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Written by SAFER
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Thursday, 03 December 2009 |
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The following review was originally published HERE on LewRockwell.com Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People To Drink?By Mark Thornton
The authors
of this
book work on the frontlines in the battle against marijuana
prohibition. Steve Fox (Marijuana Policy Project), LRC columnist
Paul
Armentano (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws), and Mason Tvert (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation)
make the case for marijuana legalization based on the relative
safety of marijuana compared to alcohol.
In the forward
to the book, the former Chief of the Seattle Police Department
makes the important observation that police officers experience
criminals and victims of alcohol-related crime and violence on
a daily basis, while such marijuana-related violence is almost
unheard of.
The "marijuana
is safer" message of the book is based on the fact that marijuana
consumption is safer and healthier to consume compared to alcohol.
It also results in far less violence and crime than alcohol and
produces fewer costs on society. They make their case by presenting
results from government studies and other scientific research.
In this light,
our draconian marijuana laws reduce marijuana and increase alcohol
consumption, as basic economics would suggest. Therefore, if we
reformed our marijuana laws, consumption patterns would move away
from alcohol and we would be safer, healthier, and better off
in many respects. |
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Written by SAFER
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Friday, 27 November 2009 |
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 The latest episode of John Doe Radio features SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert, who discusses his book, the booming medical marijuana industry in Colorado, and what lies ahead for SAFER in the new year.
Click HERE to check it out.
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Written by SAFER
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Monday, 23 November 2009 |
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 Kudos to Marijuana Is Safer coauthor and NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano, whose letter appears at the top of the letters section in the December 2009 issue of Playboy magazine:
Woody Harrelson's candidness about his use of marijuana is refreshing (The Playboy Interview, October). Were he imbibing in alcohol rather than cannabis during the interview it is unlikely anyone would have batted an eye. Yet our laws and culture arbitrarily embrace the former while condemning the latter. Last year 847,864 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses; it is illogical and irrational to continue to waste taxpayers resources to punish people who, like Woody, relax with weed. Paul Armentano is deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and coauthor of Marijuana Is Safer: So why are we driving people to drink? |
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Written by Paul Armentano
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Friday, 20 November 2009 |
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The following piece was orginally published HERE on The Huffington Post Writing in the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? (Chelsea Green, 2009), I argue that it is irrational for our society to condone, if not encourage, the use of alcohol -- an intoxicant that directly contributes to tens of thousands of deaths annually and countless
social problems -- while simultaneously stigmatizing and criminalizing the use of cannabis, a substance that is incapable of causing lethal overdose and is associated with far fewer societal costs. Well now a new study, authored by researchers from the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia at the University of Victoria and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse at the University of Ottawa has directly compared the societal costs of marijuana and alcohol, as well as tobacco, and the final tally isn't pretty.
Health-related costs per user are eight times higher for drinkers than they are for those who use cannabis, and are more than 40 times higher for tobacco smokers, according to the report, published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal.
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