Group Tells Kids Alcohol is Safer than Marijuana

After seeing an ad on Facebook for a "free marijuana information packet" created by the Foundation for a Drug Free World, I thought I'd check out there website. Then I watched this video:

Of course, I had to order the information packet after watching that action packed PSA complete with plenty of screaming, guns, smashing things and scary looking young people (actually, the first video I saw was marijuana specific but they didn't put that one up on YouTube...).

I received the packet this week. Inside was a little booklet titled "The Truth About Marijuana: Behind the smokescreen from a drug that destroys from the inside out."

This little booklet contains the usual misinformation and scare tactics you'd expect to find from any organization with the words "drug free" in their title. But there was one part that left me flabbergasted: Alcohol vs. Marijuana. Wow. They really want to take this one on? Here's what they have to say:

Is smoking a joint the same as drinking alcohol?

You decide. Here are the facts:

Alcohol consists of one substance only: ethanol. Marijuana contains more than 400 known toxins and cancer causing chemicals.

Alcohol is eliminated from the body in a few hours; THC stays in the body fat for months, possibly longer. Thus, a person who smokes 2 to 3 joints a week is constantly under the influence of the drug.

THC damages the immune system. Alcohol does not.

There is no intention here to minimize the dangers of alcohol abuse, which can be equally harmful. Alcohol, however, can be used in moderation without causing severe damage. Cannabis, which is used almost exclusively as an intoxicant, is far more dangerous even when used in small amounts because it's active agent continues to build up in body fat.

I could waste my time rebutting these "facts" but anyone with half a brain already knows these are flat out lies. Besides, Steve Fox, Mason Tvert, and Paul Armentano have written an entire book on the safety of marijuana in comparison to alcohol.

The claims made by the Foundation for a Drug Free World in this booklet easily make this one of the most irresponsible attempts to manipulate and lie to young people that I have ever seen. They should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves. They're also funded by the Church of Scientology.

Here's what people who live on this planet have to say about the possibility of a drug free world:

80% of Puerto Rico Murders Called Prohibition-Related

The title actually read "Drug-Related." We know better. Just like the U.S-Mexican border, this isn't violence caused by people taking drugs and going out on murderous rampages. These murders are fueled by a desire to control the drug trade. Something that is worth quite a bit of money.

University of Puerto Rico researcher Hector Colon said that the island’s drug users collectively spend nearly $3 million a day to feed their habits.

Colon also said that keeping an addict incarcerated costs between $28,000 and $30,000 per year, to which must be added other costs pertaining to medical attention when the inmates have AIDS or hepatitis.

The DEA, FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Puerto Rico police recently arrested 38 people on drug trafficking charges. It's estimated that about 30% of illegal drugs coming into the U.S. are coming from Puerto Rico and the islands. There is good reason for this:

As American soil, it is attractive because drugs leaving here do not have to clear customs to reach the U.S. market.