Great story i found here at http://stopthedrugwar.org/taxonomy/term/25
Check it out fellow stoners !
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Thu, 02/08/2007
I've performed a meta-analysis of various scare stories about marijuana appearing in major papers this week. The results of my research are as follows:
Hypothesis:
Alarmist reports about marijuana will turn out to be wildly exaggerated and in some cases completely fictitious. Obvious inconsistencies will be overlooked by the press and widely available contrary evidence will be ignored.
Methodology:
I read various stories about marijuana and used basic logic and reasoning to determine whether their conclusions made any sense. In some cases, I used Google and other sources to search for other information that contradicted seemingly dubious claims.
Findings:
Marijuana Increases the Risk of Psychosis by 40%: This one turned out to be totally wrong. Apparently a correlation between marijuana use and psychosis doesn't necessarily mean that marijuana caused the psychosis. Many of the researchers made this clear in their findings, but reporters left it out. Furthermore, none of the stories on this topic explained that the risk of psychosis is small, so a 40% increase isn't that significant to begin with. Reporters also failed to observe that massive increases in marijuana use over the past century have not corresponded with increased rates of psychosis.
Smoking a Joint is as Bad For Your Lungs as 5 Cigarettes: This report also turned out to be almost entirely bogus. Shockingly, "air flow" was the only category (of several) in which marijuana was determined to be more harmful. Researchers stated that marijuana was 2.5 to 5 times more harmful than tobacco in this category, which reporters simply rounded up to 5 for the headline (behold the lofty journalistic standards of Reuters). Reporters also failed to mention conclusive research proving that marijuana does not cause lung cancer; a notable omission since "bad for your lungs" likely implies cancer for many readers. Finally, media reports failed to explain that marijuana users consume far less per day, and do not continue using for nearly as many years as tobacco smokers.
Marijuana May Cause Skin Cancer: I don't know anything about skin cancer, so I won't attempt to refute the findings of this Harvard study. The manner in which it was reported, however, leaves much to be desired. The FOX News headline reads "Study: Marijuana Use May Cause Skin Cancer." Only upon reading the article does the reader discover that only one extremely rare form of skin cancer has been associated with marijuana, and that the researchers claim that more research is needed. Furthermore, only people with weakened immune systems are even susceptible to this infection. A more appropriate headline would have been "Study: Marijuana May Cause Skin Cancer Under Very Rare Circumstances."
Conclusions:
Reading coverage of marijuana research in the mainstream press increases the risk of becoming misinformed by 50-300%. More research is clearly needed to identify further sources of flawed marijuana reporting. The risk of bad reporting remains stable despite concerted efforts to inform the media that hysterical claims about marijuana frequently lack scientific merit. Exposure to poorly researched news about marijuana is correlated with support for costly, ineffective, highly punitive marijuana laws.
- Original article Marijuana
It is always revealing to follow the trail of deception involved in the unending stream of bogus anti-drug propaganda that spews forth from the deepest, darkest recesses of a corrupted DEA.
I once investigated the origins of the 70s myth that claimed that marijuana causes adolescent male marijuana smokers to develop female-like breasts. The official medical term for this condition is gynecomastia. Gynecomastia is a rare condition that is believed, but not conclusively so, to be caused by hormonal imbalances.
The pot-boob myth began when some scientists published a paper saying that the THC molecule contained in marijuana resembles, in some respects, the female hormone estrogen. This was an interesting observation for conducting future research, since similar molecular structures can sometimes have similar chemical effects.
The research was quickly followed by a letter sent by a single medical doctor, a general practitioner, and published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) which said that he had examined two male patients with gynecomastia who were also pot smokers. Two researchers, J. W. Harmon and M. A. Aliapoulis, published a research paper in 1974 in the New England Journal of Medicine that found no discernible link between marijuana use and gynecomastia. Despite their negative findings, the researchers concluded that some kind of link was likely. These publications became the total scientific basis for drug propagandist claims that smoking marijuana causes men to grow female breasts. There are still some idiots around today who claim the link is real.
Another oddity in the gynecomastia-marijuana saga occurred in a 70s episode of the TV game show “Hollywood Squares.” The question of whether marijuana causes men to develop huge breasts was asked of comedian and panel member Paul Lynde. Lynde said “yes,” and the show’s judges said that yes was the correct answer.
When I caught the brief segment on Hollywood Squares, I remember thinking that Lynde appeared uncomfortable when he answered the question, giving nothing more than an affirmative “yes” while making no jokes about it. Considering the topic was breasts, some hilarious joke should have been no sweat for the wisecracking gay comedian and party animal.
Paul Lynde’s strange behavior on the game show made me suspect that the question and the answer had been staged, possibly at the behest of the drug warriors. And in fact, it later became common knowledge in the industry that the questions, jokes and answers on the Hollywood Squares were given to the stars of the show in advance. If Lynde’s question and answer really were planted by some drug warrior, then this would be evidence that an undue and surreptitious influence of the entertainment industry by drug enforcement has been going on for a very long time.
Comment posted by Anonymous on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 5:59pm
From what I understood, by the announcement made on Hollywood squares, that the panelists knew the right anwer, before hand--(briefed on the answers!). I thought they were given that to try to stump the players into believing a lie.
Be that as it may, the short answer may have relfected his attitude about his being forced to answer the question in the affirmative. I mean, being in entertainmnet, they saw plenty of indulgers. And were probably better informed, and more skeptical about this question, than many of the other people in the country.
Corrections
Comment posted by Giordano on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 10:56pm
Thanks for the correction. You’re right about the game rules. I was confusing it with something else, and I never watched the game shows that much anyway.
And you’re right about Lynde’s acquaintance with drugs. Lynde was a serious alcoholic who was found dead from an apparent heart attack in his bed on January 11, 1982. There was a bottle of poppers (amyl nitrate) found nearby.
Reefer Madness
Comment posted by Kevin Kneeland on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 8:38pm
It seems the misinformation/diversion machine is in full swing. It is my belief that the drug warriors get busier when they see their way of life slipping away. May they choke on all their lies. Change is coming and I say bring it on. Stand up and be counted.
www.pissedoffpothead.com
Why?
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 08/03/2007 - 12:10am
Marijuana
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 08/03/2007 - 2:37am
Marijuana was not banned because of its drug properties. Marijuana was banned because it will bankrupt the USA cotton industry. Marijuana is a weed which grows in semi-arid regions with little water and virtually no maintenance. Cotton is a water hog and pesticide consumer. Imaging all the third world countries growing a Marijuana crop for the canvas industry. The pain killers in Marijuana are patent free. Imagine being able to manufacture medicinal grade painkillers. These third world countries will lift themselves out of poverty and be able to feed themselves. It will never happen. Too many greedy USA capitalists protecting their wallets.
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