Dr. Gupta on Weed

[LongBlade]

Some of you may be familiar with Dr. Gupta, one of CNN's docs.

He's invested some time in to the merits of classifying marijuana as a Class 1 narcotic. His findings are interesting, and he's changed his mind on opposing classifying it as a medically beneficial.

On August 14, 1970, the Assistant Secretary of Health, Dr. Roger O. Egeberg wrote a letter recommending the plant, marijuana, be classified as a schedule 1 substance, and it has remained that way for nearly 45 years. My research started with a careful reading of that decades old letter. What I found was unsettling. Egeberg had carefully chosen his words:

"Since there is still a considerable void in our knowledge of the plant and effects of the active drug contained in it, our recommendation is that marijuana be retained within schedule 1 at least until the completion of certain studies now underway to resolve the issue."

Not because of sound science, but because of its absence, marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 substance. Again, the year was 1970. Egeberg mentions studies that are underway, but many were never completed. As my investigation continued, however, I realized Egeberg did in fact have important research already available to him, some of it from more than 25 years earlier.

More at the link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

[Windigo]

Someone, somewhere, did a history of hemp in the US. IIRC it was posited that hemp/weed was made illegal due to many things - few legitimate, but one thing that stuck to mind was that hemp competed with cotton and the cotton industry lobbied hard to get rid of it.

[pawelj]

Some of you may be familiar with Dr. Gupta, one of CNN's docs.

He's invested some time in to the merits of classifying marijuana as a Class 1 narcotic. His findings are interesting, and he's changed his mind on opposing classifying it as a medically beneficial.

On August 14, 1970, the Assistant Secretary of Health, Dr. Roger O. Egeberg wrote a letter recommending the plant, marijuana, be classified as a schedule 1 substance, and it has remained that way for nearly 45 years. My research started with a careful reading of that decades old letter. What I found was unsettling. Egeberg had carefully chosen his words:

"Since there is still a considerable void in our knowledge of the plant and effects of the active drug contained in it, our recommendation is that marijuana be retained within schedule 1 at least until the completion of certain studies now underway to resolve the issue."

Not because of sound science, but because of its absence, marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 substance. Again, the year was 1970. Egeberg mentions studies that are underway, but many were never completed. As my investigation continued, however, I realized Egeberg did in fact have important research already available to him, some of it from more than 25 years earlier.

More at the link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

All drugs should be at least decriminalized, and DEA disbanded.

[Centurion40]

Or, at least folded into the ATF.

I saw Dr. Gupta's article yesterday.  It surprised me as I never knew that he was opposed to decriminalization.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

They had an article up on Cracked yesterday which detailed some common preconceptions about drugs.  It was mostly a thinly veilled indictment of alcohol but it did show that marijuana was nowhere near as benign as the pro-weed crowd would have you believe.

[Windigo]

They had an article up on Cracked yesterday which detailed some common preconceptions about drugs.  It was mostly a thinly veilled indictment of alcohol but it did show that marijuana was nowhere near as benign as the pro-weed crowd would have you believe.

all pharmaceuticals, legal and not, have consequences and side effects