Sabresfansince1980 wrote:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/speech10/030410_Chief.pdf
For those that don't know about Kerlikowski...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_KerlikowskeHe's not a right wing zealot by any means, having been appointed under Clinton and now by Obama. It's an interesting read regardless of your position. He was my instructor during my senior year at Buffalo State College, and has a very forward thinking mindset. So PSP, this issue isn't so cut and dry the way you think.
He's comparing prescription pain killers which are basically manufactured heroine to Cannabis.
His point is that because prescriptions are legal, they're more accessible to kids. Here are the issues with his position.
1. Prescription pain killers are more accessible than marijuana because parents leave their pill bottles right in kitchen cabinetry, just as he states himself!
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Because prescription drugs are legal, they are easily accessible, often from a home medicine cabinet.
Parents carry their tobacco with them.
2. Prescription pain killers are hundreds of times more dangerous than marijuana. You cannot OD on pot. You can OD on prescription pain killers. You cannot become dangerously and increasingly addicted to marijuana like you can to prescription pain killers or even cigarettes.
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Specifically about marijuana, he said, "It's a dangerous drug..."
Lost his credibility in my eyes right there.
3.
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First, on the medical marijuana issue, I believe that the science should determine what a medicine is, not popular vote.
So he believes that government should ignore the general consensus of society and that the corporations should determine how we address pain. So far, as you can see by the problems we're having with prescription pain killers, that's worked out tremendously well.
4.
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I recently met with officials from the Netherlands, they are closing down marijuana outlets – or “coffee shops” – because of the nuisance and crime risks associated with them. What used to be thousands of shops have now been reduced to a few hundred, and some cities are shutting them down completely.8
Their problems have nothing to do with the red light district and the dope issues over there? It's all about the marijuana?
5.
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Though I sympathize with the current budget predicament – and acknowledge that we must find innovative solutions to get us on a path to financial stability – it is clear that the social costs of legalizing marijuana would outweigh any possible tax that could be levied. In the United States, illegal drugs already cost $180 billion a year in health care, lost productivity, crime, and other expenditures.23 That number would only increase under legalization because of increased use.
I don't know the facts monetarily, but he's lumping together all illegal drug costs rather than those associated with marijuana alone.
As far as the rehab stats go, addicts of other drugs often check in and claim they're there for marijuana in hopes of entering a faster program, and yet still be kept away from other drugs.
Lastly, I don't think it's fair for the government to decide what I choose to engage in. I think it's the government's responsibility to inform and protect, but not control our decisions in regards to our own lives.