Marijuana

States That Legalized Medical Marijuana Saw Fewer Traffic Deaths, Study Says

December 31, 2011 By Aaron Leave a Comment

By Simon McCormack on December 30, 2011

A new study has revealed a link between states with legalized medical marijuana and a reduction in traffic-related fatalities. The study was conducted by D. Mark Anderson, a Montana State University economics professor, and Daniel Rees, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver.

In looking at state-level data from sources such as the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Anderson and Rees discovered that states that had legalized medical marijuana saw an average of a 9 percent decrease in traffic deaths.

“We were pretty surprised that they went down,” Rees told the Denver Post.

In an attempt to explain the results, Rees said that the passage of medical-marijuana laws likely resulted in young people consuming less alcohol in favor of using marijuana.

“The result that comes through again and again and again is [that] young adults … drink less when marijuana is legalized and traffic fatalities go down,” Rees told the Post.

Anderson, Rees’ fellow researcher, told the Missoulian that while the research doesn’t prove that smoking marijuana impairs drivers less than alcohol, this is still a possibility.

“It could be that,” Anderson told the paper. “We’re saying our results would be consistent with that.”

But Discover magazine is skeptical of any strong causal relationship between legalized medical pot and traffic deaths.

From Discover:

There isn’t crystal-clear evidence that medical marijuana laws actually do get people to smoke more pot—the three states they discuss, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont, have widely varying numbers of people signed up for medical marijuana, and although there was an increase in reported marijuana use in two of the states for some age groups, it wasn’t huge.

The study also does not look at states that have not legalized medical marijuana.

The research was posted on the Institute for the Study of Labor’s website and is under peer review by the Journal of Law and Economics.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/30/legalized-marijuana-lower-traffic-deaths_n_1176856.html

Filed Under: Marijuana

Spain’s Basque Country to Legalize, Regulate Marijuana

December 14, 2011 By T Kelly Leave a Comment

By Phillip Smith

Stop The Drug War

The parliament of Spain’s Basque Country Autonomous Community will approve a new drug law early next year that will regulate marijuana cultivation, distribution, and consumption, EFE reported Tuesday.

The Basque Country Autonomous Community is charged with setting and enforcing domestic law within its borders in northeastern Spain. If the bill passes, it would mark a direct challenge to the United Nations’ 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which forbids marijuana legalization.

“It’s better to regulate than to ban,” said Jesus Maria Fernandez, second in command at the region’s health authority. Regulating “the growing, sale, and consumption of cannabis” is a better approach to pot smoking, he said, calling it “a practice that is already consolidated.”

Source: http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/spains-basque-country-to-legalize.html#more

Filed Under: Drugs, Marijuana, War Tagged With: Basque - Spain

5 Popular But Harmful Drugs That Can Be Replaced With Marijuana

December 3, 2011 By T Kelly 4 Comments

The notion that any authority can determine what a sovereign human being can and cannot ingest into their own body is the very essence of control. Banning any substance from responsible adult consumption no matter how harmful should simply not be permitted in a free society.

However, certain substances are deemed so harmful by “experts” that they claim to adversely affect society as a whole and thus they’re banned from the population. Of course, force of laws with guns and jails have never been able to eliminate their use throughout history. So, as a practical matter, banning any substance from society always tends to do more harm than good.

The utter failure that is the war on drugs seems to have ulterior motives besides protecting society, as evidenced by the countless harmful chemicals that are legal to consume. Marijuana is the most obvious example of a substance that remains illegal not because of health threats, or because it’s a danger to society, but rather because its benefits threaten entire industries, especially Big Pharma.

If you need a fix to ease pain, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and a host of other ailments, then a legal drug dealer is happy to sell you a chemical concoction with endless side effects. Recent studies show huge spikes in psychiatric drug use, as well as addiction to prescription pain pills, yet they remain legal and doctors get incentives to push them.

In nearly every case, marijuana is a safer alternative and just as effective. When eaten or vaporized, cannabis has proven entirely beneficial as a natural alternative. Here are 5 popular but dangerous drugs that could, in most cases, be replaced by cannabis.

1. Painkillers: Vicodin, Demerol, Oxycontin, or Percodan are used to treat moderate or severe pain. They’re all highly addictive and come with side effects that vary widely from stomach problems, dizziness, depression, pain and spasms, to even death. Marijuana is a proven pain reliever that takes the edge off even the most severe pain. It is not physically addictive, has very few side effects by comparison, and has never caused a single death in 5000 years of recorded use.

