Califano Says, "Teens who
smoke marijuana are playing a dangerous game of Russian roulette."
And Other Brilliant Insights.
(Marijuananews note: Although CASA is one of the
leading prohibitionist propaganda organizations in DEAland, its real purpose is to glorify
the infallibility of Joe Califano. Hence, the persistent emphasis on the
"gateway." That took a beating from the IOM Report. But never mind.)
See
The Wall Street
Journal Responds To The IOM Report
By Having Califano Defend The "Gateway Theory"CASA RELEASES
REPORT: "NON-MEDICAL MARIJUANA
- RITE OF PASSAGE OR RUSSIAN ROULETTE?"
From http://www.casacolumbia.org/newsletter1457/newsletter_show.htm?doc_id=15612
Highlights Critical Distinction Between Non-Medical and Medical Uses of Marijuana
More Teens—Nearly 88,000 -- in Treatment for Marijuana Than Any
Other Drug Including Alcohol
Califano Warns of Dangers of Marijuana Use to Children
See
Califano
And Friends Lie To Us About Marijuana And Holland -- the Mfiles
NEW YORK- Legalization or decriminalization of non-medical marijuana would pose a
serious threat to millions of America’s children, increasing their use of this
dangerous drug and taking away critical support for parents, teachers and others
attempting to steer kids away from drugs, a new report released today by The National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) concludes.
Sounding an alarm for parents, the report finds that in 1996 (the latest numbers
available) more teens age 19 and younger entered treatment for marijuana abuse and
dependence than for any other drug including alcohol. In fact, nearly as many teens and
children were admitted to treatment for marijuana as were admitted for abuse and
dependence on all other substances combined.
Of the nearly 181,784 teens and children who entered treatment in
1996, nearly half -- 48.2% or 87,687-- were admitted for abuse or addiction to marijuana
alone: 19.3% (35,069) were admitted for alcohol with a secondary drug; 11.9% (21,594) for
alcohol alone; 2.9 % (5,323) for smoked cocaine, 2.4% for methamphetamines (4,354); and
2.3% (4,166) for heroin). More than half the teens in treatment for marijuana were between
the ages of 15 and 17.
(Marijuananews note: CASA says that their source on this is HHS,
which is reason enough to doubt it.
See
Shalala
Says That Parents Are Wrong To Be Relieved
That Their Children Are Using Marijuana Instead Of Heroin!
Survey Results From California Do Not Support Party Line, So They Are Buried.
and
Claim Two: "More Than 120 000 People In The US
Seek Treatment Each Year For Their Marijuana Addiction"
I asked the CASA spokesperson if they knew what percentage of those
in treatment were there as the result court order. She did not know. However, inasmuch as
"diversion to treatment" is a common alternative to jail, it would be difficult
to know how many of those in treatment for marijuana really were having problems with it,
other than getting arrested.
See
"Tremendous
Increase In The Number Of Dutch Cannabis Users Asking For Help"
Swedish Prohibitionists Claim
and
The
Relative Addictiveness of Drugs According to NIDA's Own Researcher
If these number are correct, then we are greatly
over-treating marijuana misuse, and greatly under-treating alcohol misuse, inasmuch as
underage binge drinking is a much bigger problem than underage marijuana use. That would
be consistent with current social and drugs policies .)
See
Australian
Magazine Analyzes Drug War Prohibitionist Propaganda Including Its DEAland Sponsors:
"Figures show that by far, the bulk of the money spent and resources allocated by law
enforcement agencies
is being used to get "tough on marijuana", arguably the least
‘dangerous’ of all illicit drugs."
Of 85,046 Drug Related Offences In Australia From 1996 - 1997 -- 69,136 Were For Cannabis.
and
If Telling The Truth
About Binge Drinking Works Better Than "Hardline Crackdowns." What About
Marijuana?
"Teens who smoke marijuana are playing a dangerous game of
Russian roulette.
