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Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv From: Sol Lightman <verdant@student.umass.edu> Newsgroups: alt.hemp,alt.answers,news.answers Subject: alt.hemp CANNABIS/MARIJUANA FAQ Supersedes: <drugs/hemp-marijuana_763338044@rtfm.mit.edu> Followup-To: poster Date: 10 Apr 1994 08:57:08 GMT Organization: University_of_Massachusetts_at_Amherst_Cannabis_Reform_Coalition Lines: 1261 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: 24 May 1994 08:57:03 GMT Message-ID: <drugs/hemp-marijuana_765968223@rtfm.mit.edu> Reply-To: verdant@twain.ucs.umass.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: bloom-picayune.mit.edu Summary: This FAQ contains answers to frequently asked questions about marijuana and industrial hemp legalization. Keywords: hemp,marijuana,cannabis,law,legalization,environment X-Last-Updated: 1993/09/20 Originator: faqserv@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu alt.hemp:5537 alt.answers:2379 news.answers:17865 Archive-name: drugs/hemp-marijuana Version: 0.3 ALT.HEMP FAQ (still very incomplete but getting there) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Contributors so far: Laura Kriho lkriho@psych.colorado.edu -- Boulder Hemp Initiative Brian S. Julin verdant@twain.ucs.umass.edu (Sol Lightman) -- UMASS Cannabis Reform Coalition Marc Anderson andersom@spot.Colorado.EDU ---------------------------------------------------------------- This is a list of the most common and toughest questions and concerns we've gotten on the street talking to people about hemp re-legalization. In order to get our hemp rap tighter and thus be more effective, we should all know good answers to these questions. -- L.K. This FAQ is an attempt to fit reams of life-saving, liberty- protecting, mind-changing, reality-altering ideas, facts and information into as small a space as possible, made readable for everyone in one sitting, (who speaks english, sorry -- anyone willing to translate?) As a result, much of the superfluous information has been sacrificed to make room for more ideas. The information can be found in the sources cited at the end, which we encourage everyone to read. --B.S.J. ---------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS: I) WHAT'S ALL THIS FUSS ABOUT HEMP? 1a) What is hemp? b) What is cannabis? c) Where did the word `marijuana' come from? 2a) How can hemp be used as a food? b) What are the benefits of hemp compared to other food crops? c) How about soy? Is hemp competitive as a world source of protein? 3a) How can hemp be used as a fuel? b) Why is it better than petroleum? 4a) How can hemp be used for cloth? b) Why is it better than cotton? 5a) How can hemp be used as a medicine? b) What's wrong with all the other drugs we have? 6a) How can hemp be used to make paper? b) Why can't we just keep using trees? 7) What other uses for hemp are there? II) PROHIBITION - WHY? 1) How and why was hemp made illegal? 2) Wait -- why didn't we pass a better law? Why didn't somebody say III) DOESN'T IT?, DOES IT?, HOW WOULD? 1a) Doesn't Marijuana cause brain damage? b) If it doesn't kill brain cells, how does it get you `high'? 2) Isn't smoking marijuana worse for you than smoking cigarettes? 3) Doesn't marijuana stay in your fatty cells and affect you for up to a 4) Is marijuana addictive? 5) I heard that there are over 400 chemicals in marijuana... Wellllll... ? 6) I forgot, does marijuana cause memory impairment? 7) Marijuana impairs the immune system, increasing the 8) Hey, don't you know that marijuana drops testosterone levels in 9) Doesn't heavy marijuana use lower the sperm count in males? 10) I heard marijuana use by teenage girls may impair hormone production, 11) Don't children born to pot-smoking mothers suffer from ``Fetal 12) Don't people die from smoking pot? 13) Isn't marijuana a gateway drug? Doesn't it lead to use of harder 14) Can't marijuana cause psychoses in some people? 15) Does marijuana impairment cause more driving accidents? 16) Is it true that marijuana makes you lazy and unmotivated? 17) I don't want children (minors) to be able to smoke marijuana. How 18) Won't children be able to steal marijuana plants that people are 19) Is urine testing for marijuana use as a term of employment a good 20) Go away. 21) Isn't marijuana more potent now than in the 60's? 22) Shouldn't we just lock them (users) all up? IV) Why is it STILL illegal?: V) RESOURCES - (ON-LINE) VI) Other Resources ---------------------------------------------------------------- I) WHAT'S ALL THIS FUSS ABOUT HEMP? 1a) What is hemp? For our purposes, hemp is the plant called `cannabis sativa.' There are other plants that are called hemp, but cannabis hemp is the most useful of these plants. In fact, `cannabis sativa' means `useful (sativa) hemp (cannabis)'. `Hemp' is any durable plant that has been used since pre-history for many purposes. Fiber is the most well known product, and the word `hemp' can mean the rope or twine which is made from the hemp plant, as well as just the stalk of the plant that produced it. b) What is cannabis? Cannabis is the most durable of the hemp plants, and it produces the toughest cloth, called `canvass.' (Canvass was widely used as sails in the early shipping industry, as it was the only cloth which would not rot on contact with sea spray) The cannabis plant also produces three other very important products which the other hemp plants do not (in usable form, that is): pulp, seed, and medicine. The pulp is used as fuel, and to make paper. The seed is suitable for both human and animal foods. The oil from the seed can be used in as a base for paints and varnishes. The medicine is a tincture or admixture of the sticky resin in the blossoms and leaves of the hemp plant, and is used for a variety of purposes. c) Where did the word `marijuana' come from? The word `marijuana' is a Mexican slang term which became popular in the late 1930's in America, during a series of media and government programs which we now refer to as the `Reefer Madness Movement.' It refers specifically to the medicine part of cannabis. Today in the U.S., hemp (meaning the roots, stalk, and stems of the cannabis plant) is legal to possess. No one can arrest you for wearing a hemp shirt, or using hemp paper. Marijuana (The flowers, buds, or leaves of the cannabis plant) is not legal to possess, and there are stiff fines and possible jail terms for having any marijuana in your possession. The seeds are legal to possess and eat, but only if they are sterilized (will not sprout.) Since it is not possible to grow the hemp plant without being in possession of marijuana, the United States does not produce any industrial hemp products, and must import them or, more often, substitute others. 