a tool to control young radicals, many of whom were white. But even that didn't change the fact that the laws were, and still are, used as a tool to control minorities.

Many in this country like to think we have solved the problem of racism, but that is far from true. Some progress has been made, but as long as racist tools are still in effect (like marijuana prohibition) they will be used by both open and closeted racists against minorities. We must get rid of these unfair and racist tools -- and a good place to start would be to get rid of marijuana prohibition. It would have many positive effects on this country -- not the least of which would be to take this tool out of the hands of racists, thus creating more fairness and equality for minorities.

Prohibition Doesn't Work

Will Rogers had a great talent for exposing the truth in a humorous way. Sadly, we are still making the same mistakes. The prohibition against marijuana is even stupider the the prohibition against alcohol was, because marijuana doesn't cause the medical or social problems associated with alcohol. When is this country going to realize that prohibition simply doesn't work?

Is It Moral Or Not ?

This nation has changed a lot since I was a young man. Things that were once considered immoral have now moved over to being moral for a majority of the American public. For instance, having sex without being married, gambling, engaging in homosexual behavior, and divorce, all used to be considered to be immoral. But now, a clear majority of Americans consider these to be moral actions. This is a good sign for our society, because it means that more Americans are thinking for themselves instead of letting some preacher do it for them. And they are beginning to realize that good is not determined by some book -- but by what makes people happy (as long as no one else is hurt).

A recent Gallup Poll asked people to rate a list of activities as to whether they were moral or not. The survey was conducted between May 2nd and 7th of a nationwide random sample of 1,535 adults -- with a 3 point margin of error. Here is what they found:

Of course morality and legality are two separate things. Some might expect that people would want things they consider immoral to also be illegal, but that is not true. Take for instance the last item on the list above -- married men and women having an affair. A whopping 91% of the public thinks that is immoral behavior, but I doubt that very many of that huge majority would want that to be illegal (considered criminal behavior).

Abortion is much the same. While 42% consider it moral and 49% consider it immoral, poll after poll has shown that a significant majority of Americans agree it should be legal (with limitations such as are contained in Roe vs. Wade).

Too often in the past, our leaders have thought they could legislate morality by making behavior they considered immoral to be also illegal. Prohibition of alcohol was one excellent example, and it turned out to be a massive failure (just like our current drug prohibition). I am hopeful that the above chart shows many Americans are starting to realize that morality can't be legislated -- even if many of our elected officials are still blind to that reality.

Prohibition Enriches Powerful Groups

Making and keeping marijuana illegal (both for medical and recreational purposes) has never made any sense. Marijuana is a natural substance with healing properties, and without any of the detrimental physical effects of other drugs (including those drugs legal for all adults). The only reason it has been kept illegal is because there are powerful groups in this country who make millions off it remaining illegal -- and they are willing to spend heavily to keep it that way by spreading lies and propaganda. It is time for all of America to follow the lead of Colorado and Washington -- and end marijuana prohibition.

Marijuana Is Medicine

The federal government wants Americans to believe that there is no medical use for marijuana. That is a lie! They keep telling that lie because they must justify one of the worst decisions and laws that was ever made to "protect" Americans. As the top graphic above shows, there are several medical uses for this gentle herb. In addition, some studies (suppressed by the government) have shown that marijuana may also be effective in curing many types of cancer.

And marijuana is not only medically effective for many ailments, it is also the safest drug we know of -- safer that almost all of the drugs currently being sold to the public, including the supposedly safe over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol.

It is time to end marijuana prohibition.

A Second Massive Failure

In 1971, the United States declared a war on drugs. In the 40 years since that time, well over $1 trillion has been spent and the prison population has ballooned over 800% (causing massive new spending to build new prisons and take care of the ever-growing prison population). It has gotten to the point that the United States now has the largest prison population in the world -- both in absolute numbers and in prisoners as a percentage of the population. We now jail more people than countries known for having a police state.

And what do we get for all this spending and incarceration? Nothing. The so-called "war on drugs" hasn't reduced drug use in this country or impeded the flow of drugs into the country. It has been a massive and total failure -- and yet our government continues it as though something were being accomplished.

We should have learned a lesson the first time this country tried Prohibition and outlawed the production, possession and use of alcohol. It was also a failure. All it did was to create a new black market that funneled millions of dollars into organized crime (and creating fighting and violence over that black market). That prohibition was repealed because people realized that the better path was to regulate, alcohol and tax it, and set up rehabilitation centers for those who developed an addiction (alcoholism).

But we didn't learn from that failed attempt at Prohibition of a drug, and now we have recreated the same conditions -- with a new black market, crime cartels, and violence over who will control that black market. Drug possession and use should never have been criminalized. It is much more a medical problem than a criminal one. And it can be handled much more effectively by education, regulation, taxation, and rehabilitation.

You cannot solve a social and medical problem by criminalizing it. When will we finally realize that, and repeal this second failed attempt at Prohibition?

$1 Trillion Wasted - Nothing Accomplished

Back in 1970, President Richard Nixon was having a lot of trouble trying to get something (anything!) accomplished in Vietnam. So he decided to wage a war that he thought he could win, and most of the American populace would support -- a war on drugs. He signed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. He said, "Public enemy no. 1 in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive."

