247 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
247 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
TEN Things Every Parent, Teenager & Teacher Should Know About
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Marijuana. Provided by Access Unlimited, PO Box 1900,
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Frazier Park, CA 93225
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"Prohibition . goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it
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attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes
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a crime out of things that are not crimes. "A prohibition law
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strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our
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government was founded." - Abraham Lincoln December, 1840
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This pamphlet was researched and produced as a public service
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by the Family Council on Drug Awareness, P.O. Box 71093, LA CA
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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
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cannabis plant,1 which contain the non-narcotic chemical THC
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at various potencies. It is smoked or eaten to produce the
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feeling of being "high." The different strains of this herb
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produce different sensual effects, ranging from sedative to
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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
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has been used for 1000s of years for medical, social and
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religious reasons and for relaxation.2 Several of our
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Presidents3 are believed to have smoked it. One out of every
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five Americans say they have tried it. And it is still popular
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among artists, writers, musicians, activists, lawyers,
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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
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hands and working people have often smoked the raw plant,
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aristocrats historically prefer hashish5 made from the cured
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flowers of the plant. It was not seen as a problem until a
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calculated disinformation campaign was launched in the 1930s,6
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and the first American laws against using it 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
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it socially to relax. We now know that 10% of our population
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have "addictive personalities" and they are neither more nor
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less likely to overindulge in cannabis than in anything else.
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On a relative scale, marijuana is less habit forming than
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either sugar or chocolate but more so than n chovies.
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Sociologists report a general pattern of marijuana use that
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peaks in the early adult years, followed by a period of
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levelling 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
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chemicals for which there is no known toxic amount.10 The
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federal agency NIDA says that autopsies reveal that 75 people
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per year are high on marijuana when they die: This does not
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mean that marijuana caused or was even a factor in their
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deaths.
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The chart below compares the number of deaths
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attributable 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, 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
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they use marijuana. And, while many people who abuse dangerous
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drugs also smoke marijuana, the old "stepping stone" theory is
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now discredited, since virtually all of them started out
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"using" legal drugs like sugar, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol,
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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
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Anslinger once told Congress just the opposite - that it leads
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to non-violence and pacifism.12 If he was telling the truth
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(which he and key federal agencies have not often done
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regarding marijuana), thethee-legalizing marijuana should be
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considered as one way to curb the growing violence in our
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cities.
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The simple fact is that marijuana does not change your
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basic personality. The government says that over 20 million
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Americans still smoke it, probably including some of the
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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
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dangerous than tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time.
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This health risk can be avoided by eating the plann instead of
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smoking it13 or can be reduced by smoking smaller amounts of
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stronger marijuana.
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There is no proof that marijuana causes serious health or
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sexual problems14 but, like alcohol, its use by children or
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adolescents is discouraged. Cannabis is a medicinal herb that
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has hundreds of proven, valuable therapeutic uses - from
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stress reduction to glaucoma to asthma to cancer therapy,
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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
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Dr. Gabriel Nahas, and were so biased and unscientific that
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Nahas was fired by the National Institute of Health16 and
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finally renounced his own studies as meaningless.17 For one
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experiment, he suffocated monkeys for five minutes at a time,
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using prorortionately more smoke than the average user inhales
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in an entire lifetime.18 The other studies that claim
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sensational health risks are also highly suspect, since they
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lack controls and produce results which can not be replicated
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or independently 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
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has ever recommended jail for users.20 Concerned persons
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should therefore ask their legislators to re-legalize and tax
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this plant, subject to age limits and regulations similar to
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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-
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drug commercial uses including paper, textiles, fuels, food
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and sealants, but these uses are also banned by existing laws.
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Sources: Encyclopaedia Brittanica, federal documents and
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historical records.
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2. Coptic Christians, Rhastafarnians, Shintos, Hindus,
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Buddhists, Sufis, Essenes, Zoroastrians, Bantus and many other
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sects have traditions that consider the plant to have
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religious value.
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3. Their personal correspondence and records reveal that U.S.
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Presidents Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and others smoked
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hashish, as did Benjamin Franklin and Mary Todd Lincoln.
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President John F. Kennedy is also reported to have smoked
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marijuana to relieve his back pain. Many of America's grgrt
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leaders and Founding Fathers (including George Washington)
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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
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plant cultivated by humans - about 8,000 B.C. - and was used
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fororinen, paper and garments. Source: Columbia University,
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History of the World. It was being smoked in China and India
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as early as 2700 B.C.
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5. Turkish smoking parlors were popular in both Europe and
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America, as well as the Middle and Far East, as recently as
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the turn of the Century.
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6. The exhaustive Indian Hemp "Raj" Commission report (1896)
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by British authorities found no reason to restrict its use.
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But the notorious yellow journalist William Randolph Hearst
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fabricated and published horror stories about marijuana that
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were eventually investigated and shown to be lies, but not
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until long after the marijuana prohibition was enacted in
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1938. Source: Larry Sloman, Reefer Madness.
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7. Laws against marijuana were passed a year after the
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invention of a machine to harvest and process hemp so it could
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compete commercially against businesses owned by Hearst, the
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DuPonts and other powerful families. Source: Jack Herer, The
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Emperor Wears No Clothes.
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8. Marijuana use does not lead to physical dependency. Costa
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Ricaicatudy, 1980; Jamaican Study, 1975; Nixon Blue Ribbon
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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,
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Temple, etc.
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11. Costa Rican Study, 1980; Jamaican Study, 1975; "The legal
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drugs for adults, such as alcohol and tobacco . precede the
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use of all illicit drugs." Source: National Academy of
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Sciences.
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12. The FBI reports that 65-75% of criminal violence is
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alcohol related. "Pacifist syndrome" testimony was given by
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Federal Bureau of Narcotics Director Harry Anslinger before
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Congress (1948). However, the "Siler" Study conducted by the
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U.S. in Panama (1931) reported "no impairment" in military
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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
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tobacco, the treatment is the same: stop smoking." Source: Dr.
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Fred Oerther, M.D.
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14. Coptic study (UCLA), 1981; "There is not yet any
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conclusive evidence as to whether prolonged use of marijuana
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causes permanent changes in the nervous system or sustained
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impairment of brain function and behavior in human beings."
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Source: National Academy of Sciences.
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15. Source: Dr. Tod Mikuriya, Marijuana Medical Papers.
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Marijuana could repllce at least 10-20% of prescription drugs
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now in use. Source: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam. Marijuana was a
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major active ingredient in 40-50% of patent medicines before
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its ban.
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16. 1976 17. 1983
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18. The U.S. government reports that the oral dose of cannabis
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required to kill a mouse is about 40,000 times the dose
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required to produce symptoms of intoxication in man. Source:
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Lowe, Journal of Pharmacological and Experimental
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Therapeutics, Oct. 1946.
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19. In another famous study, Heath/Tulane (1974), wild
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monkeysysere brutally captured, then virtually suffocated in
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marijuana smoke over a period of 90 days. Source: National
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Institute of Health.
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20. Examples: the "LaGuardia" Committee Report (New York,
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1944) and President Richard Nixon's Blue Ribbon "Shafer"
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Commission (1972).
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For More Information, Write:
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Family Council on Drug Awareness
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P.O. Box 71093, LA CA 90071-0093
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National Organization for the Reform Of Marijuana Laws
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(NORML)
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1001 Connecticut
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Washington, DC 20036-1119
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(202) 483-5500
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Richard Cowen, National Director (1993)
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