Barack Obama is looking at CNN correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to serve as surgeon general, providing yet more ammunition for those of us who like to constantly point out how bad his choices are when it comes to drug policy.
Here's Gupta's 2006 article "Why I Would Vote No on Pot." The reason? Because "marijuana isn't really very good for you," as though that has anything do with whether or not it makes sense to arrest nearly 1 million American a year for possessing it. The bright side is that Gupta acknowledges "health benefits for some patients." Unfortunately, he then proceeds to complain that most medical marijuana supporters "just want to get stoned legally," as though that justifies supporting laws that hurt legitimate patients.
Hopefully, if Gupta is our next surgeon general, he will come to understand that there is in fact an enormous war on marijuana users in America that harms them in all sorts of ways that aren't really very good for you either.
Here's Gupta's 2006 article "Why I Would Vote No on Pot." The reason? Because "marijuana isn't really very good for you," as though that has anything do with whether or not it makes sense to arrest nearly 1 million American a year for possessing it. The bright side is that Gupta acknowledges "health benefits for some patients." Unfortunately, he then proceeds to complain that most medical marijuana supporters "just want to get stoned legally," as though that justifies supporting laws that hurt legitimate patients.
Hopefully, if Gupta is our next surgeon general, he will come to understand that there is in fact an enormous war on marijuana users in America that harms them in all sorts of ways that aren't really very good for you either.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!
line one, word 14 s/b
line one, word 14 s/b surgeon
An alcohol supremacist bigot for surgeon general
marijuana "isn't very good for you" he says. It's sure a helluva lot SAFER for the community than god damn killer alcohol. If he hates weed, he should really, really, really hate killer alcohol. But of course he doesn't. What a flaming hypocrite.
What gets me is that he
What gets me is that he doesn't reference any material to justify his brain damage claims (and the guy's a frigging neurosurgeon). The crux of his argument (because he can't provide any actual evidence regarding detriment to health other than "why do you think they call it dope?" yuk yuk yuk) seems to be "I don't get why people use it".
Personally, I don't understand why people watch baseball, I think it's a boring ass sport and baseball fans are flaming idiots for watching such garbage. Because of this, I propose anyone who watches a baseball game should be arrested, fined, perhaps put behind bars with murderers and rapists and forever carry with them a black stigma for the rest of their lives because I personally don't care much for their pastime.
Most of the Dutch Vote No to Pot Use
Don't the vast majority of the Dutch public vote No to pot use in greater numbers than Americans while voting Yes to regulation?
An interesting note, back in 2004, the Sentencing Project released a report stating that "Sergeant Thomas Donegan noted the vast majority (over 90%) of marijuana arrests in Chicago were dismissed or dropped, leading him to question why law enforcement agents were dedicating significant resources to pursue marijuana when approximately nine of ten cases will not result in a conviction. Donegan recommended the use of fines rather than arrest for marijuana use, a proposal endorsed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley."
Please educate this guy!
Will somebody please send Gupta a copy of Judge Francis Youngs findings?
I can't believe how closed minded and uneducated some of these "smart" people can be!
reading material?
I worry that the doctor is too corrupted by his participation in the media setting. The fact is, I would be concerned that he would even consider, or read about, the other side of the story.
Too many doctors oppose MJ "because there are so many other good medicines out there". Granted Zofran is very good at controlling nausea from chemo. But, at over $1,000 a month is not a good comparison. That is because most doctors don't think about expense. They have gotten too used to the insurance industry. They make the assumption that people have all of this "insurance money" to waste on their therapy. That means those without insurance are left out of the loop! They don't even consider what is reasonably affordable! And last time I checked, neurosurgeons get $10,000+ for stepping into the surgery suite. They seem to have little in common with John Q Public! I don't know that a highly specialized surgeon is a good choice for the position of "surgeon general".
Plus, even if people have
Plus, even if people have insurance, it is still expensive. Not only do you probably have to pay a huge deductible, but the insurance company has to pay for the medicine themselves, which brings up the cost of people having insurance in the first place. If something is expensive, society is ultimately paying for it; thus to have such an extremely cheaper alternative as medicine and not allow it is absolutely absurd.
Actually I'm worried about marijuana getting FDA approval
Once all the research and development is done to satisfy the FDA on cannabis-based products like Marinol and Sativex you are looking at much larger price tag.
"The War On Drugs is a war against poor people on street drugs, waged by rich people on prescription drugs." -- Roseanne Barr
Don't worry -- and buy GW Pharmaceuticals stock
I wouldn't worry so much. Sativex is pretty much liquid marijuana (THC and CBD in a solution) -- many patients currently use similar tinctures. GW's findings will back up the medical efficacy of cannabinoids (hello, marijuana) and show the public just how safe they are, thus helping to expose the ridiculousness of having recreational use still be illegal. Plus, although marijuana is medicine, there are a lot of people who wouldn't smoke or vaporize pot just because of the stigma -- now tens of millions of Americans will have the opportunity to use cannabinoids as medicine...I see that as a very good thing health-wise, plus the bonus is that they'll realize that prohibition of marijuana for recreational purposes is foolish. There is a lot of money to be made in the future for companies like GW (and they're the leader) -- we've just started tapping into the uses of cannabinoids. I encourage you to buy some GW stock.
Gupta's anti-pot article cites anti-prohibition article!
Didn't anyone catch that one of the linked articles was actually anti-pot prohibition?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/reader_blogs/2009/jan/08/guptas_anti_pot_artic...
Gupta on eating penises (seriously)
Either the Daily Show With Jon Stewart or the Colbert Report (sorry, I forgot which) yesterday, ran a clip of Gupta sampling various animal penis and testicle dishes in some exotic locale. Part of a story he did. There was also one of him swallowing fire. Must be more out there. This sort of thing will probably cause them to drop him. At least I hope so.
CNBC Marijuana Inc. Inside America’s Pot Industry
CNBC will be premiering Marijuana Inc. Inside America’s Pot Industry on Thursday, January 22nd at 9p ET / 10p PT. The marijuana trade has long been one of the country’s leading black market industries. What factors continue to help this taboo business thrive and how is the government profiting as a result? Join Trish Regan as she explores this growing industry and how it has expanded into a major business with its own sophisticated network of growers, workers, and quasi-legal retail outlets, in the form of medical marijuana dispensaries.
Web extras are coming soon to http://originals.cnbc.com.
Sneak preview on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/51204/cnbc-originals-marijuana-inc-inside-amer...
Thanks
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