Take Marijuana Off the Schedule I Narcotics List

Originally written on September 28^th, 2016
Edited and Expanded on October 4th, 5th, 10th, and 19th, 2016

 

 

 

            On June 20^th, 2012, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) asked Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Michele Leonhart whether heroin, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine were greater health problems than marijuana is. Leonhart refused to comment, and declined to admit that hard drugs pose a greater health problem than marijuana does. Years later, Polis commented that she was "terrible at her job".

            Of course, marijuana and its byproducts should not be classified as Schedule I narcotics. This is, first, because the term "narcotic" has several definitions. One definition is simply a vague label for any illicit or prohibited drug. Another definition refers to any substance that affects mood or behavior, and has nonmedical purposes. Yet another definition implies that "narcotic" applies to opiates and sedatives, pain relievers and painkillers, and drugs with analgesic and anesthetic effects.

            While it is true that marijuana is illicit and prohibited, and has non-medical purposes (including its effects on psychology and emotions), it would be misleading to describe it as a narcotic. Marijuana is not a narcotic; rather, it has stimulant and depressant effects, both of them mild. Marijuana is certainly not an opiate; in fact, alcohol is more chemically similar to heroin than either alcohol or heroin is to marijuana.

            Secondly, marijuana does not belong on the Schedule I narcotics list, because drugs are supposed to be put on Schedule I only if they have no scientifically demonstrated medicinal benefits. Of course, marijuana does have medical purposes. The most active psychoactive ingredient in marijuana - Delta-9-THC (Delta-9-tetrahydracannabinol) - facilitates the growth of neuronal stem cells into adult neurons, and untangles the tau protein that agglomerates in neurons. This protein probably causes, or at least contributes to, a host of neurodegenerative disorders, possibly including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Tourette's. Whole-plant marijuana - which can be eaten; it doesn't have to be smoked - has even been shown to reduce seizures, even more so than concentrated synthetic marijuana-based compounds that have had the psychoactive ingredients removed. THC is found in cannabis sativa, and is responsible for the "head-high" effects that some cannabis gives.

            Although marijuana has some mild depressant effects, it is not a narcotic in the sense that that term means sedatives or opiates. It does, however, have pain relief effects. CBD - cannabidiol, which is responsible for the "body-high" effects in some cannabis, and which is found in cannabis indica - is the type prescribed to medical marijuana patients. It has been used to relieve joint pain and glaucoma, to expand the alveoli of the lungs (increasing lung capacity), and to stimulate and regulate the appetite.

          Vaporizing marijuana at 190℉ (instead of smoking it) ameliorates nerve cancers, while avoiding the lung cancer caused by inhaling combusted material. Congress should either repeal unconstitutional federal laws against drugs, or else it should enact drug policy via a proper constitutional amendment. Until that occurs, the states have every right to nullify those laws, and interpose the federal government if it tries to enforce them.
     Either way, marijuana and its byproducts should come off of the Schedule I narcotics list. Additionally, governments should legalize and normalize the production of hemp, which is only toxic if consumed in amounts which are impossible to ingest by creatures of our size. Removing marijuana from Schedule I would legalize the testing of new cannabis strains which is needed to officially show that the drug is not harmful when ingested properly.
     Until we adopt D.E.A. and F.D.A. policies supporting legal testing - and a drug education policy that seeks to enlighten, not frighten - we will continue to be plagued with problems like addicts being in the shadows, addicts being driven to a life of violent crime, and people overdosing because they don't know whether their dose will kill them.
     Additionally, we will still have to face problems associated with young people trying drugs for the first time, not knowing simple things about how to take drugs safely (for example; that they shouldn't hold-in marijuana smoke, because more than 99% of THC is absorbed by the lungs upon inhalation, and holding in the smoke does not increase the drug's effects, but only leaves tar on the user's lungs).
     Lack of knowledge regarding safe drug use can lead to overdose deaths, as well as deaths resulting from ecstasy users dying from water poisoning because they incorrectly believed that they needed to drink as much water as possible while on the drug. Moreover, the risk of (non-fatal) overdose extends to marijuana as well; in my opinion, marijuana prohibition has resulted in a shift from smoking to edibles; because ingesting cannabis in foods allows users to more easily conceal its scent. Few marijuana users seem to be aware that the risk of non-fatal overdose (including disorientation) is higher for edibles as opposed to smoking cannabis; I believe that normalizing the smoking of cannabis will help reduce non-fatal overdoses from edibles. 