2a) How can hemp be used as a food? Hemp seed is a highly nutritious source of protein and essential fatty oils. Many populations have grown hemp for its seed -- most of them eat it as `greul' which is a lot like oatmeal. Hemp is competitive to soy in protein production. Hemp seeds have a nutty taste. Hemp leaves can be used as roughage, but not without slight psycho-active side-effects. Hemp seeds do not get you high. b) What are the benefits of hemp compared to other food crops? Hemp requires little fertilizer, and grows well almost everywhere. It also resists pests, so it uses little pesticides. Hemp puts down deep roots, which is good for the soil, and when the leaves drop off the hemp plant, minerals are returned to the soil. Hemp has been grown on the same soil for twenty years in a row without any noticeable depletion of the soil. Using less fertilizer and agricultural chemicals is good for two reasons. First, it costs less and requires less effort. Second, many agricultural chemicals are dangerous and contaminate the environment -- the less we have to use, the better. c) How about soy? Is hemp competitive as a world source of protein? Hemp seed protein more closely resembles that of the human body than soy; it is also easier to digest. Hemp contains a richer source of essential fatty acid oils than soy. These oils prevent heart disease and build the immune system. Hemp also resists UV-B light, which is a kind of sunlight that is blocked by the ozone layer. Soy beans do not take UV-B light very well. If the ozone layer were to deplete by 16%, which by some estimates is very possible, soy production would fall by 25-30%. We may have to grow hemp or starve -- and it won't be the first time that this has happened. (Hemp has been used to `bail out' many populations in time of famine.) 3a) How can hemp be used as a fuel? The pulp (hurd) of the hemp plant can be burned as fuel or processed into charcoal, methanol, methane, or gasoline. The process for doing this is called destructive distillation, or `pyrolysis.' Fuels made out of plants like this are called `biomass' fuels. b) Why is it better than petroleum? Biomass fuels are clean and virtually free from metals and sulfur, but more importantly, the carbon dioxide which is released when you burn biomass fuels did not come from under the ground, it came from the air. This way, the total amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere does not change. When petroleum products are burned, carbon is added to the air, this may contribute to global warming through the ``Greenhouse Effect,'' (a popular theory which says that certain gasses will act like a blanket over the entire Earth, preventing heat from escaping into space.) 4a) How can hemp be used for cloth? The fibre (bast) of the hemp plant can be woven into almost any kind of cloth. It is very durable. In fact, the first Levi's blue jeans were made out of hemp for just this reason. b) Why is it better than cotton? The cloth that hemp makes may be a little less soft than cotton, (though there also may be special kinds of hemp, or ways to grow hemp, that can produce a soft cloth) but it is much stronger and longer lasting. (It does not stretch out.) For the same reasons mentioned above, hemp is a better crop to grow than cotton. In the United States, the cotton crop uses half of the total pesticides. (Yes, you heard right, one half of the pesticides used in the entire U.S. are used on cotton.) Cotton is a soil damaging crop and needs a lot of fertilizer. 5a) How can hemp be used as a medicine? Hemp has thousands of possible uses in medicine. Just one of the 400+ chemicals in hemp, THC, could replace up to 30% of the pharmaceutical on the market today. Marijuana, actually cannabis extract, was available as a medicine legally in this country until 1937, and was sold as a nerve tonic. Marijuana appears in almost every known book of medicine written by ancient scholars and wise men. It is usually ranked among the top medicines, or `panaceas.' It was used as a pain reliever and in childbirth (oxytoxant). The most well known use of marijuana today is to control nausea and vomiting -- one of the most important things when treating cancer or AIDS with chemo-therapy or AZT. Other well known uses are for glaucoma (an eye disease that makes you go blind), multiple sclerosis, and a wide range of other diseases which involve involuntary muscle spasms. b) What's wrong with all the prescription drugs we have? They cost money and are hard to make. In some cases, they do not work as well, either. Some prescription drugs which marijuana can replace have very bad side effects. Cannabis medicines are cheap, safe, and easy to make. 6a) How can hemp be used to make paper? Both the fiber (bast) and pulp (hurd) of the hemp plant can be used to make paper. Fiber paper was the first kind of paper, and the first batch of that was made out of hemp in ancient China. Fibre paper is tough, brittle, and a bit rough, and does not hold together as well as pulp paper, especially when it is wet. Pulp paper is softer than fibre paper. It is the kind of paper we use most today. The pulp works like glue, holding small bits of fiber together. Sometimes fiber is added to pulp paper to add strength. An acre of cannabis hemp will replace four acres of trees in pulp paper production. b) Why can't we just keep using trees? In order to make paper out of tree pulp, a substance called `lignin' must be broken down. In order to do this, the pulp must be soaked in powerful acid. These acids contaminate the environment. Some paper companies clean the acid out with zinc oxide, but zinc oxide is also dangerous. Paper made from trees is often whitened with chemicals which are alleged to be dangerous, like dioxin. Hemp pulp has no lignin and whitens with much less difficulty. A simpler answer to the above question is: Because we are running out! Way back in the 1930's, the USDA was already worried about our `tree supply.' That is why they went in search of plant pulp to replace wood. They found hemp, but could not use it until someone made a machine to strip the pulp from the fibre -- but that is another story -- See the next section. Today, only 4% of America's old-growth forest remains standing -- and there is talk about building roads into that for logging purposes! 