Despite the naysayers, marijuana is truly a gateway drug. Searching for a better high, many marijuana users turn to more potent drugs like heroin, meth and other mind-altering substances.
During the six years I specialized in narcotics enforcement, I came into close contact with dozens of hardcore heroin addicts. Each and every one of those heroin users started out on pot. The same can be said for most of the cocaine users and the users of other potent drugs that I came into contact with. And those addicts were not restricted to the riffraff of society. I busted two doctors and several lawyers for heroin use. They all started out with a ‘harmless’ puff or two of pot.
Marijuana is the most dangerous drug of all because the advocates of pot have conned most people into believing cannabis is innocuous.
The drumbeat of claims that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol is pure hogwash! Even former President Obama said alcohol was more harmful, but I suspect he made that statement to justify his admitted use of pot. Although the occasional user of pot is unlikely to switch to more potent drugs, when he is under the influence of cannabis, he is every bit as dangerous behind the wheel of a car as is the driver under the influence of alcohol.
There are those who question the constitutionality of a law that criminalizes people for smoking a plant and who say that people have the right to do whatever they want as long as they do no harm to others. Tell that to the innocent victims in Colorado and Washington where, according to state police reports, car crashes involving drivers under the influence of pot have surged significantly ever since those states legalized recreational marijuana.
Pot advocates claim marijuana users are laid-back and non-violent. More hogwash! People under the influence of marijuana are just as unpredictable as those under the influence of alcohol. At times they are calm, but at other times they are aggressive. As a narcotics enforcement officer, I personally battled it out with quite a few pot heads … and when making arrests I always tried to avoid provoking any physical altercations.
Marijuana is innocuous? Quite to the contrary! Pot may cause psychotic reactions such as delusions and paranoia, and lead to fatal car crashes. Even claims that marijuana has medical benefits are in dispute and appear to be a hoax.
The American Epilepsy Society says: “Marijuana itself has major shortcomings as an epilepsy treatment … evidence for efficacy in treating seizures does not meet the necessary standard to recommend it to patients.” Worse, researchers state that “marijuana use or withdrawal could potentially trigger seizures in susceptible [epilepsy] patients.”
The pot proponents keep trumpeting phony claims that marijuana provides relief to glaucoma patients, eases pain, nausea and vomiting in in chemotherapy patients, and eases multiple sclerosis (MS) muscle contractions, sleep disorders and Tourette’s symptoms.
The American Glaucoma Society has written: “There is no scientific basis for marijuana’s use in treatment,” and there is evidence that it could actually do damage.
And a study conducted with 6,500 volunteers by England’s prestigious Bristol University showed that cannabis does not ease pain, nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients, nor does it ease MS muscle contractions, sleep disorders and Tourette’s symptoms.
A study by Dr. Penny Whiting and her team at England’s University of Bristol found that cannabis does not ease pain, nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients, MS muscle contractions, sleep disorders or Tourette’s symptoms.
A 20 year study by a team led by Professor Wayne Hall, a drug adviser to the World Health Organization, found cannabis is highly addictive, causes mental health problems, doubles the risk of developing psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia and opens the door to hard drugs.
There have been a number of studies showing that cannabis had caused heart problems in the young and middle-aged. Doctors in Wales noted that there is evidence pot can trigger heart attacks, with the risk increasing 4.8 times in the first hour after smoking the weed. They also noted that studies have shown marijuana affects blood flow, increases the heart rate, causes high blood pressure when sitting down and low pressure when standing up.
The Journal of Neuroscience reports that researchers from Harvard Medical School and Chicago’s Northwestern University have discovered that smoking pot even casually once or twice a week can damage the nucleus accumbens and the amygdala, both core structures of the brain which are linked to emotion, motivation and addiction.
The Drug Abuse Recognition Journal reports there is mounting evidence that cannabis may increase the risk for schizophrenia in the developing mind and the Archives of General Psychiatry reports that people who smoke pot are more likely to develop a psychotic illness such as schizophrenia earlier than those who do not use marijuana.