Lonny Shavelson's "Hooked" from a Sociological Perspective

     The most glaring challenges encountered by individuals in Lonny Shavelson’s Hooked present themselves almost as paradoxes. The first is the urge to use drugs for the dual purposes of celebrating one’s successes and as a cure for feeling upset, anxious, or worried, and as a relief for depression following an episode of failure. The second is convincing oneself that it would be beneficial to temporarily resume taking drugs either as a way to relieve the stresses of attempting to quit the drug, to test one’s tolerance and find out whether the time spent without the drug will allow one to return to a consistent but less intense pattern of drug use safely, or to assert that the use of the drug is acceptable because going several weeks without drugs is enough to convince a former hard-core addict that it is almost as if they no longer do drugs anyway.

One challenge that seems difficult for a recovering substance addict to overcome is the sheer availability of drugs and the ease the addicts have obtaining them. Although she resisted all three temptations, we saw with Darlene that along with finding drugs by chance comes an urge to consume them, or else an urge to put them to good use – in a manner of speaking – i.e. by selling them or giving them away. Another male mentioned in the book relapsed when his friends offered him free alcohol and cocaine.

Another challenge is for a recovering addict to avoid people and places associated with their patterns of drug use. For many of the addicts mentioned, the treatment facilities which they were supposed to visit with some regularity were in or near those parts of town where they knew they could obtain drugs with little effort or risk and without anyone else finding out, as in the example of Mike and his connection at the 16^th & Mission BART station, which was two blocks from a treatment facility.

For Crystal, simply visiting the facility in her neighborhood was enough to get her noticed by those individuals with whom she had relatively recently sold, bought, and consumed drugs. In situations like that, Crystal would lose control of her refusal skills as she accepts her friends’ offers, and let one thing lead to another. Knowing that ceasing to take part in such activities may cause friends to disappear or react with disapproval or condescension could very well have been one of her causes for relapsing.

Another challenge is how to remove the desire for using and abusing illicit substances to self-medicate, that is, cure emotional pain, psychological trauma, and block out negative memories from a person with a troubled past who also has multiple and / or severe drug addictions. We see that Mike suffers from guilt from not preventing the abuse of his sister as a child, that Glenda had a traumatic experience involving her mother’s alcoholism-induced death, and that Darlene had been raped in her adulthood multiple times. Also, we see that both Darlene in her relationship with William (p. 290) and Crystal in her relationship with Tony (chapter 12) struggle with abusive relationships during the time period covered by the book, and it appears obvious that the drug abuse and addiction of all partners are likely making those relationships less healthy and less stable.

A challenge that was evident from Darlene’s experience with the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic (chapter 14) was how to begin reducing substance abuse and providing mental health care for a person who does not respond positively to confrontation. As Dr. Pablo Stewart says during the clinic’s argument concerning Darlene’s violent gesture at a staff member (p. 286), “…you learn to calm the clients down, not… accelerate things until we’ve got to throw them out.” Darlene’s behavior is often unpredictable, she is blunt about her thoughts and feelings, and she has no qualms about appearing contemptuous of people who want to help her curb her drug intake, nor about appearing less than optimistic about the possibility that any progress can be made. That is precisely why the methods of a program like Walden House, which would react to a relapse by Darlene in a way that would undoubtedly frighten, frustrate, and anger her into never again returning, is likely to fail when an individual with an extreme case of substance abuse – in this case, in conjunction with psychological disorders – requests the help of the program.

