War on Marijuana Failed, New Drug Survey Shows
The new National Survey on Drug Use and Health is out, and it puts the final nail in the coffin of the war on marijuana conducted by George W. Bush’s drug czar, John Walters.
Walters’ fanaticism about marijuana is epitomized by a November 2002 letter sent to the nation’s prosecutors by his deputy, Scott Burns, claiming that “no drug matches the threat posed by marijuana.” Walters carpet-bombed the nation with anti-marijuana propaganda – TV, radio and print ads, reports, press conferences, news releases, etc. – and quickly began to follow up with exaggerated claims of success.
That game is now over. Compare the just-released 2008 data to the 2002 survey, the first to reflect Walters’ policies:
In 2002, 94.9 million Americans admitted having used marijuana at some point in their lives. In 2008, that figure had grown to 102.4 million. In percentage terms, that’s an increase from 40.4 percent in 2002 to 40.6 percent in 2008 – unchanged, statistically speaking. For current (past 30 days) use, the pattern is similar: 14.6 million or 6.2 percent in 2002, 15.2 million or 6.1 percent in 2008. The slight declines of a couple years ago have now been entirely erased and were likely no more than statistical noise.
The drug war industrial complex will never admit it, but the most intensive anti-marijuana campaign since the days of “Reefer Madness” produced exactly nothing.
Tagged with: drug czar and drug war and marijuana and NSDUH and survey and Walters by the author
39 comments
GET THIS NEWS INTO THE MEDIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shout it from the Roof Tops! I agree with Anthony. Get this in the mainstream media!
Press will have a field day. Another thing the Bush administration failed at.
Let’s develop and promote a practical solution that will strike a positive chord with a broader range of the public and the politicians. Let’s come together around a plan that will have as broad base of support as possible (I’ve proposed a Personal Use and Cultivation Permit, since money for the public treasury can be a great way to build political support).
MPP, how about opening up a forum specifically dedicated to discussion of “what would be a good plan to rally around?” Let’s get some input and ideas from each other; “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Let’s get together around a positive, practical message and get it DONE.
The wheels are turning,very slowly,and with the 4th study showing
marijuana is a cancer blocking agent,the defense that marijuana has no medical applications is dieing in the turmoil.
It will be very interesting to hear the DEA and ONDCP defend their decisions to block all medical studies of marijuana.
“I was just doing my job” i9s not a legal defense for allowing millions of Americans to catch cancer,waiting for the pharmaceutical companies to develop a pill with the same,or more cancer blocking attributes,when the plant already shows it is capable of blocking some cancers,and treating some cancers.
Could Smoking Pot Cut Risk of Head, Neck Cancer?
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 6:00 pm
Source: http://www.reuters.com
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – You’ve heard about using marijuana and drugs derived from it to keep some of the side effects of toxic cancer chemotherapy in check. But what if smoking marijuana for 10 to 20 years could actually protect against certain tumors?
In a study, researchers have found that long-term pot smokers were roughly 62 percent less likely to develop head and neck cancers than people who did not smoke pot.
The new study featured 434 patients with head and neck cancers, which include tumors in the mouth, tongue, nose, sinuses, throat and lymph nodes in the neck, and 547 individuals without these cancers seen in the Greater Boston area from December 1999 to December 2003.
After factoring out the impact of smoking, drinking, and other factors that might influence the results, smoking marijuana from once every two weeks to three times every two weeks, on average, was associated with about half the risk of head and neck cancer, compared with less frequent use.
Those who took up pot smoking at an older age appeared to have less risk of these cancers than those who started it at a younger age.
Compared to people who never smoked pot, those who began smoking marijuana between the ages of 15 and 19 years were 47 percent less likely to develop head and neck cancer, while users who began at age 20 or older had a 61 percent reduced risk, Kelsey and colleagues found.
It’s unclear why marijuana would prevent cancer, if in fact the study is borne out by others, but the authors note that chemicals in pot called cannabinoids have been shown to have potential antitumor effects. Other studies have linked marijuana use to a reduced risk of some cancers, such as cancer of the prostate, and now head and neck cancer.
It’s also been suggested that smoking pot may help stave off Alzheimer’s disease and help combat weight loss associated with AIDS, and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients.
Overall, however, research on the effects of marijuana on human health is mixed. Some studies have suggested the drug can increase a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke and cause some cancers such as lung cancer.
In the journal Cancer Prevention Research, the researchers emphasize that further research from larger studies is needed to verify this link.
