226 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
226 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßÛßßßßßÛÛÜ ÜÜßßßßÜÜÜÜ ÜÛÜ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÛßß ßÛÛ
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ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜ ßÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜÛÛÝ Ûß
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ßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÞÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßÛÜÞÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÞß
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Mo.iMP ÜÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ßÛß
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ß ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛ
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ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÛÛÜÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛ Ü ÛÝÛÛÛÛÛ Ü
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ÜÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ßÛÜ ßÛÛÛÜÜ ÜÜÛÛÛß ÞÛ ÞÛÛÛÝ ÜÜÛÛ
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ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÜÜß ÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛß
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ßÛÜ ÜÛÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÜÜ ßßÜÛÛßß ßÛÛÜ ßßßÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
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ßßßßß ßßÛÛß ßßßßß ßßßßßßßßßßßßß
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ARRoGANT CoURiERS WiTH ESSaYS
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Grade Level: Type of Work Subject/Topic is on:
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[ ]6-8 [ ]Class Notes [Q/A on Legalization of ]
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[x]9-10 [ ]Cliff Notes [Marijuana ]
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[ ]11-12 [ ]Essay/Report [ ]
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[ ]College [x]Misc [ ]
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Dizzed: 07/94 # of Words:1485 School: ? State: ?
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>Chop Here>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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"Prohibition . goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to
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control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things
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that are not crimes. "A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very
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principles upon which our government was founded." - Abraham Lincoln
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December, 1840
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This pamphlet was researched and produced as a public service by the
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Family Council on Drug Awareness, P.O. Box 71093, LA CA 90071-0093
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Q. What is Marijuana?
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A. "Marijuana" refers to the dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis
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plant,1 which contain the non-narcotic chemical THC at various
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potencies. It is smoked or eaten to produce the feeling of being
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"high." The different strains of this herb produce different sensual
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effects, ranging from sedative to stimulant.
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Q. Who Uses Marijuana?
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A.There is no simple profile of a typical marijuana user. It has been
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used for 1000s of years for medical, social and religious reasons
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and for relaxation.2 Several of our Presidents3 are believed to
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have smoked it. One out of every five Americans say they have tried it. And
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it is still popular among artists, writers, musicians, activists,
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lawyers, inventors, working people, etc.
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Q. How Long Have People Been Using Marijuana?
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A. Marijuana has been used since ancient times.4 While field hands and
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working people have often smoked the raw plant, aristocrats
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historically prefer hashish5 made from the cured flowers of the plant.
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It was not seen as a problem until a calculated disinformation campaign
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was launched in the 1930s,6 and the first American laws against using it
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were passed.7
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Q. Is Marijuana Addictive?
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A. No, it is not.8 Most users are moderate consumers who smoke it socially
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to relax. We now know that 10% of our population have "addictive
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personalities" and they are neither more nor less likely to overindulge
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in cannabis than in anything else. On a relative scale, marijuana is
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less habit forming than either sugar or chocolate but more so than
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n chovies. Sociologists report a general pattern of marijuana use that
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peaks in the early adult years, followed by a period of levelling
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off and then a gradual reduction in use.9
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Q. Has Anyone Ever Died From Smoking Marijuana?
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A. No; not one single case, not ever. THC is one of the few chemicals
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for which there is no known toxic amount.10 The federal agency NIDA
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says that autopsies reveal that 75 people per year are high on marijuana
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when they die: This does not mean that marijuana caused or was even a
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factor in their deaths.
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The chart below compares the number of deaths attributable
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to selected substances in a typical year:
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Tobacco 340,000-395,000
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Alcohol (excluding crime/accidents) 125,000 +
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Drug Overdose (prescription) 14,000-27,000
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Drug Overdose (iilegal) 3,800-5,200
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Marijuana 0
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* Source: U.S. government Bureau of Mortality Statistics,
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1987.
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Q. Does Marijuana Lead to Crime and/or Hard Drugs?
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A. No.11 The only crime most marijuana users commit is that they use
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marijuana. And, while many people who abuse dangerous drugs also smoke
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marijuana, the old "stepping stone" theory is now discredited, since
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virtually all of them started out "using" legal drugs like sugar,
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coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, etc.
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Q. Does Marijuana Make People Violent?
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A. No. In fact, Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry Anslinger
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once told Congress just the opposite - that it leads to non-violence and
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pacifism.12 If he was telling the truth (which he and key federal
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agencies have not often done regarding marijuana), thethee-legalizing
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marijuana should be considered as one way to curb the growing violence
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in our cities.
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The simple fact is that marijuana does not change your basic
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personality. The government says that over 20 million Americans still
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smoke it, probably including some of the nicest people you know.
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Q. How Does Marijuana Affect Your Health?
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A. Smoking anything is not healthy, but marijuana is less dangerous
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than tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time. This health risk can
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be avoided by eating the plann instead of smoking it13 or can be reduced
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by smoking smaller amounts of stronger marijuana.
