Obama: Marijuana No More Dangerous Than Alcohol

[Beet]

Kind of funny for the guy who's Eric Holder's boss to be saying this stuff, but it's an understatement:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/19/obama-marijuana-alcohol_n_4627740.html

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Actually it's less dangerous, in more ways than one.

1. It's impossible to OD on it
2. High Driving isn't nearly as dangerous
3. Is there anything healthy about alcohol?

[H. Ross Peron]

About time.

[Mordecai]

Are there people here who actually think he thought marijuana was a dangerous drug?

Although, like with the same-sex marriage endorsement, it's nice that he's openly said it.

[morgieb]

THANK YOU.

[Ebowed]

Glad to hear it.

It might not seem like that big of a deal, but given that Clinton and Bush Jr. both smoked weed, and refused to admit that it didn't ruin their lives, it's refreshing to hear this from Obama.  Hopefully it paves the way for other politicians to start telling the truth on this issue, too.

[eric82oslo]

3. Is there anything healthy about alcohol?

Haven't you heard of Medical Booze?

Wine is said to be healthy though, so is beer to some extent (b vitamins).

[Ebowed]

3. Is there anything healthy about alcohol?

Sure, having a beer or a glass of wine once a day reduces the risk of heart disease, but more broadly, for every horror story of people committing acts of violence or recklessness due to alcohol abuse it's quite likely we'll find many more stories of people becoming friends, enjoying each others' company, and resolving their conflicts.  The real problem is that it's just not for everyone.

[muon2]

So when is Obama going to direct his agencies to overturn their 2011 denial of a petition to reschedule cannabis? He could also direct the AG to reschedule cannabis by executive order. Getting marijuana to schedule II (or III) would enable researchers to conduct the scientific trials needed to establish dosage and efficacy as for every other medically recognized substance in the US.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

So when is Obama going to direct his agencies to overturn their 2011 denial of a petition to reschedule cannabis? He could also direct the AG to reschedule cannabis by executive order. Getting marijuana to schedule II (or III) would enable researchers to conduct the scientific trials needed to establish dosage and efficacy as for every other medically recognized substance in the US.

I'm not sure this is one of the issues he intends to use his pen and his phone to affect change.

[windjammer]

I globally agree. That's why Alcohol must be fought too.

[Cassius]

Glad to hear it.

It might not seem like that big of a deal, but given that Clinton and Bush Jr. both smoked weed, and refused to admit that it didn't ruin their lives, it's refreshing to hear this from Obama.  Hopefully it paves the way for other politicians to start telling the truth on this issue, too.

Bush certainly didn't have the best first 40 years of his life (how long he spent smoking marijuana I don't know, although it certainly caused a rift between him and his dad).

Oh well, at least Obama didn't say 'zoinks, like, marijuana's really good for you guy, there's like no negative side affects at all.............'. I'm fine with people wanting to legalise marijuana because they feel that even if it does pose certain risks its no more dangerous than alcohol and thus should be legalised. On the other hand, the potheads and their apologists who misleadingly claim that it's totally harmless...

Oh, and Windjammer, a little friendly tip. In English, when referring to something which we would agree with in most circumstances (I assume that's what your getting at) we don't use globally, which implies something happening on a worldwide scale, but instead something like generally or broadly. But hey, your English is still great, and certainly far better than my French, which has deteriorated to the point of 'Oui', 'Non' and 'Je suis tres bien'

[Silent Hunter]

It isn't totally harmless; legalising it will arguably lead to more people dying as a result of it.

The thing about alcohol and tobacco killing more people - perhaps its because they're easier to acquire. I can easily buy alcohol and tobacco within a five minute walk... but I wouldn't know who my local pot dealer was.

[they don't love you like i love you]

No one has ever died as a result of marijuana so legalizing it won't result in any more deaths.

It's significantly easier to obtain marijuana than (off sale) alcohol in Minneapolis after 10pm or on Sunday.

[Oakvale]

It isn't totally harmless; legalising it will arguably lead to more people dying as a result of it.

...

[RedSLC]

It isn't totally harmless; legalising it will arguably lead to more people dying as a result of it.

The thing about alcohol and tobacco killing more people - perhaps its because they're easier to acquire. I can easily buy alcohol and tobacco within a five minute walk... but I wouldn't know who my local pot dealer was.

It's virtually impossible to OD on Marijuana. The sheer amount that you would have to smoke would be difficult to obtain.

If you mean indirectly, such as driving a car under its influence, the solution would be to just warn people to treat it like alcohol in this regard, and not go driving while under its influence.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

It isn't totally harmless; legalising it will arguably lead to more people dying as a result of it.

...

My friend's cousin injected just one dose of mari-huana and died instantly. London Man correctly sees that legalizing the reefer will lead to more horrific deaths like that one.

[Lief 🗽]

Good news! Hopefully he continues to "evolve." Despite the wailing and gnashing from the True Leftists, Obama has been about as good as politically and legally possible on this issue.

[Cobbler]

Good news! Hopefully he continues to "evolve." Despite the wailing and gnashing from the True Leftists, Obama has been about as good as politically and legally possible on this issue.

Your schtick is getting stale at this point.

[Lief 🗽]

Good news! Hopefully he continues to "evolve." Despite the wailing and gnashing from the True Leftists, Obama has been about as good as politically and legally possible on this issue.

Your schtick is getting stale at this point.

Cool.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Obama wants to turn this country into dopey pothead welfare queens so the Caliphate can be created by ACORN and Iran. Duh.

[Marokai Backbeat]

That's nice, now actually set policy to reflect this and I'll be happy about it. I don't give a f**k about his stylistic "evolution" on this issue when it's completely toothless.

It isn't totally harmless; legalising it will arguably lead to more people dying as a result of it.

...

It is true, snide commentary aside; the question is just how marginal such an increase would be. Logically, increasing the availability of a drug would increase the potential negative consequences of said drug. It doesn't mean it shouldn't be legal, or that I have any personal problem with people smoking pot, but the idea that marijuana is totally harmless has always been a silly overstatement. It does have some negative long term consequences, you're still smoking something, which is harmful in it's own ways, and it still has intoxicating effects that would theoretically be conducive to potentially harmful accidents.

None of this means it shouldn't be legal, but the argument of "marijuana is a miracle drug that has no side effects and has no negative consequences whatsoever!" from the pro-legality side has always pissed me off because it glosses over a lot. When someone says "____ is no more dangerous than alcohol" it doesn't mean it's basically a vitamin.

It's a very academic point, obviously, but his statement is still technically correct. But I do get that portraying any negative commentary about pot as some sort of reefer-madness-esque paranoia is very funny.

[Silent Hunter]

If you mean indirectly, such as driving a car under its influence, the solution would be to just warn people to treat it like alcohol in this regard, and not go driving while under its influence.

How many people die from alcohol related RTCs a year? It's a good number and most of them weren't the ones drinking.

You can't OD on tobacco either; but long-term use of the stuff has been known to kill for decades by cancers etc. It's also pretty hard to OD on alcohol directly; deaths related to that tend to involve violence or long-term damage to organs.

PS Before anyone brings up Prohibition a) it might have something to do with the fact that the people enforcing the Volstead Act frequently being as bent as a nine bob note and b) I'm not aware of a Nucky Thompson in Saudi Arabia.

[PJ]

I approve.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I globally agree. That's why Alcohol must be fought too.

Prohibition failed and always will.