Trooper's widow urges voters to reject legalizing marijuana

a reply to: Char-Lee

I ignore these reports because its just shy of lying.

"Recetly used" means "some time in the last few weeks". They have no way to test people for use of cannibinoids in the prior few hours, so there is no way to determine if people are intoxicated.

If folks want to report data on MJ DUI's, then the onus is on them to create a testing methodology that can actually report on that.

To be honest, its like a "no shiz" type of deal. You smoke, you test positive for a couple of weeks. So if its legal, you'd asolutely have more people test positive for it.

a reply to: Char-Lee

Hmm.....let's break that down a bit.

State legalizes.

More people injest than before.

Stays in system for a long time after impaired.

More people test positive (even if not impaired at the time).

Common sense isn't really that common.

a reply to: TerryDon79

Then we need to outlaw corn and wheat and barley. What do you think whiskey and beer are made from? How about all those nice Scotch whiskeys? Better outlaw that too. There are many more deaths due to drunk driving than people who've smoked a bit. If we're going to start outlawing plants, we damn well better start with the ones that cause the most deaths.

a reply to: Char-Lee

I would be interested to know if the number of fatal auto accidents also went up proportionately to the number of legal pot users. Or, if the legalization of the herb caused the method of testing to change.

I can't seem to find basic stats on the number of fatal auto accidents in Washington state before and after legalization, and I find it curious that the article strategically skirts that issue.

a reply to: TerryDon79

Not all I said....

Why are you answering my question with your own?

originally posted by: searcherfortruth
Not sure if I am posting this in the right place or not, I suspect i will find out soon enough, but the headline here caught my eye and well, I just have a few points to make about it.

Trooper's widow urges voters to reject legalizing marijuana

BOSTON (AP) — The widow of a state trooper killed by a driver accused of driving under the influence of marijuana is making an emotional plea against a ballot question that would legalize recreational pot. Trooper Thomas Clardy, a father of seven, was killed in March when a medical marijuana patient crashed his vehicle into Clardy's cruiser. In a new web video, Reisa Clardy said she believes there will be more accidents and more fatalities if voters approve Question 4 on the Nov. 8 ballot. The driver, David Njuguna, of Webster, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, operating under the influence of drugs and other charges in Thomas Clardy's death. When he was arraigned in May, Njuguna's lawyer, Peter Ettenberg, said Njuguna "absolutely denies he was under the influence of any drugs." Ettenberg declined to comment further Tuesday.

While I am very sympathetic to the widow for her loss, using this story as a way to influence voters is in extremely poor taste. First, I guarantee more troopers have been killed in the line of duty by drunk drivers and guns. Where is the clamor over making alcohol or guns illegal? Second, I also, guarantee if you took a poll of all the troopers in the country, they would tell you if given the choice between dealing with a drunk or someone that smoked a little pot the response would be overwhelming in favor of a pothead, like 100-0. Third, medicinally there is no doubt which one of these would be considered to be more beneficial to one's health issues and it is not alcohol.

Mods, if I put this in the wrong place, I sincerely apologize.

Meanwhile, alcohol and prescription drugs which are factually and medically far more addictive and physically damaging are still legal. The hypocrisy and ignorance of the anti legalization crowd is astounding.

originally posted by: windword
a reply to: TerryDon79

Why don't you use the same logic for other illegal things?
Murder
Rape
Theft

Who is the victim, that the government needs to protect, in the case of someone ingesting a safe and natural plant?

You will see it going from a healthy plant in the backyard to a monster industry controlled by lobbyists. The strength increasing year after year. The effect on the brain of children now known. The money flows to government now that makes them happy. More accessible to kids when legal no question.

The team found that persistent marijuana use was linked to a decline in IQ, even after the researchers controlled for educational differences. The most persistent users — those who reported using the drug in three or more waves of the study — experienced a drop in neuropsychological functioning equivalent to about six IQ points (PNAS, 2012). "That's in the same realm as what you'd see with lead exposure," says Weiss. "It's not a trifle."