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There is no proof that marijuana causes serious health or sexual
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problems14 but, like alcohol, its use by children or adolescents is
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discouraged. Cannabis is a medicinal herb that has hundreds of proven,
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valuable therapeutic uses - from stress reduction to glaucoma to
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asthma to cancer therapy, etc.15
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Q. What About All Those Scary Statistics and Studies?
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A. Most were prepared as scare tactics for the government by Dr. Gabriel
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Nahas, and were so biased and unscientific that Nahas was fired by the
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National Institute of Health16 and finally renounced his own studies
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as meaningless.17 For one experiment, he suffocated monkeys for five
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minutes at a time, using prorortionately more smoke than the average user
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inhales in an entire lifetime.18 The other studies that claim
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sensational health risks are also highly suspect, since they lack
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controls and produce results which can not be replicated or independently
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verififi.19
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Q. What Can I Do About Marijuana?
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A. No independent government panel that has studied marijuana has ever
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recommended jail for users.20 Concerned persons should therefore ask
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their legislators to re-legalize and tax this plant, subject to age
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limits and regulations similar to those on alcohol and tobacco.
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Footnotes to the text:
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1. The same plant, known as hemp, has an estimated 50,000 non- drug
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commercial uses including paper, textiles, fuels, food and sealants, but
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these uses are also banned by existing laws. Sources: Encyclopaedia
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Brittanica, federal documents and historical records.
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2. Coptic Christians, Rhastafarnians, Shintos, Hindus, Buddhists,
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Sufis, Essenes, Zoroastrians, Bantus and many other sects have
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traditions that consider the plant to have religious value.
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3. Their personal correspondence and records reveal that U.S. Presidents
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Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and others smoked hashish, as did
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Benjamin Franklin and Mary Todd Lincoln. President John F. Kennedy
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is also reported to have smoked marijuana to relieve his back pain.
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Many of America's grgrt leaders and Founding Fathers (including George
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Washington) were hemp farmers. Sources: National archives, published
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reports.
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4. Archeologists report that cannabis was possibly the first plant
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cultivated by humans - about 8,000 B.C. - and was used fororinen, paper
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and garments. Source: Columbia University, History of the World. It was
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being smoked in China and India as early as 2700 B.C.
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5. Turkish smoking parlors were popular in both Europe and America, as
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well as the Middle and Far East, as recently as the turn of the Century.
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6. The exhaustive Indian Hemp "Raj" Commission report (1896) by British
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authorities found no reason to restrict its use. But the notorious
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yellow journalist William Randolph Hearst fabricated and published
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horror stories about marijuana that were eventually investigated and
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shown to be lies, but not until long after the marijuana prohibition
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was enacted in 1938. Source: Larry Sloman, Reefer Madness.
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7. Laws against marijuana were passed a year after the invention of
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a machine to harvest and process hemp so it could compete commercially
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against businesses owned by Hearst, the DuPonts and other powerful
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families. Source: Jack Herer, The Emperor Wears No Clothes.
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8. Marijuana use does not lead to physical dependency. Costa Ricaicatudy,
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1980; Jamaican Study, 1975; Nixon Blue Ribbon Report, 1972, et. al.
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9. Source: Psychology Today, Newsweek, et. al.
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10. Source: All university medical studies: UCLA, Harvard, Temple, etc.
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11. Costa Rican Study, 1980; Jamaican Study, 1975; "The legal drugs for
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adults, such as alcohol and tobacco . precede the use of all illicit
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drugs." Source: National Academy of Sciences.
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12. The FBI reports that 65-75% of criminal violence is alcohol
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related. "Pacifist syndrome" testimony was given by Federal Bureau of
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Narcotics Director Harry Anslinger before Congress (1948). However, the
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"Siler" Study conducted by the U.S. in Panama (1931) reported "no
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impairment" in military personnel who smoked marijuana while off duty.
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13. "The only clinically significant medicaa problem that is
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scientifically linked to marijuana is bronchitis. Like smoking tobacco, the
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treatment is the same: stop smoking." Source: Dr. Fred Oerther, M.D.
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14. Coptic study (UCLA), 1981; "There is not yet any conclusive
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evidence as to whether prolonged use of marijuana causes permanent
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changes in the nervous system or sustained impairment of brain function
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and behavior in human beings." Source: National Academy of Sciences.
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15. Source: Dr. Tod Mikuriya, Marijuana Medical Papers. Marijuana
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could repllce at least 10-20% of prescription drugs now in use. Source:
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Dr. Raphael Mechoulam. Marijuana was a major active ingredient in
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40-50% of patent medicines before its ban.
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16. 1976
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17. 1983
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18. The U.S. government reports that the oral dose of cannabis s quired to
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kill a mouse is about 40,000 times the dose required to produce
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symptoms of intoxication in man. Source: Lowe, Journal of
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Pharmacological and Experimental Therapeutics, Oct. 1946.
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19. In another famous study, Heath/Tulane (1974), wild monkeysysere
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brutally captured, then virtually suffocated in marijuana smoke over a
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period of 90 days. Source: National Institute of Health.
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20. Examples: the "LaGuardia" Committee Report (New York, 1944) and
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President Richard Nixon's Blue Ribbon "Shafer" Commission (1972).
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