Legalize Cannabis! (satire)

Am I for legalization of some drugs? Yes.

Which ones?

Marijuana, because it is less harmful than cigarettes; entheogens such as LSD and ibogaine, for drug rehabilitation which lasts; MDMA, which in pure form is safer than methamphetamines and other stimulants, though not as safe as caffeine; Salvia, which is a kappa opioid agonist with some disassociative properties, but is the only carbohydrate with mild and moderately brief hallucinogenic properties -- mainly for entheogenic purposes involving rehabilitation from other drugs; and two banned drugs which never got to market because the State fears pro-social drugs which are safer than alcohol and tobacco, because no one in power wants to lose profits and sales, and also because sociability is supposed to be learned, not medicated.

The last two drugs never got out of a lab setting, because today's State is afraid of a pro-social drug which is safer than alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol and tobacco companies would lose profit if the government had a safer alternative to alcohol and tobacco such as pagoclone.

Note that I am promoting the legalization of some drugs for medicinal use. I do not endorse the recreational use of any drugs mentioned previously, because it involves drugs which are currently being manufactured illegally.

I do not include marijuana manufactured by State-sponsored industry such as the crappy medicinal marijuana (MM) as it is not being produced in a manner which enhances its medicinal properties.

Sativex consists of cannabinoids from a blend of marijuana, and is superior to gov't-approved MM. But it is only approved for pain by cancer victims, because no doctor would prescribe it off label. That'd be illegal.

However, a variant of Sativex could be recommended for psychoses caused by mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, if they moderated the THC and raised the CBD level a tad.

CBD is a natural sedative, the use of which is known to demonstrate marked changes in schizophrenics, whereas THC consistently may cause psychoses, sometimes requiring sedation by benzodiazepines such as Ativan.

It is for political reasons that cannabis is illegal in Canada, due to the fear-mongering about psychosis and drug-induced schizophrenia in a gross attempt of social control by the State of mostly-harmless pot smokers.

Marijuana consumption may cause anxiety among certain users which might appear as psychosis and their behavior may be moderated by THC, resulting in clinical observation of schizophrenic-like behavior. However, such behavior is not permanent and thus is not consistent with schizophrenia.

In most cases of recreational use, marijuana is safer than alcohol and prescribed psychotropic medication used to control behavior associated with psychosis arising from the purported drug-induced schizophrenia. Indeed, chronic users of pot do not experience psychosis or schizophrenia. Their behavior can be explained as acute and specific to recent marijuana use.

Yet stricter cannabis laws criminalizes behavior among a small proportion of the People (the medical marijuana growers) due to an unfounded fear by the State of pot smokers of psychosis and associated behavior.

Indeed, the marijuana section of the narcotics control act does nothing to protect recreational drug users from dealers, but actually reduces their access to a safe method of distribution via medical marijuana growers, who now cannot produce marijuana legally.

I also object to the assumption by the police of the fallacy that all marijuana grow-ops are the work of drug gangs. This character assassination is used to criminalize medical marijuana grow-ops that are safe and known to be "mom & pop" operations.

As well, the marijuana laws promote the assumption that all grow-ops are the work of gangs.

While marijuana legalization is slowly happening in the US, all across Canada, marijuana legalization is far from becoming a reality, due to its heavily politicized nature.

Even so, the legalization of marijuana will not result in more cases of drug-induced schizophrenia since that diagnosis is sometimes used to profit the psychiatry industry. Considering its role in social control, this scare tactic regarding regular consumption of marijuana from an early age may be used by the State to control the drug-seeking behavior of young mothers and other cannabis users.

Therefore, the marijuana laws appear to be designed to raise drug crime with increased risk of death for gang members. On the other hand, the growth of marijuana dispensaries is a much needed harm reduction strategy which should not be criminalized as "illegal distribution" of marijuana.

State control of marijuana potentially places more people at risk than legalization.

Legalize cannabis now!

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Originally posted: December 9, 2012 4:29 PM

Reference:

Pagoclone, the "banned" pro-social drug: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagoclone
Bretazenil, another pro-social drug: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretazenil

The cannabis conundrum: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/29/cannabis-david-nutt-drug-classification

A clear danger from cannabis: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/29/cannabis-schizophrenia-classification

This article proves that chronic use of marijuana does not promote psychosis or drug-induced schizophrenia. http://jop.sagepub.com/content/26/1/144

The Utopia called "Drug Legalization"

"The goal of legalizing drugs is to bring them under effective legal control. If it were legal to produce and distribute drugs, legitimate businessmen would enter the business. There would be less need for violence and corruption since the industry would have access to the courts. And, instead of absorbing tax dollars as targets of expensive enforcement efforts, the drug sellers might begin to pay taxes. So, legalization might well solve the organized crime aspects of the drug trafficking problem. On average, drug use under legalization might not be as destructive to users and to society as under the current prohibition, because drugs would be less expensive, purer, and more conveniently available." -- National Institute of Justice

With legalization would come reduced violence and corruption. Expensive enforcement would vanish. Finally, the manufacturers of drugs would pay taxes, as would the drug dealer.

With drugs less expensive, purer and conveniently available, maybe users would moderate their habits and not be given to excess by also going into therapy to treat the tendency of some addicts to go to excess due to psychosocial issues which precipitated their substance abuse.

If America was so enlightened, then the State's experience with pushing alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical drugs could be applied with gusto to recreational drugs; but the only reason why drugs will remain illegal is because media hype would die down and moral reprehension would cease.

Yes, the only reason why drugs are illegal are to sell product. In this case, it is the demon called "drug addiction" which barely accounts for 10% of users of any drug.

And, contrary to the hype, when 100 people take a drug, about 10 will get hooked, depending on their background, motivation, and peers.

Alas, this utopia of drug legalization will never come to pass because neither statistics nor medicine enlighten the voter. Only education of the harm of drug prohibition will do so.

So in essence, harm reduction implies eventual drug legalization. For that would reduce the stigma and the costs of a senseless and stupid war.

Dangerous Drugs Decriminalization/Legalization

Rates for people with substance abuse would be 2-6%.

With drug education, including information regarding risk of mania and/or psychosis and to reinforce that substance use is not "getting high" or "having fun" but "entering a probably manic and/or psychotic state of mind through the use of intoxicating drugs", potential users have the choice between entering a potentially harmful state of mind or not.

This also includes recreational use of pharmaceutical drugs which may induce hypomania e.g. benzodiazepines, anti-depressants, and neuroleptics.

However, emphasis must be made on increased drug education to replace the deceptive use of euphemisms for substance use i.e. "getting high", "having fun" and street slang for substance use with the correct terms i.e. "substance use which causes transient states of mind which may induce behavior consistent with hypomania, mania and/or psychosis".

It is drugs laws that make recreational substance use harmful and such drugs dangerous.

This article promotes substance use with informed consent within the context of safe set and setting. It does not promote the current circumstances as criminalized by current local and State laws.

Drug Decriminalization Reduces Drug usage and Crime Rates

Statistics don't lie.

Cannabis use
1.NZ 22.23%
2.Aus 17.93%
3.US 12.30%

Portugal where all drugs have been decriminalized for six years...3.86%

Crime Rate.. Drug Offences
1.Norway 987.1 per 100,000 people
2.Switizerland 648.4
3.NZ 641.6
4.USA 560.1
no stats on Australia

and Portugal where all drugs are decriminalized... 59.6 per 100,000 people

Decriminalization reduces drug usage and crime rates.