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Op-Ed: Legalize Marijuana? Be Careful What You Wish For…

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recreational marijuana
21 year old Robert Crimo, the killer in Highland Park, was an habitual smoker of cannabis, a habit he apparently shared with other young mass murderers, including Uvalde, Dayton, Parkland, Newton and Aurora. Is there some correlation with that kind of behavior and the use of recreational marijuana?

DELRAY BEACH, FL – The pro-marijuana lobby is ecstatic that 19 states (Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Washington, Vermont, Rhode Island, Virginia, California, Oregon, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Illinois, Montana, plus D.C.) have legalized recreational marijuana, with more expected in the future. Should the rest of us be as ecstatic as the “potheads” and others who have supported this legislation are? By the way, did you notice that most of the states that have legalized it are “blue states” (run by Democrats)? Even President Biden has come out in favor of its legalization.

The P.C. Police (Politically Correct) have already pronounced that if you are against the legalization of “recreational” marijuana (a/k/a pot, weed, ganga, grass, Mary Jane, reefer, hash etc.), you are some sort of a right-wing, Neanderthal, bible-toting, Conservative Republican nut-job, who wants to impose his/her morality on others.  Is that a fair description of those who oppose “recreational” marijuana legalization?

The question should be – should we legalize another mind-altering drug along with alcohol? According to the “pot lobby”, the answer is a resounding “YES”, and the sooner the better. Their argument is that “pot” is not harmful to the body and mind, and people who think differently don’t know what they are talking about. Is marijuana a benign drug?

Well, let’s look at the effects of “pot” on the body and mind of its users as determined by medical experts , not “pot” junkies.

Here are some of the effects of “pot” on the body and mind as put forward by the medical profession.

  1. it causes distorted perception and impairs memory and inability to learn
  2. it promotes anxiety attacks and feelings of paranoia
  3. it impairs muscle coordination and judgment
  4. it increases the susceptibility of infection
  5. it causes burning and stinging of the mouth and throat
  6. it increases the heart rate and could cause a jump in blood pressure
  7. it causes impairment of driving skills
  8. it has the potential to promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory tract because of the various carcinogens present in it
  9. It creates difficulty in thinking and problem solving

Taking all of the above factors into consideration, how can anyone claim that marijuana is a benign drug? It has been found that the potency of the marijuana of today has risen from 4% to 12% in just the past 20 years. In fact, 21 year old Robert Crimo, the killer in Highland Park, was an habitual smoker of cannabis, a habit he apparently shared with other young mass murderers, including Uvalde, Dayton, Parkland, Newton and Aurora. Is there some correlation with that kind of behavior and the use of recreational marijuana?

Yes, I know that people will get their marijuana highs whether it is legalized or not, but why should we encourage its use by legalizing it? It has also been shown that smoking marijuana is a “gateway” drug for more powerful mind-altering drugs like heroin, crack, cocaine, Ecstasy, opioids, and fentanyl, and other prescription drugs. In fact, since today’s marijuana is so much more potent than what it was 20 years ago, therefore, the unintended negative consequences of indulging in using recreational marijuana, is greater today than in the past. In the words of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “We are defining deviancy down”. We’re not talking about “medical marijuana” we’re talking about “recreational marijuana” for the sole purpose of getting high.

Already, the “unintended consequences” of these laws are having a detrimental effect on the living conditions in those states.  Increased DUI’s, hospitalizations, and minors gaining access to “pot” in increasing numbers, have been reported and the trend is that it will get much, much worse.

To those who favor legalizing marijuana, be careful what you wish for, you might regret the consequences that legalization will bring to your communities and to yourselves.

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