Emphases mine.The annual report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found marijuana use rose by 8 percent and remained the most commonly used drug.
Mike Meno, a spokesman for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project, said the survey is more proof that the government's war on marijuana has failed in spite of decades of enforcement efforts and arrests.
"It's time we stop this charade and implement sensible laws that would tax and regulate marijuana the same way we do more harmful — but legal — drugs like alcohol and tobacco," Meno said.
On a positive note, cocaine abuse continues to decline, with use of the drug down 32 percent from its peak in 2006.
Everyone Who Wants to Smoke Pot Is Already Smoking Pot
One of the biggest problems for the drug cartels is the rising median age of the population. They have to get people involved when they are young, going through a rebellious phase, and feel obliged to partake of an illegal substance, as a social rite for group acceptance. You don't see lots of old people taking up illegal drugs for the first time.
The other thing is, young people are generally in the prime of health, its a pleasure drug, not a whole lot of pain relief involved, unless they're trying to escape social misery compounded by substance abuse in the first place.
Drug cartels are like any other big business with a corporate model, if profits don't increase executives could get fired, (only in this case with guns). They are under enormous pressure to increase sales, and as the number of young people declines, and young people can draw from the experience of older drug abusers and information on the internet, the selling job gets more challenging.
Hence the desperate marketing ploy of 'compassion cannabis' and legalization because its non-addictive and harmless. Does anyone in politics not feel threatened by opposition advertising, no matter how stupid and dishonest they know the advertisements can be? Of course they feel threatened, they know that if enough s#~t is thrown against a wall, some of it is bound to stick.
If pot is legal they can sell more of it to young people, and once more young people experience one type of high from pot, a small percentage will want to experiment with other types of high, and if they keep trying different types of high, eventually one will addict them. That's when the drug cartels start making the big money.
So yes, overall drug use is declining, but that's from median age rise. Pot doesn't appear to be a statistically significant gateway drug. But you only need a small percentage to move on to harder drugs too make the big bucks, and that's the whole point of selling it. Otherwise, the time wouldn't be worth the crime selling it.
The other thing is, young people are generally in the prime of health, its a pleasure drug, not a whole lot of pain relief involved, unless they're trying to escape social misery compounded by substance abuse in the first place.
Drug cartels are like any other big business with a corporate model, if profits don't increase executives could get fired, (only in this case with guns). They are under enormous pressure to increase sales, and as the number of young people declines, and young people can draw from the experience of older drug abusers and information on the internet, the selling job gets more challenging.
Hence the desperate marketing ploy of 'compassion cannabis' and legalization because its non-addictive and harmless. Does anyone in politics not feel threatened by opposition advertising, no matter how stupid and dishonest they know the advertisements can be? Of course they feel threatened, they know that if enough s#~t is thrown against a wall, some of it is bound to stick.
If pot is legal they can sell more of it to young people, and once more young people experience one type of high from pot, a small percentage will want to experiment with other types of high, and if they keep trying different types of high, eventually one will addict them. That's when the drug cartels start making the big money.
So yes, overall drug use is declining, but that's from median age rise. Pot doesn't appear to be a statistically significant gateway drug. But you only need a small percentage to move on to harder drugs too make the big bucks, and that's the whole point of selling it. Otherwise, the time wouldn't be worth the crime selling it.
CHoff
Choff,
Drug use declines naturally with age. It is the high anxiety from age 16 to 24 (more or less) that drives youthful drug use. If you believe that people take drugs to ease their pain (emotional in this case).
So who sticks with it? Mostly those traumatized in youth. Victims of one sort of child abuse or another - mostly. There are other vectors. Like being in a war zone. Which we have created in certain sections of our cities because of - you are not going to believe this - the drug war.
What we are doing is so self defeating in so many ways that only a government could have designed a plan so stupid. The only thing more stupid than government are the people who support it. And the stupidest of all? Those who say, "I support smaller government except for....". Which gives cover to all kinds of other exceptions. i.e. "How about except for this?" "How about except for that?" And to think that so many of the "except for" people call themselves conservative when they are just another brand of socialist.
Well at my age I'm more or less used to the human condition. I just laugh. And as a blogger I have a darn big megaphone to spread my mirth. I try my best to drive the liberals and conservatives nuts. With some success. Heh.
Drug use declines naturally with age. It is the high anxiety from age 16 to 24 (more or less) that drives youthful drug use. If you believe that people take drugs to ease their pain (emotional in this case).
So who sticks with it? Mostly those traumatized in youth. Victims of one sort of child abuse or another - mostly. There are other vectors. Like being in a war zone. Which we have created in certain sections of our cities because of - you are not going to believe this - the drug war.
What we are doing is so self defeating in so many ways that only a government could have designed a plan so stupid. The only thing more stupid than government are the people who support it. And the stupidest of all? Those who say, "I support smaller government except for....". Which gives cover to all kinds of other exceptions. i.e. "How about except for this?" "How about except for that?" And to think that so many of the "except for" people call themselves conservative when they are just another brand of socialist.
