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Title: Sheriff Says Cannabis Makes People Murderers Because “Rational Thought” Leads to Violence
Source:
Free Thought Project
URL Source: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/sh ... tional-thought-leads-violence/
Published: May 10, 2016
Author: Claire Bernish
Post Date: 2016-05-10 09:19:29 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 3840
Comments: 21
It isn’t gang violence. It isn’t even domestic violence. What is the leading cause of murder in Carson City? According to Sheriff Ken Furlong, it’s marijuana.
“It’s against that law,” Furlong told local ABC affiliate, KOLO 8. “It does change people’s attitude and we do see people dying as a result of it, needlessly, and there’s no excuse for it.
“In the last 13-15 years, all of the violence we’ve seen that has turned deadly, have [sic] been in someway related to a marijuana issue.”
Before you get too excited, thinking Furlong nailed it — the fact cannabis remains a federal Schedule 1 drug and thus technically illegal in the ongoing yet utterly failed war on drugs — that isn’t all he had to say on the matter.
KOLO 8 noted the 2016 deaths of 18-year-old Grant Watkins and 40-year-old Dennis Watkins, Jr. — both killed during transactions involving the sale of cannabis.
“During a transaction, they set it up, ‘I’m going to sell this to you,’ then all of a sudden someone gets shot and killed,” Furlong continued. “It’s not because they were under the influence; it’s because they were doing something deadly and it turned out that way.”
As Furlong explained, the threat to life isn’t due to the drug’s effects on the system, per se, but the ‘culture and crimes’ surrounding it ‘that can be overwhelming,’ as KOLO 8 paraphrased.
“It’s a very cherished culture and people have very strong beliefs,” the Sheriff elaborated. “When you violate someone’s beliefs, you put them in a position where they can act out.”
But Furlong’s complete lack of understanding of all things cannabis — including both medicinal and recreational aspects — didn’t stop there. According to the Sheriff, the community faces repercussions following a law enforcement drug bust — because addicts suddenly have no way to procure their … cannabis.
“We’re watching very closely, not only for a spike in crime, but for people who are in critical need of medical care because of that lack of treatment, based on withdrawal from the drug,” he asserted.
Yes, you read that right. Carson City’s Sheriff-in-charge firmly believes depriving people of cannabis — a plant scientifically and anecdotally proven to save lives — will lead to a crime wave and health crisis of no small proportions.
But what he explained next, as paraphrased by KOLO 8, harkens back to the earliest days of cannabis prohibition and the propagandist classic, Reefer Madness:
‘Sheriff Furlong says unlike other drugs like heroin or methamphetamines that can distort your mind, people using marijuana usually have rational trains of thought which give them the ability to act out and become violent when someone takes away or violates their drug.’
At this point, if you’re having a good laugh, stunned, or shaking your head, you most certainly are not alone.
Obviously, Sheriff Furlong grasps the potential perils in black market trade — but he wholly fails to recognize removing cannabis’ illegality would thus remove the risk of violence. When the State is removed from consensual business transactions, individuals are free to conduct trade as they see fit — if cannabis were abundant and legal, it would be highly unlikely people would continue killing each other over soured deals.
But Furlong’s stupefying lack of knowledge concerning the effects cannabis has on the body, though certainly laughable, also should concern the residents he’s tasked with overseeing.
Mischaracterizing cannabis so broadly as to believe it will warp people’s minds to a heightened frenzy where they’re likely to commit violence is downright dangerous.
For one thing, this inexcusable misperception could color the training Sheriff Furlong decides to give law enforcement trainees and officers. Considering the absolutely epidemic national spate of violence inflicted by trigger-happy cops who already seem to have an irrational fear of the public, training them to further view cannabis users as likely to act out physically is nothing short of dangerous.
If sheriff’s deputies conduct a raid on a residence known for cannabis transactions with the preconception the people inside could turn violent instantly, it’s arguable they would be more likely to misinterpret anything they encounter. This unnecessarily heightened fear that their life could be in peril from a cannabis-crazed maniac would have obvious influence on their decisions for whether or not to employ deadly force.
Sadly, Sheriff Furlong likely isn’t alone among law enforcement in the United States. As long as the drug war remains firmly entrenched in policy and culture, dangerous misunderstandings and lack of knowledge will arguably be the greater source of violence than would the substances be were they not illegal.
In the meantime, while forced to pick apart drug laws state by state, perhaps drug and cannabis education — not fear- and prohibition-based propaganda, but serious education — should be mandatory in law enforcement training.