7) What other uses for hemp are there? One of the newest uses of hemp is in construction materials. Hemp can be used in the manufacture of `press board' or `composite board.' This involves gluing hemp stalk fiber together under pressure to produce a board which is many times more elastic and durable than hardwood. Because hemp produces a long, tough fibre it is the perfect source for press-board. Another interesting application of hemp in industry is making plastic. Many plastics can be made from the high-cellulose hemp hurd. Plastics made this way are more environmentally safe than those made from fossil fuels. `Bio-plastics' are not a new idea -- way back in the 1930's Henry Ford had already made a whole car out of them -- but the processes for making them do need more research and development. Unfortunately, companies are not likely to do this if they have to either import the raw materials or break the law... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- II) PROHIBITION - WHY? 1) How and why was hemp made illegal? As just stated, The United States Department of Agriculture first proposed making paper from hemp pulp in the early 1930's. Production had to wait, though, until somebody made a machine to separate the hemp pulp (hurd) from the fiber (bast) cheaply. In the meantime, a group of companies -- Dupont chemicals, Hearst paper and timber, and several others, developed a new way to make whiter paper out of trees. Just when they got all their patents and business dealings worked out in 1936, someone invented the hemp `decorticating' machine. Since hemp paper is cheaper to make, this threatened to put all of the tree-paper companies out of business. A huge sum of capital was tied up in making tree pulp paper and shipping it for sale. Most of the tree-paper people were very powerful and had a lot of government connections. One of them, William Randolph Hearst, even owned an entire newspaper chain. In 1937, they launched a country-wide campaign to put a prohibitive tax on hemp. This was the first `Reefer Madness Movement' (The second came in the 70's under Nixon.) This is when we began to call cannabis `marijuana.' `Marijuana' is a Mexican slang term which was relatively obscure until the newspapers made it a household word -- synonymous with evil. The Hearst newspapers played all the angles. Articles were written specifically to horrify the public about the dangers of marijuana. Stories were concocted about `axe-murderers' and sensationalistic tactics were used to blame heinous crimes on marijuana. The articles often took racist overtones, in order to capitalize on the then prevalent feelings of the average American towards Blacks, and Mexicans. In fact, it was this racism which was responsible for most of the anti-*marijuana* legislation previously passed in state legislatures -- Hearst and company just used this momentum to include hemp, in a way it is ironic that the racism of the American people would end up hurting them this way. 2) Wait -- why didn't we pass a better law? Why didn't somebody say something about hemp and stop them? How do you expect me to believe that no one knew marijuana was really cannabis hemp? Well, did you know all the stuff about cannabis that was in the first section? If so, you are a rare bird, my friend. (During Reefer Madness II, all mention of the word `hemp' was pretty much removed from our high- school curriculums, museums, history books, etc. A Smithstonian curator was quoted as saying ``Children don't need to know about hemp, it confuses them.'') By the time the 1937 Tax Act (which proposed to levy a prohibitive tax on the sale of small quantities of marijuana) reached Congress, the country was in an uproar over `that killer weed with roots in hell, marijuana.' The average American citizen was totally unaware that marijuana and cannabis hemp were the same plant (most of them didn't know where their clothes used to come from, anyway, because synthetic fabrics had just become popular.) To make matters worse, the word `hemp' was often wrongly used to refer to other natural fabrics, specifically jute. Those that did know decided to put their faith in other, newer crops and technology. This was before anyone could see how ecologically devastating these crops and technologies would become. Senators were inundated with mail from parents groups and organized grass roots lobbying. To them it was a simple issue of obeying the will of the people -- or not getting re-elected! This is not to say that no one protested, just that they were a small voice in the din of Reefer Madness. Numerous industries sent representatives to protest the usefulness of hemp. One of the loudest protesters, though, was the American Medical Association, which could not believe that the Congress would try to ban a useful medicine like cannabis, and was angered that they had not been told that the `two' plants, marijuana and cannabis, were one in the same when they were asked for endorsement. [You can read all of this in the Congressional records.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next obvious question is -- why is it STILL illegal? But we will delay answering this until later. Let us first take a look at some of the most common questions which we have today about marijuana use -- mainly, is it safe? What about all those scary statistics? What would legalization be like? Many of these questions come from anti-legalization arguments about why marijuana should be kept illegal. You will see that many of the `reasons' such groups give are actually just left-over hysteria from the Reefer Madness movements, with no basis in fact. [For proof that these arguments are still used by prohibitionists, see the 1988 U.S. Customs Dept. pamphlet ``Marijuana -- the Gateway Drug.''] