Legal or not, there is no doubt cannabis use is on the rise in Minnesota. Democrat politicians are making a concerted effort to legalize recreational pot; one local politician made it a central campaign promise, a position I ridiculed in print at the time and mistakenly believed would cause her defeat. Instead, Rochester area voters elected her by a landslide, leading me to reconsider my understanding of how voters view this issue and to do some thorough research. Most of what I learned is well summarized by author Alex Berenson in a January 15, 2019, speech in Washington, D.C. and in a book he wrote on the subject. A synopsis may be viewed at Imprimis.hillsdale.edu/marijuana-mental-illness-violence/.
One thing everyone should agree on is the need to know the facts about any drug before deciding whether or not to use it. The facts show that most of what we think we know about pot, and nearly everything the proponents of legalization have told us, is at best misleading and at worst outright falsehood.
• “Marijuana has many different medical uses.” FALSE. THC, the active ingredient in pot, is useful in only a few situations and in fact has been shown to increase pain when used long term.
• “Pot is useful in reducing opioid abuse.” FALSE. Even Cannabis advocates admit that it is too weak as a painkiller to work as an opioid substitute.
• “Pot is useful for treatment of those with psychiatric problems like depression.” FALSE. Pot has been proven to cause or worsen mental illness and psychosis including schizophrenia in teens, among whom a three-fold increase in this most damaging of all mental disorders has been documented among pot users.
• “Smoking pot does not lead to more serious drug use.” FALSE. Extensive surveys among people with serious drug addiction show almost all started by smoking pot.
• “Pot is not addicting.” FALSE. Modern pot is 15 TIMES AS POTENT as the version used in the ‘70s. The number of Americans addicted to the drug and who are considered “ heavy users”[300 days a year], has tripled in the last 10 years to 12 million!
• “Pot does not hurt academic or job performance.” FALSE. Firsthand experience exposes this as a lie. I have watched in person as a student went from earning mostly “As” to barely passing. Heavy equipment operators and truck drivers are forbidden to use pot; those tested who have THC in their system can and often do lose their job. Why? Because pot has a detrimental affect on reflexes and judgement. Period.
• “Pot mellows people, making them less prone to violent or criminal behavior.” FALSE. Mr. Berenson details the situation at the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Institute in New York, one of three such institutions in the state, which incarcerates about 300 arsonists, rapists, and murderers who have been adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity and nearly all of whom were habitual users of marijuana. Related studies showed a clear connection between pot use and heroin addiction as well as a much higher rate of paranoia and schizophrenia.
Careful research blows huge holes in every argument advocates advance to legalize pot. But what about those who say the state must act now to avoid losing revenue to neighboring states that beat us to the punch? While some people, namely growers and sellers, will make a pile of money, all of the states that have legalized recreational pot have experienced a net loss because of the huge costs involved for increased administrative and law enforcement costs as well as for dealing with issues like child abandonment, spousal abuse, child abuse, and drug abuse. In researching this article, I was unable to find even one person who is a law enforcement or social services professional that advocated for legalizing recreational marijuana.
I strongly urge readers to review the source listed above as well at an American Journal of Psychiatry paper on the subject published in January of 2018. Then contact your legislators and insist they vote down any proposal that leads to legalized marijuana in Minnesota. It’s our duty as responsible citizens.
God Bless until next time! Jeff
All opinions expressed on these pages are those of the authors and not of the Fillmore County Journal.
Tim Morrison says
This was the most pathetic IGNORANT conservative REPUBLICAN white Nationalist troll view if I’ve EVER SEEN ONE, GO BACK TO LIVING UNDER YOUR ROCK AND BEING A BORING LAME HUMAN BEING, SHOOTING YOUR GUNS, HATING EVERYONE, EATING MCDONALDS, SMOKING CIGARETTES, LITTERING, DISRESPECTING PEOPLE AND DEMANDING RESPECT, WORSHIPPING YOUR MURICA AND MAGA HAT, AMERICAN FLAG, THE BALD EAGLE, AND CALLING PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE WITH CONSERVATIVE LEFT AND RIGHT LIBTARDS.
M Bryan says
“A no-spin analysis”? Who does he think he’s kidding? This is nothing but prohibitionist propaganda “spun” by citing phony or distorted “facts” without citing one iota of clinical or other scientific evidence for claims as outrageous as that “marijuana has been shown to increase pain when used long-term”.