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Cannabis 'kills 30,000 a year'
#2. To: Gatlin (#1)
"Cannabis 'kills 30,000 a year'
Just in the UK!
#3. To: Deckard (#0)
"Mischaracterizing cannabis so broadly as to believe it will warp people’s minds to a heightened frenzy where they’re likely to commit violence is downright dangerous."
Studies have shown that marijuana can trigger psychosis.
Chris Kyle's murderer pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity by saying that he was psychotic because he was high.
#4. To: Gatlin (#1)
Cannabis 'kills 30,000 a year'
Bullshit.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
In a Cop Culture, the Bill of Rights Doesn’t Amount to Much
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts#5. To: misterwhite (#3)
Chris Kyle's murderer pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity by saying that he was psychotic because he was high.
He was psychotic to begin with.
Saying "the marijuana made him do it" is beyond absurd.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
In a Cop Culture, the Bill of Rights Doesn’t Amount to Much
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts#6. To: Deckard (#5)
"He was psychotic to begin with."
Attaboy.
#7. To: Deckard (#4)
Cannabis 'kills 30,000 a year'Bullshit.
Early deaths caused by psychological dependence on marijuana muat not be considered “bullshit.”
Potheads whose psychological dependence has developed through the consistent and frequent exposure to the stimulus need help.
We need to figure out how to make problem correcting effective strategies available to these dopers at the earliest opportunity.
I urge you to join in this effort.
#8. To: Gatlin (#1)
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul#9. To: hondo68, Deckard, misterwhite (#8)
Don’t let marijuana control you. Recovery is never out of reach.
Now is the time, TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE and help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN !!!
#10. To: Gatlin (#1)
From the link:
He said: "Cannabis is as dangerous as cigarette smoking - in fact, it may be even worse [emphasis added]
[...] Researchers calculate that if 120,000 deaths are caused among 13million smokers, the corresponding figure among 3.2million cannabis smokers would be 30,000.
So should we ban both cannabis and tobacco, or neither?
A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.
#11. To: Deckard, misterwhite (#5)
Chris Kyle's murderer pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity by saying that he was psychotic because he was high.He was psychotic to begin with.
Saying "the marijuana made him do it" is beyond absurd.
Au contraire mon ami.
You are definitely suffering through a chicken or the egg causality dilemma.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), increases the brain processes that can lead to symptoms of psychosis. The reason symptoms of psychosis arise in marijuana users may be because THC interferes with the brain's ability to distinguish between stimuli that are important.
Potheads should be aware of potential undesired acute marijuana effects … the effects of being high on pot.
#12. To: Gatlin, Trophy Bock, trippin out (#9)
Recovery is never out of reach.
Good luck at the dry out clinic.
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul#13. To: ConservingFreedom (#10)
So should we ban both cannabis and tobacco, or neither?
If data is released to show that the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes using tobacco more than doubled since 2013, like those using marijuana did … then we should give consideration to both.
#14. To: ConservingFreedom (#13)
So should we ban both cannabis and tobacco, or neither?If data is released to show that the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes using tobacco more than doubled since 2013, like those using marijuana did … then we should give consideration to both.
Data released by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) this week indicate that the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes with active THC in their blood jumped from 38 in 2013 to 75 last year. As The Seattle Times notes, the reasons for that increase are not entirely clear:
A little research reveals news articles, police reports, and academic studies on a number of marijuana- attributable deaths:
1. December, 2014: The National Institute on Drug Abuse updated its marijuana research paper, saying, “Marijuana is the illicit drug most frequently found in the blood of drivers who have been involved in accidents, including fatal ones,” and citing research that marijuana is increasingly detected in fatal vehicle accidents.These are just a few reports on deaths linked to marijuana … there are many, many more.2. December, 2014: Oklahoma authorities reported a man with marijuana both in his system and on his person drove into oncoming traffic, crashing into another vehicle and killing its driver.
3. May, 2014: A study published by the University of Colorado School of Medicine found that, “the proportion of marijuana-positive drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes in Colorado has increased dramatically since the commercialization of medical marijuana in the middle of 2009.”
4. April, 2014: A 47-year-old Denver man allegedly shot his wife while she spoke with a 911 dispatcher over the phone. According to various reports, the wife called 911 after her husband consumed candy laced with marijuana and began hallucinating and frightening the couple’s children. Some sources indicate the man may have taken prescription drugs with the marijuana. CBS News reports that 12 minutes into the call with 911, the wife “told dispatchers her husband was getting a gun from a safe before a gunshot sounded and the line went quiet.” The marijuana candy had, apparently, been purchased a licensed shop in the Denver area.
