opinion

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Title
Provocations: Legalized marijuana snake oil (DAVID NEESE COLUMN)
05/20/2019

Contrary to what you've been told over and over, it is not a preposterous assertion that marijuana is a gateway drug to cocaine, heroin, meth and such. Not everybody who smokes marijuana graduates to harder narcotics, true. But most of those who do go on to the harder stuff start off with weed.
Video on Snake Oil


opinion, snake oil, Neese
Marijuana Bill Would Endanger SC Children, Public Safety
04/01/2018

Of course, the Compassionate Care bill is neither compassionate nor caring for the vast majority of South Carolina citizens, but is a poorly veiled attempt to legalize recreational marijuana.
The collateral damage of legalizing marijuana is far-reaching, as exhibited by the states that have passed such law: decreased productivity among workers, huge spikes in traffic deaths, increase in homeless populations, criminal activity, rise in drug cartels, loan sharking, social service burdens, suicides, job-related accidents, contaminated poisoned products, increase in ER and medical needs, decreased school attendance and younger and younger users. Marijuana is the #1 addiction in teens.


South Carolina, Fraud, opinion
Pot is dangerous, not funny -- a doctor tells us why
01/07/2018

Marijuana has both short- and long-term effects on the body.
Within a few minutes of smoking marijuana, a person feels the effects of pot, as THC is rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, making its way to the brain and other organs.
What causes the “high” people experience is marijuana’s effect on over-activating parts of the brain containing specific brain cell receptors. This leads to feelings of an altered sense of time, other altered senses, changes in mood, impaired body movement, impaired memory and difficulty in thinking and problem-solving.
Researchers are still studying the long-term effects of marijuana. But what is known is that the younger a person begins using pot, such as in the teen years, the greater the declines in general knowledge, impaired thinking, learning difficulties and lowered IQ.


Samadi, harm, opinion
Substance abuse rarely starts with opiate use on its own
09/02/2017

We therefore must educate our youngsters, parents and educators before any use of marijuana or alcohol begins. We then must identify those individuals for whom marijuana or alcohol use has become problematic, getting them into an effective program of treatment before they progress to more dangerous alternatives.
 
Schools must revamp curriculums so children understand that any opioid misuse, be it prescription or street drugs, is a "red line" that they cannot cross.


School, opioid, opinion
Letter: Marijuana availability and increased use directly harms our children
03/12/2017

Adolescent marijuana use has significantly increased in our state post-legalization, as has been documented in numerous studies. Ask any teenager and they will tell you that marijuana use is rampant in our local high schools, which is obviously not surprising given its widespread availability and the perception of its safety. While we can debate the effects on adults, marijuana use clearly has a detrimental impact on a teenager.

Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article13776...


adolescent, legalization, opinion
Think twice before passing medical marijuana laws
11/30/2015

State after state is legalizing medical marijuana, but doctors and patient groups aren’t demanding these laws. The AMA doesn’t want them, nor does the American Cancer Society. The American Academy of Pediatrics is against medical marijuana and the Glaucoma Foundation warns patients not to use it.

Prescription cannabinoids are also much less likely to be abused or diverted to teenage use. And they’re more long acting, which is good for genuine patients who don’t want to be stoned all the time. So there’s no reason for anyone to smoke marijuana.

The main people who benefit from medical marijuana laws are people who want to get high or who want to sell the drug.


legalization, medical association, opinion
Opinion: Marijuana's Adverse Impact on Youth
09/18/2015

The commonly heard expression that “no one ever died from a marijuana overdose” minimizes the cost of unmet potential and inability to fully engage in the challenges of daily life. Scientific research cites multiple impacts of the recreational misuse of marijuana.


youth, opinion, college
The Problem with Pot
02/16/2015
youth, opinion, Bennett
Medical pot's negative impacts
10/09/2014
Amendment 2, opinion
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