What if marijuana blocks only 10% of people from any kind of cancer? Or 5%? It is better than anything offered by the pharmaceutical companies,though they are barnstorming,trying to isolate the chemical compounds in marijuana that are acting as caner blocking agents,how many more should we let die while we wait,that might have been saved?
This is not the first study that has suggested that marijuana has cancer blocking attributes,so the ONDCP and the Justice Dept,cannot say they haven’t known.
Stop the insanity,at the least,they should be rescheduling marijuana so more tests could be run. And the approval for any study must be removed from the DEA and the ONDCP,as 1/2 their budget is to fight the legalization of marijuana,doing whatever is required to keep marijuana illegal,regardless of scientific evidence.
duh right?
This is not news for those of us in the know. Its more important those not in the know read this blog.
All this nation needs is a referendum, run honestly, and giving both sides time to voice their opinion and no doubt the outcome would be total legalization.
This prohibition has been a joke based off smoke and mirrors from the very beginning
You can try and control free-will with laws and fear, but you will never contain it. Its only natural for individuals to desire for self-determination and govern their own lives and and ignore suppressive rule. Its a futile fight, war.
Bruce:
How much money did our Federal Government spend on fighting Marijuana between 2002 ansd 2008?
also, when you look at those stats, it completely proves the gateway theory false.
Not a surprise to me.
This kind of survey can grossly under-report use simply because people are being asked to confess to illegal activity. Since the topic of marijuana use is so much less taboo recently, some of the increase in self-admitted marijuana use in recent surveys may be that more people are less afraid to admit it. Still, use of the plant is likely much more common than prohibitionists imagine.
DarthNole: This is a difficult question to answer as most federal drug war expenditures are not broken down by drug. Economist Jeffrey Miron did some estimates of federal and state expenditures a few years ago, which you can find here:http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/
Bruce : I think these stats are backward or something.
14.6 million or 6.2 percent in 2002, 15.2 million or 6.1 percent in 2008.
To evryone:
Asking for freedom is just that….asking.
R.O.E., they aren’t backward. The number of users is up, but so is the population.
Thanks Bruce…. can you do me a favor and ask Aaron Houston if he is using the current Healthcare debate to push these Republican Congressmen to also support HR 2835. They oppose the proposed Healthcare reform because it puts Government between the doctor and the patient. HR2835 would remove Government from the decisions made between a doctor and patient with respect to Medical Marijuana.
I bring this up because with the President signaling some movement on tort reform we may see some of the Republicans begin to support this reform. We need to strike while the iron is hot and trap them with their own words. You don’t want the Government getting involved in medical decisions, but you do when it come to the non-toxic marijuana plant???? This hypocracy needs to be flushed out in the open!!!!
Let’s hope to see this on the news……..
BTW – Do you guys need another Lobbyist running around the Halls of Congress. I have a Republican mindset and although I live in Richmond I would make the drive to DC everyday to be of help.
I want someone, anyone to give me any facts from scientiffic research that proves to me that cannabis can harm me in any way!!!! When that happens I might think about tunning back to pharma’s grasp.
Thanks Bruce, I was thinking it was because of population increase , made the numbers look wrong.
You want facts? Read up on marijuana’s side effects. Then read your prescription warnings and side effects. Also take a step further and read what happens when you mix alcohol with prescription meds.
When they say ‘No drug matches the threat of marijuana’, I’m not so sure they mean a threat to society and or personal health.
I really think with a little word play, they mean the threat of a sensible adverse to a belligerent society. A nation of people who would not allow this corporate dictatorship of many faces to consume our every muscle of work and energy and further exploit our freedoms, way of life, and our planet all for the sake of few people who want to rule.
What is this mockery of our Constitution and nation?
That’s why we need a strategy .. and the Constitution has to be its’ very core.
How about hooking up with the NRA? Everybody gets to keep their guns and the NRA identifies (& fights for) an individuals’ RIGHTS .. be it a gun owner or a mj user.
Barry Cooper for Texas Attorney General, 11/2010
http://www.electbarrycooper.com/
Check him out .. Think about this .. if Barry is elected Attorney General of TEXAS, we will be looking at revolutionary changes taking place. And if the citizens of Texas capitulate on continuing the “war on drugs”, you can bet your *ss, Calif. would finish the job (legalization) very quickly.
cool, we finally got started in the right direction. hopefully its only a matter of time now
I’m here to put a flame under the *ss of all Texans. Calif. Is so far ahead of Texas in this arena (sane, rational thinking) Texas has to come up with something BIG. Yeah, that’s right .. BIG! And Barry Cooper would be something BIG as the Attorney General of Texas.