Shame on you, Mr. Erding.
NotObliviousToFacts says
Incredible, where are all your references for any of this? Related studies this, one study that. With the recent announcement that Federally grown marijuana – which these studies are using – is actually closer to hemp, How can any study from the US, using Federally approved marijuana be used to justify denial of positive effects that a majority of the United States have seen evidence of now that the stigma of “reefer madness” is gone. Please take this unsubstantiated opinion down.
roo says
Cannabis is MEDICINE! What an awful article.
Michael says
Bs. The first drug used was alcohol not marijuana. But that can’t be a gateway drug right? Bc it’s legal? Obviously you have never smoked pot lol it absolutely lessons anger and aggression and only an absolutist elitist non user would question that. People do not smoke a joint and go home and beat their wives. However they do drink.
But the bottom line is that who are YOU to dictate what I should put into my body? Who is anyone to do that? It’s none of your business you elitist p Rick. So take your”studies” and shove em where the sun don’t shine. And I’m a conservative who believes in ACTUAL freedom not situational freedom like the majority of elitist p Ricks
Daniel says
A stopped clock is right twice a day (or the sun shines on a dog’s arse once in a while).
I never have agreed with the rheumy-eyed catholic/foreign power activist jeff erding until now.
I’m mostly a voter for the Democratic party but I don’t want to see much expansion in the marijuana laws. I was really glad they were crafted the way they were – very specific conditions and very specific avenues of access.
The original poster of this mostly partisan screed has a lot of bad information – you know, that “focus on the family stuck in the 1950s” crap. But the fact on the ground remains that recreational marijuana use is really detrimental.
Just as overuse of alcohol is detrimental. I’ve had the unfortunate opportunity to work with people – probably people you might know, who are pot-heads and/or alcoholics. They aren’t worth a dime on a team working to get anything done. Simply put, you have to do they “did” all over again for them. They can’t function outside the most simple, ingrained tasks. If something happens that requires an adjustment – say a sick coworker or an early start, they simply cannot deal with it. The rest of us roll with the punches but the pot-heads always throw an extra problem into the works. Anybody who has worked with one of these,”Marijuana-advocates,” wants little to do with them. To sum it up: marijuana users are not much different from excessive alcohol users.
The legislature and previous governors were right in restricting this drug to medicinal purposes only and only for study-verified treatments.
The state of Minnesota ought to keep it that way.
Hawkeye63 says
Oh, oh, Mr. Erding touched some tender nerves again!
Interestingly, when we read the critical comments it’s evident the angry writers really did not bother to read the commentary on recreational pot. They seem focused on the medical aspect, which has nothing to do with Erding’s commentary. He states cannabis has a limited ability to provide pain relief.
Some are critical because ( they say ) he has no sources. I saw 2 specific sources, and they present as quite credible if the readers care to take a look. Pretty sure you name callers should read a commentary before you write a snarky, nasty comment. At least then you won’t look quite as ignorant as you do right now.
Fed Up with Jeff Erding says
It is good to read these comments and see that people stick up to Jeff. It isn’t just this topic, he throws his bias and ‘spin’ on pretty much everything he contributes to this paper. He never uses credible sources, everything he spews is his opinion. And quite honestly, it is embarrassing that we have someone like him living in Fillmore County as our neighbor. If he could just be honest and say things like ‘I don’t want this to happen’ or ‘I don’t like this idea’, etc, instead of just making up ridiculous stuff and portraying it to be fact – I MIGHT at least be able to respect all his opinions. FCJ – the readers are tired of this guy. I get the whole commentary bit but seriously, this guy is about an inch away from insanity and what he contributes gets kookier and kookier to the point of almost scary. Please stop putting his garbage in your paper.
Cassie L Meade says
Jeff,
Please, if you’re to say research shows this fact and that fact publish your references and back up your facts. Their will always be a spectrum of opinions but facts are facts and from what I have read ,from pretty recent studies shows your opinion piece consists of out dated theology and a bunch of bullshit!
https://www.leafly.com/news/science-tech/medical-marijuana-research-studies-winter-2018
Jeffrey Erding says
@ Cassie, thanks for your comments. Please go back and actually read the commentary… I did publish 2 very credible, fact filled sources. Sorry you missed that.