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- III) DOESN'T IT?, DOES IT?, HOW WOULD? 1a) Doesn't Marijuana cause brain damage? The short answer: No. The long answer: The reason why you ask this is because you probably heard or read somewhere that marijuana damages brain cells, or makes you stupid. These claims are untrue. The first one -- marijuana kills brain cells -- is based on research done during the second Reefer Madness Movement. A study attempted to show that marijuana smoking damaged brain structures in monkeys. However, the study was poorly performed and it was severely criticized by a medical review board. Studies done afterwards failed to show any brain damage. But this was Reefer Madness II, and the prohibitionists were looking for anything to keep the marijuana legalization movement in check, so this study was widely used in anti-marijuana propaganda, until it was recanted later. (To this day, the anti-drug groups will sometimes slip up and use it -- In fact, America's most popular drug `education' program, Drug Abuse Resistance Education uses it. The D.A.R.E. officer's training manual contains a fact sheet from the National Institute on Drug Abuse which says that marijuana ``can impair memory perception & judgement by destroying brain cells.'' When police and teachers read this and believe it, our job gets really tough, since it takes a long time to explain to children how Ms. Jones and Officer Bob were wrong.) The truth is, no study has ever demonstrated cellular damage, stupidity, mental impairment, or insanity brought on specifically by marijuana use -- even heavy marijuana use. This is not to say that it cannot be abused, however. b) If it doesn't kill brain cells, how does it get you `high'? Killing brain cells is not a pre-requisite for getting `high.' Marijuana contains a chemical which substitutes for a natural brain chemical, with a few differences. This chemical touches special `buttons' on brain cells called `receptors.' Essentially, marijuana `tickles' brain cells. The legal drug alcohol also tickles brain cells, but it will damage and kill them by producing toxins (poisons) and sometimes mini-seizures. 2) Isn't smoking marijuana worse for you than smoking cigarettes? There are many reasons why it is not. The first is that marijuana smokers generally don't chain smoke, and so they smoke less. (Marijuana is not physically addictive.) The second is that tobacco contains nicotine, and marijuana doesn't. Nicotine hardens the arteries and is responsible for much of the heart disease caused by tobacco. The third is that marijuana contains THC. THC is a bronchial dilator, which means it works like a Hall's cough drop and opens up your lungs, which aids clearance of smoke and dirt. Nicotine does just the opposite; it makes your lungs bunch up and makes it harder to cough anything up. The fourth is that there are benefits from marijuana (besides bronchial dilation) that you don't get from tobacco. Mainly, marijuana makes you relax, which improves your health and well-being. The fifth is that scientists do not really know what it is that causes malignant lung cancer in tobacco. Some think it may be a substance known as Lead 210. Of course, there are many other theories as to what does cause cancer, but if this is true, it is easy to see why NO CASE OF LUNG CANCER RESULTING FROM MARIJUANA USE ALONE HAS EVER BEEN DOCUMENTED, because tobacco contains much more of this substance than marijuana. You may have heard that `one joint is equal to 10 cigarettes' This is based on studies which measured the tar content of cannabis and tobacco leaves. Marijuana smokers prefer the bud, though, which is much cleaner. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A NOTE: This isn't to say that smoking marijuana is not bad for your lungs, but consider for a moment this list of things that make marijuana less dangerous to use: o filters: like cigarette filters o pipes (or bowls): burn cleaner than a `joint' o water pipes: bubble the smoke through water to `wash' it o smoking bud instead of leaf: reduces the tar content and consumption o eating it instead of smoking: entirely eliminates any lung damage o extracting the THC into a drink or inhaler: also eliminates lung damage All of these things are made harder by marijuana laws. Pipes, especially water-pipes, are usually illegal by city or state law. Filtered cigarettes and inhalers would be wider used if they were mass produced, which is hard to arrange `underground.' People can't eat the marijuana because you need more to get high that way, and it isn't cheap or easy to get -- which is the reason why some people will stoop to smoking leaves. This may sound funny to you -- but the more legal marijuana gets, the safer it is. In addition to the above, legal marijuana would be clean and free from adulturants (other drugs added to the marijuana.) It would also stand less of a chance of being sprayed with pesticides or contaminated with dangerous fungi. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Doesn't marijuana stay in your fatty cells and affect you for up to a month? THC breaks down quickly after entering your body, into inert molecules known as `metabolites,' which don't get you high. It is the metabolites that get stored in fat cells and slowly leave -- not the THC. Only trace levels of THC remain after several hours, not enough to affect you at all. It is the metabolites that urine tests look for, so if a person tests positive on a urine test, It does not mean he was `stoned' when he took the test -- just that he smoked within the last 30 days. Many anti-drug pamphlets say that THC gets stored in your fat cells and then leaks out later, acting like a `time release capsule' and keeping you high for months. These claims are totally untrue. 4) Is marijuana addictive? Marijuana produces no withdrawal symptoms no matter how heavy it is used. It is habit forming (psychologically addictive), but not physically addictive. 5) I heard that there are over 400 chemicals in marijuana... Wellllll...? True, but so what? There are also over 400 chemicals in many foods, [including coffee, which contains 800 chemicals and many rat carcinogens] and I don't see police arresting people in McDonald's, or giving Driving while Eating citations. Only THC is very psycho-active, a few other cannabinoids also have small degrees of psycho-activity. People who use marijuana do not get sick more, or die earlier, or lose their jobs [except to drug tests], or have mutant kids... so what's your point? 