POT UNDER ATTACK FOR CAUSING MEMORY PROBLEMS, SAY FORGETFUL DRUG RESEARCHERS(SA)

[Guest guest]

http://www.newstarget.com/019340.html

 

Originally published April 7 2006

 

Marijuana under attack for causing memory problems, say forgetful

drug researchers (satire)

 

Medical researchers are once again warning about the long-term memory

effects of smoking marijuana. Toking on the herb for decades

apparently makes your memory, well, dopey. That is, if you believe

the study which was based on 40 people found in a drug rehabilitation

program who said they only smoked marijuana about 20 times in their

entire life.

Right. I've never heard of anyone checking into a rehab center after

smoking pot only 20 times. And besides, if pot destroys a person's

memory as researchers claim it does, how do they know these people

haven't smoked pot a thousand times and just can't remember?

 

Let's face it: Basing research on the personal memories of people who

scientists claim have had their memories destroyed is not exactly

good science. It sounds more like an agenda that uses science to

support the War on Drugs and the continued incarceration of thousands

of Americans whose only crime is getting high in the basement of

their parents' house.

 

I'm no supporter of marijuana or any recreational drug, but if using

marijuana to feel better is a crime, then why isn't the same standard

applied to prescription drugs? If you think marijuana destroys your

memory, you should try statin drugs sometime. They can destroy a

person's normal brain function in mere months, leaving them in a drug-

induced stupor that makes potheads look downright clever.

 

Or how about the sleeping drug, Ambien, that's causing people to

engage in " sleep driving " (sleep walking while driving a car), where

they cause major traffic accidents. Here's a paragraph of news about

the effects of this drug:

 

Although medical experts, law enforcement agencies, and individual

patients have known for some time that the blockbuster sleep

medication Ambien has been responsible for the rather bizarre

phenomenon referred to as " Ambien sleepwalking, " it was just this

week that a federal class action was filed in the United States

District Court for the Southern District of New York to try to do

something about it. For some time now, a significant number of people

taking Ambien (zolbidem) have found themselves in a virtual " Twilight

Zone " allegedly caused by the drug. A small case study of the unusual

effects of the drug on six drivers has caused quite a stir among

healthcare professionals and people who use the drug to help them

sleep. According to Liddicoat, drivers under the influence of

unusually high doses of Ambien have crashed their cars and then had

absolutely no memory of the accident. The sleeping pill apparently

continued to impair drivers even after they have attempted to sleep

off the effects. - From NewsInferno.com

 

Even though Ambien is clearly far more dangerous than marijuana, you

don't see people being arrested for taking Ambien. You don't see our

prisons packed top to bottom with people who possessed Ambien. And

you don't see doctors -- who sold the drug to patients -- charged

with dealing drugs.

 

That's because when it comes to dangerous drugs, there's a clear

double standard: All prescription drugs, no matter how dangerous to

individual health or public safety, shall remain legal. All drugs

that are not controlled by Big Pharma, on the other hand, shall be

made illegal.

 

And that's how the system works. Again, I'm not supporting marijuana.

You probably already know that I use absolutely no drugs, not even

the psychoactive drug used by 53% of Americans (caffeine). But when I

see loony, pseudoscientific attacks on marijuana that demonstrate a

clear double standard in our national drug policy, I simply have to

point it out. In my view, we should be arresting and locking up the

Big Pharma executives and corrupt FDA officials who continue to push

dangerous drugs that KILL 100,000 Americans each year. If you really

want to protect the public from dangerous drugs, start arresting and

prosecuting the truly dangerous drug dealers -- the ones operating

under the FDA protection racket.