White House responds to Marijuana legalization petition

[Freddie Stubbs]

What We Have to Say About Legalizing Marijuana

By: Gil Kerlikowske

When the President took office, he directed all of his policymakers to develop policies based on science and research, not ideology or politics. So our concern about marijuana is based on what the science tells us about the drug's effects.

According to scientists at the National Institutes of Health- the world's largest source of drug abuse research - marijuana use is associated with addiction, respiratory disease, and cognitive impairment. We know from an array of treatment admission information and Federal data that marijuana use is a significant source for voluntary drug treatment admissions and visits to emergency rooms. Studies also reveal that marijuana potency has almost tripled over the past 20 years, raising serious concerns about what this means for public health – especially among young people who use the drug because research shows their brains continue to develop well into their 20's. Simply put, it is not a benign drug.

Like many, we are interested in the potential marijuana may have in providing relief to individuals diagnosed with certain serious illnesses. That is why we ardently support ongoing research into determining what components of the marijuana plant can be used as medicine. To date, however, neither the FDA nor the Institute of Medicine have found smoked marijuana to meet the modern standard for safe or effective medicine for any condition.

As a former police chief, I recognize we are not going to arrest our way out of the problem. We also recognize that legalizing marijuana would not provide the answer to any of the health, social, youth education, criminal justice, and community quality of life challenges associated with drug use.

That is why the President's National Drug Control Strategy is balanced and comprehensive, emphasizing prevention and treatment while at the same time supporting innovative law enforcement efforts that protect public safety and disrupt the supply of drugs entering our communities. Preventing drug use is the most cost-effective way to reduce drug use and its consequences in America. And, as we've seen in our work through community coalitions across the country, this approach works in making communities healthier and safer. We're also focused on expanding access to drug treatment for addicts. Treatment works. In fact, millions of Americans are in successful recovery for drug and alcoholism today. And through our work with innovative drug courts across the Nation, we are improving our criminal justice system to divert non-violent offenders into treatment.

Our commitment to a balanced approach to drug control is real. This last fiscal year alone, the Federal Government spent over $10 billion on drug education and treatment programs compared to just over $9 billion on drug related law enforcement in the U.S.

Thank you for making your voice heard. I encourage you to take a moment to read about the President's approach to drug control to learn more.

Resources:

National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Marijuana Facts (ONDCP)
Drug Abuse Warning Network (HHS)
Treatment Episode Data Set (HHS)
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS)
Monitoring the Future Survey, University of Michigan

Gil Kerlikowske is Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/response/what-we-have-say-about-legalizing-marijuana

[cleanhippie]

1. Nonsense. Every study has shown pot to be SAFER than alcohol.

And if THAT is true, then there is NO reason for pot to be illegal while booze is legal. None.



Pure nonsense.

[Fumesucker]

8. Oh, there's billions of reasons...

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[cleanhippie]

10. Yes, there is that...

[immoderate]

2. No Republican could have said it better...

:rofl:

--imm

[haikugal]

4. +++++++

[bigtree]

13. don't pretend that opposition to pot (and that reasoning) is some party issue

You either support pot or you're against it. There's not much in-between. Advocates use much the same argument, opponents parrot each others' reasoning, as well. You can find both sides of the argument in both parties these days -- Most Democrats holding onto the party's traditional (general) position of tolerance for such things and most republicans generally intolerant about most things other than their sweet selves.

[immoderate]

14. It's a split between politicians and the people.

--imm

[bigtree]

15. exactly

a friggin plant . . . in my lifetime, I'm to be treated like an ignorant child. Can't even smoke cigarettes in the park any more around here. Pols projecting their own lame life experience onto public policy. And don't even start about Amsterdam . . . in my lifetime. Figures.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Retread Republican nonsense

The WH needs to drop the petition thing if they are going to disregard facts as well as the will of the people. The sham of it makes them look even more corrupt and dogmatic than they already appear to be. Between the opposition to equal rights, Obama says civil rights should be left up to the States, and their support of idiotic marijuana policies which Obama says can not be left up to the States, the administration is clearly just saying whatever bullshit phrases they think might get them through their most recent hypocrisy without notice. They are like the religious right, with situational ethics and a devotion to mendacity and superstition over science and reason.

[City Lights]

5. Based on their logic, alcohol should be illegal.

From the National Institute of Health - marijuana effects:

Short-term effects of marijuana use include euphoria, distorted perceptions, memory impairment, and difficulty thinking and solving problems.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/marijuana.html

From the National Institute of Health - alcohol effects:

Alcohol affects every organ in the drinker's body and can damage a developing fetus. Intoxication can impair brain function and motor skills; heavy use can increase risk of certain cancers, stroke, and liver disease. Alcoholism or alcohol dependence is a diagnosable disease characterized by a strong craving for alcohol, and/or continued use despite harm or personal injury. Alcohol abuse, which can lead to alcoholism, is a pattern of drinking that results in harm to one's health, interpersonal relationships, or ability to work.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/alcohol.html

[awoke_in_2003]

12. and the alcohol industry...

has its lobbyist to ensure nothing happens to them. Remind me of the joke: what is the different between religion and a cult? Religion controls more real estate.

[yella_dawg]

6. What utter bullshit.

I have a phrase hanging on my living room wall. "That which lies behind us, and that which lies before us are like nothing compared to that which lies to our faces."


Applicable, wot?

[Angry Dragon]

7. Then why do the American people hold a patent on it

based on the medical merits of it??

[backtoblue]

9. same excuses...

"That is why the President's National Drug Control Strategy is balanced and comprehensive, emphasizing prevention and treatment while at the same time supporting innovative law enforcement efforts that protect public safety and disrupt the supply of drugs entering our communities."

Looks like decriminalization is out of the question too...

[Danascot]

11. There a poll on legalization in Ohio

at the link, right side of the page, about 1/3 down. The results aren't all that conclusive.

http://www.callandpost.com/