The War on Drugs:Facts

[PaulT]

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/

Basically, the drugwarfacts website has nonbiased information on the war on drugs. They simply state facts about how effective the war on drugs has been, what drugs people are arrested for possesing the most, how dangerous certain drugs are, what is and isn't a gateway drug etc.

This is really cool because it lists sources from real medical journals. It isn't like the freevibe website where everything is anti drugs, or like some other websites where everything is pro-drugs. Everything is truthful.

You would be surprised at the number of government task forces/commisions etc. found Marijuana to be completely safe and non toxic:

When examining the medical affects of marijuana use, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded, "A careful search of the literature and testimony of the nation's health officials has not revealed a single human fatality in the United States proven to have resulted solely from ingestion of marihuana. Experiments with the drug in monkeys demonstrated that the dose required for overdose death was enormous and for all practical purposes unachievable by humans smoking marihuana. This is in marked contrast to other substances in common use, most notably alcohol and barbiturate sleeping pills. The WHO reached the same conclusion in 1995.

Source: Shafer, Raymond P., et al, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Ch. III, (Washington DC: National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1972); Hall, W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995, (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, March 1998).

Even more interesting:

# "Tetrahydrocannabinol is a very safe drug. Laboratory animals (rats, mice, dogs, monkeys) can tolerate doses of up to 1,000 mg/kg (milligrams per kilogram). This would be equivalent to a 70 kg person swallowing 70 grams of the drug -- about 5,000 times more than is required to produce a high. Despite the widespread illicit use of cannabis there are very few if any instances of people dying from an overdose. In Britain, official government statistics listed five deaths from cannabis in the period 1993-1995 but on closer examination these proved to have been deaths due to inhalation of vomit that could not be directly attributed to cannabis (House of Lords Report, 1998). By comparison with other commonly used recreational drugs these statistics are impressive."

Source: Iversen, Leslie L., PhD, FRS, "The Science of Marijuana" (London, England: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 178, citing House of Lords, Select Committee on Science and Technology, "Cannabis -- The Scientific and Medical Evidence" (London, England: The Stationery Office, Parliament, 1998).

[tidalecko]

I'm not suprised at all, this is actually old news. Anybody with an ounce of sense knows that it would be physically impossible to smoke enough weed required to overdose. Marijuana is relatively harmless, the only negative aspect that's worth mentioning is that inhaling smoke is never good for your lungs, no matter what kind of smoke it is. THC is a bronchial dilator, unlike nicotine, however, which is another reason weed is safer for you than tobacco.

I had read an article which was published by the Marie Curie Foundation a while ago, which explained that heroin was much safer than its stigma implied, especially in a clean form, unmolested through black-market antics. I'll have to find that one...

[PaulT]

I'm not suprised at all, this is actually old news. Anybody with an ounce of sense knows that it would be physically impossible to smoke enough weed required to overdose. Marijuana is relatively harmless, the only negative aspect that's worth mentioning is that inhaling smoke is never good for your lungs, no matter what kind of smoke it is. THC is a bronchial dilator, unlike nicotine, however, which is another reason weed is safer for you than tobacco.

The thing that surprised me wasn't that weed isn't dangerous (Yes, anyone with an ounce of sense knows that). It's that the US government funded people to research and prove that weed is dangerous, and when the people they hired didn't, they ignored their findings untill they could bribe someone to fake it.

I thought the US government would at least be smart enough to not fund any research, thus covering it's own ass more effectively.

[tidalecko]

I thought the US government would at least be smart enough to not fund any research, thus covering it's own ass more effectively.

A man I have some high measure of respect for, George Washington, once said: "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

The founding fathers understood that government, though necessary, needed to be limited. The constitution was what was meant to limit the government, but the supreme court overruled that.

Land of the free? Where have you been for the past 150 years?

[PaulT]

Well, in terms of the illegality of Cannabis, the government was essentially bribed by the big businesses who would be damaged by Hemp production (Hemp was called the Billion dollar Crop by Popular Mechanics).

Basically our government was bribed to make up dangerous stories about a plant because it would threaten corporations.

Source:http://www.cannabis.com/untoldstory/pmpage1.shtml

[tidalecko]

No doubt about it, that's a contributing factor. And I want to let you know right know, if any hostility shows through in my posts right now it's directed at the government, not anyone here. I could go on for hours and hours...

But instead, I'll just show you the best, most well-written, concise article I've ever read explaining the entire history of drugs in America, how the government has used the 'drug war' as their scapegoat, and how drugs have no business being illegal (and how drugs being illegal leads to more crime and problems)...

http://www.harrybrowne.org/GLO/DrugWar.htm

[PaulT]

Great article, thanks.

Just starting reading it, and enjoying it because it's talking about the prohibition.

It's a great comparasin to make: a perfect way to spawn crime is to outlaw drugs.

[Ikonoclast]

Good thread PaulT.

Another interesting fact is that in 2003 (04 statistics not up yet) 90% of the Marijuana plants siezed and destroyed by the DEA were Ferral Hemp. This cost the American taxpayers just under $300,000,000. Thanks Uncle Sam, for getting rid of those evil LEGALLY CULTIVATED CASH CROPS.

Fucking morons