98 Percent Of All Domestically Eradicated Marijuana Is “Ditchweed,” DEA Admits
More than 98 percent of all of the marijuana plants seized by law enforcement in the United States is feral hemp not cultivated cannabis, according to newly released data by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program and the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.
According to the data, available online at: http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t4382005.pdf, of the estimated 223 million marijuana plants destroyed by law enforcement in 2005, approximately 219 million were classified as “ditchweed,” a term the agency uses to define “wild, scattered marijuana plants [with] no evidence of planting, fertilizing, or tending.” Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, and does not contribute to the black market marijuana trade.
Here’s the DEA’s website on marijuana where despite the vast sums of money poured into trying to stop it, “marijuana availability is high and stable or increasing slightly.”
That;s right, legalize it, so then Mel Gibson could just say, ‘ Uhh, yeah, so what’s the big deal ? ‘ and have another hit.
#18, OFTLO, The problem with the stoned bus driver is how do we know he is stoned vs just had an accident. Being under the influence and causing an accident is rightfully a crime. With most drugs the amount of drug in the body may be measured. So far, pot may only be detected, not measured. And I for one am very leery of sending someone to jail for reckless endangerment because they happened to smoke some pot several days or even weeks earlier. At the same time, I would not want anyone in the driver’s situation to think they could smoke pot with no repercussions if they have an accident.
NOTE: I’m assuming the pot to be a contributing influence in the accident.
#22 –
This story has fallen off the bottom of the page so I’m not sure if my typing here is going to be worthwhile, but…
I am sympathetic to your point, but… We don’t ban hunting rifles, meat cleavers or baseball bats because someone could commit murder with one. Since the AMA won’t say pot is dangerous and past surgeon generals won’t say it is dangerous and only right wing crackpots will say its dangerous then it isn’t dangerous. Let it be a commodity product.
As for the driving test, you can determine that someone is inebriated and there are reasonable tests and indications that can help… but you are right, there is not currently a test that could withstand legal muster that will say “you are stoned right now” short of being caught with the roach in your hand.
As long as the paternal powers that be insist on pursuing this failed policy, there won’t be a test. Such a test would remove a roadblock to legalization (assuming we broke through the roadblocks to logical and reasonable policy in the first place).
I’m not a doctor. But I am very sure that test can be developed that will be able to do for pot what a breathalizer does for alcohol, and it needs to be developed. But we must also realize that responsible pot use means not driving and having all your ho-ho’s and pop tarts stocked up before you light up. Pot smokers aren’t the crazy nuts of Reefer Madness – pot alone doesn’t relieve you of all self control – we need to start saying that in this society, adults may be allowed to make adult decisions.
#23- I agree with your post in its entirety. The problem that I have is that there is always going to be those people that are irresponsible, and more or less ruin things for everyone else. How many irresponsible people drink?? Personally, I know more than I can count. Drinking and driving is still common, but it’s little to no different than smoking and driving. However, regardless of whether someone drinks or smokes, the ultimate responsibility is in their hands not to do stupid ****. Don’t drive, chill out, don’t do anything that would impinge on others’ rights.
#8- I’ve always been interested in the impact of decriminalization vs. legalization. But in Maryland, marijuana is still the #5 CASH CROP, even though use ALONE in Maryland is prohibited by law. Either enforcement turns a blind eye to it, or, more likely, it is not easily enforceable.
If legalization would occur (probably not in my lifetime), it would of course be decriminalized first. But stating that marijuana shouldn’t be as readily available as tobacco or alcohol is an odd statement. In my neck of the woods, it is very prevalent (I’ll admit it, I first smoked when I was 13), in fact MORE readily available to teens than cigarettes or alcohol. And personally, I really think out of the three you mentioned, marijuana is the least evil. How many deaths and medical problems are caused by alcohol and cigarettes yearly on a national scale as compared to marijuana? Used responsibly, I think marijuana is the least harmful. I think most of the stigma from marijuana comes from the fact that people who have never tried it don’t know anything about it, and that a large amount of smokers give it a bad rep. Still, you see nothing like the numbers of irresponsible people who die of lung cancer from cigarettes (trust me, I know firsthand cigarettes are addictive) or drink and drive. Marijuana also doesn’t have the same type of physiological addiction nicotine or alcohol has, and the argument that it is a gateway drug is fallacious, because a responsible person should be able to differentiate between smoking marijuana and smoking crack or injecting heroin. Of course, you put anything that alters perception (even alcohol) with someone unstable or not able to control themselves and bad things will happen.
