LOCAL VIEW: REEFER MADNESS STRIKES AGAIN

I showed the original film Reefer Madness to one of my classes recently,
drawing a lot of laughter, as usual. The film, released in 1938, was a
product of the hysteria propagated by our first "drug czar," Harry
Anslinger, who headed what was then known as the Bureau of Narcotics (now
the Drug Enforcement Administration). History has shown Anslinger to be
nothing less than a madman who craved public attention and went to great
lengths to create mostly lies and distortions about what he termed the
"Assassin of Youth" (the title of a book he wrote).

Sixty-five years later "reefer madness" is back, this time promoted by our
current "drug czar," John Walters, who is repeating some of the same
warnings that Anslinger used, such as marijuana being a highly addictive
and a "gateway" drug. Both of these claims have been repeatedly refuted by
hundreds of scientific studies.

Let's begin with four numbers that are incontestable: 400,000; 150,000;
5,000; 0. These are the most recent estimates of the annual deaths
attributed to, respectively: tobacco, alcohol, so-called "hard drugs"
(heroin, cocaine, etc.) and, last but certainly least, marijuana. You read
it right. Zero deaths caused by marijuana.

Here are some other undisputed facts about the "war on drugs" in general
and marijuana in particular:

1. As of September, more than $28 billion has been spent fighting the "war
on drugs" and it is estimated that the total expenditures by the end of the
year will be more than $50 billion.

2. More than 1.3 million people have been arrested on drug charges so far
this year.

3. Of those arrested, more than 500,000 have been for marijuana, mostly
possession.

4. So far this year,170,000 people have been incarcerated for drug offenses
(and drug offenses explain at least one-third of the rise in the prison
population during the past two decades);

5. Research sponsored by the National Institute of Drug Abuse found that
when comparing six of the most popular drugs in terms of their addictive
qualities, nicotine ranked highest, with heroin second, cocaine third,
alcohol fourth, caffeine fifth and marijuana sixth. Some of the more
specific addictive qualities of these drugs (dependence, withdrawal,
tolerance, etc.) were the least for marijuana.

6. Recent research by the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C.,
summarizes a large number of studies on the so-called "gateway theory" by
stating: "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of
marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit
drugs." It was also concluded that, while there is a "progression of drug
use from adolescence to adulthood," and "most users of other illicit drugs
have used marijuana first," "most drug users begin with alcohol and
nicotine before marijuana." One of the most recent reports disputing the
gateway theory was published in the American Journal of Public Health by
Dr. Andrew Golub, one of the foremost drug researchers;

7. The World Health Organization recently concluded, based on a careful
review of the research, that when comparing marijuana, alcohol, nicotine
and opiates, there is no evidence that marijuana "exerts a permanently
deleterious effect on the normal cardiovascular system" and further that
the public health risks from marijuana are far lower than the risks from
alcohol or tobacco "even if as many people used cannabis as now drink or
smoke tobacco."

The above is just a brief summary of the research on this issue (for more
go to www.drugsense.org .) If marijuana is not nearly as dangerous to one's
health and well-being as the legal drugs, why make it against the law? An
objection may be made that using marijuana excessively and over a long
period will be harmful (which might be true), but you could say the same
thing about eating the wrong foods. It would be just as logical to declare
a "war on obesity" and start arresting people who go over a certain weight
or for possessing ultra-fatty foods. I can see it now, a special "food
czar" with his hired "obesity police" patrolling the streets looking for
fat people!

Now that we can easily see (based on more than 30 years of research) that
the harm from pot is negligible and it is not a "gateway drug," others may
still vote against Question 9 on the Nevada ballot by suggesting that if
marijuana is legalized, it will "open the floodgates" whereby millions will
suddenly start using it and a whole generation will turn into dope fiends!
Such was the dire warning in Reefer Madness. It's the classic example of
using fear (often based on exaggerated stories of people going crazy after
using pot) as a deterrent (which doesn't work). It never works and won't
work now. Drug use, including marijuana, should be dealt with as a health
issue, not a legal issue. It is time to pass this much-needed legislation
and bring "reefer madness" to a close.