6) I forgot, does marijuana cause memory impairment? Marijuana affects short-term memory, but does not `impair' it. It simply makes you remember different things. This could be considered good or bad. Heavy marijuana smokers have been tested and were perfectly functional and well adjusted. They performed well on tests and seemed normal. For first-time smokers, this effect is exaggerated. Most experienced marijuana smokers will tell you that once you get used to marijuana, you can remember things more normally. Much of the short-term memory loss may be due to the distraction of being stoned, as you simply do not pay attention to some things. Some of the loss may be a result of direct chemical action on your brain. A tolerance to these effects will build up during long periods of use. 7) Marijuana impairs the immune system, increasing the susceptibility to AIDS. This, too, has not been proven. It is based off hysterical claims made on national television by former drug czar Carlton Turner, for which he presented no valid research. 8) Hey, don't you know that marijuana drops testosterone levels in teenage boys causing [various physical and developmental problems]? Marijuana does not turn young healthy boys into lanky, girlish looking wimps, no. This scare tactic (call it homo-phobic if you will) was a common device used in early anti-drug literature. It attempts to scare boys away from marijuana by telling them, essentially, that it will turn them into a girl. The studies which are cited, where they exist, are mostly faulty or misinterpreted. This is not to say that marijuana use does not affect childhood development at all, just that the effects are not as drastic as some people would like them to sound. In fact they are pretty much unknown. 9) Doesn't heavy marijuana use lower the sperm count in males? Not by much, (if at all) and this can be a good thing. It does not make you impotent or sterile. (If it did -- there would be no Rastafarae or Zion Coptic Christians left!) Give those testicles a rest, already! 10) I heard marijuana use by teenage girls may impair hormone production, menstrual cycles, and fertility. Is this true? Also unproven and unfounded, but there is no data available to tell either way, (and it won't be coming from the U.S. -- current U.S. laws prohibit research on women, even if marijuana studies could get funding -- which they cannot, generally.) This is the female analog to the boy's ``It'll turn you into a sissy'' tactic. As far as anyone knows, It is only a scare tactic. 11) Don't children born to pot-smoking mothers suffer from ``Fetal Marijuana Syndrome?'' Studies conducted in Jamaica show that heavy marijuana use can cause the baby to develop differently -- it weighs more, cries less, and seems more curious and explorative, -- otherwise they show no difference. All of these things are good. But those who aren't so sure about this will be relieved to know that this only happens to children of heavy users. THC does cross the barrier to the fetus, but does not cause any horrible diseases or malformations like Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Also, chronic abuse of marijuana may cause problems. Whether the studies done in Jamaica actually mean anything to mothers in the U.S. or other developed countries is not known. 12) Don't people die from smoking pot? Never, not a one. [Well, maybe one, if you stretch it -- there is an account of an African Tribesman who did Dagga (smoked marijuana, as punishment) and he hit himself on the head too hard with a wooden club.] In contrast, many legal drugs cause tens to thousands of deaths per year, foremost among them alcohol, nicotine, valium, aspirin, and caffiene. 13) Isn't marijuana a gateway drug? Doesn't it lead to use of harder drugs? This is totally untrue. (In fact, research may be breaking soon that shows that marijuana aids in kicking crack habits.) If you do not believe so, do the math. There are 40 million people in this country (U.S.) who have smoked marijuana for a period of their lives -- why aren't there 40 million heroin users, then? In Amsterdam, both marijuana use and heroin use went *down* after marijuana was decriminalized -- even though there was a short rise in marijuana use right after decriminalization. The `gateway' or `stepping stone' hypothesis of drug use is no longer generally accepted by the medical community. On sociological grounds, the a gateway theory has been argued which claims that marijuana is the source of the drug subculture and leads to other drugs through that culture. This is untrue -- marijuana does not create the drug subculture, the drug subculture uses marijuana. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This brings up another example of how marijuana legalization could actually reduce the use of illicit drugs. Even though there is no magical `stepping stone' effect, people who choose to buy marijuana often buy from dealers who deal in many different illegal drugs. This means that they have access to illegal drugs, and might decide to try them out. If marijuana were legal, the drug markets would be separated, and less people would start using illegal drugs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) Can't marijuana cause psychoses in some people? Marijuana does not `cause' psychosis. Psychotic people can smoke marijuana and have an episode, but there is not a consensus that marijuana actually initiates or increases these episodes. Of course, if a psychotic is given marijuana for the first time or without his knowledge, they might get scared and `freak.' 15) Does marijuana impairment cause more driving accidents? Not really. The marijuana using public has the same or lower rate of automobile accidents as the general public. Studies of marijuana smoking while driving showed that it does affect reaction time, but not nearly as much as alcohol. Also, those who drive `stoned' have been shown to be less foolish on the road (they demonstrate `increased risk aversion'.) As funny as it may seem, you may be safer driving `stoned', as long as you aren't `totally blasted' and seeing things -- but few people want to drive in this state of mind, anyway. Still, many people have reported making mistakes while driving because they were stoned. 