I also know Texas doesn’t do anything Half-*ssed. Which means, the other end of the spectrum is increasing the penalties regarding mj use to “wanted, dead or alive” posters all over the place. Oh, and making even THINKING about mj use good for 5 years in prison.
I pray that rationality & pride of leadership take the day (& the future)
ERIC, As far as I am concerned there is NO long lasting side effects to cannabis use. I can get any pill or even opiats for my screwed together leg and my joint pains and my back. I was on them back in the eighties. I have been drug free for 20 years now and plan to stay that way as long as I can stay out of jail for my cannabis use. As an every day user of cannabis I go to work and am raising three kids by myself. If I was to follow the law I would be strung out on hard drugs that are legal and you tax payers would be paying for my drugs and paying me to raise my kids. Simply, I would be a junkie, nothing less. And that is no good for anyone, especially my kids.
Are you saying that the marijuana prohibition which costs taxpayers in excess of $40 billion a year produces “exactly nothing”?!! How do you know that there wouldn’t be more people smoking marijuana if we didn’t have the prohibition? [ I guess if I can ask that question then I also have to ask how do you know that there wouldn't be *less* people smoking if we didn't have it? ]
The DEA claims that because only 42% of our population has smoked marijuana that their prohibition has been 58% effective and that with just a little more money and commitment it can be 100% effective and marijuana will be eliminated from our country. But I say that statement is flawed.
That statement is based on the belief that *every* person not smoking marijuana is only refraining because of the presence of the prohibition. I always thought that I didn’t smoke because I didn’t want to and that legalizing it wouldn’t change that any. But if the DEA is right and I (one of the 58% who don’t smoke) am ONLY refraining because of the prohibition then ending the prohibition will start me (and the other 200 million non-smokers) smoking which means that NONE of us actually supports the prohibition.
Smokers obviously don’t support the prohibition and (according to the DEA) since non-smokers are simply smokers who’re refraining because of the presence of the prohibition then we aren’t its supporters either! That means that not a single person in this country except police chiefs, the DEA and prison unions, supports the prohibition!
Why do we allow our lives to be controlled by an ineffective and deadly policy which NOBODY supports? March in the streets, picket legislative buildings, talk to non-smokers – 2,000 people are being arrested for possession every day, 6,000 people are being murdered by the cartels every year for an ineffective policy which NOBODY supports. Speak up!
If you have to ask for permission, to be free, then in the end your freedom extends only so far as to allow you to ask for it.
The function of government is NOT to dispense freedom but to defend it.
Yeh, this is good, but they way Obama is “Takeing Care of us” I dont think they want to bring this Bush falure up. Seems Mr. Obama has forgotten whom got him elected in the first place. He better stop these raids and start telling the truth about marijuana and the truth that we the majority, not just “some online” as he says, we want reform!
Come 2012, we wont fall for the same BS and a third party will get all of the internet votes, aka; Marijuana community and supporters! We will see the two party system fail, just like the War on Drugs has become useless, more harmful than good, and based on lies and miss information.
These law makers have been in power too long, making too many wrong choices, they are too removed from reality and have no idea what truly needs to be done. SO they do nothing while we all need reform, healthcare or marijuana reform, doesnt matter they do nothing to change any failed policy while we all are suffering for their lack of doing anything! Im sick of all of them, we all should get them all out and start electing people based only on their marijuana reform plan. That simple!
