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What Do You Know, the Ex-Drug Czar Is Still Full of Sh*t!
In a revelation that I'm sure will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, it turns out that ex-Drug Czar John Walters is still full of sh*t.
Responding on CNN last night to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's call to debate the merits of taxing and regulating the adult use of marijuana (e-mail the Governor here), Walters demonstrated that he remains an unrepentant liar -- even though he's no longer paid by the federal government to be one.
To summarize: in under five minutes Walters manages to falsely claim that:
Today's marijuana is far stronger -- and thus more dangerous -- than ever before. Actually, the Feds' own data indicates that the average strength of domestic cannabis hasn't changed in over ten years; that marijuana -- regardless of THC content -- is relatively non-toxic and incapable of causing a fatal overdose; and that most folks -- when given the choice -- prefer to consume milder marijuana over highly potent pot.
More people seek drug treatment for pot than all other drugs combined. Technically true, but only because between 60 percent to 70 percent of individuals enrolled in substance abuse "treatment" for cannabis are small-time pot offenders who were referred there by the criminal justice system. In fact, according to the latest federal data, nearly four in ten people admitted to substance abuse treatment programs for cannabis did not even use it in the month prior to their admission.
Nobody is actually in jail for marijuana-related offenses. Ah yes, the "unicorn" theory. Never mind those 50,000 state and federal inmates serving time for pot offenses the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics talks about. In John Walters' fantasy world, they simply don't exist.
Consuming cannabis leads to violent behavior and other criminal acts. Apparently, when pot doesn't make you "docile and unresponsive, to the point of helplessness," it makes you unpredictably violent. Or not. Look, I asked this question on Monday and I'll ask it again: Read about any gang-related violence surrounding the sale of alcohol lately? How about vicodin or paxil? Didn't think so. Consuming marijuana doesn't cause violent or criminal behavior, but criminals and violent people do engage in the black market trafficking of illicit drugs. The irony, of course, is that the very "violence" that Walters claims to lament -- that is, when he and his colleagues over at the DEA aren't hailing the increase in drug-related violence as a good thing -- is a direct consequence of the public policy (prohibition) he reflexively endorses.
**Side note: Maine Gov. John Baldacci just signed legislation into law on Friday making the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana a civil violation, punishable by a fine and no jail time. Expect to hear Walters ranting and raving about marijuana cartels setting up shop in the Pine Tree state any day now.
Finally, for good measure, Walters even resurrects the claim that there are now more medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of San Fransisco than there are Starbucks -- an allegation so absurd that the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper laughed it out of the room some six months ago.
So here's my question: Gov. Schwarzenegger -- as well as U.S. Senator Jim Webb -- have called for a "debate" on whether or not to legalize the use and distribution of cannabis for adults. Webster's dictionary defines "debate" as "to argue opposing views." But as Walters' comments so adeptly illustrate, the opposing side has no actual "views," it only has lies and seven decades of bullsh*t.
Therefore, I say we skip the public debate and go straight to the public "debunk" (verb: to expose the fallacy or fraudulence of). I'm sure we can find the former Drug Czar a seat at the head of the table.
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oh btw, in paragraph 2 I meant to say "less people who use harder drugs started with pot, they actually started with alchohol and nicotine." sorry for the confusion.
Saying that marijuana will lead to violent behavior is an assumption made from a person who believes that the effect of marijuana on the body is the same result as alchohol or even harder drugs. The only reason that people in gangs get violent over marijuana is because they have their criminal records and their livelyhoods at stake if they get cought. Which in turn makes it a serious business. But if you take away the risk of losing your job, family, or freedoms (I.e. legalizing it) then there would be absolutely no violence related to it at all. And the physical effect of pot on the body is way less harmful than the effect of alchohol or tobacco. Now i'm not saying making it accessable to everyone, I think an age apropriation on marijuana use is necessary, much like alchohol and tobacco.
