INTRODUCTION TO POT LED TO LED TO MURDER OF COP (ADDENDUM)

Marijuana should not be legalized, whether for medical purposes or for recreational use, because it is unquestionable the Gateway Drug that leads many users to become addicted to other drugs

I also posted this piece on PACOVILLA Corrections blog. Michael Mason responded with a comprehensive and well thought-out argument debunking the claim that marijuana is the Gateway Drug to the use of harder drugs. Here is Mr. Mason’s argument, followed by my rebuttal.

Michael Mason says:

With all of the ills facing our society, I’m a little confusused by your ongoing campaign against the legalization of marijuana, including for medical purposes. Hardly one of the pressing issues facing our civilization. Nonetheless, I’m one who always cringes when facts are omitted from an argument, regardless of the topic. And the “gateway drug” argument has to be one of the most illogical arguments made by those against the legalization of marijuana.

There is absolutely no evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are linked to the subsequent abuse of harder drugs. In fact, numerous scientific research studies have have proven this theory to be completely bogus. The gateway theory is not only wrong, but also harmful to properly understanding and addressing drug abuse.

Research has found that the likelihood that someone will transition to the use of illegal drugs is determined by the user’s individual tendencies and environmental circumstances, not by the past use of any particular drug. Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug that most people encounter. Consequently, most users of harder drugs have obviously used marijuana. Actually, the fact is most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana.

And for those who like to cherry pick and cite whatever politically motivated study fits their agenda, the basic fact that most marijuana users don’t use other drugs cannot be disputed. As the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports, more than 100 million Americans have tried marijuana. 14.4 million Americans are estimated to be “past-month” users. Yet there are only an estimated 2,075,000 “past-month” users of cocaine and 153,000 “past-month” users of marijuana. Simple math proves that marijuana users rarely become involved in other drug use.

By the way, before somebody takes the predictable shot and calls me a stoner or pothead, know that I’m not a drug or alcohol user, and never have been . Just a boring guy who likes factual debates.
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Rebuttal:

Mr. Mason, it sure looks like you are doing the same thing you accuse those of us who oppose pot of doing … cherry picking.

I have dealt closely with hundreds of heroin users and I can assure you that over 90 percent of them started out using marijuana. And there have been plenty of studies showing that marijuana is indeed a gateway drug. And those ’2,075,000 “past-month” cocaine users’ … I’ll guarantee you that over 90 percent of them used pot before they got hooked on coke. The fact is that when the use of marijuana becomes prosaic, its users will seek a higher high by turning to the use of more potent drugs. So please don’t give us that crap about ‘there is absolutely no evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are linked to the subsequent abuse of harder drugs.’

Here are some other studies on the deleterious effects of marijuana;

A study proved that users who smoked two joints of marijuana a day developed psychotic disorders an average 2.7 years earlier than people who did not use pot. On the other hand, alcohol was found not to be associated with early onset of mental disorders. The report was published in the June 2011 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry and concluded that the results “provide evidence for a relationship between cannabis use and earlier onset of psychotic illness.” The study was conducted by researchers in England, Australia and the United States.

Another study reported that among 190 patients with schizophrenia, 121 of whom had used marijuana, cannabis appeared to affect the age of psychosis onset in a subgroup of 44 patients. The affected patients either had their first symptoms within a month of smoking pot for the first time, or experienced a severe worsening of psychotic symptoms each time they smoked. That study was conducted by Marie-Odile Krebs, professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) laboratory in France, and her colleagues.

There have been many other studies that have indicated a link between pot use and the onset of psychotic disorders.

And what about the problem of driving under the influence of pot? In California alone, nearly 1,000 deaths and injuries each year are blamed directly on drugged drivers, according to CHP data. Law enforcement puts much of the blame on the rapid growth of medical marijuana use in the last decade.

“Marijuana is a significant and important contributing factor in a growing number of fatal accidents,” said Gil Kerlikowske, director of National Drug Control Policy in the White House and former Seattle police chief. “There is no question, not only from the data but from what I have heard in my career as a law enforcement officer.”

Now what about all those glowing tributes put out by the proponents of medical marijuana? Well, the feds strongly contend that marijuana has no legitimate place in medicine.

In July 2011, the federal government ruled that marijuana has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin. In a letter to Congress, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart declared that marijuana “has a high potential for abuse … has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States … (and) lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.” Her letter and 37 pages of supporting documents were published in the Federal Register.

OK, so I’ve been cherry picking studies that support my opposition to the legalization of pot. So what?! You’ve done the same thing in support of your arguments. I suspect that much of the research you have referred to was conducted by researchers with an agenda … they wanted to prove that pot is innocuous. That makes their research flawed.

Let me wind this up by returning to the murder of NYPD Officer Daniel Enchautegui who was shot to death while interrupting a burglary for drugs. Lillo Brancato, one of the perps, told a jury that his drug problems began when he was ‘introduced to marijuana’ on a movie set. That led him to become hooked on crack and heroin. So in this case I think it is fair to say that the introduction to pot led to the murder of a cop.

In any case, Mr. Mason, good for you that you do not use drugs.