In the short term, marijuana use has been shown to impair functions such as attention, memory, learning and decision-making. Those effects can last for days after the high wears off. Heavy marijuana use in adolescence or early adulthood has been associated with a dismal set of life outcomes including poor school performance, higher dropout rates, increased welfare dependence, greater unemployment and lower life satisfaction.

www.apa.org...

“You’re seeing this headlong rush into another addictive industry without knowing what widespread marijuana use is going to do to society,” he warned. “And the signs from Colorado are not good.”

www.bostonglobe.com...

originally posted by: TerryDon79
a reply to: searcherfortruth

Why not legalise heroin too? After all "it's just a plant", just like cannabis is "just a plant".

Or opium? (Same plant as heroin)

Plants can't be dangerous.

/sarcasm

Those plants are PROCESSED into the drug which is what makes it a drug.

Not marijuana. Simply dried out enough to smoke.

Learn the difference.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I ignore these reports because its just shy of lying.

Insurance companies have a stake here there is no reason to not believe their report.

a reply to: Char-Lee

It seems to me that MJ's use for thousands of years gives a good indicator of what its effects on society are. It was there when society started. Along with booze.

For what its worth, the study you cite has been the subject of considerable debate:

www.universityprimetime.com...

When you actually examine the data...

What this study would seem to show is that moderate use of cannabis produces an increase in IQ, while heavy use produces a decrease. Further, the study shows that even heavy, long term use of cannabis produces no permanent harm to IQ scores.

originally posted by: Char-Lee
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I ignore these reports because its just shy of lying.

Insurance companies have a stake here there is no reason to not believe their report.

Cuz logic.

I can look at the parameters of what they are reporting and find the flaws. Simply: yes, more people are smoking. Ergo, more people who are in car wrecks will show traces of smoking. It lasts up to a month in your urine....so no kidding. Of course more people in a legalized state would have THC metabolites in their urine.

What, exactly, is this proving? How many car wrecks were there before vs after? Thats the number that is relevant. The number being reported is completely, 100% irrelevannnt and would follow basic logic: when you legalize something, more people use it.

originally posted by: AlbanArthur
a reply to: Char-Lee

Hmm.....let's break that down a bit.
State legalizes.
More people injest than before.
Stays in system for a long time after impaired.
More people test positive (even if not impaired at the time).
Common sense isn't really that common.

The funniest ever part of the whole thing? THEY want you using pot just like they want you using fluoride. Won't be long before they say it is good for kids and helps keep all those pesky "over" active kids in their seat and quiet. I won't use fluoride or drink the coolaid.

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalizing marijuana in some form.

originally posted by: Char-Lee
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I ignore these reports because its just shy of lying.

Insurance companies have a stake here there is no reason to not believe their report.

Oh, these studies aren't skewed at all!

As part of its mandate to study drug abuse and addiction and other health effects of both legal and illegal drugs, NIDA funds a wide range of research on marijuana (cannabis); its main psychotropic ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); and chemicals related to THC (cannabinoids), including:

Patterns and trends in marijuana use and attitudes, particularly among adolescents

Short- and medium-term effects of THC on the brain and behavior; driving under the influence of cannabis; and genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors that mediate marijuana’s effects

Long-term effects of prenatal and adolescent cannabis exposure on brain development

Development and impact assessment of prevention programs on marijuana use

Screening and brief assessment for annabis use disorder

Medications, mHealth, and behavioral treatments for cannabis use disorder

Function of the brain’s endocannabinoid system, including its role in pain, mental illness, and HIV

Potential therapeutic uses of THC and other cannabinoids in treatment of pain, HIV, addiction, and other health conditions

Social, behavioral, and public health and safety impacts of policy changes related to marijuana (i.e., “medical marijuana” and recreational legalization)
www.drugabuse.gov...

Marijuana isn't addictive, first of all, and the study comes in assuming cannabis use is "drug abuse". Why? Because the government says so. But, a couple of beers or a vodka martinis after work isn't. Why? Because the government says so.

The study comes at cannabis users as having a disorder. This is the problem with studying cannabis.