The British Medical Journal reports that a review of nine studies found that drivers were more likely to be involved in a collision with another car after smoking marijuana. Smoking cannabis within three hours of getting behind the wheel could almost double the risk of a serious crash.
A study headed by Marie-Odile Krebs, professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) laboratory in France, found 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.
A study just released by Finnish researchers who worked alongside Cambridge and Queensland experts, showed that smoking cannabis just five times as a teenager raises the risk of psychosis. Researchers at the University of Ohio found a similar link between cannabis and psychosis.
And the British Journal of Psychiatry reports that a study of more than 6,000 volunteers that were tracked from their 15th birthday until they turned 30, also showed a link between cannabis and psychosis.
Unfortunately, the voices of those that debunk medical marijuana and who consider pot to be dangerous are drowned out by those who insist that marijuana is innocuous. But what about all those glowing testimonials about marijuana having cured or reduced seizures and other ailments? A few slugs of Jim Beam or Jack Daniel’s probably would have done the same.
So America is merrily on its way to becoming a nation of pot heads. People will be smoking Marlboro Marijuana, Cannabis Camels, Lucky Weed, Stoner Pall Mall, etc. Oh, and don’t forget there’s also edible marijuana.
The Mexican drug cartels are not at all unhappy to see the legalization of pot in our country. The cartels are counting on a significant increase in the use of heroin, cocaine, meth and other mind-altering substances. And they’ll still be raking in lots of cash from the sales of marijuana here because many pot users prefer to buy their drug on the tax-free black market.
And now we have all those headlines about the opioid epidemic. That epidemic isn’t all due to prescription drugs. Heroin is an opioid too.
Some of you will say I’ve lost my mind or call me a moron and other insulting names, but take it from an old narc, there can be no doubt that marijuana is the most dangerous drug of all. If it were not for pot, there would be a lot fewer users of heroin and other mind-altering substances. There would be fewer psychotic episodes. And there would be fewer fatal car crashes.
To those cost conscious conservatives who want to legalize pot so as to stop ‘wasting’ money on enforcement and reap a tax bonanza instead, think again! Sure, you’ll both save and make a bunch of money, but in human terms, at what cost?
Marijuana is innocuous … that’s one of history’s biggest con jobs.
Maybe we should build high fences around it.
I can’t agree 100% with Howie’s position on this. I suspect strongly that there is out there some small number of people who began using heroin as a more or less legit. pain killer when their conventional pharmaceutical script ran out, or when they became addicted to those painkillers and this small number of people are not “traditional” junkies for who weed was a gateway drug. I strongly suspect that Howie is way over 95% correct on this, but I believe in the real world that almost nothing is 100% anything.
Uh, no. But you do sound like a typical law enforcement officer who spent his life enforcing drug laws, and is trying to justify a life doing just that. You state that, “During the six years I specialized in narcotics enforcement, I came into close contact with dozens of hardcore heroin addicts. Each and every one of those heroin users started out on pot.” Yeah, in six plus years of drug use, everyone that I personally came in contact with who used drugs, self included, started with alcohol before they ever started smoking pot. And most of them started with nicotine prior to that. So by your anecdotal definition, nicotine and alcohol are gateway drugs that we need to clamp down on. Please let me know how that works.
There is no need to respond to your absurd comment. Law enforcement officers do not have to justify doing a righteous job, nor should they have to apologize for it.
David Vargha, you took the words right out of my mouth. Actually, I bet all of those hooked on heroin and meth have a common denominator — they had ice cream when they were a child. Ice cream, I’ve been told is very addictive to some. Finding a common denominator is easy, but blaming marijuana for hard drug use is ludicrous!
Howie Katz, seriously, what a bunch of BS! Just because they used marijuana doesn’t mean it caused them to go to other drugs. Some people drink alcohol and have no problem, while others become alcoholics.
Not all marijuana is equal. And not all illnesses require the same cannabis regimen.
THC is a natural herb that reduces pain, with virtually no side effects, unlike pharmacologic medicine. Keeping this solution from individuals who need it is inhumane. One can’t be pro-life and not be concerned by an individual’s quality of life.