16) Is it true that marijuana makes you lazy and unmotivated? No, it doesn't -- ask the U.S. Army. They did a study and showed no effect. If this were true, why would many Eastern cultures, and Jamaicans, use marijuana as a work motivator (to help them work)? 17) I don't want children (minors) to be able to smoke marijuana. How can I stop this? Legalize it. They can smoke it now -- it is impossible to control. There would be less marijuana being sold in schools, playgrounds, and street corners, though, if it was sold legally through pharmacies -- because the dealers would not be able to compete with the prices. Consider, also, that children have a natural urge to do things that they aren't supposed to. It is called curiosity. By making such a fuss over marijuana, you make it interesting. This is the `forbidden fruit' factor. 18) Won't children be able to steal marijuana plants that people are growing? Well, if you are worried about them stealing the hemp plants from the paper-pulp farm down the road, you should know that the commercial grades of hemp do not contain much THC (the stuff that gets you high.) If they were to smoke it, they would probably just get a headache. Otherwise, it should be the responsibility of the grower to take measures to prevent this. Most ``home-grown'' is cultivated indoors anyway. 19) Is urine testing for marijuana use as a terms of employment a good idea? No! Some of your most brilliant, hard working, and reliable employees are marijuana users. When you drug test, you put all marijuana users in the same place as the abusers -- the unemployment line. Drug testing is bad for business. (Not to mention it is an invasion of privacy.) If a worker has a drug problem, you can tell by testing how well he does his job. Firing all the drug users who work for you will hurt your business, costs money, and will get people very mad at you. Drug testing allows an employer to govern the actions of an employee in his off time -- even when these actions do not effect his job performance. Asking employees to urinate in a plastic cup every month is not a good way to make them feel like part of the business, or make friends, either. 20) I forgot, does marijuana cause short-term memory impairment? Go away. 21) But ... isn't today's marijuana much more potent than it was in the Sixties? (Or, more often .... Marijuana is n times more powerful than it was in the Sixties!) GOOD! Actually, this is not true, but if it were, it would mean that marijuana was actually safer to smoke. People who use this statistic just plain do not know what they are talking about. Sometimes they will even claim that marijuana is now twenty to thirty times stronger, which is physically impossible. The truth is, marijuana has not really changed potency all that much, if at all. Even so, the point is moot because marijuana smokers engage in something called `auto-titration.' This basically means smoking until they are satisfied and then stopping, so it does not really matter if the marijuana is more potent because they will smoke less of it. Since being `too stoned' is a rather unpleasant experience, smokers quickly learn to take their time and go slowly when they smoke. 22) Shouldn't we just lock them (users) all up? How are you going to pay for it? Already, ten percent of the people in this country (U.S) are in custody. Murderers and rapists are being paroled right now to make room for a few more `deadheads' in prison. The United States leads the world in imprisonment -- at any one time, 425 people out of every 100,000 are behind bars. Once a person gets put in jail, he becomes angry with the world. By locking up drug users, you are digging yourself a very big trench to fall in -- is it worth it? Besides - lots of these people don't deserve to be in jail. Why should they serve time just because they like to get `high?' Especially when someone can drink alcohol without being arrested... what kind of law is that? You have to think about what kind of a world you are making for yourself before you act. How are the police of the future going to treat the people? How far are you willing to let the government go to get the drug users? How many of your own rights will you sacrifice by trying to jail drug users? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV) Why is it STILL illegal?: The official answer: Because you shouldn't use it. You can't use it because it is illegal, and it is illegal so you can't use it. You should not use it. It is illegal. It is illegal so you should not use it. :-\ The manic-depressive answer: It'll never happen. People are too unorganized/stupid/disempowered. It's just futility. Try, but don't expect to get anywhere. I won't get my hopes up. The paranoid-schizophrenic answer: Don't you SEE?!?!? The guys at the top have it SEWN!! They own everything. They'll never let it happen. I shouldn't even be talking to you, but let me give you some advice!! listen... you shouldn't mess with THEM, THEY know everything. THEY are practically psychic, see? And the only way to get it to happen is to become one of THEM. You'd better watch it, or THEY will come and take you away -- THEY do that, you know. It's all a CONSPIRACY!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANOTHER SIDE-NOTE: Our fuzzy-headed friend here may be over-reacting a bit, but there is some basis to his fears. Many anti-drug operations receive a lot of support from today's producers of legal drugs. For example, I am sure most of you have seen television advertisements warning you not to do drugs, produced by the Partnership for a Drug Free America. These are some of the companies who pay for those commercials by donating money to the PDFA: From 1988 to 1991, pharmaceutical companies and their beneficiaries contributed as follows: J. Seward Johnson, Sr., Charitable Trusts ($1,100,000) Du Pont ($150,000) Proctor & Gamble Fund ($120,000) Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation ($110,000) Johnson & Johnson ($110,000) SmithKline Beecham ($100,000) Merck Foundation ($75,000) Hoffman-La Roche ($50,000) (doesn't include donations under $90,000) Tobacco and Alcohol companies: donations from the tobacco and alcohol kings: The Partnership has Phillip Morris ($150,000) Anheuser-Busch ($150,000) RJR Reynolds ($150,000) American Brands (Jim Beam, Lucky Strike). ($100,000) Also, doesn't it seem odd that the advertisements produced by the PDFA rarely, if ever, warn youngsters about the very dangerous *legal* drugs, like sniffing glue or paint thinner, smoking tobacco, and drinking alcohol? Perhaps there is a little more to this `War on Drugs' than meets the eye. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The neurotic answer: Marijuana? Eeek! Don't you know that stuff is dangerous? People don't make laws for no good reason, you know! Where did you hear about marijuana? Wait! Don't tell me, I don't want to know. If anybody even knew you thought it should be legal -- well -- they'd never talk to you again! Don't you know that marijuana this... marijuana that... ... ... ... THE REAL ANSWER: Marijuana is still illegal because enough people have not yet stood up together and said: `` THIS IS STUPID!! I WANT CANNABIS HEMP LEGAL!!! FOR PRODUCTS; FOR MEDICINE; FOR FOOD; FOR FUN; FOR GOODNESS'S SAKE! ISN'T THAT WHAT LIFE'S ALL ABOUT ? '' Without large-scale grass roots support, marijuana will never be legal. Every person that stands up for marijuana/hemp legalization makes us that much stronger, and our voices that much louder. Believe me, we appreciate all the support we get. Almost as importantly, it makes it that much harder for people to say ``that's a stupid idea'' or ``nobody really believes that.'' If you aren't convinced yet, I encourage you to learn more about the issues. Try the sources listed at the end. If you're with us, let us know! Let everybody know, unless it will get you canned or arrested, but most importantly, keep an eye on what's going on, and try to lend a hand when you can. Also, know your stuff, so if you have to, you can convince a friend or loved one that *you* are not nuts -- the rest of the world is. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- V) RESOURCES - (ON-LINE) o The University of Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition maintains an on-line library which you can access via electronic mail. For more information, reply to this posting. In the subject of your reply, put the following pattern: {{{readme}}}. Be careful to match this pattern exactly. The e-mail address of the library is verdant@twain.ucs.umass.edu. o Most of the files in the on-line library are available by anonymous ftp, at the following sites: SITE: DIRECTORY: MAINTAINER: ftp.hmc.edu /pub/drugs cklausme@jarthur.claremont.edu ftp.u.washington.edu /public/alt.drugs lamontg@u.washington.edu flubber.cs.umd.edu /other/tms/drug.politics ? wiretap.spies.com /Library/Fringe/Pharm ? nic.funet.fi /pub/sci/neural/alt.drugs ? potemkin.cs.pds.edu /pub/politics/drugs ? hemp.uwec.edu /drugs DRUMM@CNSVAX.UWEC.EDU NOTE: This list was put together by cklausme@jarthur.claremont.edu for research into drug subjects. Some of these sights have little to do with hemp legalization. When I get the time, I will `customize' this list. Anyone who wants to help, my address is verdant@student.umass.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI) Other Resources (VERY INCOMPLETE) (pro-hemp books) Jack Frazier, ``The Marijuana Farmers'' Solar Age Press, New Orleans, 1972 Jack Herer, ``The Emperor Wears No Clothes'' Queen of Clubs/HEMP Publishing, 1992 Subtitled: The Authoritative Historical Record of the Cannabis Plant, Marijuana Prohibition, & How Hemp Can Still Save the World. Comment: A compendium of stories, opinions, and documents about America's great drug hypocrisy. Chris Conrad, Hemp, Life-Line to the Future, 312 pp. Comment: Very readable. Convincingly portrays hemp as a viable economic alternative for a sustainable future. Cohen & Stillman, ``Therapeutic Potential of Marijuana'', Plenum Press, NY, 1976. (nutrition and medical use) *** Journal Articles of General Interest *** ``Marijuana Laws: A Need for Reform'' by Roger Allan Glasgow; Arkansas Law Review Vol 22 Iss. 340 pp.359-375 *** Government commissions recommending legalization *** Mayor LaGuardia's Committee on Marijuana (New York) Report issued 1944. (Initiated 1938 -- an extensive study of marijuana) SOURCES (by question number) -------------------------------------------------------- I) 1a) [hemp] ``Hemp.'' by Lyster H. Dewey in the Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture 1913 pp.283-346 b) [cannabis] (cites pending) c) [origin of the word marijuana] (cites pending) 2a) [hemp seed/seed oil/leaves as food] [protein content] St.a Angelo, A.J., E.J. Conkerton, J.M. Dechary, and A.M. Altschul 1966, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, vol. 121, pp. 181; St. Angelo, A.J., L.y. Yatsu and A. M. Altschul 1968, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, vol. 124, pp.199-205 Stockwell, D.M., J.M. Dechary, and A.M. Altschul, 1964, Biochimica Biophysica Axta, vol.82, pp.221 (these three above references indirect via ``the Emperor Wears no Clothes'' I haven't obtained copies of the articles yet.) [essential fatty acid oils] ``Hemp-Seed Oil Compared with Other Common Vegetable Oils'' by Gerald X. Diamond in Washington Citizens for Drug Policy Reform Cannabis Hemp Information Kit. ``Therapeutic Hemp Oil'' by Andrew Weil, M.D. in Natural Health March/April 1993 (1992?) b) [agricultural benefits of hemp] ``Hemp.'' by Lyster H. Dewey as cited in I)1a) c) [hemp vs. soy] (protein production) ``Hemp.'' by Lyster H. Dewey as cited in I)1a) and the studies by Altschul as cited in I)2a) (resistance to UV-B sunlight) ``UV-B Effects on Terrestrial Plants'' by Manfred Tevini and Alan H. Teremura in Photochemistry and Photobiology Vol. 50, No. 4, pp.479-487 1989 3a) [hemp based fuels] b) [fossil fuels] 4a) [hemp clothing/fabrics] ``Hemp, Flax, Jute, Ramie, Kenaf and Other Industrial Fibers -- a Comparison of Properties and Applications'' by Gerald X. Diamond in Washington Citizens for Drug Policy Reform Cannabis Hemp Information Kit. b) [cotton] (cites pending) 5a) [marijuana as medicine] ``In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition -- Opinion and Recommended