     The problems presented in Hooked that seemed to have obvious solutions were the addicts’ lack of adequate housing, education and vocational training, and their non-drug-related health care problems. It seems that if these addicts’ housing situations, physical fitness, and life skills could be on par with at least the worst-off citizens who do not suffer from substance abuse and / or psychological problems, they would likely be well on their way to recovery, if only they exhibit optimism, enthusiasm, willingness, perseverance, and patience towards the programs, substance abuse and mental health counselors, and case workers that treat and assist them. It also seemed obvious that – as in Pablo Stewart’s view – it should be imperative that those programs and professionals coordinate with one another and make referrals (p. 54).

     One of the most poignant moments of Hooked comes when Crystal tells the Iris Center that she is there “to work on the biological, social, psychological, and spiritual issues around [her] addiction,” followed by the group’s applause (p. 239). Crystal appeared to have a definite readiness and willingness to improve and discover herself from relatively early on in the process, and simply being able to say something like that, especially in front of a large group of people, is probably an early indicator of success.

     I appreciated Darlene’s and Mike’s cases the most because of the controversy they caused, both in the mind of myself as the reader, and in the minds of people around them. I feel like Mike even convinced me that he could return to heroin just once more after going so many months without it, and that he could manage to do it safely and not do it again. Glenda’s story was also powerful, with its allusions to disturbing medical conditions, highways littered with broken bottles, and the blatantly unnecessary despair and suffering borne by the two individuals, Glenda and her mother, that is embedded so deeply in the American historical framework.

     I have not had experiences with individuals with such traumatic pasts, nor such severe addictions or mental problems as those in this book, but I am not foreign to hearing about such problems. I know a person who suffers from persistent hallucinations, mild alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress disorder coupled with emotional issues resulting from his inappropriate, involuntary commitment to an abusive boot camp for teenage delinquents. He claims to have recently sought medication for his alcoholism only to have the health professional become suspicious that he was being swindled for drugs, and also claims to have gone to a mental health facility to seek alcoholism treatment only to be told he may as well submit to being strapped down for the treatment, and he was threatened by the staff member that the police would be called if he did not submit to the staff’s procedure.

Originally written in July 2009 as a college essay

For more entries on food and drugs, please visit:
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-opposition-to-hypothetical-excise.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/06/addiction-and-neurodegenerative.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/bwiti-religion-nganga-and-tabernanthe.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/10/speech-at-great-midwest-marijuana.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-war-on-drugs.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/conversation-with-liberal-on-taxing.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-legalizing-heroin.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/15-reasons-to-legalize-marijuana.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/social-policies-for-2012-us-house.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-food-and-drug-administration.html

Speech at the Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Fest on October 7th, 2012

Written in October 2012

Edited in May 2014

As a libertarian-leaning independent, I would urge my fellow [candidates for] representatives in the House to repeal all federal anti-marijuana legislation, vote to repeal all federal drug laws on Interstate Commerce Clause grounds, and urge the president – whoever he may be – to pardon all non-violent federal drug offenders.

If elected, I would invoke the Commerce Clause to dispute the constitutionality of not only federal drug laws, but also the states’ outright bans on the importation of illicit drugs across state lines. The only constitutional position on this issue is one which promotes the use of federal power to prohibit the states from regulating marijuana in a manner that causes undue inhibition of the freedom of trade of all commodities – marijuana included – across state borders.

My Republican opponent Chad Lee has not thus far made his stance on marijuana well-known, but I think this fact is sufficient to infer that Mr. Lee would not enthusiastically promote the N.O.R.M.L. agenda. While my Democratic opponent Mark Pocan has made some statements in support of decriminalization, I feel that his support of vice laws opposing freer trade and use of legal substances like alcohol and tobacco suggests that his support of personal freedoms could stand to be more principled and consistent.

If I am elected, I would be outspoken in my support of the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana – be it for medicinal, recreational, industrial, or entheogenic purposes – as well as in my opposition to the expansion of the drug war into overseas theaters such as Latin America, South America, Afghanistan, and others.

As a write-in candidate, I will not be on the ballot for U.S. House this November, but with enough write-in votes, I can still win the seat. Just remember to vote for independent Joe Kopsick – K-O-P-S-I-C-K – by writing-in my name on the ballot for U.S. Representative on Tuesday, November 6^th.

