Here’s a real doozy: New year brings new round in fight to keep marijuana illegal by Sam Contakos. Sam is is a retired Johnstown [PA] businessman and former practicing physician. He also formerly served as a lecturer on the topic of drug abuse. And he’s a power lifter in Anti-Drug Athletes United. It was interesting to read that all their events are drug tested. So apparently Sam Contakos’ cognitive problems stem from another source.
This one is hard to pick apart piece by piece, because he goes all over the place. But when you read it, note how he puts in a number of facts about marijuana (as if to make the piece look more balanced) and then proceeds to pull conclusions about marijuana’s drawbacks out of thin air.
Check out this fascinating diversion within the OpEd:
With the increased interest for the legalization of marijuana, the findings of the Indian Hemp Commission are dusted off and presented to support the benignity of marijuana’s use. This was a strictly political commission empowered during the reign of Queen Victoria in 1893 by the British Government of India. There were no physicians on it.
The conclusion was that the use of cannabis by the people of was harmless, but it’s exportation to Britain was discouraged.
In fact (though not stated), the widespread use of cannabis was an effective means to control a couple hundred million subjects of the empire.
I hadn’t noticed an increase in the use of the Indian Hemp Commission report as a justification for legalization, especially since there is so much modern evidence of marijuana’s medical effectiveness and safety. And this notion that the British Empire used cannabis to control its subjects — that’s a new one to me (as is the notion that cannabis can be used that way).
Here’s another bizarre passage. In it, Contakos appears to actually downplay the gateway effect, because he thinks marijuana is the dangerous drug.
Those who wish to continue the enforcement of the draconian laws against the use and abuse of marijuana (and let there be no mistake that all marijuana use is truly abuse) seem to foolishly focus on the questionable fact that marijuana is an “introductory drug†to more serious forms of substance abuse.
Marijuana is, in fact, a very dangerous drug. There have been many huge studies that have shown this to be true.
Ah yes, the nameless huge studies that prove your point that nobody else has heard of. And I love the declarative statement “and let there be no mistake that all marijuana use is truly abuse” as if stating it that way makes something completely false to be true. It would be like me saying “and let there be no mistake that all Pennsylvanians are truly terrorists.” Sounds pretty strong, but it’s meaningless.
As is most of his writing.
He’s just preaching to the choir, and a lot of them are looking for another church. When he insists that MJ is a dangerous drug he is contradicting people’s direct experience with it. The poll numbers clearly show people are no longer listening to that stuff.
Some people just dont get it, its over ! We will have our freedom back. Freedom to put in our body what we want and not have goons with guns bustin our door down and destroying family and life. If these people cant get over it, then they need to make everything that bad for us illegal…cheesebugers,water,air,sun,politics,goons with guns,picking your nose,electric shock,dictators,war…on and on…guess that means life, it’ll kill ya eventually.
Ok , I got carried away. But really,dont these people realize how much freedom has been lost due to laws like prohibition? They cant be ok with the lost of freedom…or are they? We are losing more and more freedom everyday..I suppose they are ok with that too.
Sorry..me and millions of others are not ok with that.
If these people cant get over it, then…
they need to make everything that bad for us illegal
Not as much profit. So outlaw everything good… Anything “free”, organic doesn’t require poisons, 90 mil on US cotton. Push chemicals that make us sick. Then sell chemicals to treat it. More to treat the side effects. Pyramid game of obesity and diet czars. Outlaw prevention and cures.
The Ganjawar is a Product Sold by D.E.A.th to Profit Fascist 01/07/03
cheesebugers
Starving Babies and Illegal Food
Need the herds sedated somewhat. Cloudy and dazed then prod to the pastures. Junk fud and synthetics require stored energy and resources to process. So not only does it stay clogging arteries, but you pay for it. Getting malnutritioned. Cows drinking frsh water, eating chemical grain. Factory farms spewing tons of liquified shit, inhumane slaughter to export. Mucking up streams on prime real estate, to sell to some foreign elite smart enough not to fuck up their own lands.
water,air,sun
They set lake Erie and the Chicago river on fire, now it’s plastic bottled. Air purifiers and bottled air on the horizon. They shelved solar power til the patent ran out 17 years later. More chemicals are applied to cotton than any other crop, accounting for half our nations usage.