2. Tranquilizers: Valium, Xanax, and Ambien are examples of popular anti-anxiety drugs. All Americans will likely know someone close to them who are dependent on these drugs to cope with daily life. The side effects are similar to anti-depressants and painkillers; stomach and liver problems, depression or suicidal thoughts, dizziness and confusion, etc. Marijuana is an excellent substitute for these temporary anxiety relievers, again with far fewer negative effects.

3. Alcohol: Alcohol is the most commonly used and accepted substance for self-regulated stress relief. It’s used by countless Americans to take the edge off a long work day, and also by many soldiers seeking to relieve Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Alcohol is highly addictive and causes many long-term problems like high blood pressure and liver failure. Marijuana has proven to be far safer and more effective in reducing stress, especially among PTSD sufferers.

4. Anti-depressants: Prozac, Zoloft, Elavil, or Paxil are popular anti-depressants that a huge portion of the population are now dependent on. Side effects like nausea and sexual dysfunction are common, while suicidal tendencies are also increased tremendously, which seems to negate their very purpose. These selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) reduce the body’s ability to produce natural serotonin and can be difficult for people to find a healthy balance once they rid the drug from their system. Marijuana, although a temporary anti-depressant, is far less dangerous and may result in instant happiness bordering on silliness.

5. Aspirin and Tylenol: These commonly-used over-the-counter drugs for minor aches and pains cause stomach problems like ulcers, liver damage, and even death. That’s right, Tylenol causes about 450 deaths a year and Aspirin causes a whopping 13,000 deaths per year from sudden bleeding. Many natural alternatives can be used for the symptoms that these drugs ease, and marijuana is just one of the safer options — with none of the damaging side effects.

As you can see, marijuana, which can be easily grown in nearly every climate, is a huge threat to these billion-dollar-a-year drugs. And this list represents a tiny fraction of the harmful pharmaceuticals that can be replaced by cannabis. To claim that cannabis is more dangerous than any of these popular legal substances is blatantly false, thus there’s no reason for its prohibition other than the threat of competition to Big Pharma.

Thankfully, you’re not a criminal in over a dozen states if you use marijuana in place of them. And surely, it’s only a matter of time before it’s obvious to everyone that marijuana users should not be labeled criminals no matter what they use it for.

Source: http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/5-popular-but-harmful-drugs-that-can-be.html

Filed Under: Corporations, Health, Marijuana, Money, USA Tagged With: Medical

CU Study: Medical Marijuana Saves Lives

December 2, 2011 By T Kelly 1 Comment

A study released Tuesday by the University of Colorado Denver indicates that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces alcohol consumption and, as a result, alcohol-related traffic deaths without a corresponding increase in deaths caused by stoned drivers.

The study, hailed as “groundbreaking” by the University, is the first to examine the effect of legalizing medical marijuana on the prevalence of traffic fatalities. Researchers analyzed traffic fatalities nationwide, and in those states that have legalized medical marijuana they found that alcohol consumption went down among those 20 to 29 years old, resulting in fewer deaths on the road.

The study noted past research that suggests drivers under the influence of alcohol and marijuana both experience reduced skills and slower reaction times but that those driving under the influence of alcohol are unaware of their reduced skills and actually drive faster and more recklessly than when they are sober. Stoned drivers, on the other hand, seem to know they are stoned and they slow down, increase the distance between them and the car ahead of them and avoid risky maneuvers. The study noted that people who are stoned are also less likely to drive in the first place than people who are drunk.

Stoned drivers, on the other hand, seem to know they are stoned and they slow down, increase the distance between them and the car ahead of them and avoid risky manoeuvers.

From the study:

To date, 16 states have passed medical marijuana laws, yet very little is known about their effects. Using state-level data, we examine the relationship between medical marijuana laws and a variety of outcomes. Legalization of medical marijuana is associated with increased use of marijuana among adults, but not among minors. In addition, legalization is associated with a nearly 9 percent decrease in traffic fatalities, most likely to due to its impact on alcohol consumption. Our estimates provide strong evidence that marijuana and alcohol are substitutes.

“Every objective study on marijuana has concluded that it is far safer than alcohol for the user and society,” said Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) and coauthor of the book, Marijuana is Safer: So why are we driving people to drink? (Chelsea Green, 2009). “It should come as little surprise that when we allow adults to make the safer choice to use marijuana it results in less drinking and fewer alcohol-related problems,” he said in a press release.