It is obvious that you have not had enough physical pain or are content with the deadly world of pharmaceuticals. If you had real pain, you’d do anything to take away your pain. If you were unable to function “normally,” you’d do whatever is needed to get control of your life.
Calling marijuana “the most dangerous drug of all” is outlandish and just plain wrong. Just ask those that have moved to Colorado to provide their children with a seizure-free life, or Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism (MAMMA) members how cannabis has helped their child and therefore their entire family deal with an extremely demanding and stressful life.
The CBD component has demonstrated in many studies to have important medical benefits in the “treatment of schizophrenia, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, liver inflammation, heart disease, diabetes,” etc. (states Dr. Merav Leiba from Israel, where the biggest breakthroughs in medical marijuana treatment have occurred).
There are many, many law enforcement officers that support the declassification and decriminalization of cannabis. Using government scare tactics that marijuana is a gateway drug is elementarily deceiving and buys into lies the public has been told for nearly 80 years. It was once prescribed by physicians.
As with all liberal politicians, there was a desire to impose a tax — specifically on marijuana. Democrat House Representative Robert L. Doughton introduced HR 6906 which gave birth to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. It was signed into law by Democrat President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on May 11, 1937. President Roosevelt also appointed Democrat Harry J. Anslinger as head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. With the pending repeal of alcohol prohibition (1933), Anslinger feared for his job and identified another substance to focus on — cannabis. Ignoring congressional due process, recommendations from the American Medical Association (AMA), and the truth, cannabis was mislabeled as dangerous (kind of like have done) and outlawed. These uncompassionate actions lead to the unfounded demonetization of marijuana.
It will take true patriots to right this unhealthy wrong.
Howie, you are so very wrong and keeping marijuana from those in need infringe upon their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (health). Moreover, it violates our ninth amendment rights. Prohibition has never worked; but in the case of marijuana, restricting citizens from access to this natural healing plant is deadly.
And I haven’t even begun discussing the criminal side of this issue, where so many young lives are ruined because of unjust and unnecessary jail sentences.
You obviously skipped over the studies that show marijuana does not alleviate the ailments you think it does. Maybe if you stopped smoking pot you’d be able to note the studies I mentioned..
Maybe if you could argue without insulting, we would think you were intelligent.
I’ll match my intelligence against yours anytime, Ms. Lugo. Was it insulting of me to suggest you stop smoking pot? I don’t think so. Experience shows that whenever someone responds to an article that claims marijuana is dangerous with a lengthy discourse on the marvels of marijuana, they do so to justify their personal use of pot.
It appears as though you have a short attention span because it looks like you never got past the first part of this article. You totally disregarded the statements of the American Epilepsy Society and the American Glaucoma Society, as well as the 10 studies referred to in this article, all of which completely debunk the claims you made about the benefits of marijuana.
Perhaps your attention span would improve if you just stopped smoking pot.
I think this website has officially jumped the shark.
Howie-zilla is raging through the streets of Pot-zilla vaporizing everything in its path with his fire breath.
*pot-ville
Howie sounds like the long lost twin brother of Steve Hotze: obsessed with guns and drugs like Hotze is obsessed with gays.
There are sincere conservative objections to pot legalization but Howie’s harken back to the 50’s reefer madness tropes.
Bless his heart.
Nobody claims alcohol does anything good. It’s evils are well documented. Let’s ban it. And criminalize everyone who uses it. No matter how or why or where or when. What could go wrong?
Alcohol is very likely what each and everyone of them started on, not weed.
I strongly disagree with the assertion that alcohol doesn’t do any good. It helps ugly people get laid.
For those who condicendingly judge those who use the “ganja”, it seems a stumbling block, for those who freely use it without guilt, remorse or regret, it is part of God’s natural healing substances. Those who use it know it’s healing ability and embrace it but those who fear it they fall as victims and proclaim it’s danger.
Those who use it shouldn’t brag and those who stumble on it shouldn’t judge others who freely partake AND maintain the ability to produce good fruits of love, of life. This means maintain a productive purpose in all of life, family, friends, associates, or any other aspect.
Abuse of ANYTHING is more an indicator of an individual’s problem than what they are abusing.
