A very funny one liner from one of my favourite comedians, Mitch Hedberg. Unfortunately, Mitch died in 2005 at the age of 37. Cause of death is believed to have been a drug overdose. The medical examiners report cited toxic levels of both Cocaine and Heroin in this system.
Let's be very clear. Concerns about the adverse side effects of certain illegal drugs are valid concerns. Many substances are highly addictive and toxic to humans. The state should be providing education programs about the dangers associated with the abuse of drugs and it should absolutely seek to protect our young people from getting easy access to dangerous substances.
Unfortunately, it does neither. Instead it lies to people about the harmful effects of substances such as Cannabis. A lie many young people today easily see through and so subsequently disregard everything else they hear from the government on the drugs topic. Furthermore, the prohibition of drugs allows organised crime to self regulate the market deciding what they sell to whom and at what age. Where is the protection for our young people?
So how toxic is Cannabis? The LD50 of a substance is a measurement of the toxicity of that substance. It is the amount of a substance that results in the death of 50% of the individuals exposed within a certain time period. LD50 is measured in micrograms (or milligrams) of the material per kilogram of body weight. The lower the LD50 the more toxic the substance. One might, therefore, assume that substances such as Cannabis branded 'a dangerous drug' by the government would have a low LD50?
Well you'd be wrong!
At present it is estimated that marijuana’s LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms a smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.
The quote above is from a report by the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency. It effectively says that Cannabis (Marijuana) is one of the least toxic substances know to man! In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume including coffee, raw potatoes, and salt! Not only is Cannabis completely non-toxic, it is one of the oldest and most effective medicines on the planet. Indeed, before prohibition in the US close to 50% of all medicines were Cannabis based.
But what about Cannabis being a gateway to harder drugs? Well if the drug dealer you buy your weed from is also selling cocaine, heroin and other illegal substances then chances are you may be offered harder drugs at some point and perhaps you may decide to try these. So in that respect there may be an argument here. But, that's all the more reason to take the trade out of the hands of organised crime and regulate a legal market for Cannabis. Is there anything inherent in the chemical composition of Cannabis that would lead people to start taking harder drugs - no!
So can we please just cut the bullshit! There is no medical reason whatsoever why Cannabis should be an illegal substance. In fact, I'd rather just stop calling it a drug as I feel it would help the debate if we more accurately classified it as a medicinal plant/food. Should it be regulated? Yes absolutely - just as we regulate the sale and distribution of all foods. Prohibition is not regulation though - it's an abdication of government responsibility that has serious consequences for our society in terms of crime, health and public spending.
We need to move on from this madness and start basing our public policy around health and drugs on the truth instead of misinformation and bullshit propoganda. We need a more informed debate on this topic and we need to move towards legalisation in 2014.
Efforts to promote the legalisation of cannabis do not go hand in hand with the promotion of all illegal drugs. There are subtleties in the drugs debate. It's time our elected representatives grasped this and showed some true leadership on this topic.
Unfortunately, it does neither. Instead it lies to people about the harmful effects of substances such as Cannabis. A lie many young people today easily see through and so subsequently disregard everything else they hear from the government on the drugs topic. Furthermore, the prohibition of drugs allows organised crime to self regulate the market deciding what they sell to whom and at what age. Where is the protection for our young people?
So how toxic is Cannabis? The LD50 of a substance is a measurement of the toxicity of that substance. It is the amount of a substance that results in the death of 50% of the individuals exposed within a certain time period. LD50 is measured in micrograms (or milligrams) of the material per kilogram of body weight. The lower the LD50 the more toxic the substance. One might, therefore, assume that substances such as Cannabis branded 'a dangerous drug' by the government would have a low LD50?
Well you'd be wrong!
At present it is estimated that marijuana’s LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms a smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.
The quote above is from a report by the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency. It effectively says that Cannabis (Marijuana) is one of the least toxic substances know to man! In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume including coffee, raw potatoes, and salt! Not only is Cannabis completely non-toxic, it is one of the oldest and most effective medicines on the planet. Indeed, before prohibition in the US close to 50% of all medicines were Cannabis based.
But what about Cannabis being a gateway to harder drugs? Well if the drug dealer you buy your weed from is also selling cocaine, heroin and other illegal substances then chances are you may be offered harder drugs at some point and perhaps you may decide to try these. So in that respect there may be an argument here. But, that's all the more reason to take the trade out of the hands of organised crime and regulate a legal market for Cannabis. Is there anything inherent in the chemical composition of Cannabis that would lead people to start taking harder drugs - no!
So can we please just cut the bullshit! There is no medical reason whatsoever why Cannabis should be an illegal substance. In fact, I'd rather just stop calling it a drug as I feel it would help the debate if we more accurately classified it as a medicinal plant/food. Should it be regulated? Yes absolutely - just as we regulate the sale and distribution of all foods. Prohibition is not regulation though - it's an abdication of government responsibility that has serious consequences for our society in terms of crime, health and public spending.
We need to move on from this madness and start basing our public policy around health and drugs on the truth instead of misinformation and bullshit propoganda. We need a more informed debate on this topic and we need to move towards legalisation in 2014.
Efforts to promote the legalisation of cannabis do not go hand in hand with the promotion of all illegal drugs. There are subtleties in the drugs debate. It's time our elected representatives grasped this and showed some true leadership on this topic.
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