Tvert is one of two formal proponents of a 2012 statewide initiative campaign to make marijuana legal in Colorado and regulate it and tax it similar to alcohol.

From CU’s press release:

A groundbreaking new study shows that laws legalizing medical marijuana have resulted in a nearly nine percent drop in traffic deaths and a five percent reduction in beer sales.

“Our research suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities through reducing alcohol consumption by young adults,” said Daniel Rees, professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver who co-authored the study with D. Mark Anderson, assistant professor of economics at Montana State University.

The researchers collected data from a variety of sources including the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

The study is the first to examine the relationship between the legalization of medical marijuana and traffic deaths.

“We were astounded by how little is known about the effects of legalizing medical marijuana,” Rees said. “We looked into traffic fatalities because there is good data, and the data allow us to test whether alcohol was a factor.”

Anderson noted that traffic deaths are significant from a policy standpoint.

“Traffic fatalities are an important outcome from a policy perspective because they represent the leading cause of death among Americans ages five to 34,” he said.

The economists analyzed traffic fatalities nationwide, including the 13 states that legalized medical marijuana between 1990 and 2009. In those states, they found evidence that alcohol consumption by 20- through 29-year-olds went down, resulting in fewer deaths on the road.

The economists noted that simulator studies conducted by previous researchers suggest that drivers under the influence of alcohol tend to underestimate how badly their skills are impaired. They drive faster and take more risks. In contrast, these studies show that drivers under the influence of marijuana tend to avoid risks. However, Rees and Anderson cautioned that legalization of medical marijuana may result in fewer traffic deaths because it’s typically used in private, while alcohol is often consumed at bars and restaurants.

“I think this is a very timely study given all the medical marijuana laws being passed or under consideration,” Anderson said. “These policies have not been research-based thus far and our research shows some of the social effects of these laws. Our results suggest a direct link between marijuana and alcohol consumption.”

The study also examined marijuana use in three states that legalized medical marijuana in the mid-2000s, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Marijuana use by adults increased after legalization in Montana and Rhode Island, but not in Vermont. There was no evidence that marijuana use by minors increased.

Opponents of medical marijuana believe that legalization leads to increased use of marijuana by minors.

According to Rees and Anderson, the majority of registered medical marijuana patients in Arizona and Colorado are male. In Arizona, 75 percent of registered patients are male; in Colorado, 68 percent are male. Many are under the age of 40. For instance, 48 percent of registered patients in Montana are under 40.

“Although we make no policy recommendations, it certainly appears as though medical marijuana laws are making our highways safer,” Rees said.

Tvert said he didn’t think people should drive if they are impaired by any substance but that giving people the choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol would save lives.

“The real story is that by just making marijuana legal for a small segment of society, there is significantly less alcohol use and less alcohol related deaths,” Tvert told the Colorado Independent.

He said that nationally alcohol abuse kills about 80,000 Americans a year, not counting those killed by drunk drivers or alcohol-related violence.

“The real story is that by just making marijuana legal for a small segment of society, there is significantly less alcohol use and less alcohol related deaths.”

“There is a vast amount of evidence that alcohol contributes to violence, everything from bar fights to domestic violence to larger scale riots and upheavals at public events. There is no evidence that marijuana has ever contributed to violence or to a single death,” Tvert said.

He noted that nationally, automobile accidents are the leading cause of accidental death but that in Colorado prescription drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death. He suggested that the more widely marijuana was legalized and available, the less likely prescription overdoses would be, a sentiment borne out by research.

Source: http://coloradoindependent.com/106742/cu-study-medical-marijuana-saves-lives

Filed Under: Health, Marijuana, Science Tagged With: Medical Marijuana, Research Study

War On Drugs Revealed As A Total Hoax

December 1, 2011 By T Kelly Leave a Comment

Afghanistan is, by far, the largest grower and exporter of opium in the world today, cultivating a 92 percent market share of the global opium trade.

But what may shock many is the fact that the US military has been specifically tasked with guarding Afghan poppy fields, from which opium is derived, in order to protect this multibillion dollar industry that enriches Wall Street, the CIA, MI6, and various other groups that profit big time from this illicit drug trade scheme.

Prior to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Afghanistan was hardly even a world player in growing poppy, which is used to produce both illegal heroin and pharmaceutical-grade morphine. In fact, the Taliban had been actively destroying poppy fields as part of an effort to rid the country of this harmful plant, as was reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on February 16, 2001, in a piece entitled Nation’s opium production virtually wiped out.