A word of advice; your rebuttal source would be much more credible if the study you listed was not funded by a cannabis production company! Always better to go to a source that has no built in bias.
Have a nice day.
George says
I agree. He doesn’t look too bad for a man of 100 though.
This reefer madness mentality is a never ending source of amusement for me. “No medical benefit” try telling that to the parents of children with Darvet’s syndrome that went from having hundreds of seizures a day to next to none after being prescribed CBD oil. The CBD oil that they are prescribed doesn’t even contain THC and has no psychoactive effects.
Jeffrey Erding says
@ Georgie, I never said no medical benefit. I said THC is very limited, and it is. But thanks for letting me know you have your skivvies in a wad, as long as I am ticking you and Herb off, I know I’m on the right track!
Kim Wentwortb says
So you attack without name, whine about articles from Jeff Erding. That takes um no guts. I have no respect for nameless posts. While I may not totally agree with Jeff on this I would never “hide”. I take from your whine you are still licking your wounds from 2016. My question to democrats in MN is: what the heck is going on with your party. Left wing, socialist BS is dominating any message you want to get out. MN now has one SICK twisted rep, not to mention a slip shot governor. Anti semantic support to ANY degree is TREASON. The clowns running on den side are laughable at the least. Green new deal and supporters.,.majority of Americans are laughing. Climate change?? Biggest BS ever thrown at public. aoc says she’s the boss. Poor Nancy has lost control. My biggest fear is in 2020 there is nobody to really challenge POTUS, low voter turn out. Years ago I repeatedly voted for Tim Penny. A good man, wow, you dems have fell so very far! Jeff, keep writing!!!!
Jeffrey Erding says
@ Fed Up. Please keep reading my commentaries and responding in a frustrated, angry manner on line. When one gets close to 100 yrs of age, ( like Georgie says), nature has robbed a person of most of the pleasures of life…. one of my few remaining delights is writing true, factual commentaries that trigger lefties who believe in censorship of everyone who does not follow the liberal agenda. But please save some of your anger and frustration for railing against the Mueller Report that exonerated President Trump of any election cheating, as well as the impending punishment of the Obama/ Clinton Regime.
Hang on, the next few years may be a rough ride for folks like you!
Robert says
I’ve used cannabis for nearly 35 years, starting in college. I work full time and run my own web based business on the side. I have never not worked, nor have I ever been out of work since I was 19 years old. I own my own home in MN and pay my taxes every three months on time, every time. The idea that pot makes the vast majority of users lazy is preposterous.
The one thing we can agree on is that cannabis isn’t going to be wiped off the face of the earth tomorrow or in a year. It’s going to exist on this planet, and if it exists, somebody is going to sell it. At that point, your choice is binary: Do you want it to be sold by criminal enterprises where you don’t know who they are and they don’t care who they sell it to (like teenagers)? Or do you want it to be a regulated industry with identification checks that you’re an adult before you can purchase any product and cameras on every square inch of the retail spaces, and you know who we’re selling to and where they’re located and what’s in the product?
Hawkeye63 says
@ Robert, congratulations for being a high functioning addict. Just imagine how much you would have accomplished if you had not been walking around stoned half the time!
ConcernedWIResident says
Hawkeye63,
You must be a real nice person, I been reading the comments up and down this board and you are a piece of work. What did marijuana do to you? You have this strong non-factual opinion like someone who has been brainwashed since they were a child
George says
Alcoholic insanity maybe? Glory days syndrome?
Caden Thurman says
Wow so much for “no spin” i used cannabis for pain and can say it worked, i used it for years and quit cold turkey no issues at all i cant do that with coffee. This article is so bias its shocking and this person has zero facts to backup what he’s statements this is propaganda pure and simple and this publication should be ashamed.
Brian Kelly says
Marijuana consumers deserve and demand equal rights and protections under our laws that are currently afforded to the drinkers of far more dangerous and deadly, yet perfectly legal, widely accepted, endlessly advertised and even glorified as an All-American pastime, alcohol.
Plain and simple!
Legalize Nationwide!
There is absolutely no doubt now that the majority of Americans want to completely legalize marijuana nationwide. Our numbers grow on a daily basis.
The prohibitionist view on marijuana is the viewpoint of a minority and rapidly shrinking percentage of Americans. It is based upon decades of lies and propaganda.