Ruling, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Decision of Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young'' USDJ DEA Dated Sept 6th Docket No. 86-22 (other cites pending) b) [legal pharmeceuticals] (cites pending) 6) [hemp paper] United States Department of Agriculture Bulletin #404 II) 1) [hemp/marijuana prohibition -- history] ``The History of Marijuana in the United States'' by Lester Grinspoon in his book ``Marijuana Reconsidered'' (pub. data to follow) ``The Emperor Wears No Clothes'' by Jack Herer; Hemp/Queen of Clubs publishing 1989-1992 ISBN 1-878125-00-1 ``The Puzzle of the Social Origins of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937'' by John F. Galliher and Allynn Walker; Social problems 1977, vol. 24 p367-376 (racism) ``Mexicans and Marijuana'' by John Helmer in his book ``Drugs and Minority Oppression'' (pub. data to follow) 2) [misinformation/lack of information on hemp] ``The Emperor Wears No Clothes'' by Jack Herer; Hemp/Queen of Clubs publishing 1989-1992 ISBN 1-878125-00-1 ``Hemp.'' by Lyster H. Dewey as cited in I)1a) III) 1) [marijuana and brain damage] ``The Chronic Cerebral Effects of Cannabis Use. I) Methodological Issues and Neurological Findings II) Psychological Findings and Conclusions'' by Renee C. Wert, Ph.D. and Michael L. Raulin, Ph.D. in The International Journal of the Addictions 1986, Vol 21(6), pp.605-628 (Part I) and pp.629-642 (Part II) (the following are the studies which were found to be flawed) Harper, J.W., Heath, R.G., and Myers, W.A. Effects of cannabis sativa on ultrastructure of the synapse in monkey brain. J. Neurosci. Res. 3:87-93. 1977. Heath, R.G., Fitzjarrell, A.T., Garey, R.E., and Myers, W.A. Chronic marihuana smoking: Its effects on function and structure of the primate brain. In Nahas, G.G. and Paton, W.D.M. (eds) Marihuana: Biological Effects. Analysis, Metabolism, Cullarlar Responses, Reproduction and Brain. Pergamon Press: Oxford. 1979. Heath, R.G., Fitzjarrell, A.T., Fontana, C.J., and Garey, R.E. Cannabis sativa: Effects on brain function and ultrastructure in Rhesus monkeys. Biological Psychiatry. 15:657-690. 1980. (D.A.R.E. says pot kills brain cells) D.A.R.E. Officers Training Manual K-12, Section T page 5 1b) [brain cells death and getting `high'] (marijuana psycho-action / mechanism) (alcohol brain damage -- cites pending) 2) [marijuana and tobacco, lungs] ``Subacute Effects of Heavy Marijuana Smoking on Pulmonary Function In Healthy Men'' Donald P. Tashkin, M.D., Bertrand J. Shapiro, M.D., Y. Enoch Lee, B.S. and Charles E. Harper in the New England Journal of Medicine Jan 15, 1978; Vol. 294, No. 3 pp.125-129 (the radioactive tobacco theory) Correspondence section of the New England Journal of Medicine, Feb. 11, 1982 Vol 306 No. 6 and July 29th, 1982 Vol 307 No. 5 3) [duration of marijuana ``high''] (cites pending) 4) [addictiveness of marijuana] (cites pending) 5) [over 400 chemicals in marijuana] (800 different chemicals in coffee) Ames, B.N., Gold, L.S. Too many rodent carcinogens: Mitogenesis increases mutagenesis. Science. Vol 149. Pg. 971. 1990. 6) [marijuana and short term memory] (cites pending) 7) [marijuana and the immune system] ``Marijuana and Immunity'' by Leo E. Hollister M.D.; Journal of Psycho-Active Drugs Vol 24(2), Apr-Jun 1992 pp159-164 8) [marijuana and adolescent males] (cites pending) 9) [marijuana and sperm count] (cites pending) 10) [marijuana and adolescent females] (cites pending) 11) [Fetal Marijuana Syndrome (sic)] Research of Melanie Dreher (cites pending) 12) [marijuana lethality (sic)] (cites pending) 13) [the gateway theory] (cites pending) 14) [psychotic reactions to marijuana] (cites pending) 15) [marijuana and automobile accidents] (cites pending) 16) [amotivational syndrome] ``Behavioral and Biological Concomitants of Chronic Marijuana Use'' Dr. Jack H. Mendelson, 1974. This study was conducted by the United States Army and never released, until the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws found it. ``Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse -- Final Report'' 1973 Washington. ( use of marijuana and other drugs in a positive role in work ) ``Working Men and Ganja: Marijuana Use in Rural Jamaica.'' Dreher, M.C. (Now Dean of Nursing at UMASS) 1982 Philadelphia Institute for the Study of Human Issues. ``American Opiophobia: Customary Underutilization of Opioid Analgesics.'' C.S. Hill, Jr. and W.S Fields; Advances in Pain Research and Therapy, vol. 2 pp. 163-173 ``The working addict'' Caplovitz, D. 1976, White Plains, NY Sharpe 17) [keeping kids off pot] (cites pending) 18) [industrial hemp potency] (cites pending) 19) [urinalysis] 20) Go away. 21) [marijuana potency] ``Cannabis 1988 Old Drug, New Dangers The Potency Question'' by Tod H. Mikuriya, M.D. and Michael R. Aldrich, Ph.D. in the Journal of Psycho-Active Drugs Vol.20(1), Jan-Mar 1988 pp.47-55 22) [putting users in jail -- bad, bad, bad] (civil liberties issues) ``The Pathology of the War on Drugs: The Assault on Justice and Civil Liberties'' by Steven Wisotsky in Beyond the War on Drugs (1990) Chapter 7. ``Waste heat and Garbage: The legalization of Warrantless Infrared Searches'' by Lisa J. Steele in Criminal Law Bulletin, Jan-Feb 1993 pp.19-39 ``Domestic Drug Interdiction Operations: Finding The Balance'' by Sandra Guerra in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Vol 82, No. 4 1992 pp.1109-1161 (articles on the military in the Drug War) ``Police Action'' by David C. Morrison in National Security 2/1/92 pp.267-270 ``The Militarization of the Drug War in Mexico'' by Kate Doyle in Current History February 1993 pp.83-89 ``The Newest Trojan Horse'' by Catherine Cornez in World Press Review June 1992 pp.17-18 ``The Golden Lie'' by Diana Reynolds in the Humanist Sept./Oct. 1990 pp.10-49 (number of marijuana smokers in the U.S.) (cites pending) -- The University of Massachusetts at Amherst | _________,^-. Cannabis Reform Coalition ( | ) ,> S.A.O. Box #2 \|/ { 415 Student Union Building `-^-' ? ) UMASS, Amherst MA 01003 verdant@titan.ucs.umass.edu |____________ `--~ ; \_,-__/ * To find out about our on-line library, mail me a message with the * pattern "{{{readme}}}" contained IN THE SUBJECT LINE. * You will be mailed instructions; your message will be otherwise ignored