

Legal pot is a public health menace - forgingahead
http://online.wsj.com/articles/william-bennett-and-robert-white-legal-pot-is-a-public-health-menace-1407970966

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bediger4000
Note the authors: WIlliam J. Bennet and Robert A. White.

Bennet was a "drug czar" under George H W Bush. This editorial is hardly news.
"Ex drug czar thinks drugs are bad" is a more realistic title than the one
given. It would be more newsworthy if Bennet took the opposite position.

Robert A. White is listed as "an attorney" in New Jersey. If he's a defense
attorney, it might be newsworthy if he was against legalization. As it stands,
he might be a prosecutor, or have some other ulterior motive to favor harsh
legal penalties for marijuana use.

I finally found a way to read the article , and I find that this is more
"reefer madness" moral panic. Bennet and White make a weak argument, the point
of which is entirely predictable for Establishment White Guys: POT BAD. POT
CORRUPT YOUTH.

As a person who went to public schools in the 60s and 70s, I can say that I
have seen this "MJ today is FAR STRONGER than the 'tea leaves' of the Jazz
Age" line trotted out many times. Get some new propaganda, Establishment White
Guys: that one has whiskers on it. Even if it's true, it just sounds so wimpy.
You're going to have to try harder to convince anyone other than the Other
Establishment White Guys who read Wall Street Journal. And you need to
convince a lot of people to preserve the appearance of rule with consent of
the populace.

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dmitrygr
1\. copy text in said paragraph

2\. paste into google

3\. click first result

4\. read entire article

5\. profit ?

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forgotAgain
I loved the line:

 _The APA noted that young people who become addicted to marijuana lose an
average of six IQ points by adulthood._

A complete distortion. It was actually a single presentation at the American
Psychological Association (APA) convention that made that claim. I see no
indication on the APA website [http://www.apa.org](http://www.apa.org) that
the statement was endorsed by the group.

I can't help but see this as a commercial attempt to keep the failed war on
drugs (and the government money) rolling.

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Synaesthesia
Absolute distortion which is become too clear to see. No basis in fact. As
Noam Chomsky says it should be called "The War on some drugs". He also calls
cigarettes "a deadly narcotic".

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jnetterf
Link to avoid paywall:
[http://www.google.com/url?q=http://online.wsj.com/articles/w...](http://www.google.com/url?q=http://online.wsj.com/articles/william-
bennett-and-robert-white-legal-pot-is-a-public-health-menace-1407970966)

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Synaesthesia
Legalization doesn't mean it will become more accessible to teens, in fact it
should do the reverse. Colorado has seen declining pot amongst teens usage
since it was legalized and is below the national average. Holland has a very
low cannabis use among teens, although it's legally accessible there, whereas
the US has a very high use where it is illegal ...

Futhermore it is never mentioned what the real public health menaces are:
Cigarettes and Alcohol! Accounting for the vast majority of deaths, the next
biggest killer is prescription medicines. Let's focus on the truly deadly
narcotics!

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MaysonL
WSJ oped page is a public mental health menace.

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grizzles
If pot becomes legal it would be bad news for Corrections Corp of America and
GEO group. They are already sweating the prospect of Obama legalizing a whole
bunch of immigrants.

[http://www.ibtimes.com/top-private-prison-operators-geo-
corr...](http://www.ibtimes.com/top-private-prison-operators-geo-corrections-
corp-america-worry-about-fewer-illegal-immigrants-jail)

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exelius
Site is behind a paywall; I'm guessing most of us can't read the article...

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JustinBlaird
Paywall