Cotton Vital Statistics
Percentage of worldwide insecticides used on cotton production 25%
Percentage of worldwide agricultural acreage in cotton production 0.5%
Average pounds of chemicals used on one acre of cotton in the US per year 4 Pounds
of pesticides used in 1993 on US agriculture fields 811 million
Percentage of the world market in pesticides controlled by 10 companies 73%
Not my hemp clothing…
politics,goons with guns
Rainbow Farm Massacre 11/06/01
“Remember Peter McWilliams the next time Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey claims the “drug war” is not really a “war.” McWilliams had his computers siezed, his livelihood and works in progress destroyed, his finances frozen and bankrupted, his critical lifesaving anti-nausea medication- marijuana- denied, even his mother threatened with the loss of her bailbonded-home if Peter tested positive with one iota of THC in his sytem.”
The Murder of Peter McWilliams 10/05/01
electric shock
The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
dictators
USA! Qaeda Fascist Nationalism
war
$Trillion Defense Bill Passes
picking your nose
“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”
~ Harry J. Anslinger
America’s 1st Drug Czar (FDR – JFK)
“abuse” has always been drug warrior speak for “use” … when is “use” never “abuse”? Most people on our side fall for it too with statements like “drug abusers should get medical treatment, not criminal sanctions.” They mean drug users.
Anyone who attempts to draw an articulable line between use and abuse is partaking in an exercise in futility.
I would suggest that you can abuse a child, a puppy, and even a really nice sportscar by grinding the clutch all day long. But you can’t abuse a chemical substance. We should do what we can to get the word “abuse” taken out of the public lexicon with respect to drugs. There’s no such thing as a drug abuser.
You CAN abuse your own body. But as long as it is only your body which you’re abusing and nobody elses, then you should have the right to do so. If I want to cut my arm off, put it in the freezer (ya know, to save it for later), it would be abusing myself, and I should have that right. I do – there’s no law against it. But taking the wrong pill, that crosses some line of self-abuse that just can’t be tolerated? Bullshit.
The probies are scraping the bottom of the barrel,trying to find any kind of weapon or harm that they can use to bring
America back into their side of the fence.
Apparently some of our protests and articles that show America where and when the government has lied about the harm marijuana
has done or could possibly do is alerting Americans to the game
they have been playing for four decades.
A customer at the cafe,a prohibitionist,pointed out an article about the danger of medical marijuana and the brain damaged baby rats,and asked me why they would use isolated chemicals from marijuana and then claim that marijuana could hurt people the same way. He then asked me if marijuana users were isolating chemicals,to use as drugs. I explained to him that we take it like it is and as far as I knew,no one was trying to legalize marijuana,for baby rats or children.
Nice follow up Ddc.
I actually live in Johnstown and asked my friends if anyone knew Sam. Sure enough someone did and is going to set us up so we can have a chat. If you have anything you would like to say to Sam just let me know (but please be civil we are both human beings and deserve to be treated with respect). I will let you know how it turns out.
Sam Contakos :
First off Sam, get off your soap box. I am a cancer survivor and used cannabis effectively. I am so sick of you church goers ruling law. I can’t wait until the day comes when you and your churches end up where they belong: in a ditch.
F off
Oh yeah Sam,
Looks like your lifting 200 pounds. ooooooo wow. Who cares.
Thankfully your 74 and we wouln’t have to hear you or your hot air much more.
what is the best brands of air purifiers these days?;”`
we always use air purifier at home because our baby is allergic:,-
we always use air purifier at home because we want very clean air”~’
Air purifiers really helps a lot especially in our house to keep away from pollutions.basketball portable