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Alochol VS Marijuana from police chief's perspective

FrostyMcFailure

FrostyMcFailure

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Aug 17, 2004
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Marijuana smokers show greater responsibility in their choice of drugs than those of us who choose (and abuse) alcohol.


As 5:00 p.m. rolls around my interior clock starts chiming. I'll have an ice-cold, bone-dry martini, thank you. Jalapeno olives and a twist. If the occasion calls for it (temperatures in the twenties, a hot political debate on the tube) I may substitute two fingers of Kentucky sour mash. Four-twenty? Doesn't resonate. But with the Waldos of the world just having celebrated up their favorite day of the year, it's not a bad time to consider, yet again, the pluses and minuses of alcohol vs. cannabis.

First, a disclaimer: I am a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, but I don't officially represent the organization in this forum. That said, I can't very well check my affiliation, or beliefs, at the keyboard when I sit down to blog. We at LEAP are current and former cops and other criminal justice practitioners who have witnessed firsthand the futility and manifold injustices of the drug war. Our professional experiences have led us to conclude that the more dangerous an illicit substance -- from crack to krank -- the greater the justification for its legalization, regulation, and control. It is the prohibition of drugs that leads inexorably to high rates of death, disease, crime, and addiction.

Back to booze vs. pot. How do the effects of these two drugs stack up against specific health and public safety factors?

Alcohol-related traffic accidents claim approximately 14,000 lives each year, down significantly from 20 or 30 years ago (attributed to improved education and enforcement). Figures for THC-related traffic fatalities are elusive, especially since alcohol is almost always present in the blood as well, and since the numbers of "marijuana-only" traffic fatalities are so small. But evidence from studies, including laboratory simulations, feeds the stereotype that those under the influence of canniboids tend to (1) be more aware of their impaired psychomotor skills, and (2) drive well below the speed limit. Those under the influence of alcohol are much more likely to be clueless or defiant about their condition, and to speed up and drive recklessly.

Hundreds of alcohol overdose deaths occur annually. There has never been a single recorded marijuana OD fatality.

According to the American Public Health Association, excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of death in this country. APHA pegs the negative economic impact of extreme drinking at $150 billion a year.

There have been no documented cases of lung cancer in a marijuana-only smoker, nor has pot been scientifically linked to any type of cancer. (Don't trust an advocate's take on this? Try the fair and balanced coverage over at Fox.) Alcohol abuse contributes to a multitude of long-term negative health consequences, notably cirrhosis of the liver and a variety of cancers.

While a small quantity, taken daily, is being touted for its salutary health effects, alcohol is one of the worst drugs one can take for pain management, marijuana one of the best.

Alcohol contributes to acts of violence; marijuana reduces aggression. In approximately three million cases of reported violent crimes last year, the offender had been drinking. This is particularly true in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, and date rape. Marijuana use, in and of itself, is absent from both crime reports and the scientific literature. There is simply no link to be made.

Over the past four years I've asked police officers throughout the U.S. (and in Canada) two questions. When's the last time you had to fight someone under the influence of marijuana? (I'm talking marijuana only, not pot plus a six-pack or a fifth of tequila.) My colleagues pause, they reflect. Their eyes widen as they realize that in their five or fifteen or thirty years on the job they have never had to fight a marijuana user. I then ask: When's the last time you had to fight a drunk? They look at their watches.

All of which begs the question. If one of these two drugs is implicated in dire health effects, high mortality rates, and physical violence -- and the other is not -- what are we to make of our nation's marijuana laws? Or alcohol laws, for that matter.

Anybody out there want to launch a campaign for the re-prohibition of alcohol? Didn't think so. The answer, of course, is responsible drinking. Marijuana smokers, for their part, have already shown (apart from that little matter known as the law) greater responsibility in their choice of drugs than those of us who choose alcohol.
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http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/137752/pot_vs._booze%3A_a_former_police_chief%27s_take/
 
I bring up this basic message everytime I hear an ignorant person talk about how dangerous marijuana is. I have a lot of contact with college administrators in social situations. The one that always makes them go huh... is when I tell them I will go dig up all the people who have died of a pot overdose and they can do the same with every who died from an alcohol overdose. Then I say I'm done, but you have a lot of work to do. I just wish everyone was as curious as I was and didn't just take dea propaganda as fact. If you do the research it is clear that pot is one of the safest recreational activities out there. When I show them the DEA commissioned studies proving the safety and health benefits it is sometimes enough to change thier mind. We will get there, one newly enlightened person at a time.
 
i mean come the fuck on.... this basiacally lays out proof as to how flawd our country's drug laws are..

there's no denying the facts in this... you'd have to be hellen keller to not realize we need to legalize it
 
All the deaths caused from illegal drugs in the world, including Heroin and Cocaine, don't even make up 1/2 a percent of total deaths in the world related to alcohol and tobacco. Iam not for legalizing Heroin or Cocaine but still, wow!
 
^Hell yeah legalize heroin and cocaine. Take the billions of dollars out of the hands of drug lords and gangs and give it to the tax payers.

And I wouldn't have to deal with those shady dealers anymore. :D
 
yet another great read frosty.

i hate it when i go to parties with a bunch of drunken idiots who come up to me slurring their words n shit and say "mariijannna is bladd for you!!!"
 
praise jah hallelujah amen haha.

but on the real, he makes the exact points that need to be made. glad not everyone is blind in society.
 
Yes, an excellent article. Reading it gives me hope of a better future. We have the same alcohol related problems in Australia and yet marijuana is seen as more of a problem. I cannot see the logical thinking behind it all.
 
i hate it when i go to parties with a bunch of drunken idiots who come up to me slurring their words n shit and say "mariijannna is bladd for you!!!"
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you hit the nail on the head 1000%
 
me0307 said:
yet another great read frosty.

i hate it when i go to parties with a bunch of drunken idiots who come up to me slurring their words n shit and say "mariijannna is bladd for you!!!"
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Those parties suck, the college scene here is much less discriminatory:) I'll take both any day.
 
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