But after 9/11, the US military-industrial complex quickly invaded Afghanistan and began facilitating the reinstatement of the country’s poppy industry. According to the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP), opium cultivation increased by 657 percent in 2002 after the US military invaded the country under the direction of then-President George W. Bush.

CIA responsible for reinstating opium industry in Afghanistan after 9/11

More recently, The New York Times (NYT) reported that the brother of current Afghan President Hamid Karzai had actually been on the payroll of the CIA for at least eight years prior to this information going public in 2009. Ahmed Wali Karzai was a crucial player in reinstating the country’s opium drug trade, known as Golden Crescent, and the CIA had been financing the endeavor behind the scenes.

“The Golden Crescent drug trade, launched by the CIA in the early 1980s, continues to be protected by US intelligence, in liaison with NATO occupation forces and the British military,” wrote Prof. Michel Chossudovsky in a 2007 report, before it was revealed that Ahmed Wali Karzai was on the CIA payroll. “The proceeds of this lucrative multibillion dollar contraband are deposited in Western banks. Almost the totality of revenues accrue to corporate interests and criminal syndicates outside Afghanistan” (http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/A…).

But the mainstream media has been peddling a different story to the American public. FOX News, for instance, aired a propaganda piece back in 2010 claiming that military personnel are having to protect the Afghan poppy fields, rather than destroy them, in order to keep the locals happy and to avoid a potential “security risk” — and FOX News reporter Geraldo Rivera can be heard blatantly lying about poppy farmers being financially supported by the Taliban, rather than the CIA and other foreign interests.

So while tens of thousands of Americans continue to be harmed or killed every year by overdoses from drugs originating from this illicit opium trade, and while cultivation of innocuous crops like marijuana and hemp remains illegal in the US, the American military is actively guarding the very poppy fields in Afghanistan that fuel the global drug trade. Something is terribly wrong with this picture.

Source: http://flipthepyramid.com/index.php/entry/war-on-drugs-revealed-as-total-hoax

Filed Under: Afghanistan, Banks, Corporations, Corruption, Drugs, Economy, Imperialism, Marijuana, Military Industrial Complex, Money, Propaganda, USA Tagged With: CIA, Opium

Want Marijuana 100% Legal in 2012?

November 30, 2011 By T Kelly Leave a Comment

Excerpt from Ron Paul’s Audio Book “Liberty Defined”

Filed Under: Decriminalisation, Drugs, Health, Marijuana, Politicians, Politics, USA Tagged With: Ron Paul

Why is Marijuana Illegal? Examining the Health Aspects of Cannabis

November 28, 2011 By T Kelly Leave a Comment

Countless studies have highlighted the industrial and medicinal uses of marijuana (cannabis), yet the federal government claims that it has ‘no accepted medical use’ and continues to classify it in the same category as heroin, MDMA, and PCP.

Despite the ruling, the medical marijuana market is priced at around $1.7 billion — that’s almost as much as the explosive Viagra market, coming in at around $1.9 billion.

Why do so many individuals suffering from disease swear by marijuana if it has no real medical use? And furthermore, were the thousands of studies on the medicinal benefits of marijuana completely incorrect?

Studies have found marijuana use to be beneficial in treating multiple sclerosis, Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, brachial plexus neuropathies, insomnia, pain, memory disorders, anxiety disorders, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and many more conditions.

Marijuana Plant, Hemp, and Cannabinoids

Some cannabis activists actually state that certain properties of marijuana can act as a “cure-all” in the right forms. You may know that marijuana is usually quite high in THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the compound responsible for the psychoactive effect of cannabis. In contrast, it is also low in CBD (cannabidiol) content. Both THC and CBD are known as cannabinoids, however, which interacts with your body in a very unique way.

What you may not be familiar with is how CBD has been shown to block the effect of THC in the nervous system. This allows marijuana plants to exhibit the most psychoactive effects. Hemp, on the other hand, is high in CBD and low in THC. This is due to the fact that it is bred to maximize its fiber, seeds, and oil. Of course these key properties are what it is most commonly used for.

You see, hemp is a very powerful industrial substance, but it also has a number of health benefits.

Interestingly enough, THC-free hemp is actually quite popular in protein drinks, green superfoods, and even clothing. This type of hemp has zero psychoative effects, yet it is still illegal to grow within the United States.

