Posted on April 19, 2007
For decades, a silent war has torn the United States apart. Propaganda, hysteria, manipulation of facts, partial reporting and shoddy science has fueled the War on Drugs since President Nixon declared drugs to be “public enemy number one.”
The American tradition of demonizing drugs and those who use them, initiated by Nixon, has most recently been continued by Lou Dobb’s ill-researched and alarming series of reports on the war on drugs titled “The War Within.” In his reports, Dobbs shows the depth of media, governmental and social ignorance regarding substances like marijuana. In his recent report, Dobbs erroneously claims that marijuana causes cancer and brain damage, two supposed “facts” that have been consistently shown to be incorrect by an overwhelmingly vast body of scientific research.
Ironically, Dobbs has dubbed himself a populist, and yet he supports strengthening an attack on the American people that has cost more money annually than three years of funding for the current Iraq war, and that has put 35 million Americans in prison, and that famed Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Clarence Thomas have dissented with in the 2005 case Gonzales v. Raich. In fact, the drug war is thought to have cost over $1 trillion in taxes to date, and has put 35 million Americans in prison.
Contrary to Dobb’s questionable conclusions, studies have actually shown that marijuana has tumor fighting properties and other health benefits. In addition to alleviating symptoms for AIDS, glaucoma and cancer patients, a recent study by doctors at Ohio State University showed that marijuana may also slow or halt the development of Parkinson’s disease and significantly aid memory in older individuals by reducing brain inflammation. Another study showed its effectiveness against Alzheimer’s disease.
One study by the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine showed that THC, the main active ingredient that produces the “high” in marijuana, may be capable of preventing the spread of several forms of cancer causing viruses. Still another study published in the November 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation showed that marijuana even promoted neurogenesis, the creation of new cells in the brain, as well as provided anti-depressant and anti-anxiety effects.
Ironically, morphine and cocaine, two drugs widely known to be addictive, are legal for medical usage, while the federal government still restricts administering prescriptions for marijuana, despite its many medical benefits.
Doctors are finally beginning to push hard for access to these drugs previously forbidden for research. New research is finally beginning to reinforce what many native peoples have already known for centuries — many of the plants considered illicit drugs and deemed to have no medical value by the United States are actually powerful medicines, capable of assisting sick patients in dire need of help without the devastating side effects commonly associated with many man-made medicines.
Not only does Dobbs fail to address the positive aspects that recent research has shown regarding various drugs to have, he also ignores the moral dilemmas centered around the very heart of the war on drugs. The human body, by virtue of possessing a brain, contains endocannabinoids and dimethyltryptamine, chemicals made highly illegal by drug war legislation. Every human is in possession of these illicit substances simply by being alive. Through the war on drugs, our government has made the natural chemicals our body produces, and hence our bodies themselves, illegal.
Drugs, when used appropriately, have been shown time and time again throughout history to hold priceless value for generating creative new ideas and assisting in the age-old quest for knowledge and self-discovery. It’s time for society to re-examine these drugs for their therapeutic, creative and spiritual potential and stop persecuting people for their choice of lifestyles.
The so-called war on drugs is really a war on Americans and true American ideals: the pursuit of happiness, the quest for knowledge and creative expression. Our government’s attempt to regulate our consciousness is not only a futile waste of billions of tax dollars every year, but it is a dangerously immoral crusade that will eventually be halted, one way or another.
Steve Borowsky is a sophomore biology major.