The potential of marijuana as a dangerous drug for our children in and of itself, as a
gateway to other drug use , and as a signal of trouble is a matter of the most
serious concern for American parents," said former HEW Secretary Joseph A. Califano,
Jr., CASA President and Chairman. "Teen experimentation with
marijuana should not be considered a casual rite of passage."
(Marijuananews note: Mothers Against Drunk Driving" used
the same expression in a press release today, saying that underage drinking should not be
viewed as a "rite of passage." Neither should casual sex, staying up too late,
getting tattoos, exotic piercings, dying hair weird colors, or listening to music that I
am too old to enjoy.)
The 66-page White Paper, Non-Medical Marijuana: Rite of Passage or Russian Roulette?,
is the most comprehensive report ever published on non-medical
marijuana,
(Marijuananews note: Inasmuch as there are a number of books on the
subject of non-medical use of marijuana, this is an absurdly pretentious and misleading
statement, vintage Califano.)
making clear the critical distinction between medical and general use of marijuana. The
report recognizes that the determination of the medical value of marijuana should be made
by physicians and scientists, but finds that any such determination has no relevance to
prohibition of the general use of marijuana.
"Marijuana legalization proponents like to play doctor and prescribe marijuana by
political referendum. Medical marijuana should not be the nose under
the tent leading to the drug’s general legalization, as some proponents hope, any
more than the medical use of cocaine or opiates has been regarded as an opening move in
the direction of general use of those drugs," said Califano.
(Marijuananews note: The supporters of medical marijuana have long made this argument,
which Califano misuses for his own purposes.)
See
Is medical marijuana
just the opening wedge to legalize marijuana generally?
and
Isn't legalizing marijuana just the opening
wedge to legalizing all drugs?
CASA’s report comes just as the summer season gets fully underway when many
children and teens are less likely to be closely supervised. CASA’s research has
shown that a child who gets through age 21 without smoking, using marijuana or any other
illegal drug, or abusing alcohol is virtually certain never to do so.
Decriminalization or legalization of non-medical marijuana would increase use among the
nation’s teens and children, heightening the risk of physical and psychological
dependence and the likelihood of children moving on to other illegal drugs such as LSD,
cocaine or heroin.
See
Legalize
Marijuana and Reduce Use?
New Survey Puts Estimate of Dutch Marijuana Use Even More Below DEAland
and
Legalize Marijuana and Improve
High-School Academic Performance? Holland Ranks First –
The US Very Low
CASA’s own surveys show that marijuana is already readily
available to teens.
CASA’s 1998 teen survey reported that 19% of middle school
students and 45% of high school students say they can buy marijuana in an hour or less.
In light of the discussion of the medical use of marijuana, the report stresses the
serious consequences of non-medical marijuana use, especially by children, which include:
impairment of short-term memory, concentration and motor skills, critical for a
child’s intellectual and social development. greater likelihood of use of another
illegal drug such as cocaine or heroin. Increased likelihood of having unprotected sex or
sex with multiple partners, leaving them at greater risk of pregnancy, AIDS and other
sexually-transmitted diseases, possible long term physical and psychological dependence,
slowed reaction time, impaired coordination and decreased attention span, leading to
increased highway accidents and fatalities.
Recent studies at universities in California, Italy and Spain reveal that marijuana
affects levels of dopamine (the substance that gives pleasure) in the brain in a manner
similar to heroin and cocaine. "While scientists have not yet uncovered the smoking
gun, they have certainly found the trigger finger. Parents who mistake the absence of
proof for the proof of absence are playing Russian roulette with their children’s
lives," said Califano.
See
Claim Four: "Marijuana
Causes Long-Term Changes In The Brain Similar To Those Seen With Other Drugs Of
Abuse."
and
"Marijuana
may be shown to be more dangerous than speed, heroin, alcohol and tobacco,"
- Says Australian Psychologist
and
Is Marijuana A
Hard Drug? Do Rats Shoot It Up On The Mfiles?
