[October 12, 2022] Earlier this year, I stood before my township council here in New Jersey to oppose any cooperation with the state to legalize the growing, processing, or distribution of marijuana. Like most other states, New Jersey legalized it but left several avenues for local authorities to impose narrow limits. My point was that there is a marijuana myth that says the drug poses no harm and is a victimless crime. It’s a myth, and it’s wrong.
Heather MacDonald’s recent article with the same title, The Marijuana Myth (link here), comes at the problem from various angles. What prompted her article was U.S. President Joe Biden’s proclamation of a pardon for all those convicted of marijuana possession. According to Biden, there is a tremendous racial disparity in profiling, arrests, and convictions of blacks compared to whites.
Ms. MacDonald provides a brutal takedown of the shibboleths that Biden and his handlers provide. She begins with the most obvious: Biden is playing politics and blatantly lies to us that he is now to “right” the racial “wrongs” that the criminal justice system has allegedly perpetrated.
“While white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people are arrested, prosecuted and convicted at disproportionately higher rates.” – President Biden
She puts this myth to bed with some basic facts.
“Historically, marijuana use and culture has been more embedded in black communities than in white, as twentieth-century chronicles of urban black life by Claude Brown, Richard Wright, W.E.B. Du Bois, and others make clear. That disparity continues today, despite the flower power revolution that created generations of Grateful Dead potheads.” – Heather MacDonald
Furthermore, even if marijuana use and abuse were equally spread among black and white populations, there is no one in federal or state prison convicted solely of marijuana possession. No one is arrested for possessing marijuana any more.
“Biden’s indictment of the racial ‘wrongs’ in marijuana enforcement, like the entirety of the New Jim Crow thesis, ignores the fact that the impetus for stricter drug enforcement has always come from black communities themselves.” – Heather MacDonald
Read the whole article. She points out that the black community disproportionately suffers from the effect of marijuana and other drugs on its children and their broader social capital.
“Denying that reality and insisting that drug enforcement is about white supremacy are not blows for racial justice; they are simply means to preserve an ideology of resentment and hatred.”
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No matter how much you “prove” that marijuana causes cognitive malfunction and does so permanently, we have a narcissistic society that simply does not care because they believe everyone owes them something and the government will always take care of them.
Good point.
Marijuana is not a benign substance that has positive properties that can “help” people.
Every case of drug use in the US Army that I ever saw, had part of it marijuana use. Tells you something doesn’t it. Ignoring that means results will never be right.
Yeah, I can see that. And, according to a variety of studies, there’s little evidence to support the use of cannabinoids to treat depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychosis. In fact, data shows that cannabis use can actually increase depression, anxiety, and psychotic symptoms.
Heather MacDonald is a national treasure!
Myth #2: Legalizing marijuana for medical purposes will reduce opioid overdose deaths.
Reality: A study conducted by Stanford University’s School of Medicine analyzed the period from 1999 – 2017 and found that the legalization of, and broader access to medical marijuana, has not reduced opioid overdose death rates. In fact, this study showed no protective effect whatsoever of medical marijuana. Furthermore, states that legalized medical marijuana actually experienced a 22.7% increase in opioid overdose deaths.
https://www.familyfoundation.org/blog/marijuana-myths-debunked
Good dog, good comment.
It turns out that there are some who actually believe that the answer to the drug epidemic in the United States is to provide people with more access to mind altering, addictive substances. If that sounds completely ridiculous, that’s because it is. There are a bunch of “reasons” why some think legalizing marijuana is the panacea to the drug epidemic. And, they are all playing politics because they know it won’t work.
Excellent article and thank God for people like Heather MacDonald.
Marijuana laws are about controlling the black man. That is how capitalism stays rich and the black man poor.
Classic communist response. It’s all about ‘exploiting’ the poor. Maybe the ‘poor’ are practicing bad health habits. I don’t see any organization forcing blacks or anyone else to smoke marijuana.
Typical? Yes,
Come on, Commie, come up with something original instead of your Marxist drivel.
Expect nothing. Commie Red is a hit and run commenter in this space. We know this from his past performance and what real commies are like. Logic is irrelevant.
Only marijuana addled brains think otherwise. 😎
Perfectly okay to smoke and ingest marijuana. What could be harmful? Huh? WHere am I?
A$$ kicking comment, Valkerie. Love it.
Studies using strong scientific methods actually show that marijuana use increases the propensity for starting to misuse prescription opioids rather than lowering it. Further, those with an addiction to prescription opioids often have a history of using other drugs including marijuana.