I still think that legalization will be an unfettered reality in the future, because enforcement is nigh, well, unenforceable. My thoughts? Legalize (private use at least, in your household), ratchet up penalties for DUI and providing to minors, tax it, and remove the counterculture and stigma. I’ve always thought the biggest downside of marijuana was and is the persecution and paranoia caused by the illegality of it; the fact that it forces otherwise law-abiding citizens to hide in the shadows. Unlike alcohol, which is never seen as being as harmful, which is really beyond me (c’mon, ever go to $1 night at a bar? Watch how many people drive home).
Oh well, guess that one can’t change history, but I can always make suggestions for the future. Here’s hoping one day logic will win out.
Hi I wanted to add that there have been studies on the effects of pot on driving, and your fears have turned out bunk. NIHS did one in the Netherlands with NIDA pot (notoriously weak) which said the same lateral swaying, increased following distance, but overall minor driving changes/impairment. Here is another such study done in the Netherlands, it looks to be about the same in the test and conclusion. I’m sorry it couldn’t have been posted on a more legit sounding domain name, but be aware there are many studies going on and we need not speculate and run away with our fears.
http://www.hempfood.com/IHA/iha01206.html
Further I’m not going to defend everyone’s usage of the plant, but I must say I’m saddened by the half freedoms we offer in this country (only being able to legally enjoy European vices). It does different things for different people since it is not blindly poison your liver to speed your metabolism. But I will say it is an abomination that a law passed based on lies, bribes and public propagandizing still stands and is enforced. Good day.
D
Edit to Post #24-Actually, I agree with all of post #23 except for the right-wing crackpot comment, because I’m actually Republican, and I think this is one of those things that should be a non-partisan issue. I guess in a lot of ways I’m more Libertarian than anything, because I believe in personal freedoms. Yeah, I’m one of those “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” people…And I don’t even, and have never, owned a gun. I have been carjacked once, and held-up at gunpoint once, and live in a city with 300+ murders/year, and I still think that guns are not the problem, but that guns in the hands of people who are irrational with a disregard for human life is a very bad thing. If someone would want a gun to protect themselves and their household in a city such as this, I have no problem at all. But, I digress.
I don’t think the government should tell us what we can and can’t do, but rather should punish those that endanger public safety or violate some else’s privacy or rights.
#25-I would not say that I defend everyone’s usage of the plant, but rather I would defend anyone’s RESPONSIBLE USE of the plant. That being said, people should be held accountable if they do stupid things under the influence. And while I agree that smoking and driving probably is actually less dangerous than drinking and driving (in terms of impaired reactions and CNS depression), I think driving under the influence of any drug is not a very bright thing to do (even many prescription meds).
“But I will say it is an abomination that a law passed based on lies, bribes and public propagandizing still stands and is enforced.”
Well put D! And I would further add that the road to decriminalization/legalization is more hampered by the government anti-marijuana propaganda than anything else (but is still shouldn’t be avaiable to minors). But the government can’t be made to look like it was wrong in this case, for it is much easier for them to take away wholesale freedoms instead of expanding personal freedom. Let the states decide then, as is happening in many places. Hold a referendum, see what the people really think.
The only true way to control something is to legalize it. Otherwise it will remain in the underground economy. The one prime example is what happened with alcohal in the 1920′s and 1930′s. Legalization would accomplish several things;
1) Taxation, as much as we would all not like to pay taxes there will be a tax on pot!. This could provide both the state and federal governments BILLIONS of dollars!
2) Prisons, 10s of thousands of men and women could be released saving additional BILLIONS of dollars.
3) Jobs, yes there would be hondreds if not thousands of prison guards out of work but that would be a small price compared to the 10s of thousands of families that would not have their lives destroyed.
4) Medical, because of the repression of research we have no idea what can be done in this area.
5) Fiber, hemp is one of the very strongest and most durable natural fibers we now.
The list can go on and on.
http://www.leap.cc
A “War on Drugs” is not winnable. We’ve already proved prohibition does not work.
Why do we try to fool ourselves into thinking it will this time?
The receptors on the brain who allow customer base of cannabinoids (like THC) are actually area of the most common receptor system by the body processes. Not only is definitely the body logically attuned to these compounds, it even uses the criminals to great consequence — quite a few studies established that cannabinoids help in reducing pain and various other distressing signs.