The report also suggests that a policy that decriminalizes or
legalizes marijuana for adults while continuing to ban it for minors is unlikely to be
effective. Although the sale of tobacco is prohibited for those under 18 and
alcohol for those under 21, the report noted that the use of these drugs by adolescents
far exceeds that of marijuana, clearly demonstrating that age restrictions on the use of
substances which are available to the entire population are difficult to enforce. Despite
the massive public education campaign against smoking, tobacco use among young people has
remained virtually constant from 1978-98, while over the same time period, marijuana use
has decreased by approximately 50%.
Among the report’s conclusions:
The statistical link between marijuana and other drugs like LSD, cocaine or heroin is
tighter than between smoking and lung cancer, high cholesterol and heart disease, and
asbestos and lung cancer. For example, 12- to 17-year-olds who smoke marijuana are 85
times more likely to use cocaine than those who do not. The correlation in the 1964
Surgeon General’s report between smoking and lung cancer was nine to 10 times; in the
Framingham Heart Study between cholesterol and heart disease, two to four times, and in
the Selikoff Study between asbestos and lung cancer, five times.
(Marijuananews note: There are a variety of phenomena in which there
are very high correlations, but absolutely no causation. This is especially common when
both the phenomena arise from a single cause. Marijuana prohibition causes marijuana to be
sold in the same markets as hard drugs. This is the basis of the "gateway," as
was pointed out by the IOM Report.
See
Will The Titanic Of
Marijuana Prohibition Be Sunk By The Ice Cube Of The IOM Report?
-- Analysis.
Califano refuses to recognize this and continues to claim that
correlation proves causation.)
The higher THC content available in today’s marijuana makes
psychotic and other reactions (anxiety, agitation, delusions, amnesia, confusion and
hallucinations) more likely.
See
Marijuana Prohibition
And Potency, Price, And Safety --
"Is Marijuana Stronger Than It Was Back In the '60s, When Everyone Thought It Was
Harmless?"
Analysis By Richard Cowan
One pot cigarette causes more damage to lungs than one tobacco cigarette.
(Marijuananews note: This is different. Usually, the
prohibitionists claim that marijuana is many times more harmful. Deflation?)
Because the law has a normative as well as punitive function,
decriminalizing marijuana will decrease its perceived harmfulness and lead to more
widespread use, especially among children.
See
They Are Legal, So They Must Be Safe:
"Teens Abusing Drugstore Medicines"
Should We Have Drug-Free Drugstores?
Context For Medical Marijuana and "Drug Education" Debates
While the report disputes claims that the nation’s prisons are jammed with low
level marijuana offenders, it recommends reform of current criminal justice policies,
including an end to mandatory sentences; giving prosecutors and judges more discretion in
dealing with low level offenders; assigning public health and substance abuse experts to
support prosecutors and judges; expanding drug courts, and providing treatment to all
alcohol and drug addicts in and out of prison.
"Laws that prescribe mandatory sentences for possession of
small amounts of marijuana are overkill," says Califano. "In general,
mandatory sentences, especially those requiring drug and alcohol abusers and addicts to
serve their entire sentence, are counterproductive and are particularly insidious where
they concern teens convicted of marijuana possession. Mandatory
sentences remove any potential that the threat of incarceration or early release might
hold as an incentive for such an inmate to enter treatment. We need all the
carrots and sticks we can muster to help these individuals shake their habit."
(Marijuananews note: First, there are no "mandatory
minimums" for simple possession of marijuana, so Califano’s seeming compassion
is a cheap gesture. Second, the basis of his concern is not the injustice of imprisoning
marijuana users, but rather the power of the therapeutic state. If there is no discretion
then the controllers have nothing to offer the victims to get their consent to their brain
washing.)
See
The 50th
Anniversary of The Publishing Of Orwell’s 1984
Analysis By Richard Cowan
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University is the only
national organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines
needed to study and combat all types of substance abuse as they affect all aspects of
society. CASA’s missions are to: inform Americans of the
economic and social costs of substance abuse and its impact on their lives; assess what
works in prevention, treatment and law enforcement; encourage every individual and
institution to take responsibility to combat substance abuse and addiction; provide those
on the front lines with tools they need to succeed, and remove the stigma of substance
abuse and replace shame and despair with hope.
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