Gupta's Anti-Pot Article Cites Anti-Prohibition Article
Dr. Sanjay Gupta's anti-pot article contains this passage:
That's why I, like many other doctors, am unimpressed with the proposed legislation, which would legalize marijuana irrespective of any medical condition.
Now if you actually read the linked article, it's clearly a call for the drug's legalization:
The chief dangers of marijuana, practically, seem to spring from only one of its features: it's illegal. People get beat up, shot up and locked up because of the great amount of money that rides on selling the stuff, stuff that would be about as expensive as lettuce if it weren't against the law. I have treated people seriously hurt by the illegality of pot.
... I also feel pretty strongly that nearly every child should study Latin—really—but I don't think we should lock them up if they don't.
Hanging around with all sorts of big dope-smokers for the same 35 years I should have bumped into at least one or two with those "serious health effects". The fact is I haven't.
But when you try to change certain things by force, things close to the core about what folks love and hate, about their personalities, you just run into trouble. It doesn't work. You might knock down but you will never build up. This is why the government is better off out of the marijuana business.Either Gupta didn't read the article, or someone at Time linked the other story, without reading it!
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I've Solved the Mystery
I've solved the mystery. I remembered this piece by Gupta coming out a few years ago, but the date appearing on the article now is 1/8/09. That doesn't make sense, given that Gupta's editorial refers to upcoming votes in Nevada and Colorado, which took place in 2006.
A look in the DrugNews archive shows the original date of the Gupta piece to be 11/6/06, which makes sense. However, the piece linked to from it is dated 11/30/06, after Gupta's piece was published -- probably an implicit response to Gupta, or a deliberate decision by Time to seek a contrasting point of view.
My guess is that after Gupta was nominated for Surgeon General, time.com decided to display his older editorial on the site, and for technical reasons what they needed to do to accomplish that was to change the publication date to the current one. The link to the anti-prohibition doctor's piece was either added today, or more likely back in 2006 after its initial publication. Whether it was linked mistakenly by a time.com staffer who didn't read it carefully to see that it took the opposite viewpoint, or deliberately as a way to highlight a related and contrasting piece, I don't know.
Still, a good irony either way, and good that at least some time.com readers will get to hear our side of the issue.
David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network
Washington, DC
http://stopthedrugwar.org
Not so fast Gupta
I just heard that Rep John Conyers is challenging the nomination of Gupta because of his error filled response to the movie "Sicko"
Every once is a while you
Every once is a while you gotta just laugh. The link from within Gupta's spineless nonsense to the very level headed essay for the repeal of marijuana prohibition was about as sweet as they come.
Yeah, I saw 2006 in your
Yeah, I saw 2006 in your post, but when I saw 2009 I figured they just re"printed" it, which is kind of lousy honestly. I'd like to think the link was intentionally contrary, but I'm guessing it was just careless.
LOL
Gupta for the loss. Is this seriously the best doctor we can find?
If he's confirmed, I've got a lot to say to him
Hopefully a lot of other people do too. Part of the Surgeon General's job is to provide honest information about drugs, which means making it crystal clear that alcohol is far more dangerous to life and limb than cannabis. I think I'll write him about it every day.
Cannibis
Cannabis destroys the fire of the soul and makes people apathetic. People who smoke pot look like they have lost themselves. If a person wants to smoke pot let them do it and if people want to use it medically let them do it. Marijuana is a false holy ghost.
Faith based?
Where do you get your information from? Anyone who wants to give a reasonable argument should be able to quote information that is supportive of the comments. Well, is there anywhere in the Bible that prohibits cannabis. Doesn't it in fact say that God gave the plants and the animals of earth for the benefit of man? Is there anywhere in the Bible where alcohol is prohibited. Did Jesus' first miracle not change water into wine? The people then asking why the good wine was served last? The practice being, the good wine was used first to get the people inebriated, so they would like the older, bad stuff. Granted Proverbs says a lot about the abuse of alcohol and drunkenness, but even Paul said to take a little wine for the stomach. Your ignorance about the subject comes through the comments you made.
You sound like you are talking about he ceremonies the Mexican priests performed while using hallucinogenics. Yes, they were a common thing in religious ceremonies. And one of the founders of Mormonism (John Smith?) was thought to have used salvia divinorum. No wonder he came up with new books, through his experiences, to add to the new testament!
But, there are plenty of Christians who will poison their souls with antidepressants and sedatives. They are legal prescriptions, so it is alright to alter your consciousness, so long as it is , as prescribed!
Interesting, but what are you actually saying?
Hi,
I'm guessing you don't have any personal experience with cannabis. Do you know even 1 person who is a smoker?
It doesn't do what you are stating, I should know. I, along with a number of friends and family and others I know, have smoked for quite some time. Doing perfectly well, thank you.
But I ask what it is you are actually saying because you say a person should be able to smoke it and use it medically if they want: "Let them", you said.
So even you, who believes cannabis is the 'Devils weed', thinks it should be legal, yes?
That's cool. Even though you don't know what you're talking about regarding what it does, at least you understand enough about reality to agree the 'Drug War' is a failure.
Dan
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