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Obama: Pot Users In Washington And Colorado Not A 'Top Priority'
President Barack Obama said prosecuting pot users in states that have legalized the drug won't be a top priority for his administration.
"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama told ABC News' Barbara Walters. "It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal."
Last month, voters in Colorado and Washington legalized recreational pot use for adults, though marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
The Obama administration suggested last week that it was considering plans to undermine the voter initiatives. In his interview with Walters, Obama did not say whether his administration would go after producers and suppliers of marijuana in those states. The administration has cracked down extensively on the medical marijuana industry in California, despite its legality under state law there.
A slim majority of Americans want the Department of Justice to leave pot smokers alone in the states where the drug has been legalized, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll.
Obama himself smoked pot as a youngster in Hawaii, where he and his high school pals called themselves the Choom Gang.
"There are a bunch of things I did that I regret when I was a kid," he told Walters. "My attitude is, substance abuse generally is not good for our kids, not good for our society."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/obama-pot-washington-colorado_n_2299512.html
"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama told ABC News' Barbara Walters. "It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal."
Last month, voters in Colorado and Washington legalized recreational pot use for adults, though marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
The Obama administration suggested last week that it was considering plans to undermine the voter initiatives. In his interview with Walters, Obama did not say whether his administration would go after producers and suppliers of marijuana in those states. The administration has cracked down extensively on the medical marijuana industry in California, despite its legality under state law there.
A slim majority of Americans want the Department of Justice to leave pot smokers alone in the states where the drug has been legalized, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll.
Obama himself smoked pot as a youngster in Hawaii, where he and his high school pals called themselves the Choom Gang.
"There are a bunch of things I did that I regret when I was a kid," he told Walters. "My attitude is, substance abuse generally is not good for our kids, not good for our society."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/obama-pot-washington-colorado_n_2299512.html
Hey, I post on this forum and one would think I'm an out of touch lunatic from Mars. And then WA LA . . . there comes an article that articulates my fear and has some statistical information to back it up.
Here is info on heavy usage of pot during the teen years and lowering iq's
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/27/health/health-teen-pot/index.html
http://www.livescience.com/22711-smoking-marijuana-lowers-iq.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9426205/Cannabis-smoking-permanently-lowers-IQ.html
Sure, there have been a few smart people that smoked pot and stayed smart.
I certainly wouldn't want my kids to test it.
Here is info on heavy usage of pot during the teen years and lowering iq's
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/27/health/health-teen-pot/index.html
http://www.livescience.com/22711-smoking-marijuana-lowers-iq.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9426205/Cannabis-smoking-permanently-lowers-IQ.html
Sure, there have been a few smart people that smoked pot and stayed smart.
I certainly wouldn't want my kids to test it.
Well, I am simply not buying that - lowering their IQ.
If that is true then I must have been a stark raving mad genius before I started down the dangerous track to a lower IQ.
I am in good company it seems. Here are 2 potheads and apparently their IQ's somehow survived that dreaded weed.
"...Bill Gates
born: October 28, 1955
Bill Gates officially moves up from "possible pothead" to VIP with the discovery of the 1994 book Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry—and Made Himself the Richest Man in America by PC Magazine's Stephen Manes and Seattle Times reporter Paul Andrews. While at Harvard in the early 1970s, during the days of sex and drugs and rock and roll, "I don't think I was unusual in any of those dimensions, plus or minus," Gates said in an interview on August 29, 1991. His record collection mostly consisted of albums by Seattle native Jimi Hendrix, foisted on him by Paul Allen with the catchphrase, "Are you experienced?"
The book states, "Marijuana was the pharmaceutical of choice, but in [roommate Sam] Znaimer's words, 'on a couple of well-planned isolated occasions we'd go off to the country and spend time contemplating the universe'." Gates told Playboy he did LSD in his interview with the magazine, published December 8, 1994...."
http://www.veryimportantpotheads.com/site/gates.htm
"...But LSD wasn't the only drug that Jobs had an affinity for way back when - it was the 70's after all.
Specifically, Jobs was also no stranger to smoking both marijuana and hashish, explaining that he used to smoke it with friends and even used to eat pot brownies. During the course of his DoD interview, Jobs said that the last time he got high was in 1977. Explaining the impetus behind his marijuana usage, Jobs said that it helped him relax and made him more creative.
All told, Jobs said that he used drugs anywhere from once a week to once a month during that time period...."
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/steve-jobs-lsd-habit-why-he-indulged-marijuana-and-his-1975-arrest
If that is true then I must have been a stark raving mad genius before I started down the dangerous track to a lower IQ.
I am in good company it seems. Here are 2 potheads and apparently their IQ's somehow survived that dreaded weed.
