Marijuana legalization opponent Kevin Sabet tells Keizer crowd about pot's potency and harms to youn - Polidicks

[url]http://www.oregonlive.com/marijuana/index.ssf/2014/10/marijuana_legalization_opponen_1.html[/url] [QUOTE]KEIZER -- Kevin Sabet, a prominent voice against marijuana legalization, kicked off a three-day tour of Oregon on Wednesday, warning of pot’s harms, particularly to young people. It is Sabet’s second trip to Oregon this year. He was originally slated to visit 13 communities as part of a marijuana education series, but that effort was scaled back to seven stops after legalization advocates questioned the use of federal grant dollars on what they saw as political events. Sabet's message: Marijuana is more potent than ever, persistent pot use among young people can lead to a significant drop in IQ by midlife, and Americans generally misunderstand the drug's harms. He warned of the rise of corporate marijuana targeting young users with infused sweets, candies and other sugary treats. He talked about the popularity of eating marijuana-infused foods and using vaporizer pens, which allow people to get high discreetly. The audience included law-enforcement officials, drug prevention and treatment experts and others who work with young people. Russ Belville, who hosts a Portland-based radio show on marijuana culture, news and politics, stood outside before the event began, handing out flyers refuting Sabet's main arguments against marijuana. Belville said young people who want marijuana don't have a problem getting it. Legalization won't lead to increased youth access to pot, he said. "The people who will be able to get marijuana under legalization are middle-aged guys like me," said Belville, who started his day at Sabet's Madras appearance. Sabet sat down with The Oregonian Wednesday afternoon before speaking to a gathering of about 100 people in Keizer. He began the day at event in Madras. His tour continues Thursday and Friday with stops in Roseburg, Grants Pass, La Grande, Ontario, and Hood River. (This interview has been edited for length.) Q: What do you want Oregonians to know about marijuana? Sabet: I am here to educate all Oregonians and really all Americans on the science behind marijuana and what the major medical associations and scientific institutes are saying about a drug that is 10 to 30 times more potent than it was 30 years ago. There has been a lot of misinformation about marijuana, mainly because people tend to focus on their own experiences or the experiences of others they know. Look, I am not here on a ‘reefer madness’ tour. I am here to talk about the truth, which is most people who try marijuana will not become addicted -- just like most drunk drivers wont get into a fatal car crash and most people who don’t wear helmets won’t get into a bicycle crash. But still the fact is that it happens and at great cost to society, whether it’s in treatment admissions, health costs, accidents, loss of motivation for young people not realizing their potential. I think it’s something we ought to care about. I don’t think there has ever been a time when the gap between the public’s understanding about marijuana and the scientific understanding has been so great. If people actually went and hung out at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association or the American Society of Addiction Medicine or the National Alliance on Mental Illness, they would hear what is the universal message, which is today’s marijuana is highly potent and a cause of concern, especially for young people and we should do everything we can to deter its use. That is not a controversial statement in the corridors of science. Q: Why aren’t you making one of your stops in Portland? Sabet: These stops are not about legalization. We have made that very clear. This week is something that has been planned for a very long time, way before we knew the (legalization ballot measure) had been qualified. These are the communities that asked me to speak. I am only coming to the communities that have asked me. Q: Who is paying for your trip to Oregon? Sabet: Various private sources, including law enforcement associations, medical associations, Rotary clubs and other private civic associations. Q: What do you think of how legal marijuana has rolled out in Colorado and Washington? A: I think it sounds a lot better in theory than it plays out in practice. In theory, it sounds like rainbow and unicorns -- tax revenues, getting rid of gangs, and keeping it out of the hands of kids. In reality it means gummy bears and ‘pot tarts’ marketed to 15-year-olds and coupons that allow you to get a one dollar joint if you show your ski pass and more dangerous roads and communities that are all of a sudden in the pocket of special interest marijuana groups. I don’t think that’s what the soccer mom in Littleton thought about when she voted for (Colorado's) Amendment 64. Q: You've said you support medical research into cannabis. Do you support reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I drug? (The federal government views Schedule I drugs, such as heroin and marijuana, as dangerous and lacking medicinal value.) Sabet: I support rescheduling components of marijuana or medications based on marijuana. That is like saying I support rescheduling morphine but not opium because raw opium is not medicine. Essentially I think we need to do more research into it. If you are a parent of a child with intractable epilepsy or you have terminal illness, you should have access to medicinal components of marijuana whether that’s cannabidiol or whatever. I don’t think people should be arrested for using marijuana if they have a bonafide condition. I just think we need to treat it like every other medicine and have a standardized product. Q: Legalization advocates say your message is modern-day ‘reefer madness.’ What do you make of how you and your message are portrayed? Sabet: I think I am extremely misunderstood and also purposely mischaracterized. It would be a lot better for legalization advocates if I was a modern-day prohibitionist from the '20s, saying that everybody should go to prison if they smoke a joint and this is a gateway drug. That would make their lives easier. They could say, 'This guy is crazy.' I didn’t say any of that. I go out of my way to say a couple things. One, I go out of my way to say most people who use marijuana won’t become addicted. Two, most people who use marijuana will not go on to use heroin. And three, that this is not the devil’s weed. But what I do talk about is what every single medical association talks about, which is the drug is more harmful than it used to be, that we underappreciate its harms because its harms aren’t as immediately apparent as other drugs, that we desperately need to understand the connection between mental illness and learning and if we are supposed to create a race to the top for education and a workforce that can compete on the global marketplace, we should think twice before allowing ourselves to be duped by another industry, just like the industry we are beginning to put in its place, which is tobacco. -- Noelle Crombie[/QUOTE] I really dont know what pisses me off more about Sabet, I think it's a close tie between his very punchable face or his unfounded arguments which are backed up by zero qualifications in the medical field. I only wish him and his ilk could be force fed a brownie so they could huddle up in a corner and rethink their lives.

