Marijuana Blog

New statistics from the Center for Disease Control shows that while cigarette use among teens has remained steady, marijuana use is going up. While only 18% of teens admitted to smoking cigarettes in the latest survey, 23% said they used cannabis.

Howell Wechsler, the director of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, said, "For the first time since CDC began collecting YRBS [National Youth Risk Behavior Survey] data in 1991, current marijuana use among U.S. high school students was more common than current cigarette use.

“YRBS results also show that from 2009 to 2011, there's been no significant progress in reducing cigarette use, while marijuana use among high school students is on the rise,” he said.

Many will hysterically call this awful news, but things need to be seen a little deeper. While only adults would use marijuana in a perfect world, that’s simply not the case. And when you are comparing thing teens could be experimenting with, which would you prefer, marijuana or cigarettes?

You can replace “cigarettes” with just about any other recreational substance and marijuana is safer. It’s impossible to overdose. In fact, many of the things teenagers do every day are more dangerous than marijuana, including driving, eating fast food and having sex.

Teens will always experiment with things, they have since the beginning of mankind. But is it really helpful to demonize marijuana when just about everything else they do is more dangerous? Why drive them away from marijuana to something that will be far worse for them?

The key, as it is with everything, is the truth. Be honest with your kids about what substances will do to them. But if you fill their heads with horror and doom about cannabis, something like cigarettes will seem less dangerous.

The truth will set you free.

Source: http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2471881&spid=

Earlier this week we reported on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposing the decriminalization of marijuana possession in public view, as long as it was of 25 grams or less (MJ Decriminalized).

Republican State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos responded that the proposal would allow people to “walk around with 10 joints in each ear.” A silly statement at first glance – how big do your ears have to be to hold ten joint in each? – Senator Skelos’ statement belies the hysteria that still surrounds marijuana, the “reefer madness” if you will.

The New York Times editorial board responded to Mr. Skelos with an op-ed calling for common sense on the issue of marijuana. “The plan does not condone marijuana use,” the NYT board writes. “People smoking marijuana in public would still be subject to arrest. But it reduces open possession of 25 grams or less from a misdemeanor, which involves arrest and a criminal record, to a violation, akin to a traffic ticket. Even under the proposal, a person charged with a marijuana violation more than twice in a three-year period would be subject to a $250 fine or a sentence of up to 15 days in jail, or both.”

The fact is a lot of old politicians don’t know much about marijuana and don’t bother to learn about proposals concerning marijuana. This proposal would not allow people to walk around with marijuana in plain view. All it does is not charge people with a crime if police ask them to empty their pockets. Under current rules, actually possessing small amounts of cannabis is decriminalized, but having it in public view is a misdemeanor. In other words, pulling out weed in public is a crime, even if a cop told you to do it.

“Common sense” is the perfect phrase for the future of marijuana policy. If a policy violates common sense it’s probably not a good policy to begin with.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com

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