Drug Warrior distortions

This is interesting. The DEA just issued a new anti-marijuana press release. Notice how, now that Karen Tandy's predecessor Andrea Barthwell has been hired to shill for Sativex, that they carefully use the words - smoked marijuana - in claiming cannabis is not a medicine. I believe they've done this for while but one assumes the pharma corps in mind when they started doing so.

Other than that they trot out their usual disinformation starting with blaming a tragic death from a what appeared to be a bad batch of the chemical ecstasy, on marijuana leaves. Somehow they don't make the connection that if the drug was legal, number one it would be pure, number two, the kids would have had a harder time getting it because the black market would be gone and number three, the teenagers would have been less afraid to simply call for help.

The release segues into the outright lies that the medical community doesn't recognize marijuana as a medicine - it does and back up their distortions with research and statistics they bought and paid for themselves. Especially galling is their use of a Swiss program in 1987 that allegedly failed. It's possible that happened then - I'm too lazy to check today - but I know for a fact that Switzerland currently has a five year old program for drug addicts that has not only reduced heroin use, it's reduced crime, law enforcement costs and related health care costs in the country.

It goes on to the usual scare tactics about gateway drugs and drugged driving. I always find it particularly irritating that they assume people will drive while high, since most responsible users don't, and they make no mention of the far greater hazard of drunk drivers. Not to mention the very real problem of people who drive under the influence of prescription drugs - most of which are much more powerful than cannabis.

The release concludes with the request, "Spread the truth." The DEA wants to dispel the "marijuana myths." So okay, I'll try. How about this slogan: Here's the truth - the DEA lies.