It's Hard to Study Marijuana's Medical Benefits When It's Illegal

It's a catch-22 manufactured by the Drug Enforcement Agency: marijuana is illegal because the DEA says it has no proven medical value, but researchers have to get approval from the DEA to research marijuana's medical value.

originally posted by: Zeta Reticuli

originally posted by: TerryDon79
a reply to: searcherfortruth

Why not legalise heroin too? After all "it's just a plant", just like cannabis is "just a plant".

Or opium? (Same plant as heroin)

Plants can't be dangerous.
/sarcasm

Those plants are PROCESSED into the drug which is what makes it a drug.
Not marijuana. Simply dried out enough to smoke.
Learn the difference.

I think you need to learn the difference between the old pot and the new they are very different animals.
www.drugabuse.gov...
Take a look at the bad effects to from gum disease to bleeding when the drug interacts with even over the counter meds.
www.mayoclinic.org...

The effects of the more than 113 cannabinoids present in cannabis are largely unknown, but the most potent psychoactive agent identified to date is THC. When a person smokes cannabis, THC is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, reaching the brain within minutes.

www.medicalnewstoday.com...

THC has been shown to affect the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex - areas of the brain that control memory creation and attention. THC also disrupts the function of the cerebellum and basal ganglia, adversely affecting balance, posture, coordination, and reaction time, which can make it unsafe for a person using marijuana to drive a car, operate heavy machinery, or engage in sports or other potentially dangerous physical activities.

THC also stimulates certain cannabinoid receptors that increase the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter related to feelings of pleasure. This effect, common to many drugs of misuse (including heroin, coc aine, amphetamine, and nicotine), may be the basis of its reinforcing properties and its recreational use. The effect is reversed by naloxone, suggesting an opioid link.

a reply to: dawnstar

gonna tell ya something...
my husband smoked pot when he was alive, and yes, I smoked with him. after he died, I didn't smoke it any more...

You may live longer because you stopped.

Marijuana raises heart rate for up to 3 hours after smoking. This effect may increase the chance of heart attack. Older people and those with heart problems may be at higher risk

www.drugabuse.gov...

I might care what she has to say when she makes the same emotional plea against the legality of alcohol.

originally posted by: trollz
I might care what she has to say when she makes the same emotional plea against the legality of alcohol.

If a drunk driver had killed her Husband she would have....have a heart people!

originally posted by: TerryDon79
a reply to: searcherfortruth

Why not legalise heroin too? After all "it's just a plant", just like cannabis is "just a plant".

Or opium? (Same plant as heroin)

Plants can't be dangerous.

/sarcasm

Uh -- plants can be dangerous, just not cannabis. Pointing to heroin and making that insinuation is just a false representation. You might as well say, we should make tomatoes illegal because they are a just a plant, like heroin.

Causation =/= Causality. The guy who crashed his car into the trooper high on some herb most likely didn't crash because he was high -- he most likely crashed because he was tired/poor driver/the trooper was in a bad spot -- so on and on. How many troopers get clipped on the side of the road because they leave their cruiser part way in the lane, and they get clipped by totally sober people?

Plenty. You can't just say because of the coincidence that he had tested positive for marijuana that he crashed because of it. If you smoke today, you'll test positive a month from now -- doesn't even mean you're high.

Once it IS legal they will HAVE to release A BUTTLOAD of prisoners ...maybe 60%,that would be a severe loss of MONEY the DEA's MAIN job would be diminished.
ALSO Monsanto/Bayer are waiting on the side to pounce.
ALL believing somehow smoking makes you impaired and slow witted.
By the current crop of tests devised for testing drivers, the saliva test searches for use HOURS ago,the rest would relegate a person to NEVER drive again and constitute a restraint of cannabis.

originally posted by: Char-Lee

originally posted by: trollz
I might care what she has to say when she makes the same emotional plea against the legality of alcohol.

If a drunk driver had killed her Husband she would have....have a heart people!

I'll have a heart when they give that lady her son back, after they took him away for using cannabis oil to treat her crones disease.

theantimedia.org...