Two tablespoons of shelled hemp seeds contain about 11 grams of protein and 2 grams of unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids.

Cannabinoids are promoted as a health-promoting substance in the popular documentary Run from the Cure with Rick Simpson.

Source: http://www.activistpost.com/2011/11/why-is-marijuana-illegal-examining.html

Filed Under: Corporations, Decriminalisation, Drugs, Health, Marijuana, Money, Police, USA

Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis – Full Documentary

November 26, 2011 By T Kelly Leave a Comment

“Clearing the Smoke: The Science of Cannabis” reveals how cannabis acts on the brain and in the body to treat nausea, pain, epilepsy, cancer, and many other illnesses both mental and physical.

“Clearing the Smoke” includes extensive interviews with patients, doctors, researchers and skeptics.

Filed Under: Decriminalisation, Health, Marijuana, Science

Big Pharma Set To Take Over Medical Marijuana Market

November 25, 2011 By T Kelly 5 Comments

Just as the federal government is clamping down on medical marijuana dispensaries, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) may be set to give Big Pharma the clearance to take over the market.

In 2007, GW Pharmaceuticals announced that it partnered with Otsuka to bring “Sativex” — or liquefied marijuana — to the U.S. The companies recently completed Phase II efficacy and safety trials testing and began discussion with the FDA for Phase III testing. Phase III is generally thought to be the final step before the drug can be marketed in the U.S.

“GW Pharmaceuticals plc (AIM: GWP) today announces the initiation of the Phase III clinical trials programme of Sativex in the treatment of pain in patients with advanced cancer, who experience inadequate analgesia during optimized chronic opioid therapy,” GW said in a statement. “This indication represents the initial target indication for Sativex in the United States.”

Sativex is the brand name for a drug derived from cannabis sativa. It’s an extract from the whole plant cannabis, not a synthetic compound. Even GW defines the drug (.pdf) as marijuana.

Yet as the FDA is poised to approve the drug for Big Pharma, state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries that provide relief for thousands of Americans are under attack by other federal agencies.

Lynette Shaw, the owner and founder of Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana (MAMM) in Fairfax, California, was stunned when the IRS audited her 2008 and 2009 tax returns and disallowed the foundation’s business deductions, then demanded millions of dollars in back taxes.

The IRS pursued her under § 280E of the federal tax code, which states that no business deductions will be allowed for companies “trafficking in controlled substances”.

Shaw is now suing the IRS to prevent them from destroying the entire medical marijuana industry.

Last week, the Justice Department even threatened to prosecute state employees who license medical marijuana dispensaries.

As a result, Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) said she would veto a bill that would have allowed the state to license growers.

In February, marijuana advocacy group NORML warned that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) intended to legalize marijuana for Big Pharma only.

“The DEA’s intent is to expand the federal government’s schedule III listing to include pharmaceutical products containing naturally derived formations of THC while simultaneously maintain existing criminal prohibitions on the plant itself,” Paul Armentano, the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), wrote at AlterNet.

Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/20/big-pharma-set-to-take-over-medical-marijuana-market/

Filed Under: Big Pharma, Corporations, Marijuana, USA

Connecticut: Marijuana Decriminalization Measure Is Now Law

November 25, 2011 By T Kelly Leave a Comment

Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy signed legislation into law on Thursday, June 30 ‘decriminalizing’ the possession of small, personal use amounts of marijuana by adults. The new law, Senate Bill 1014, took effect on Friday, July 1.

Senate Bill 1014 reduces the penalties for the adult possession of up to one-half ounce of marijuana from a criminal misdemeanor (formerly punishable by one year in jail and a $1,000 fine) to a non-criminal infraction, punishable by a $150 fine, no arrest or jail time, and no criminal record. The new law similarly reduces penalties for the possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

Connecticut’s new law is similar to the existing ‘decriminalization’ laws in California,Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska,New York, and Oregon where private, non-medical possession of marijuana is treated as a civil, non-criminal offense.

Five additional states — Minnesota,Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio — treat marijuana possession offenses as a fine-only misdemeanor offense. Alaska law imposes no criminal or civil penalty for the private possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults.

Lawmakers in California and Kentucky previously enacted laws this year reducing penalties for marijuana possession.

Source: http://www.activistpost.com/2011/07/connecticut-marijuana-decriminalization.html

Filed Under: Decriminalisation, Marijuana, USA