Each and every tired old lie they have propagated has been thoroughly proven false by both science and society.
Their tired old rhetoric no longer holds any validity. The vast majority of Americans have seen through the sham of marijuana prohibition in this day and age. The number of prohibitionists left shrinks on a daily basis.
With their credibility shattered, and their not so hidden agendas visible to a much wiser public, what’s left for a marijuana prohibitionist to do?
Maybe, just come to terms with the fact that Marijuana Legalization Nationwide is an inevitable reality that’s approaching much sooner than prohibitionists think, and there is nothing they can do to stop it!
Legalize Nationwide!…and Support All Marijuana Legalization Efforts!
Brian Kelly says
Fear of Marijuana Legalization Nationwide is unfounded. Not based on any science or fact whatsoever. So please prohibitionists, we beg you to give your scare tactics, “Conspiracy Theories” and “Doomsday Scenarios” over the inevitable Legalization of Marijuana Nationwide a rest. Nobody is buying them anymore these days. Okay?
Furthermore, if all prohibitionists get when they look into that nice, big and shiny crystal ball of theirs, while wondering about the future of marijuana legalization, is horror, doom, and despair, well then I suggest they return that thing as quickly as possible and reclaim the money they shelled out for it, since it’s obviously defective.
The prohibition of marijuana has not decreased the supply nor the demand for marijuana at all. Not one single iota, and it never will. Just a huge and complete waste of our tax dollars to continue criminalizing citizens for choosing a natural, non-toxic, relatively benign plant proven to be much safer than alcohol.
If prohibitionists are going to take it upon themselves to worry about “saving us all” from ourselves, then they need to start with the drug that causes more death and destruction than every other drug in the world COMBINED, which is alcohol!
Why do prohibitionists feel the continued need to vilify and demonize marijuana when they could more wisely focus their efforts on a real, proven killer, alcohol, which again causes more destruction, violence, and death than all other drugs, COMBINED?
Prohibitionists really should get their priorities straight and/or practice a little live and let live. They’ll live longer, happier, and healthier, with a lot less stress if they refrain from being bent on trying to control others through Draconian Marijuana Laws.
Brian Kelly says
Nobody can deny the Medical effectiveness of Medical Marijuana.
Below is a small sampling of quotes and a list of just a few of the many Professional Medical Organizations Worldwide that attest to Medical Marijuana’s effectiveness and Support Legal Access to and Use of Medical Marijuana.
Along with over thirty U.S states that have already legalized medical marijuana.
Are they ALL wrong?
“[A] federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy-handed, and inhumane.” — Dr. Jerome Kassirer, “Federal Foolishness and Marijuana,” editorial, New England Journal of Medicine, January 30, 1997
“Therefore be it resolved that the American Nurses Association will: — Support the right of patients to have safe access to therapeutic marijuana/cannabis under appropriate prescriber supervision.” — American Nurses Association, resolution, 2003
“The National Nurses Society on Addictions urges the federal government to remove marijuana from the Schedule I category immediately, and make it available for physicians to prescribe. NNSA urges the American Nurses’ Association and other health care professional organizations to support patient access to this medicine.” — National Nurses Society on Addictions, May 1, 1995
“[M]arijuana has an extremely wide acute margin of safety for use under medical supervision and cannot cause lethal reactions … [G]reater harm is caused by the legal consequences of its prohibition than possible risks of medicinal use.” — American Public Health Association, Resolution #9513, “Access to Therapeutic Marijuana/Cannabis,” 1995
“When appropriately prescribed and monitored, marijuana/cannabis can provide immeasurable benefits for the health and well-being of our patients … We support state and federal legislation not only to remove criminal penalties associated with medical marijuana, but further to exclude marijuana/cannabis from classification as a Schedule I drug.” — American Academy of HIV Medicine, letter to New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, November 11, 2003
“The AAFP accepts the use of medical marijuana] under medical supervision and control for specific medical indications.” — American Academy of Family Physicians, 1989, reaffirmed in 2001
“[We] recommend … allow[ing] [marijuana] prescription where medically appropriate.” — National Association for Public Health Policy, November 15, 1998
International and National Organizations
AIDS Action Council
AIDS Treatment News
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Medical Student Association
American Nurses Association
American Preventive Medical Association
American Public Health Association
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Arthritis Research Campaign (United Kingdom)
Australian Medical Association (New South Wales) Limited