Dem Congress & Pres created 1st drug prohibition in 1914. Dem Congress overrode Pres veto to creat 2nd drug prohibition (alcohol) in 1919. Dem Congress & Pres created 3rd drug prohibition, 1937 Marihuana Tax Stamp Act. Joe Biden helped create the ‘Rave Act’, ‘Asset forfeiture (seizure) Act’, created ONDCP & coined the term, “Drug Czar”, who has lied about marijuana ever since. Leading kids to try hard core drugs after finding out that marijuana is neither addictive, nor deadly. The Drug Czars are resposible for a lot of kids dying by heroin overdose. Nixon declared ‘war on drugs’. But, Dems have consistantly robbed Americans of their civil rights since their party began. Racist, hypocritical southern Dems created sodomy laws & invaded peoples bedrooms. Now the Republicans get all the heat. But, the Democrats are in power & doing nothing to end drug prohibition. Obama is a snake oil salesman, who’s letting the DEA continue their oppression of medical marijuana patients. So, I don’t give a darn for either party. I’ve been a lifelong Republican. Becasue, they started the reform for civil rights, not the Dems. Remember, Lincoln was a Republican. The GOP was for people making their lives better through hard work & the smallest workable government. Not robbing hard worker through taxation, just to hand it out to people who won’t work. Joe Kennedy Sr was a bootlegger who conspired to cause the great depression. That’s why he pulled his money out just before the collapse. Dems give money to layabouts so they’ll vote for them. Nixon only joined the Democrat prohibition movement. Now the GOP is nothing but the Democrat Lite Party. I’ll be voting for honest, dedicated Libertarians from now on. No matter how this effects the Dems or GOP. Only the Libertarians will end prohibition, restore civil rights, repeal bad laws, and shrink government. Until then, you’re all wasting your time believing in corrupt pols who don’t hear a word we’re saying. We don’t want your prohibition, forced healthcare oppression, and 72 new laws Congress makes every week. All we get is lip service & it’s full speed ahead with dam* the people. We’re just a source of tax revenue to these guys, and prohibition is a way of milking us even more. Good luck to anyone who still believes in the Dems or GOP. Talk about the blind leading the blind. Expect to see Gil twist the National Drug Survey to support the continuence of prohibition. It’s in his job description to lie to the people. Obama’s poll #’s are going to hit rock bottom in a few more weeks. But, he’ll just fabricate an incident to justify finishing the coup & turning our nation into a dictatorship. Better speak up while you can. As we speak, Congress is working on giving Obama the power to turn off the internet whenever he wants. Good luck to everyone, especially the majority of you. You know, the ones with voters remorse.
War on Marijuana Failed, New Drug Survey Shows !
Unfortunately this isn’t news to anyone. The same has been reported for years and our government officials just won’t listen. Why would they? Prohibition is big business and big money. It’s how many of them feed their families.
Let them starve. Let me keep my money. HA, HA, HA, HA, HA.
its a tough fight, because potheads are unmotivated, i know because i could be out doing something constructive but instead im on MPP’s webpage. If ALL of us smokers would quit smoking for just a few days we would actually do something, i tried it a few weeks ago and i was ready to start a freaking revolution! potheads unite, quit smoking for a week then we march on washington and keep coming until they budge. or we could do a hunger strike… get a bunch of us together and not eat until they legalize pot. think about it, would they rather see thousands of people starving or pot being legal? wait…dont answer that
Please visit our website to sign up or participate in California’s initiative to Legalize, Tax and Regulate Marijuana.
This initiative may set the political momentum for the rest of the states do the same.
Please tell your friends and family to get involved.
Holy Smokes. In one ear and out the other. That is what my Mom would say about me. And, now I say it about the Federal Government and the absurd notion that marijuana must remain a Schedule I drug with no medical value. Hey guy’s google the patent on cannabloids. (sp?) It has a US patent for medical value. Time to educate. Holy Smokes.
Rev. Sleezy
The Universal Life Church of the Holy Smoke
Potland, OR
Rev. Sleezy…
What’s worse is that the patent your talking about is held by the Department of Health and Human Services… This is the same department that has the ability to make a binding recommendation to the DEA to re-schedule marijuana. Once the Secratary of DHHS tells the Head of the DEA that marijuana has medical uses for treatment in the US, the DEA is required to re-schedule. There should be letters going out to Kathleen Sebilius every single day requesting this change.
How can your Department hold this patent yet continue to claim that there are NO medical uses for treatment in the US??? If someone could get her answer on tape or in writing that would be great.
MPP:
Can you get a letter together for Kathleen Sebilius that all of us can easily use to send her a letter asking about this hypocrisy?
The “War on Drugs”, esp, marijuana, FAILED the day in 1937 it was demonized and criminalized… all because, as now, we had issues with illegal immigrants from Mexico, and prejudice to Black people, esp. those who played jazz music. The fact that cannabis ever got to be the “notorious drug” it’s deemed to be is frightening and completely nonsensical! Where is a ‘War on Martians”, which should be there along with cannabis, given the scare Orson Wells caused with “War of the Worlds”… aren’t there laws against shouting “FIRE” if there is no fire??? Cannabis, aka marijuana is the fire that isn’t… time to arrest all those who think it is!!!
just proof that the truth will set you free, get this in for into the main stream again, although acording to polls we have a lot of support. we just need washington dc to come around like barney frank said the public is ahead of the politicians. its just like water dripping on a rock.. over time it will wear away give it time and be persistant and they will see. maybe not this time around but not too long now.. or hell maybe this time never know. just keep the finish line in sight. and remember its 4:20 somewhere
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