[quote] I don’t think that’s what the soccer mom in Littleton thought about when she voted for (Colorado's) Amendment 64.[/quote] Just had to say Littleton, didn't you? Couldn't pick any other city in Colorado to try to get your point across, eh?

Honestly his points about keeping it away from teems because of the harm are completely grounded in truth, and more research definitely needs to be done. The majority of Americans however should be free to use it exactly how tobacco is used, but I don't think anyone was arguing kids should have it in the first place.

worst thing a high driver will do is sit at a stop sign waiting for it to turn green

[QUOTE=Grimhound;46137345]Just had to say Littleton, didn't you? Couldn't pick any other city in Colorado to try to get your point across, eh?[/QUOTE] Well, he couldn't say Boulder now could he? :v:

There was a news report that said teens are using drugs more often than alcohol nowadays. The figure was between 15% and 25%. Referring to the quote, you should target the businesses marketing the drug to 15 year old kids. Marijuana doesn't impair your driving skills anymore worse than having someone else in the car or loud music. It's when you combine marijuana with drunk driving, texting, daydreaming etc... If legalized, Marijuana advocation needs as widespread education as cancer, stds, smoking, and texting while driving. From personal research it does impair ones judgement, information retention, and the ability to reason long after you use the drug. Consequently driving subjects, when untrained, to make worse decisions. Should it be decriminalized of course. Legalize the substance? Not without millions of dollars of campaigning to explain the pros and cons of the drug. True more studies are needed, but sending people to prison for something that causes negligible effects on the human body is completely asinine.

It does harm people that take it however, makes them less motivated and if you do enough there's some bad side-effects like developing schizophrenia like symptoms. All things are always best in small moderation. (Cigarettes, alcohol, food etc)

Minors should not be using any kind of drugs without the direct guidance of a medical professional, I don't get what's so hard to understand about the fact that marijuana legalization advocates don't want it in the hands of kids.