Australian National Task Force on Cannabis
Belgian Ministry of Health
British House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology
British House of Lords Select Committee On Science and Technology (Second Report)
British Medical Association
Canadian AIDS Society
Canadian Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs
Dr. Dean Edell (surgeon and nationally syndicated radio host)
French Ministry of Health
Health Canada
Kaiser Permanente
Lymphoma Foundation of America
The Montel Williams MS Foundation
Multiple Sclerosis Society (Canada)
The Multiple Sclerosis Society (United Kingdom)
National Academy of Sciences Institute Of Medicine (IOM)
National Association for Public Health Policy
National Nurses Society on Addictions
Netherlands Ministry of Health
New England Journal of Medicine
New South Wales (Australia) Parliamentary Working Party on the Use of Cannabis for Medical Purposes
Dr. Andrew Weil (nationally recognized professor of internal medicine and founder of the National Integrative Medicine Council)
State and Local Organizations
Alaska Nurses Association
Being Alive: People With HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego, CA)
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Nurses Association
California Pharmacists Association
Colorado Nurses Association
Connecticut Nurses Association
Florida Governor’s Red Ribbon Panel on AIDS
Florida Medical Association
Hawaii Nurses Association
Illinois Nurses Association
Life Extension Foundation
Medical Society of the State of New York
Mississippi Nurses Association
New Jersey State Nurses Association
New Mexico Medical Society
New Mexico Nurses Association
New York County Medical Society
New York State Nurses Association
North Carolina Nurses Association
Rhode Island Medical Society
Rhode Island State Nurses Association
San Francisco Mayor’s Summit on AIDS and HIV
San Francisco Medical Society
Vermont Medical Marijuana Study Committee
Virginia Nurses Association
Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, DC)
Wisconsin Nurses Association
Additional AIDS Organizations
The following organizations are signatories to a February 17, 1999 letter to the US Department of Health petitioning the federal government to “make marijuana legally available … to people living with AIDS.”
AIDS Action Council
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
AIDS National Interfaith Network (Washington, DC)
AIDS Project Arizona
AIDS Project Los Angeles
Being Alive: People with HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego, CA)
Boulder County AIDS Project (Boulder, CO)
Colorado AIDS Project
Center for AIDS Services (Oakland, CA)
Health Force: Women and Men Against AIDS (New York, NY)
Latino Commission on AIDS
Mobilization Against AIDS (San Francisco, CA)
Mothers Voices to End AIDS (New York, NY)
National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Association
National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
Northwest AIDS Foundation
People of Color Against AIDS Network (Seattle, WA)
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, DC)
Other Health Organizations
The following organizations are signatories to a June 2001 letter to the US Department of Health petitioning the federal government to “allow people suffering from serious illnesses … to apply to the federal government for special permission to use marijuana to treat their symptoms.”
Addiction Treatment Alternatives
AIDS Treatment Initiatives (Atlanta, GA)
American Public Health Association
American Preventive Medical Association
Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights (San Francisco, CA)
California Legislative Council for Older Americans
California Nurses Association
California Pharmacists Association
Embrace Life (Santa Cruz, CA)
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
Hawaii Nurses Association
Hepatitis C Action and Advisory Coalition
Life Extension Foundation
Maine AIDS Alliance
Minnesota Nurses Association
Mississippi Nurses Association
National Association of People with AIDS
National Association for Public Health Policy
National Women’s Health Network
Nebraska AIDS Project
New Mexico Nurses Association
New York City AIDS Housing Network
New York State Nurses Association Ohio Patient Network Okaloosa AIDS Support and Information Services (Fort Walton, FL)
Physicians for Social Responsibility – Oregon
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Virginia Nurses Association
Wisconsin Nurses Association
Health Organizations Supporting Medical Marijuana Research
International and National Organizations
American Cancer Society
American Medical Association
British Medical Journal
California Medical Association
California Society on Addiction Medicine
Congress of Nursing Practice
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
Jamaican National Commission on Ganja
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana
Texas Medical Association
Vermont Medical Society
Wisconsin State Medical Society
Sarah says
Omg, I love you! So eloquently stated! You speak my truth and, I imagine, all others in favor of complete marijuana legalization.
Thank you for chiming in.
You’re my favorite person today – after my family!
Sarah, who waits ever more impatiently in WI.