Nixon budgeted $100 million, and the "war on drugs" was off and running. Unfortunately, this new "war on drugs" was as flawed and ill-conceived as his plan to burglarize the Watergate Building. President after president took up the same war, and each one upped the amount of money sunk into the program. Now it is 40 years later, and the only thing that has been accomplished is the spending of over a trillion dollars on this exercise in futility. That money has not slowed down the import of drugs into this country or the use of the illegal drugs.

The current United States Drug Czar, Gil Kerlikowske, admits as much. He says, "In the grand scheme, it has not been successful. Forty years later, the concern about drugs and drug problems is, if anything, magnified, intensified."

His predecessor, John P. Walters, is more hard-headed. He claims, "To say that all the things that have been done in the war on drugs haven't made any difference is ridiculous. It destroys everything we've done. It's saying all the people involved in law enforcement, treatment and prevention have been wasting their time. It's saying all these people's work is misguided."

Well, yes. That's exactly what the last 40 years of the "war on drugs" has shown. Much of the work is misguided -- especially the money spent on interdiction, arrest, incarceration and forced drug programs. This approach simply does not work. How many more years and how much more money must we waste before we realize that?

It is said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat that history, and that is obviously true with prohibition. We should have learned from the first time it was tried in this country in the 1920s, when alcohol was outlawed. That did not prevent the use of alcohol. Anyone who really wanted it could still get it. All it did was create a huge black market that made underworld gangs rich and much more powerful. It also increased the violence of these underworld gangs as they struggled to control that black market, and many times that violence spilled over to affect innocent people.

Our second attempt at prohibition, the "war on drugs", has done exactly the same thing. It has not stopped or decreased drug use. Anyone who really wants to use drugs can easily get them. It has also enriched underworld gangs (we now call them "drug cartels") and made them very powerful. And it has increased the violence connected with those gangs, with much of that violence spilling over to affect innocent people. And it is all caused by the "war on drugs".

We had the chance to learn the horrors of prohibition the first time we tried it, but we didn't. And our failure to learn from past mistakes has been devastating both financially and socially. It does not matter whether the prohibited drug is alcohol, marijuana or some other drug, the effect of the prohibition is the same.

There were those opposed to legalizing alcohol again. They said it would be terrible for the country, because alcohol use would rise sharply. They were wrong. Education programs alerted people to the effects of alcohol overuse and abuse, and treatment programs did wonders for those who wanted treatment for that abuse. Meanwhile, millions continued to use alcohol recreationally, just as they had under prohibition, without ill effects.

It is just a regrettable fact of life that some will abuse any recreational substance. However, that can be controlled by education and treatment programs. In a free country, we should not punish the millions who use the substances in a controlled and recreational way. And we certainly shouldn't criminalize those hard-working and decent people (especially because of the use of harmless substances like marijuana). Legalizing drugs will not destroy our society any more than legalizing alcohol did. Those who want it will get it (just as they do now) and those who don't won't.

Instead of spending another trillion dollars trying to stop drug use and failing (while the drug cartels get richer and more violent), wouldn't it make more sense to legalize drugs and then tax the hell out of them? Let those drugs pay not only for treatment programs and education, but also many other government functions. It would not only mean less taxes of other kinds, but it would also create many legal jobs and income opportunities. Doesn't that make sense for a country in the middle of a recession?

Sadly, President Obama is following in the failed footsteps of his predecessors. He has budgeted $15.5 billion just for this year's "war on drugs" -- with $10 billion going to the futile interdiction and law enforcement efforts (and that doesn't count the billions that will be spent for the incarceration of nonviolent drug users in state facilities). This is just throwing good money after bad into a bottomless pit, and it will accomplish nothing -- just like the last 40 years. Frankly, that money could be better spent on food, housing and health care for needy Americans.

It is time for America to admit that the "war on drugs" has failed. Continuing this program will only result in more failure. The only thing that makes sense is to change our policy, and recognize that drug abuse is a medical problem -- not a criminal problem. Any money spent on drugs should go into education and treatment programs. And our law enforcement agencies should turn their attention to controlling real crimes -- like the violent criminals who attack innocent persons and their property. Meanwhile, recreational substance use should be legalized and taxed. A sensible policy like this will not harm our nation -- it will save it.

By using the Freedom of Information laws, the Associated Press has learned how some of our first trillion dollars in the failed "war on drugs" was spent. Here are the figures:

*$20 billion to fight the drug gangs in their home countries. In Colombia, for example, the United States spent more than $6 billion, while coca cultivation increased and trafficking moved to Mexico — and the violence along with it.

*$33 billion in marketing "Just Say No"-style messages to America's youth and other prevention programs. High school students report the same rates of illegal drug use as they did in 1970, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says drug overdoses have "risen steadily" since the early 1970s to more than 20,000 last year.

*$49 billion for law enforcement along America's borders to cut off the flow of illegal drugs. This year, 25 million Americans will snort, swallow, inject and smoke illicit drugs, about 10 million more than in 1970, with the bulk of those drugs imported from Mexico.

*$121 billion to arrest more than 37 million nonviolent drug offenders, about 10 million of them for possession of marijuana. Studies show that jail time tends to increase drug abuse.

*$450 billion to lock those people up in federal prisons alone. Last year, half of all federal prisoners in the U.S. were serving sentences for drug offenses.

*At the same time, drug abuse is costing the nation in other ways. The Justice Department estimates the consequences of drug abuse — "an overburdened justice system, a strained health care system, lost productivity, and environmental destruction" — cost the United States $215 billion a year.