I know it is 'bad form' to talk politics in a blog that is devoted to recovery, which should be an apolitical topic since every political perspective ought to embrace the notion that addiction is bad, but these days politics has crept into every topic: medicine, the physical sciences, social theory, and even religion. While I try to avoid taking an overt political stand, sometimes I cannot entirely avoid the subject.
So, here we have Patrick Kennedy, son of the deceased Senator Ted Kennedy and political activist, taking on what I can 'Big Marijuana':
What I found astounding in this article is that there is a huge lobbying network, partly funded by gazillionaire George Soros, that is pushing American politicians and the public itself towards the acceptance of Marijuana as a 'harmless recreational drug.' They are succeeding, by the way. Throughout the US, legalization is gaining favor.
It is becoming the preferred 'Opiate of the Masses.'
What Kennedy wants to make people aware of is that marijuana is not harmless, and there are plenty of medical studies demonstrating is connection to mental illness. Rather than talking about these studies and allowing people to make informed decisions, the pro-marijuana lobby is suppressing this information.
The question is why? Why is this a political matter?
Well, it is a political matter because politics controls the law, but, nowadays, politics control medicine as well. Now, the state is involved in more countries than not in the medical treatment of their citizens. And, then the state pays the bill, the state gets to decide what is 'healthy' and what is 'unhealthy,' since the state will be paying for the consequences of 'bad decisions.'
So, why is marijuana, which has as many carcinogens and toxins as tobacco, rising in popularity while the cigarette is demonized as dangerous?
The answer is simple, folks: tobacco doesn't get you high. People are willing to set aside health risks to get high.
Just ask the practicing alcoholic or the needle jockey.
The call of intoxication is pretty strong. And, marijuana does not have the nasty hangover and other obvious symptoms of abuse that alcohol does. It appears, on the surface, much easier to use and abuse. The problem is that there are long-term effects that the pro-marijuana lobby does not want you to consider.
Sure, there is the matter of probability... not everyone goes crazy after their first hit. But, statistically speaking, a child's toy that cuts off toddler fingers at the same rate marijuana triggers psychosis would be banned without question. In fact, people would be suing and demanding 'something be done.'
Well, the only thing being done about marijuana is an organized push to legalize it and get people to accept it. Sadly, this is a huge political effort.
Some people are behind it because, they say, they don't like the state legislating morality. Well, folks, when you legalize marijuana you ARE legislating morality precisely by making it legal. Society is agreeing to its use. We legislate drinking laws and seat belts and statutory rape... legislating morality even covers murder and theft. The hard truth is that you want the state to legislate morality. The problem is when the state legislates against your own morality.
My suspicion is that there are those who like the idea of marijuana use as an 'Opiate of the Masses' to borrow from Marx. They like marijuana use the way the old USSR and the new Russian Federation uses vodka to give the people a way to drown their sorrows and vent their frustrations without doing anything about the causes... not unlike the massive protests in the Middle East that give grown men a few minutes to scream and yell about something that won't get them dragging into a mass grave.
If you are drunk and stoned, you care only about maintaining your supply. Call me paranoid, but the selfishness of addiction can blind people to the real consequences of their actions, and I think many votes can be bought when the powers-that-be promise the addicts the uninterrupted flow of their obsession.
People need to wake up. I hope Pat Kennedy's message gets heard.
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