Monday, October 20, 2008

What They Knew in '72


Findings of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse include:
- “No significant physical, biochemical, or mental abnormalities could be attributed solely to their
marihuana smoking.” (National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, “Marihuana: A Signal of
Misunderstanding; First Report, Washington, DC, U.S. Govt. Print. Off, 1972, p. 61)
- “No valid stereotype of a marihuana user or non-user can be drawn.” (p. 36)
- “Young people who choose to experiment with marihuana are fundamentally the same people, socially
and psychologically, as those who use alcohol and tobacco.” (p. 42)
- “No verification is found of a causal relationship between marihuana use and subsequent heroin use.”
(p. 88)
- “Most users, young and old, demonstrate an average or above-average degree of social functioning,
academic achievement, and job performance.” (p. 96)
- “In sum, the weight of the evidence is that marihuana does not cause violent or aggressive behavior; if
anything marihuana serves to inhibit the expression of such behavior.” (p. 73)
- “In short marihuana is not generally viewed by participants in the criminal justice community as a major
contributing influence in the commission of delinquent or criminal acts.” (p. 75)
- “Neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety.” (p. 78)
- “Recent research has not yet proven that marihuana use significantly impairs driving ability or
performance.” (p. 79)
- “No reliable evidence exists indicating that marihuana causes genetic defects in man.” (p. 84)
- “Marihuana's relative potential for harm to the vast majority of individual users and its actual impact on
society does not justify a social policy designed to seek out and firmly punish those who use it.” (p. 130)

Marijuana compared to alcohol
- Linkletter: “They sit down with a marijuana cigarette to
get high --“

- Nixon: “A person does not drink to get drunk.”

- Linkletter: “That’s right.”

- Nixon: “A person drinks to have fun.”

4 comments:

billy pilgrim said...

i'm not sure that everyone drinks to have fun. those beer commercials might be a little misleading.

but i'm grateful to all the drunks who toss their beer cans onto the street.

yellowdoggranny said...

my favorite author
H.Allan Smith said once that he didn't want AA to complete cure all people of alcaholism as he wished they would leave as least a half dozen or so around just for laughs..same with reefer..we need more cheech and chongs...ha
my friend shady lane is 63 has smoked since she was 17 or so..she still smokes...she and her husband both and they run a mulit million dollar boat business...doesn't seem to effect them..
and for Goddess's sake..look at fecking willie nelson...

Mr. Shife said...

They knew quite a bit in '72. If the govt. wants to make some money legalized drugs would be a place to start. The war on drugs another war we will never win.

texlahoma said...

Billy, I keep expecting a Sweedish bikini team every time I open a beer but it never happens, I think beer commercials are misleading.

YDG, yeah it's like that report was trying to say it's no big deal, just leave people alone but tricky dick wanted a way to arrest peaceful protesters and hippies.

Mr.Shife, I agree completely. They should legalize, regulate and tax it. The war on drugs was never meant to be won, only funded.

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