Support total marijuana legalization – and make all the cops sick – by writing-in Joe Kopsick for Congress! Thank you very much!

For more entries on food and drugs, please visit:
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-opposition-to-hypothetical-excise.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/06/addiction-and-neurodegenerative.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/bwiti-religion-nganga-and-tabernanthe.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/lonny-shavelsons-hooked-from.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-war-on-drugs.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/conversation-with-liberal-on-taxing.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-legalizing-heroin.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/15-reasons-to-legalize-marijuana.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/social-policies-for-2012-us-house.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-food-and-drug-administration.html

Addiction and Neurodegenerative Diseases

     Autism is a neurodegenerative disease, a class of afflictions which includes Asperger's, Tourette's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's. A common cause of neurodegenerative disorders is the phosphorylization of the tau protein, which agglomerates in neuronal cells, causing links between cells to tangle and clump-up.

     A recent article said that autism may be triggered by low levels of anti-depressant medications in our drinking water. Drinking water often contains sodium fluoride.

     Fluoride causes calcium deposits to build up in the pineal gland, which is the gland in the brain that secretes melatonin and can be stimulated by psychedelic drugs, which cause hallucinations.

     Hallucinations are also experienced by people with psychotic symptoms, treatment for which often includes anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medications, both of which often contain fluoride or fluorine.

     Symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases include communication disorders; immobility and impaired mobility; and repetitive patterns of behavior such as tics, highly structured play in children, and ritualistic behavior.

     Delta-9-THC - the psychoactive chemical in marijuana - has been shown to help prevent the agglomeration of the tau protein which causes neurodegenerative disorders. It has also been shown to facilitate the growth of adult stem cells into working neurons, and to promote the growth of connections between neurons.

     Marijuana has a reputation among its users as aiding in communication, promoting social cohesion, and increasing capacity for sympathy, which would seem to sugest that it could be prescribed to treat the social aspects of autism and Asperger's. It has been shown to ameliorate the kinds of tics associated with Parkinson's and Tourette's.

     In "The Doors of Perception", Aldous Huxley made reference to D.C. Broad's description of "the mind as a reducing valve". This refers to the idea that the mind must filter-out all unnecessary and superfluous information, so that our consciousnesses are not overwhelmed with vivid sensory information associated with the memory of everything we have ever experienced.

     Ideas like this have been construed to suggest that forgetting has its advantages. Perhaps the short-term memory-loss problems associated with marijuana use are not as disadvantageous to our minds as the long-term memory effects associated with Alzheimer's, some symptoms of which THC has been shown to treat.

     Alcohol and psychoactive drugs such as marijuana and LSD have reputations for improving communication skills, and removing inhibitions, leading to novel and varied behavior. Not that alcohol promotes neuronal development, but these types of behavior seem to be the opposite of symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, such as delayed onset of communication skills in childhood, and ritualistic behavior.

     There seem to be two paradoxes here.

     The first paradox is that hallucinations, behaviors which societal norms cast as too experimental and disordered, and lack of ritual and regularity in everyday living are all things which can be cited in order to support diagnoses of “psychosis” or “neurosis”, which are both vague, overused, practically meaningless medical terms. Psychosis and similar “afflictions” are often treated with anti-psychotic or anti-depression medications, which often contain fluoride or fluorine.

     The second paradox is that people who use marijuana - a drug which often causes experimental behaviors, decreases ritualistic behaviors, and ameliorates nervous tics - can get addicted to it, addiction itself being a ritualistic behavior.

For more entries on food and drugs, please visit:
http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-opposition-to-hypothetical-excise.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2010/10/bwiti-religion-nganga-and-tabernanthe.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2012/10/speech-at-great-midwest-marijuana.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/lonny-shavelsons-hooked-from.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-war-on-drugs.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/conversation-with-liberal-on-taxing.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-legalizing-heroin.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/15-reasons-to-legalize-marijuana.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/04/social-policies-for-2012-us-house.html

http://www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-food-and-drug-administration.html