I tried to break down all we consume to it’s most basic forms and found that one can actually overdose on water. Water. Really. Water?
Some may recall the old song about love being like oxygen. You get too much you get too high, not enough and you’re gonna die.
I should, we should think about it while and try being considerate of others before we viciously judge, belittle and denigrate each other.
Don’t leave this blog. There are really good people trying to get involved in the GOP. I’m an old Hispanic, Christian, former Marine that have always wanted to help but was often made to feel I don’t fit the “GOP profile”. There are good people watching and praying for conservatives.
Don’t stumble over any of God’s gifts, but be good stewards.
Howie, I think the cows are out of the gate and they can’t be rounded up. Marijuana can be purchased legally in a lot of states. Harris County allows people to be ticketed for possession of up to four ounces. That’s a lot of weed. All the medical data showing marijuana is bad for you cannot stop the increasing legalization of weed. Partner, I think the war on weed is a lost cause. I recently blogged about witnessing a group of folks in Lake Tahoe who were eating candy infused with THC.
RECREATIONAL WEED FOR SALE
3/6/2018
By Trey Rusk
I recently returned from Lake Tahoe, Nevada. We stayed at Harrahs Resort. California was across the street.
When we arrived, a blizzard hit the area and dumped three to five feet of snow. It was a white out and it was not safe to venture outside the hotel especially at night.
After the storm blew through, snow boarders and skiers arrived from the California Bay Area by the thousands. It was the first significant snow amount for the winter. Snow boarders are a different group of folks. They are loud, brash and high. They don’t care about anything but snowboarding. That may sound a little harsh, but they are there for the thrill of the ride. Sadly, one of the snowboarders was lost during the blizzard and died due to the harsh conditions.
I tell you these things about the snowboarders, because I had never seen so many people high on drugs. I have seen drug highs during my LE career, but some of the folks were out of their mind high.
I visited a public restroom and some snow gear clad people were eating gummi bears candy from a sandwich bag. They were arguing with each other about being in Poland and not having enough money. They paid no attention to me as I washed my hands but the situation was getting worse as they yelled at each other.
I have never used marijuana. The stuff they sell now isn’t the same as the marijuana grown thirty years ago. It has been high bred and only the bud is used with a higher level of THC. Thus, if you smoked marijuana thirty years ago and then decided to eat a THC infused Gummi Bear today it would be a totally different experience. I saw this difference first hand.
I do not profess to know all about drugs but because of my LE background and life experiences, I believe that marijuana can lead to the use of more potent and harmful drugs. I saw this first hand from my nephew who I used to take on fishing trips with my sons. He graduated from weed to Xanax to heroin in a short amount of time. He died of a heroin overdose the day after leaving a rehab facility. I miss my young nephew and the fun fishing trips.
Recreational marijuana is legal in both states but the business still has a lot of kinks to work through. It is a cash business and banks will not open accounts for them because it is still illegal under federal law.
I know some folks that have been special forces operatives. They tell me that these marijuana businesses are paying huge amounts for asset protection and are recruiting former police and special forces trained people. This is just one of the kinks of the business. Other difficulties include black market sales which seek to evade the high state taxes.
If you are flying from one of the state legalized marijuana locations, beware because the TSA hates Gummi Bears. So much so that they will open commercially packaged Gummi Bears to what appeared to be a test for THC. No kidding. I saw it happen.
I had a McDonald’s box of chicken tenders and they left it alone.
http://www.runningcode3.net
Both the right and left have big lessons to learn about the effectiveness of government banning products that people want to buy. Unfortunately, they never learn those lessons.
The most harmful thing about marijuana is that the government will waste tax money destroying your life if they catch you with it.
So howie notes ‘epileptics who use cannabis THEN STOP might get seizures’
This is all you need to read to know where this author is coming from.
It’s clear that he searched out information that supported what he is telling you to think.
But when you see a child having 500 seizures a DAY, and then they consume some cannabis and have ONE seizure every month, you don’t give a SHIT what ignorant bullshit howie is pushing, or why he feels compelled to peddle it.
Utterly moronic.