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How Can You Laugh at a Time Like This?

Bruce Madison

No. 109

Guest Columnist: "Doc" Carney

Mar 24, 1997

Gypsy & Willy - The Original Libertarian Bloggers Editor's note: As you know, Bruce Madison is on vacation for the remainder of March. Last week, PrimeTime, an ABC TV magazine show, did an atrocious piece on marijuana which we are sure that Bruce would have loved to hate. Fortunately, an articulate and intelligent viewer, through a letter to the producers which he was kind enough to forward to us, has taken them to task on our (ALL of our) behalf. We gratefully reproduce it below. Thank you, Doc!"

I was absolutely appalled by Chris Wallace's piece on marijuana. Whether it was intentional or not, Chris managed to repeat the DEA's mantra of lies almost word for word. We (the people) depend on the media to at least attempt to tell the truth. I made the following notes (regarding inaccuracies) while watching the program:

THE BIG LIE:

Marijuana is a "Gateway Drug." Absolutely incredible. This whole concept has been disproven time and time again. This statement is not only inaccurate, it is downright tired -- way overworked by the media.

KIDS IN TREATMENT:

This was despicable. What you failed to note is that the majority of these kids (speaking from experience) were in treatment involuntarily - stats show that most folks in treatment are there as a result of this choice: jail or treatment. And they won't get out of treatment until they say the politically correct things about their situation. This segment of the piece really aimed low. You should be ashamed.

And the segment showing the "dispirited" kid who was allegedly contemplating suicide -- pure rot. He'd probably been put through hell by his parents or the system. Actually, it brought to mind the suicide of Carrol O'Conner's son -- instead of raging against the system that has produced this mess, O'Conner has chosen the politically correct path - though his own intransigence on the subject of drugs probably contributed to Hugh O'Conner's decision to take his own life.

I'm sure you make a lot more money than I -- but I'd still wager a month's pay that ABC PrimeTime cannot put together a piece featuring DEA representatives on one side and (take your pick) Clifford Schaffer, Ethan Nadelmann, former San Diego police chief Joseph McNamara, or any other member of the Hoover Institute or DRCNet on the other. I can make this wager for the simple reason that DEA reps have been forbidden to appear in debate with these gentlemen or any other well - informed professionals speaking out against prohibition (see the DRCNet website for the correspondence). Want to do a story that has wings? Try this one. And when the DEA turns you down, kindly report the circumstances to the people, along with their refusal to cooperate.

The fact is that this country is in the middle of a government-sponsored and induced panic over drugs. And the DEA's arguments cannot stand close inspection.

MORE POTENT MARIJUANA:

Shame, shame, shame. Pot today is just like it always has been -- the fresher, the more potent. And the potent stuff commands a premium in the market, as always. But it is not actually more potent. The studies upon which this statement is based measured THC levels in commercial pot, mostly from Mexico and Colombia. This stuff had been transported a long way, and often warehoused. The Delta-9 THC had degraded into Delta- 8 THC, which is not psychoactive and therefore was not measured. Today's pot is grown just down the street, and reaches the market fresh and potent. But warehouse the stuff for a month and remeasure - no difference.

If you are really interested in the truth (and I don't deceive myself that you are), please do a little research on this issue. A good place to start is at DRCNet, the biggest collection of information on drugs available in the entire world.

Want to do a real blockbuster story? Don't you think folks would be upset to discover that their government has been systematically lying about drugs for a protracted period of time? I do -- and it's not hard to prove.

Another blockbuster story? Try this one (and I'll bet you didn't know this): The Partnership For A Drug Free America -- The "This is your brain on drugs" people. Who do you think sponsors these folks? Would you believe mostly tobacco companies, brewers and liquor manufacturers and drug companies? Want some names? What about American Brands, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard, Phillip Morris, RJR Nabisco (tobacco); Anheuser-Busch, Seagrams & Sons, Coors, Hiram Walker-Allied Vintners, Stroh Brewing Company (alcohol); and Hoffman-LaRoche, Merck Co Foundation, Perry Drug Stores, The Pfizer Foundation, Rohrer Group, Inc, Schering-Plough Foundation, Inc., Smith-Kline Beecham and Sterling Drugs? Call 'em up and ask the question.

To put this in perspective for you, I'm not a wild-eyed radical, I'm a fifty-three-year-old retired Special Forces senior NCO. And I do my part to try and put the truth before the people, publishing The Patriot newspaper in Muncie, Indiana, which I mirror on the Internet at http://www.iquest.net/~thedr/index.html.

So let me die a happy man -- revisit this subject with a broader perspective and let folks hear from some of the fine scholars involved in this very difficult struggle for truth.

O.D. "Doc" Carney

P.S. Actually, the most insightful statement in the entire show came from the young girl (masked out) who said, and I paraphrase, "It's (pot) not done anything to hurt me, when it does, I'll stop." That little nugget encapsulates the entire problem. The government (or Mom, Pop, etc.) says, "Pot's a bad drug - it's addictive and makes you nuts." The kid tries it (and if it's proscribed, kids ARE gonna' try it) and finds that none of what he's been told is true. So why should he believe that heroin is bad? Or Coke? Maybe they lied about that too! (And they did...but, that's another story...)

Back to the table of contents.

If you have comments or suggestions for Doc, you can contact him at:
thedr@iquest.net ("Doc" Carney)

Bruce, as usual, is available through:
willy@dreamagic.com

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