Doctors weigh in on public health as Minnesota legalizes recreational marijuana



Leaders at Hazelden Betty Ford will host a community conversation in two weeks addressing the use of marijuana and public …

22 Comments

  1. "“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."
    – Francis Young (DEA Administrative Law Judge – 1988])

    "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use…”
    – Jimmy Carter (U.S.President)

    “Congress should definitely consider decriminalizing possession of marijuana… We should concentrate on prosecuting the rapists and burglars who are a menace to society.”
    – Dan Quayle (U.S. Representative & Vice President)

    "Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could."
    “The anti-marijuana campaign is a cancerous tissue of lies, undermining law enforcement, aggravating the drug problem, depriving the sick of needed help and suckering well intentioned conservatives and countless frightened parents.”
    – William F. Buckley Jr. (American conservative author & commentator)

    "The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world."
    – Dr. Carl Sagan (American Cosmologist, Astrobilologist, author & science communicator)

    “You bet I did -— and I enjoyed it.” ….when asked if he had ever smoked marijuana.
    – Michael Bloomberg (New York City Mayor)

    "Studies have consistently failed to establish the existence of a link between the harshness of a country’s drug laws and its levels of drug use."
    – Kofi Annan (U.N. Secretary General)

    "Pot is a better drug than alcohol. I'll prove it to you. You're at a ball game or a concert, and someone's really violent and aggressive and obnoxious, are they drunk or are they smoking pot?"
    “Why is pot against the law? It wouldn't be because anyone can grow it, and therefore you can't make a profit off it, would it?”
    “…It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn’t the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit … unnatural?”
    -Bill Hicks (Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian)

    "If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on."
    – Terence McKenna (American ethnobotanist, author, advocate for responsible use of natural psychedelic plants)

  2. All of these anti-marijuana propagandists "opinions" have been debunked over 50 years ago. Stop platforming these goofs. They are the reason why millions of people had their lives ruined. Their opinion on the matter is invalid, delusional, and based on lies. There is no health concern made more dangerous by the legalization of marijuana than the death and imprisonment millions of people suffered under its prohibition. This is the proper context in which to frame these so called "health concerns".

  3. I can say I’m impressed with the scientific researchers who have looked into the effects of Cannabis specifically on youth though there isn’t widespread consensus or scientific backed research to support the doctors claims. How about we wait and see how it’s going to actually look before we start raising awareness of something very few of us know little about and those that think they do are learning new things and discovering new ways to utilize Cannabis. We’re never going to live in a Cannabis free Minnesota, we might as well legalize and learn about it more, yes it effects the prefrontal cortex at the chronic use level. Most teens don’t have that much access to large quantities of Cannabis as they’d have to hide it from their parents or teachers, it’s difficult to not notice someone high at school or at home; if you pay attention to the youth they’re less likely to get involved in things that could potentially hinder their mental maturity or even harm them. This is why it should be legal to properly educate the youth on certain substances and or medications, remind them that there’s scientific information available for them if they ever decide to experiment with Cannabis or any other drug for that matter;
    Yes there is a fentanyl issue in our country but Cannabis is not the driving force behind it, if we were properly educated on Cannabis we’d come to find that it actually combats withdrawal symptoms from harsh and harmful drugs like fentanyl or heroin. Make sure you tell the people the truth about everything because it’s once you lie that you lose all credibility, we’re trusting in those responsible for distributing the news that they do it with honesty and integrity that’s all Americans/ Minnesotans ask for.

  4. Cannabis is not addicting like other hard drugs problems and issues will not increase because people are using it as it is while it was illegal this bill allows people to grow and purchase without the worry of going to jail

  5. Risky how the one bad thing with marijuana is smoking it other then that it’s a golden plant. Look at alcohol there is no good side whatsoever not one bit!!!!

  6. Hard disagree on the alcohol aspect of her statement. Marijuana studies have shown time and time again that it is way safer than alcohol. Yes, kids shouldn't be using it. But you know what else they shouldn't be consuming? Alcohol. Get a life, Karen.

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