William Breault has his heart in the right place with his stand against changing the laws concerning marijuana. Unfortunately, that long established stand was bought and paid for before World War II, fueled by bigotry and racism to bloat the marijuana myth well beyond the confines of scientific fact.The biggest problem with perpetuating the false information about the so-called dangers of marijuana is that those who do experiment with it know immediately that the government is lying.
The weak-minded among them all too easily surmise that if they're lying about marijuana, then they're probably lying about all the other drugs, as well.
This is a dangerous setup, and it has perpetuated the myth that marijuana supposedly leads to the abuse of narcotics.
Marijuana is not a narcotic.
It is not an addictive substance.
Turning otherwise productive members of society into felons for using it is not, and never has been, in the best interests of this society.
From my personal experiences with the extensive use of marijuana in the late 1960's, I can tell you that it is certainly not an enhancement. Its use is not going to make anyone a better person. And its use is most definitely not going to put one into a better position to drive a car, operate machinery, or make sound decisions. But it is no more harmful to health or societal interaction than any other chemical alteration of perception that takes place through the use of alcohol, sleeping pills, pep pills, and so forth.You can, however, overdose on pills and alcohol. No-one, in the entire history of this planet, has ever overdosed from smoking marijuana. It simply cannot be done. This fact makes marijuana nearly unique in pharmacopeia.
Sanity and scientific fact, rather than uninformed and emotionally charged rhetoric, should come to the fore in this issue of whether a common weed that grows wild across this continent should be the object of billions of dollars spent in the country every year, merely to turn American citizens into felons.
5 comments:
And its use is most definitely not going to put one into a better position to drive a car, operate machinery, or make sound decisions.
The "sound decisions" part depends on who and how it's used, I think. Back in my days as a recruiter for high tech, I often used small amounts before entering into negotiations over compensation packages and the like. It made me less anxious and less emotional generally in very small doses. I sat across tables from Silicon Valley CEOs and negotiated compensation packages with total values well into seven figures while in such a state.
I gave the stuff up after my recruiting days came to an end with the dotcom meltdown. I guess for some people a quick drink to steady the nerves works out; for me, it was a very small toke. Of course, things were different in the parking lots at Grateful Dead shows years before...
In my experience people are far more likely to be violent and erratic after consuming alcohol. After marijuana the pretty much just want your Doritos. Maybe things have changed since the 80's? Is the stuff suddenly causing pot-fueled fist fights?
I'm not a professional or an expert - just an observer of people and whatnot. And that's been my observation.
I think Brendan has a great take on all this, too (over at Radioball).
"William Breault has his heart in the right place . . ."
Jeff, please defend this statement. (On this or any other issue.)
Mike: I tend to give people I don't know credit when they take a stand on something, whether I agree with them or not, that their "heart is in the right place" insofar as they have decided to do something about what they believe. It's a basic consideration of activism versus doing nothing when one has come to believe something is true.
Granted, when a stance of some sort is taken and statements are made while remaining uninformed, this can be strange to observe. Consequently, as it appears to be turning out, my saying that William Breault has his "heart in the right place" may very well be a perfect example of that.
Nonetheless, I would still give him credit for taking a stand on something he believes, and respect that his beliefs are no less important and valid to him than yours or mine.
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