If people really wanted to get up in arms about about drug use in children they should start by protesting the over prescribing of add and anti depressant meds and all the nasty side affects they induce, such as risperdal causing breast growth in boys.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;46137691]Minors should not be using any kind of drugs without the direct guidance of a medical professional, I don't get what's so hard to understand about the fact that marijuana legalization advocates don't want it in the hands of kids.[/QUOTE] I'll play devil's advocate here: because a large amount of the people here who're using it recreationally are young teens and nobody vocally in favor of legalization is making any attempt to admit that there are people who shouldn't use it, or worse: downsides to using it.

[QUOTE]I don’t think there has ever been a time when the gap between the public’s understanding about marijuana and the scientific understanding has been so great.[/QUOTE] This is like the exact opposite of what's happening. The reason public approval of marijuana legalization has gone up drastically over the past 10 years is because easier access to the internet has made legitimate, scientific information more available, thus making it easier to call people out on their bullshit facts about drugs.

[QUOTE=Killergam;46137654]It does harm people that take it however, makes them less motivated and if you do enough there's some bad side-effects like developing schizophrenia like symptoms. All things are always best in small moderation. (Cigarettes, alcohol, food etc)[/QUOTE] I'm not arguing the Cannabis cant be harmful, but it only causes people to develop schizophrenia if they are susceptible to it, and ironically enough, it treats the symptoms of the disease.

[QUOTE=Killergam;46137654]It does harm people that take it however, makes them less motivated and if you do enough there's some bad side-effects like developing schizophrenia like symptoms. All things are always best in small moderation. (Cigarettes, alcohol, food etc)[/QUOTE] Cannabis does not cause schizophrenia-like symptoms. If you smoke weed and you develop schizophrenic symptoms, then more than likely you just have schizophrenia and have not shown symptoms until now.

[QUOTE=Sableye;46137471]worst thing a high driver will do is sit at a stop sign waiting for it to turn green[/QUOTE] Driving high is never OK, drunk drivers think they're "totally fine to drive" too until they literally kill themselves and others. The honest truth is tonnes of people drive high/drunk constantly and maybe they are fine most of the time but it only takes one fuckup to kill you and it's not just your life you're risking

It's pretty easy to get weed when you're 14 regardless of whether or not it's legal, and I'm pretty sure full grown adults should be allowed to choose what they do with their own bodies.

[QUOTE=Hollosoulja;46137561] From "personal research" [/QUOTE] Man, I must be some proffesor. I might do some research right now!

[QUOTE=Perfumly;46138596]It's pretty easy to get weed when you're 14 regardless of whether or not it's legal, and I'm pretty sure full grown adults should be allowed to choose what they do with their own bodies.[/QUOTE] There will always be a black market for weed as long as there is a demographic that it is not legally available to.

Just like alcohol and tobacco, we shouldn't be selling it to people who aren't old enough to buy it. Marijuana should be regulated on the state and federal level, just like alcohol and tobacco.

It physically CANT be "10 to 30 times more potent" unless someones found a way to have it be way more than %100 THC by mass.

[QUOTE=BurningPlayd0h;46141715]It physically CANT be "10 to 30 times more potent" unless someones found a way to have it be way more than %100 THC by mass.[/QUOTE] No, it's definitely true. Weed was definitely not grown to the quality that it is today 30 years ago. Trust me, I'm a weed doctor.

I'm completely being serious here, what is the point of arguing against legalisation of marijuana by talking about underage/teen use, apart from the scare factor? If weed is illegal the kids will buy them from a dealer, if weed is legal and controlled (just like alcohol and cigarettes are) they will still buy them from a dealer. Honestly I can't really see a way legalisation will change anything in the life of a teen. They will drink, smoke and do drugs just like they did in the past. If legalisation is bad for the teens holds any water then smoking and drinking should be completely illegal too.

started smoking at 17, hope i'm not fucking retarded

Oh Oregon. The only state where people eat up fear mongering over fluoride by conspiracy theorists, yet call bullshit on guys like this (to be fair some of his points about young people are valid, many states that have legalized it have seen a surge in young people using marijuana , and there have been countless studies showing a link between early use of marijuana and stunted brain development).