"...Bill Gates
born: October 28, 1955
Bill Gates officially moves up from "possible pothead" to VIP with the discovery of the 1994 book Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry—and Made Himself the Richest Man in America by PC Magazine's Stephen Manes and Seattle Times reporter Paul Andrews. While at Harvard in the early 1970s, during the days of sex and drugs and rock and roll, "I don't think I was unusual in any of those dimensions, plus or minus," Gates said in an interview on August 29, 1991. His record collection mostly consisted of albums by Seattle native Jimi Hendrix, foisted on him by Paul Allen with the catchphrase, "Are you experienced?"
The book states, "Marijuana was the pharmaceutical of choice, but in [roommate Sam] Znaimer's words, 'on a couple of well-planned isolated occasions we'd go off to the country and spend time contemplating the universe'." Gates told Playboy he did LSD in his interview with the magazine, published December 8, 1994...."
http://www.veryimportantpotheads.com/site/gates.htm
"...But LSD wasn't the only drug that Jobs had an affinity for way back when - it was the 70's after all.
Specifically, Jobs was also no stranger to smoking both marijuana and hashish, explaining that he used to smoke it with friends and even used to eat pot brownies. During the course of his DoD interview, Jobs said that the last time he got high was in 1977. Explaining the impetus behind his marijuana usage, Jobs said that it helped him relax and made him more creative.
All told, Jobs said that he used drugs anywhere from once a week to once a month during that time period...."
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/steve-jobs-lsd-habit-why-he-indulged-marijuana-and-his-1975-arrest
Sorry for all the extra stuff at the bottom of the copied article. This was in my paper.
Sounds like the downfall of legalization will be more teens smoking and lowering their IQ. Perfect.
Sounds like the downfall of legalization will be more teens smoking and lowering their IQ. Perfect.
WASHINGTON - (AP) -- Teenagers' perception of the dangers of marijuana has fallen to the lowest level in more than 20 years, a new study says, prompting federal researchers to warn that already high use of the drug could increase as more states move to legalize it.
The annual survey released Wednesday by the National Institutes of Health found that only 41.7 percent of eighth graders believe that occasional use of marijuana is harmful, while 66.9 percent regard it as dangerous when used regularly. Both rates are the lowest since 1991, when the government first began tracking this age group.
Teens' perception of marijuana risks diminished even more as they got older. About 20.6 percent of 12th graders said that occasional use of pot is harmful. Roughly 44.1 percent believed that its regular use was detrimental, the lowest rate since 1979.
The government-sponsored study said teens' dwindling concerns about the dangers of marijuana, despite the risks, "can signal future increases in use."
"We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use of marijuana is robbing many young people of their potential to achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life," said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of NIH. She said teens are influenced by whether a drug is legal in some form when deciding to try it recreationally, so in states where marijuana is sanctioned, "the deterrent is no longer present."
Volkow cited recently published research showing that people who used marijuana heavily before age 18 had impaired mental abilities even after they quit using the drug. Those who used cannabis heavily in their teens and into their adulthood showed a significant drop in IQ between the ages of 13 and 38, according to the studies.
"Marijuana use that begins in adolescence increases the risk they will become addicted to the drug," she said.
The findings come after Washington state and Colorado voted last month to legalize marijuana and regulate its recreational use, boosted by the strong support of younger voters. While the new laws apply only to adults over 21, the broader effort by states to decriminalize pot use and push the drug toward public legitimacy could confuse the picture for teens.
President Barack Obama said last week that the federal government won't go after pot users in Colorado and Washington state who are legal under their state laws, even though federal law officially bans marijuana possession. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia also have laws in place to regulate the medical use of marijuana.
"Now more than ever we need parents and other adult influencers to step up and have direct conversations with young people about the importance of making healthy decisions," said White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske on Wednesday.
According to the federal survey, marijuana use among teenagers remained stuck at high levels in 2012.
Roughly 6.5 percent of 12th graders smoked marijuana daily, up from 5.1 percent in 2007.
Nearly 23 percent of the high-school seniors said they smoked the drug in the month prior to the survey, while 36.4 percent used it in the past year. About 45.2 percent reported they had tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime.
Daily marijuana use by 10th graders climbed from 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent, and for eighth-grade students it edged up from 0.8 percent to 1.1 percent.
On other topics the survey found:
--Use of illicit drugs other than marijuana was at a low for eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade students.
--In the past year, about 1.3 percent of 12th graders used "bath salts," a new synthetic drug which mimics the effect of cocaine.
--In terms of prescription drug abuse, about 7.6 percent of 12th graders in the past year used Adderall, a stimulant prescribed to treat ADHD. That's up from 5.4 percent in 2009, coinciding with a decline in teens' perceptions of the harm in using the drug. Teen abuse of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines containing dextromethorphan held steady.
--Reported alcohol use continued to steadily decline, falling to the lowest level on record.
The survey, conducted by the University of Michigan for NIH, covered more than 45,000 students in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades in 395 schools.
___
Online:
Copy of the survey: http://www.monitoringthefuture.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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The annual survey released Wednesday by the National Institutes of Health found that only 41.7 percent of eighth graders believe that occasional use of marijuana is harmful, while 66.9 percent regard it as dangerous when used regularly. Both rates are the lowest since 1991, when the government first began tracking this age group.
