# some Pseudo-scientific claims made to justify marijuana prohibition



## jimmy (Aug 18, 2005)

America seems to have plenty of reasons to outlaw marijuana. But if people took the time to do some research, they would see that most of the time, the governement, or other anti-pot activists, will share a lot of information, but not be able to back it up with sources or scientific evidence, whereas the pro-marijuana activists DO. here are some examples:

CLAIM: Marijuana has been getting stronger since the 60s and 70s. This makes it more and more dangerous to smoke.

in reality, international seedbanks are still holding on to some of their seeds and strains from the 60s and 70s, advertising them as some of their strongest. If it was getting stronger, they would have gotten rid of the old ones to make room for the new. The reason they make this claim is because in the old days, Cannabis Indica was not widely comercially available. Therefor, when it became more common, and breeders crossed it with Sativa to create new strains and phenotypes, it was assumed that its getting stronger and more dangerous. This is completely false. Even if Cannabis WERE getting stronger and stronger, that would only LOWER its danger level. This is because to die from a TCH overdose you would have to consume an amount that no one could ever physically possibly consume in a short time period. (I read somehwere like 1500 pounds of weed in 15 minutes may caus a lethal effect. So in light of that fact, if there is stronger cannabis, it means a person needs to smoke LESS of that cannabis to get the desired affect, thereby inhaling less carbon monoxide and having less of an effect on the lungs.

Not to say there is no health effects from Cannabis- but even the mental effects- loss of memory, decreased concentration etc. are only temporary. In studies it is found that in chronic daily marijuana users (people who have smoked every day for at least 20 years) the tolerance level and effects on the brain had gone back to their original level about 28 days after immediate abstinence from marijuana.

Another thing to note about Cannabis prohibition is that today, there are MORE people who smoke marijuana than in the 60s and 70s. this is a fact you can look it up. In other words, the war on drugs is FAILING, and the millions and milllions of dollars being handed over to the government for programs like DARE (drug abuse resistance eduacation), and other anti marijuana propaganda, has done NOTHING, in fact, its gotten WORSE. Yet people don't realize this, they think its working. 

People smoke marijuana whether it is legal or not. More people smoke pot in the US than in Amsterdam where it is legal. In other words, prohibition does not discourage people from using marijuana. What it does, is put innocent people in jail and put ugle black marks on their records that in some cases can ruin peoples' lives and futures. Prohibition does not stop marijuana use, it covers it up and denies its existence. It does not go away because it is illegal.

So in closing, there are almost no scientifically-backed claims to support marijuana prohibition. If enough people realize this and bring this to light, there is no way prohibition can keep going on forever. Here is a site I reccomend to anyone in the US who cares enough to do anything about it-

http://www.norml.com/

This organization can be found all over the US- look up to see where they meet in your area, and help support marijuana legalization!


----------



## LordNecro (Feb 13, 2006)

wow, thats sure a good read


----------