People who call marijuana a gateway drug is full of garbage as well. Going into harder drugs is a personal choice and cannot be blamed on an inanimate object. Plus there are studies that have shown that less people who use harder drugs actually started their use with alchohol and nicotine. People that start using marijuana not only first but when their a little older and able to handle it, never go on to using harder drugs. Which again is why I think an age apropriation would be ideal to go along with the legalization of marijuana. And I didn't even mention the economical reasons...
You figure the politicians take the campaign contributions from the Pharmaceutical and Alcohol industries and with their Conflict of Interest and Collusion, pass laws keeping marijuana illegal.
The only thing illegal is the corruption in all three branches of government. Executive, Legislative and Judicial where they legalized corruption.
When are the American Citizens going to say enough is enough? S--tcan the whole bundh or have a revolution.
Back in the day, traveling in the East, sh*t was the term we used to refer to Nepali Temple Balls (those of you who know what they are . . . well, you know what they are). Based on that, were Walters actually full of sh*t, he might not be such an idiot.
Good article, Mr. Armentano. Thank you for punching holes in all of Walters' preposterous statements. I also want to acknowledge Jeffrey Miron for his clear thinking and articulate response.
Thank you for using the proper word. Walters is indeed a liar.
They used to hang you for being a pickpocket. Of course, no ruling class people took up pickpocketing because of the penalties.
These days, they should hang weed dealers that are caught because once they have a felony, they are systematically excluded from commercial society.
How are they excluded? There's a big book of businesses that will not hire felons. Of course, these professions and businesses, corporate and small, imagine that felons are thieves, burglers, rapists, embezzlers, extortionists, kidnappers, murders, assaulters and batterers, and varieties of bunko artists. Once incarcerated, society is very unforgiving of those they eventually release.
And like the people incarcerated for torture at Abu Ghraib, it's the small timers that do the time. The big guys simply rat out their foreign connections, give up a house or island, and they're back in it within a couple years. It's the American way.
What's happening in California is that the weed laws are tumbling and rolling back, and the people seem to be able to moderate and limit themselves much more effectively than the police ever did.
Want all the proof you need that the feds are withholding this amazing substance for political/economic reasons?
The US Government itself holds a PATENT on the therapeutic properties of cannabinoids:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507
Yet cannabis remains a Schedule I substance, defined as having "no medicinal value."
Sheesh.
It always steams me to hear drug warriors hide behind “we need to do more research,” in light of the fact that the federal government has fully obstructed all cannabis research in the US since the 70s. The problem? The research always came back pointing to a benign, therapeutic substance with no toxicity and no cause for illegality.
I know the MAPS institute has been in a legal battle with the FDA/DEA and other organizations for close to a decade now trying to secure the right to grow small quantities of cannabis for FDA APPROVED studies. Presently, the only cannabis that can be used for federally sanctioned studies is federally grown, (I believe by the DEA), and guess what? They don’t give it to any researchers, even those who have gone through the arduous process of getting a study approved by the FDA.
It’s like they’ve confiscated every single chair in the country and they’re telling us, “we’d love to solve this chair issue, but first we should all just take a seat and study the situation carefully…”
Im so sick of the lies, here we go again! They had come out what 2 years ago and finaly had ads that were saying it wasnt as harmful but that you were a looser and non productive, lazy, if you use it. Now they are back to its harmful and that it causes violence, which is it? Are we lazy if we smoke pot or are we violent???
He basicly stepped on his own lies, he said that California had seen an increase in usage and before had said that pot causes violence. California hasnt seen any increase in violence, and he knew that he had stepped on his lie when he got called on it!
There will always be those who hate, or want to control others. It could be gay issues, abortion, minoritys or pot skmokers just anyone diffrent or diffrent views, they will always want to keep people down and not provide the freedoms they have. "I dont drink, why should you be alowed, hell put it all in prohibition, even coffee, I dont drink coffee so I hate coffee and so lets arrest coffee drinkers!" Its BS!
