T
The420Guy
Guest
Pubdate: Fri, 23 Jun 2000
Source: Deseret News (UT)
Copyright: 2000 Deseret News Publishing Corp.
Contact: letters@desnews.com
Website: Salt Lake City and Utah Breaking news, sports, entertainment and news headlines - Deseret News
LEGALIZE POT? HOW ABSURD
If New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson can be credited with anything worthwhile, it is that he
has brought the idea of legalizing marijuana out into the open where sound reasoning and facts
can expose it for the idiocy it is. No one should be taken in by his illogical reasoning, no
matter how convincing it sounds.
Johnson took center stage last week at the Western Governors Association meeting in
Honolulu and, as he does virtually everywhere he speaks, immediately launched into the
"legalize pot" presentation with a missionary zeal. "Is it so far-fetched to think that if we
legalize marijuana, use will go down?" he asked. The answer, of course, is yes. It's not only
far-fetched, it's silly.
"Should laws exist that protect us from ourselves?" he asked next. That's an interesting way to
phrase the issue. Here is a better one: Should laws exist to protect people from substances
that can cause serious harm to their bodies and lead them to do crazy, possibly dangerous,
things? Once a state gives official sanction to the use of marijuana, ignorant people may easily
be led to believe it is an innocent, harmless diversion. It is not.
Surprisingly, the governor did not invoke the Dutch example. He was smart to leave it alone.
Drug-legalization proponents often refer to Holland's quarter-century experiment with
legalized drugs as an example of how wonderful society could become. They do so based
solely on conventional wisdom borne by users with clouded minds. The facts spell complete
and unqualified disaster.
Writing in the publication "Foreign Affairs" last year, author Larry Collins presented a frank
and well-documented look at the Dutch experiment. He found a nation that has become the
drug trafficking center of Europe, where drug use, particularly of marijuana, has increased
and where dealers have developed a new, potent form of the drug called "Nederwiet" that
didn't exist before legalization. He quotes the director of a Dutch drug-abuse rehabilitation
center as saying, "We see more and more people getting into trouble with cannabis." A
London doctor describes heavy Nederwiet users suffering withdrawal symptoms similar to
those produced by hard drugs.
Between 1984 and 1996, marijuana use among people ages 18 to 25 in Holland increased by
well over 200 percent, Collins writes. Perhaps New Mexico's governor would like to explain
again in detail why he thinks the opposite would happen here.
Johnson and other legalization hucksters are quick to draw similarities between marijuana and
alcohol. Indeed, both are harmful drugs. There is a difference, however, in how society
perceives them. Unfortunately, moderate alcohol consumption is culturally acceptable in much
of the United States. However, that is hardly a reason to urge that the culture accept another
harmful drug, as well.
Predictably, the one governor who applauded Johnson was Hawaii's Gov. Ben Cayetano,
who recently signed a law that legalizes marijuana for medical use in that state -- one of the
more absurd examples of legislative quackery to hit the modern age. Serious researchers
believe marijuana contains certain compounds of medicinal value. But absolutely none of
them recommends smoking the weed as a means of obtaining any benefit.
States can use drug courts and an emphasis on education and rehabilitation to help fight
substance abuse problems. These have shown reasonable success. But legalization is nothing
more than an admission of defeat.
MAP posted-by: Allan Wilkinson
Source: Deseret News (UT)
Copyright: 2000 Deseret News Publishing Corp.
Contact: letters@desnews.com
Website: Salt Lake City and Utah Breaking news, sports, entertainment and news headlines - Deseret News
LEGALIZE POT? HOW ABSURD
If New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson can be credited with anything worthwhile, it is that he
has brought the idea of legalizing marijuana out into the open where sound reasoning and facts
can expose it for the idiocy it is. No one should be taken in by his illogical reasoning, no
matter how convincing it sounds.
Johnson took center stage last week at the Western Governors Association meeting in
Honolulu and, as he does virtually everywhere he speaks, immediately launched into the
"legalize pot" presentation with a missionary zeal. "Is it so far-fetched to think that if we
legalize marijuana, use will go down?" he asked. The answer, of course, is yes. It's not only
far-fetched, it's silly.
"Should laws exist that protect us from ourselves?" he asked next. That's an interesting way to
phrase the issue. Here is a better one: Should laws exist to protect people from substances
that can cause serious harm to their bodies and lead them to do crazy, possibly dangerous,
things? Once a state gives official sanction to the use of marijuana, ignorant people may easily
be led to believe it is an innocent, harmless diversion. It is not.
Surprisingly, the governor did not invoke the Dutch example. He was smart to leave it alone.
Drug-legalization proponents often refer to Holland's quarter-century experiment with
legalized drugs as an example of how wonderful society could become. They do so based
solely on conventional wisdom borne by users with clouded minds. The facts spell complete
and unqualified disaster.
Writing in the publication "Foreign Affairs" last year, author Larry Collins presented a frank
and well-documented look at the Dutch experiment. He found a nation that has become the
drug trafficking center of Europe, where drug use, particularly of marijuana, has increased
and where dealers have developed a new, potent form of the drug called "Nederwiet" that
didn't exist before legalization. He quotes the director of a Dutch drug-abuse rehabilitation
center as saying, "We see more and more people getting into trouble with cannabis." A
London doctor describes heavy Nederwiet users suffering withdrawal symptoms similar to
those produced by hard drugs.
Between 1984 and 1996, marijuana use among people ages 18 to 25 in Holland increased by
well over 200 percent, Collins writes. Perhaps New Mexico's governor would like to explain
again in detail why he thinks the opposite would happen here.
Johnson and other legalization hucksters are quick to draw similarities between marijuana and
alcohol. Indeed, both are harmful drugs. There is a difference, however, in how society
perceives them. Unfortunately, moderate alcohol consumption is culturally acceptable in much
of the United States. However, that is hardly a reason to urge that the culture accept another
harmful drug, as well.
Predictably, the one governor who applauded Johnson was Hawaii's Gov. Ben Cayetano,
who recently signed a law that legalizes marijuana for medical use in that state -- one of the
more absurd examples of legislative quackery to hit the modern age. Serious researchers
believe marijuana contains certain compounds of medicinal value. But absolutely none of
them recommends smoking the weed as a means of obtaining any benefit.
States can use drug courts and an emphasis on education and rehabilitation to help fight
substance abuse problems. These have shown reasonable success. But legalization is nothing
more than an admission of defeat.
MAP posted-by: Allan Wilkinson