Teens' perception of marijuana risks diminished even more as they got older. About 20.6 percent of 12th graders said that occasional use of pot is harmful. Roughly 44.1 percent believed that its regular use was detrimental, the lowest rate since 1979.
The government-sponsored study said teens' dwindling concerns about the dangers of marijuana, despite the risks, "can signal future increases in use."
"We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use of marijuana is robbing many young people of their potential to achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life," said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of NIH. She said teens are influenced by whether a drug is legal in some form when deciding to try it recreationally, so in states where marijuana is sanctioned, "the deterrent is no longer present."
Volkow cited recently published research showing that people who used marijuana heavily before age 18 had impaired mental abilities even after they quit using the drug. Those who used cannabis heavily in their teens and into their adulthood showed a significant drop in IQ between the ages of 13 and 38, according to the studies.
"Marijuana use that begins in adolescence increases the risk they will become addicted to the drug," she said.
The findings come after Washington state and Colorado voted last month to legalize marijuana and regulate its recreational use, boosted by the strong support of younger voters. While the new laws apply only to adults over 21, the broader effort by states to decriminalize pot use and push the drug toward public legitimacy could confuse the picture for teens.
President Barack Obama said last week that the federal government won't go after pot users in Colorado and Washington state who are legal under their state laws, even though federal law officially bans marijuana possession. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia also have laws in place to regulate the medical use of marijuana.
"Now more than ever we need parents and other adult influencers to step up and have direct conversations with young people about the importance of making healthy decisions," said White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske on Wednesday.
According to the federal survey, marijuana use among teenagers remained stuck at high levels in 2012.
Roughly 6.5 percent of 12th graders smoked marijuana daily, up from 5.1 percent in 2007.
Nearly 23 percent of the high-school seniors said they smoked the drug in the month prior to the survey, while 36.4 percent used it in the past year. About 45.2 percent reported they had tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime.
Daily marijuana use by 10th graders climbed from 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent, and for eighth-grade students it edged up from 0.8 percent to 1.1 percent.
On other topics the survey found:
--Use of illicit drugs other than marijuana was at a low for eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade students.
--In the past year, about 1.3 percent of 12th graders used "bath salts," a new synthetic drug which mimics the effect of cocaine.
--In terms of prescription drug abuse, about 7.6 percent of 12th graders in the past year used Adderall, a stimulant prescribed to treat ADHD. That's up from 5.4 percent in 2009, coinciding with a decline in teens' perceptions of the harm in using the drug. Teen abuse of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines containing dextromethorphan held steady.
--Reported alcohol use continued to steadily decline, falling to the lowest level on record.
The survey, conducted by the University of Michigan for NIH, covered more than 45,000 students in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades in 395 schools.
___
Online:
Copy of the survey: http://www.monitoringthefuture.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Be the first to rate:
0
Click to rate
You might also be interested in:
Sgt. Stephanie Moses, 'face of the NYPD,' found dead From newsday.com - Long Island News
Ke$ha removes tweet after Sandy Hook school shooting From newsday.com - Entertainment
Okay this is anecdotal and honestly I am not interested enough in the discussion to find stats to argue the point, but here is my experience.
I smoked as a young person and quit well before having kids. When I became seriously ill I used MJ to relieve the severe pain was in as well as to help me with insomnia. It was far less toxic than tylenol . I realized after treatment and when I was no longer in pain how habitual the MJ use had become and recently decided to quit altogether.
It wasn't hard at all. Quitting smoking was 100x harder.
I believe it can be habit forming but it is obviously much easier on the body than alcohol and less addictive, imo.
I appreciate what Mike and OH are saying, I am in total agreement with them.
However, SM you have a right to your opinion and though I do not agree I respect it.
I smoked as a young person and quit well before having kids. When I became seriously ill I used MJ to relieve the severe pain was in as well as to help me with insomnia. It was far less toxic than tylenol . I realized after treatment and when I was no longer in pain how habitual the MJ use had become and recently decided to quit altogether.
It wasn't hard at all. Quitting smoking was 100x harder.
I believe it can be habit forming but it is obviously much easier on the body than alcohol and less addictive, imo.
I appreciate what Mike and OH are saying, I am in total agreement with them.
However, SM you have a right to your opinion and though I do not agree I respect it.
Where I live you buy medical marijuana at regulated dispensaries. You have to have a card to get in the door.
I'm not saying there aren't still people 'dealing' it on the street somewhere but you already have people dealing hard drugs which in my mind, is a different situation.
Honestly though I see drug addiction as a medical problem, a health problem and wish the law were taken out of the equation all together.
( other than when it comes to kids, of course)
I'm not saying there aren't still people 'dealing' it on the street somewhere but you already have people dealing hard drugs which in my mind, is a different situation.
Honestly though I see drug addiction as a medical problem, a health problem and wish the law were taken out of the equation all together.
( other than when it comes to kids, of course)
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