End Prohibition, write every legislator, local, state and federal, its the only way we can get this failed policy off the books! Stop arresting Pot Smokers, over 2 million now, is it really helping? Do you feel safer? Write those letters and emails, End Prohibition Today!
Our government has known for a long time that cannabis has many benefits, and any side effects are minimal. They continue to disseminate propaganda and make up even more lies.
Keeping cannabis on a prohibitive "Schedule" is extremely cynical and abusive to human rights. That makes this a very important political issue.
This is what we're up against, and why until these forces are overcome it will remain illegal. Read between the lines, 420 is Mother Natures greatest gift to mankind, not to make use of it, is to take stupidity, to its most egregious end. Industrial hemp has thousands of uses, from paper to textiles to biodegradable plastics to health food to fuel. It is one of the fastest growing biomasses on the planet, and one of the earliest domesticated plants known. It also runs parallel with the "Green Future" objectives that are becoming increasingly popular. Hemp requires little to no pesticides, replenishes soil with nutrients and nitrogen, controls erosion of the topsoil, and converts CO2 to Oxygen very well, considering how fast it grows. Furthermore, Hemp could be used to replace many potentially harmful products, such as tree paper (the process of which uses bleaches and other toxic chemicals, apart from contributing to deforestation), cosmetics (which often contain synthetic oils that can clog pores and provide little nutritional content for the skin), plastics (which are petroleum based and cannot decompose), and more...Throw in Industrial Prision Complex, Federal/State-County/Municipal, Policing Agents. Big Pharma. and dont forget the current crop of parasitic influence peddlers that have sold their souls CHEAP! All said, it is a fight worth fighting...
In his inaugural address, President Obama said among other things that
“The time has come to set aside childish things….”
This is exactly why the debate on legalizing and taxing cannabis needs to be allowed to continue on an open and factual basis.
“The stale political arguments no longer apply….”
Mr. President, truer words have never been spoken when it comes to the drugwar. It is no longer credible for any government to hide behind the false smoke screen that has been the “official” position on marijuana, when those interested, from users to parents, from cops to educators, from doctors who prescribe to patients who are helped by cannabis know that the “official” story can not be trusted as it is full of holes and factual errors. The Country knows that the official “drug czar’s” office’s policy is to never engage in debate over legalization and always insist on the tried and untrue. The President's statements of eliminating “dogma”, setting aside childish things and that stale political arguments no longer work, all call for the long overdue debate on cannabis.
How are you going to debate with someone whose intelligent thought process tells them that the EARTH is only 6,000yrs old? there has been scientific fact base analysis on this since the 1930's. Each time they throw out the science, and promote the rhetoric...but we MUST keep up the fight.
To put things into perspective…
One trillion dollars (plus) has been wasted on the failed drug war. A one dollar bill is 6.375 inches long, so if you do the math and multiply 6.375 inches by one trillion and then divide the result by 12 you get 531 billion 250 million feet and divide that by 5280 you come up with (drumroll please)
100,615,530.3 miles
The money wasted on the drug war if laid out in one dollar bills would make a line..
onehundred million sixhundredfifteen thousand and fivehundredthirty miles long….
According to wikipedia the distance from the earth to the moon (center to center) is 384,403 km or 238,856 miles. That means the dollars wasted on the drug war would stretch from the earth to the moon 261.75 times!
WOW!
America's war on drugs has been even less successful than Bush's war on terrorism. Let's try a different approach.
The dirty little secret of the war on drugs is that it is not only the drug dealers who profit from prohibition. Cops, prison guards, the DEA and politicians also make bundles off this thing and they can be expected NOT to take loss of their income lightly.
In the state of California, prison guards are the largest contributors to political campaigns. Why do you think that is? What do you suppose they expect for their money? If YOU were a politician and someone threatened YOUR largest source of campaign income, what would YOU do?
'nuff said
"60, 70, 90 percent" way to quote a stat, Hey I smoke the dankest of the dank and I work at a law firm full time and go to school full time and I have 3.0 gpa! What! John Walters? What? and most people in prisons? what about all the county jails being full?
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