We often wonder who writes the New Era editorials.  Some are rational and erudite.  Others are sheer ignorance and prejudice.

“States on slippery pot-laced slope” is an excellent case in point of the latter. It provides not one shred of evidence for any of its contentions.  Let us consider them point by point:

NEW ERA: “A growing number of states are rethinking their laws prohibiting marijuana use.  It’s a disturbing trend.  Sadly, the change is not the result of an important breakthrough in, say, the science behind the medicinal use of pot.  Nor is it a great cultural awakening to the benefits of cannabis.”

NEWSLANC:  By prohibiting universities and others from conducting medical marijuana research, the federal government has prevented studies for two decades.  Here is the result of a federal government sponsored study from 1988:

“Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis, marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care. …

“The administrative law judge recommends that the Administrator [of the DEA] conclude that the marijuana plant considered as a whole has currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, that there is no lack of accepted safety for use of it under medical supervision and that it may lawfully be transferred from Schedule I to Schedule II.”  (more)

Here is an excerpt from a 2010 state sponsored report:

“By design CMCR [Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research] clinical studies focused on conditions identified by the Institute of Medicine for which cannabis might have potential therapeutic effects, based on current scientific knowledge (Institute of Medicine, 1999). To date, four CMCR-funded studies have demonstrated that cannabis has analgesic effects in pain conditions secondary to injury (e.g. spinal cord injury) or disease (e.g. HIV disease, HIV drug therapy) of the nervous system … This suggests that cannabis may provide a treatment option for those individuals who do not respond or respond inadequately to currently available therapies. The efficacy of cannabis in treatment-refractory patients also may suggest a novel mechanism of action not fully exploited by current therapies. In addition to nerve pain, CMCR has also supported a study on muscle spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Such spasticity can be painful and disabling, and some patients do not benefit optimally from existing treatments. The results of the CMCR study suggest that cannabis reduces MS spasticity, at least in the short term, beyond the benefit available from usual medical care.”  (more)

New Era:  “The societal costs – lives and families destroyed?  Well, potheads aren’t talking about that.”

NEWSLANC:  Families are going to be destroyed because a sick person takes natural marijuana rather than some prescription narcotic?  The use of marijuana socially is going to bring harm to family members?

Please  look at a federal sponsored study of the comparative dangers of legal and illegal drugs.

New Era: “First, it’s medical marijuana.  Then it’s available to any adult who wants to get high.  What’s next?  Cocaine?  Heroin?”

NEWSLANC:  This is the spurious “Gateway theory” that suggests that those who smoke marijuana will go on to use hard drugs. In fact, only about 1½% of marijuana users currently use hard drugs.  This may be little different from the percent of the population drinking beer, coffee or Coke going on to hard drugs.

Here are excerpts from federally sponsored studies from 2008 and 1999:

“More than 102 million Americans have tried marijuana; 15.2 million Americans are estimated to be ‘past-month’ users. Yet there are only an estimated 1,855,000 “past-month” users of cocaine and 213,000 ‘past-month’ users of heroin.” (more)

“The Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report on medical marijuana examined the question whether the medical use of marijuana would lead to an increase of marijuana use in the general population and concluded that, ‘At this point there are no convincing data to support this concern. The existing data are consistent with the idea that this would not be a problem if the medical use of marijuana were as closely regulated as other medications with abuse potential.’ The report also noted that, “this question is beyond the issues normally considered for medical uses of drugs, and should not be a factor in evaluating the therapeutic potential of marijuana or cannabinoids.” (more)

New Era: “Once, we were a nation that recognized the harm of illegal drugs and vices.  Now we regulate and tax them.”

NEWSLANC:  Sure we knew better in the past!  We enslaved Africans, banned women from voting, prosecuted gays, prohibited alcoholic beverages, and forbade shopping on Sundays.  Now we tax, regulate and control far more dangerous alcoholic beverages as well as tobacco.  As a result, now no one is peddling bourbon in schools or on downtown street corners!

Editors of major newspapers around the country favor medical marijuana, as do almost 80% of the population according to recent polls.

“A few of the editorial boards that have endorsed medical access to marijuanainclude: Boston Globe; Chicago Tribune; Miami Herald; Denver Post; Los Angeles Times; New York Times; Orange County Register; and USA Today.” (more)

The New Era editors are correct when they suggest the greater tolerance towards social marijuana  “…seems to be about money as much as anything.”

Due to the sharp recession, people are recognizing the extraordinary costs of incarcerating hundreds of thousands of persons (and all of the dire and implications to their families and resulting costs to society) for doing nothing worse than those violating the law during alcohol prohibition.

Marijuana was banned during times when its use was associated with Mexican immigrants and ‘rebellious’ youths who opposed the Viet Nam War.  It is an extension of Jim Crow-ism, a way of holding down the African-American and Latino male populations by first giving them a chance to earn money and then putting them either in prison or under the thumb of the criminal justice system.    (Regrettably, the African-American community has been among the last to wake up to this.)

As we have said in the past, the New Era editorial board reminds us of the “little girl with a curl in the middle of her far head.” When they are good, they can be very, very good.  When they are bad, they are “horrid.”