5. April, 2014: Researchers writing in the Journal of the American Heart Association investigated marijuana’s effects on cardiovascular health. They reviewed 1,979 incidents from 2006 to 2011, and found, “there were 22 cardiac complications (20 acute coronary syndromes), 10 peripheral complications (lower limb or juvenile arteriopathies and Buerger‐like diseases), and 3 cerebral complications (acute cerebral angiopathy, transient cortical blindness, and spasm of cerebral artery). In 9 cases, the event led to patient death.” (Emphasis added).
6. March, 2014: A 19-year-old college student jumped to his death after eating a marijuana-laced cookie purchased at a licensed marijuana store in Colorado. Reports indicate the man began shaking, screaming, and throwing objects in his hotel room after eating the marijuana “edible.” He ultimately jumped over the fourth-floor railing, into the lobby of the hotel at which he was staying. According to CBS News, the autopsy report listed marijuana as a “significant contributing factor” to his death.
7. February, 2014: researchers from Germany determined the deaths of two apparently-healthy, young men were in fact the result of marijuana. According to their article published in the journal Forensic Science International. Researchers concluded, “After exclusion of other causes of death, we assume that the young men died from cardiovascular complications evoked by smoking cannabis.”
8. November, 2013: Seattle news outlets reported an elderly Washington resident was killed after a neighbor’s apartment exploded as a result of a hash oil operation. Hash oil is a highly-potent extract produced from marijuana using flammable chemicals such as butane.
9. June, 2013: A 35-year-old Oregon man died as a result of an explosion and fire caused by a hash oil operation he and a friend were conducting in a garage.
10. October, 2011: The Office of National Drug Control Policy released a report analyzing traffic accidents from 2005 – 2009. The report noted, “Among fatally injured males who tested positive for drugs, 28 percent tested positive for cannabinoids compared with 17 percent of females,” and that, “Cannabinoids were reported in 43 percent of fatally injured drivers under age 24 who tested positive for drugs.”
11. 2004: A study in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics examined case studies of three otherwise-healthy adolescent boys who were admitted to hospitals due to stroke following heavy marijuana use; two of the boys ultimately died, and the study concluded marijuana may cause stroke and death.
#15. To: hondo68 (#12)
Will you ever find a way to properly deal with your ignorance?
#16. To: Gatlin (#15)
I'm happy to see that you're out of rehab. Stick with those 12 steps.
#17. To: Gatlin (#14)
Data released by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) this week indicate that the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes with active THC in their blood jumped from 38 in 2013 to 75 last year. As The Seattle Times notes, the reasons for that increase are not entirely clear:
More from that source:
"state-regulated pot stores opened in 2014, providing access to legal weed. But the first few stores didn't open until July, and their supply was scarce. Seattle, allotted 21 stores by state officials, saw only one shop selling pot until late September.
"What's more, there were more marijuana-involved fatal crashes in the first half of 2014, before stores opened, than in the second half of the year.
[...] "The Times notes that "half the drivers with active THC in their blood also were under the influence of alcohol, and the majority of those were legally intoxicated." Alcohol has a much more dramatic impact on driving ability than marijuana does"
A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.
#18. To: ConservingFreedom (#17)
[…] the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes with active THC in their blood jumped from 38 in 2013 to 75 last year. As The Seattle Times notes, the reasons for that increase are not entirely clear.
It is entirely clear that potheads under the influence with active THC in their blood should definitely not be driving and involved in fatal crashes. Marijuana and driving simply do not go together!
[...] "The Times notes that "half the drivers with active THC in their blood also were under the influence of alcohol, and the majority of those were legally intoxicated." Alcohol has a much more dramatic impact on driving ability than marijuana does"
Saying that alcohol has a much more dramatic impact on driving ability than marijuana does not lessen the severe impact that marijuana use has on the potheads’ health, their families and their communities. These scumbags need to address the severe impact of their substance use.
Marijuana and alcohol … that’s double trouble and twice the stupidity.
#19. To: Gatlin (#18)
Marijuana and alcohol … that’s double trouble and twice the stupidity.
OMG! REFFER MADNESS! WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!
#20. To: buckeroo (#19)
#21. To: Gatlin (#18)
Marijuana and driving simply do not go together!
Of course. The point is that since legalization hasn't been shown to cause increased impaired driving, the latter is no argument for "giving consideration to" a cannabis ban. Just as drunk driving isn't an argument for banning alcohol, or cars, stoned driving isn't an argument for a ban on anything but stoned driving.
A government strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.
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