marijuana legalization versus other legalizations?
I have a question that just occurred to me today.
I hear SO many people (i.e. on the radio, on television, young people being interviewed, high school kids in my neighborhood, etc. etc.) endorsing the passage of California Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana.
Well, if they’re going to do that, why not legalize the cultivation of opium poppy plants, so that patients and others suffering from various ailments can benefit from opium???
Now don’t get me wrong…….i’m not talking about morphine or heroin……..Not that very many people would know how to attempt the complicated process of turning it into morphine anyway.
But any idiot knows that opium is a much better painkiller than pot, whether it’s “medical” or not. Many people smoke marijuana as often as others use opium frequently (Asia)
(I’m not talking about morphine, heroin, or even vicodin-oxy)
Personally, I’m ambivalent on the marijuana legalization issue, and I certainly wouldn’t want opium-based products legalized. But it seems like it’s either hypocritical or perhaps something that would be more consistent, since after all poppies are “all-natural”, the argument pot smokers use to justify the plant.
O…..K…..?
some of the points you made about pot also apply to opium: “natural” …..”enjoyable to use recreationally”…..actually, opium directly from the poppy pod is VERY difficult top overdose on…….you can OD on whisky faster than on OPIUM!
“If it turns out opium IS as safe as marijuana, then I would support legalization.” GOOD, because it IS safe!…”there are a lot of meds that are opium deriviatives already”..remember,I said that i don’t mean”derivatives”…”Big pharma doesnt have patents driving up the price of morphine and oxy”.. to repeat, i am NOT talking about these addicitive/deadly drugs.”Marijuana is safer than a lot of the drugs that are legal over the counter”.you are right on that point! Robitussion and NyQuil = BAD.only idiots buy and use that stuff for fun..”Its NOT because its all natural. Lots of all natural things are not safe.”..there are many ppl who claim that pot is safe to smoke because it is a “natural plant” but so is hemlock i wouldn’t recommend using hemlock..”caffeine is more dangerous but legal”…coffee is not as dangerous as pot or opium or OTCs…”are not screaming that opium can never be medicine”..opium=medicine..”Opium isnt driving a war on drugs”….umm, go to Mexico some time and see
People don’t want to legalize pot because it can be used to alleviate some forms of pain. It’s an added bonus, but not the main reason. Quite simply, it’s natural, impossible to overdose on, and is enjoyable to use recreationally. Not to mention it had no business being illegal in the first place.
I am not nearly as educated on opium as I am on marijuana. If it turns out the opium IS as safe as marijuana, then I would support legalization. On the other hand, I know there are a lot of meds that are opium deriviatives on the legal market already, that dont cost an arm and a leg.
The only legal marijuana product on the market is marinol. Medical marijuna isnt even technically legal. Big pharma doesnt have tons of patents driving up the price of morhpine and oxy and the others, either.
But compared to other drugs I AM more educated on, I dont think its hypocritical at all. In reality, I am not necessarily opposed to mass drug legalization in general. But specifically answering your question…
Marijuana is safer than a lot of the drugs used in this type of comparison, even the ones that are legal over the counter and recreationally.
Its NOT because its all natural. Lots of all natural things are not safe.
If you DO think its hypocritical though, do you also think its hypocritical that NyQuil is over the counter, that coriciden cough is even legal? With the amt of kids robo tripping, and how dangerous it is, do you not think its hypocritical that those are legal while marijuana and opium isnt? Even caffeiene is more dangerous, but legal. Im guessing you consume at least some caffeine, most people do. Do you consider it hypocritical that you consume caffeine but are against opium and marijuana?
Or are you one of the people that dont have a clue how many over the counter meds are abused? And how many abused rx and otc meds are in our schools?
I remember telling my parents over 10 years ago when I was in school. They swore things like that could never happen, that I must be lieing. That was over 10 years ago. My parents were not the only ones who felt like that.
Today, the schools across the entire nation are more drug infested with LEGAL drugs than ever before.
Marjuana is safe enough to let adults make their own decisions, imo, because..
–Impairment levels are low compared to other legal and illegal recreational and pharma drugs
–Fatal over dose is extremely difficult
–Non fatal over dose is generally not medically risky
–Contraindications are few and far between, but anyone using anything should check with their doctor before using it, legal or not
–Thc is not chemically addictive
–Safer than many other drugs that have been deemed safe enough to be legal, both over the counter, rx, and recreationally.
–Less than a fraction of 1% of all duis in the us involve ONLY marjuana use, even with the availability of marijuana and the number of people who drive while using it
–In its non smoked form has no links to cancer or heart disease or other smoking related diseases. Even recent studies evaluating smoked marijuana arent showing those links.
I also support legalization for several political and social reasons that dont really apply to opium.
–The AMA, FDA, and DEA are not screaming that opium can never be medicine while selling it in pharmacies. They DO do that to marijuana though. ALL 3 scream that marijuana can never be medicine because something smoked is never medicine. They dont tell you most doctors recommend cooking. They also dont tell you that they sell thc in a pill at every pharmacy nationwide at 50-100 times the price of real marijuana. Call your pharmacy and ask them how much marinol costs.
They say marinol is their answer to medical marijuana and that no one wants it because it has been reformulated to not produce a high.
It DOES produce a high, its just a more numb high. No one wants it because of the price tag on a patented medication. Also notice that pharmaceutical companies are the largest group lobbying against medical marijauana.
I might actually respect their position if they just flat out said they dont want to legalize a med they cant patent, instead of screaming its not a med while they sell synthetic thc as a med.
–The violence in black market of marjuana will disappear as soon as marijuna becomes a legit market. Sad thing is, our previous drug czar is on record stating the escalating violence is a measure of the success of our drugs against marijuana. All I see is that our laws created a black market that is a million times more dangerous than the actual drug.
–If you read the actual studies, virtually all of the dea anti marijuana information is biased, or a flat out lie.
–I dont support one of the safest drugs being scheduled as one of the most dangerous. It sends an incorrect message and mixed signals to our children about the real dangers of drugs that really are more dangerous.