[QUOTE=SPESSMEHREN;46141982]Oh Oregon. The only state where people eat up fear mongering over fluoride by conspiracy theorists, yet call bullshit on guys like this (to be fair some of his points about young people are valid, many states that have legalized it have seen a surge in young people using marijuana , and there have been countless studies showing a link between early use of marijuana and stunted brain development).[/QUOTE] Honestly I have a hard time believing the plant itself is what causes stunted brain development. I would more quickly attribute the stunted development to the lazy/complacent lifestyle that many habitual stoners live. If you aren't reading or challenging your mind you will not grow intellectually regardless of what you are consuming.

[QUOTE=Sableye;46137471]worst thing a high driver will do is sit at a stop sign waiting for it to turn green[/QUOTE] I am fully in support of legalizing marijuana, but anybody driving under its effects should be treated as if they were driving while intoxicated, because that's exactly what they're doing. Fines, tickets, license revocations, and even jailtime for prolific offenders should all be considered fair responses. A vehicle is a deadly weapon, and an extremely dangerous one. No concessions should be made in regards to road safety and intoxication. Driving while high isn't just gambling with your life, it's gambling with the lives of everybody else on the road.

[QUOTE=Perfumly;46142017]Honestly I have a hard time believing the plant itself is what causes stunted brain development. I would more quickly attribute the stunted development to the lazy/complacent lifestyle that many habitual stoners live.[/QUOTE] Lifestyle sure does affect brain development, but does it affect brain development more than a drug? I'd say it's worth looking into. But I'd place my bets that the drug has more of an obvious effect on brain development. While lifestyle is more subtle and slow acting - yet far more important in shaping an individuals personality. Very difficult to do a study on this. It's much easier to test a drugs effects via fMRI scans than test a lifestyle.

[QUOTE=Kardia;46142315]Lifestyle sure does affect brain development, but does it affect brain development more than a drug? I'd say it's worth looking into. But I'd place my bets that the drug has more of an obvious effect on brain development. While lifestyle is more subtle and slow acting - yet far more important in shaping an individuals personality. Very difficult to do a study on this. It's much easier to test a drugs effects via fMRI scans than test a lifestyle.[/QUOTE] I'm basing it mostly off of my personal experiences. I did go through a short phase where I smoked daily and almost all day long. During that time I didn't really do a whole lot other than sit on the couch/watch netflix/lift weights/sleep/eat/fuck. It was a rut that I'm glad I got out of, because I was becoming a bit unpleasant to be around and my usable vocabulary was shrinking. once I stopped doing that I started reading a lot more, as well as drawing and focusing at improving my performance at my job. Since then my cognitive functions are noticeably better than they have ever been, even before smoking weed at all. I'm also a lot more jubilant in person and fun to be around compared to when I was smoking all day.

[QUOTE=Perfumly;46142326]I'm basing it mostly off of my personal experiences. I did go through a short phase where I smoked daily and almost all day long. During that time I didn't really do a whole lot other than sit on the couch/watch netflix/lift weights/sleep/eat/fuck. It was a rut that I'm glad I got out of, because I was becoming a bit unpleasant to be around and my usable vocabulary was shrinking. once I stopped doing that I started reading a lot more, as well as drawing and focusing at improving my performance at my job. Since then my cognitive functions are noticeably better than they have ever been, even before smoking weed at all. I'm also a lot more jubilant in person and fun to be around compared to when I was smoking all day.[/QUOTE] Definitely worth looking into. I myself never smoked weed that way, so I doubt it effected me in the same manner.