Well at my age I'm more or less used to the human condition. I just laugh. And as a blogger I have a darn big megaphone to spread my mirth. I try my best to drive the liberals and conservatives nuts. With some success. Heh.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
This is a chicken vs the egg arguement, most of the young people I've seen do it came from suburbs where they had the whole future ahead of them and very little to worry about, they called them recreational drugs, not pain medication.MSimon wrote:Choff,
Drug use declines naturally with age. It is the high anxiety from age 16 to 24 (more or less) that drives youthful drug use. If you believe that people take drugs to ease their pain (emotional in this case).
So who sticks with it? Mostly those traumatized in youth. Victims of one sort of child abuse or another - mostly. There are other vectors. Like being in a war zone. Which we have created in certain sections of our cities because of - you are not going to believe this - the drug war.
What we are doing is so self defeating in so many ways that only a government could have designed a plan so stupid. The only thing more stupid than government are the people who support it. And the stupidest of all? Those who say, "I support smaller government except for....". Which gives cover to all kinds of other exceptions. i.e. "How about except for this?" "How about except for that?" And to think that so many of the "except for" people call themselves conservative when they are just another brand of socialist.
Well at my age I'm more or less used to the human condition. I just laugh. And as a blogger I have a darn big megaphone to spread my mirth. I try my best to drive the liberals and conservatives nuts. With some success. Heh.
Who keeps doing it are more often than not those genetically suseptible to addiction.
The best solution for this self defeating drug war would be for drug users to save their money and all collectively stop using drugs! If it's big government you want to stop, that would put the DEA, the narco-terrorists, rogue intelligence agents and drug banksters right out of business. As stated, having started using drugs during teenage years, many people will continue to rationalize well into old age.
CHoff
Or we could do the conservative thing and end this Progressive program.The best solution for this self defeating drug war would be for drug users to save their money and all collectively stop using drugs!
You know - go back to the way things were before the Progressives started meddling.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
choff,
The high anxiety has nothing (well some actually but not in the way you posit) to do with social conditions. It is genetic.
The most likely reason is our long delay in mate selection. But that is strictly speculation. I have no evidence.
I read something a long while back about Jews having the most lifetime sex partners. This was ascribed to the fact that Jews tended to marry later. As I understand it these days the rates have more or less equalized.
So if delayed mate selection is the reason for the anxiety you would expect use rates to be higher in the middle class.
The high anxiety has nothing (well some actually but not in the way you posit) to do with social conditions. It is genetic.
The most likely reason is our long delay in mate selection. But that is strictly speculation. I have no evidence.
I read something a long while back about Jews having the most lifetime sex partners. This was ascribed to the fact that Jews tended to marry later. As I understand it these days the rates have more or less equalized.
So if delayed mate selection is the reason for the anxiety you would expect use rates to be higher in the middle class.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
But if the cocaine supplies a need in the system then making it unavailable to the system may have unforeseen effects.Betruger wrote:http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1 ... caine.html
This is in fact political science at its finest.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.
Sorry for the delay replying, in Calgary on business this week.
A lot of teenagers go through a rebellious phase, combine this with disposable income and shrewd marketing and the result is the higher drug usage in the under 25 crowd.
I've heard of pimps who brag that if they have 24 hours with anyones 13 year old daughter they can turn her into a prostitute, one of the methods involves a cigarette soaked in opium.
The point being that after eons of observation the criminal underworld has passed down accumulated experience in how to recruit and sell to young, rebellious, inexperienced teenagers with disposable income.
If cocaine supplies fill a need in the system and making them unavailable has unforseen effects, then what about countries or places where its simply never been available.
A case could be made that if all the refined sugar, caffeine, cocaine, THC, opiates, and nicotine disappeared the N. American economy would collapse because people couldn't keep up the pace of life anymore. But I've also heard the N. American economy has some 50 trillion in debt, perhaps more fiscally sound decisions would have been made without the drugs.
A lot of teenagers go through a rebellious phase, combine this with disposable income and shrewd marketing and the result is the higher drug usage in the under 25 crowd.
I've heard of pimps who brag that if they have 24 hours with anyones 13 year old daughter they can turn her into a prostitute, one of the methods involves a cigarette soaked in opium.
The point being that after eons of observation the criminal underworld has passed down accumulated experience in how to recruit and sell to young, rebellious, inexperienced teenagers with disposable income.
If cocaine supplies fill a need in the system and making them unavailable has unforseen effects, then what about countries or places where its simply never been available.
A case could be made that if all the refined sugar, caffeine, cocaine, THC, opiates, and nicotine disappeared the N. American economy would collapse because people couldn't keep up the pace of life anymore. But I've also heard the N. American economy has some 50 trillion in debt, perhaps more fiscally sound decisions would have been made without the drugs.
CHoff
Not surprising, kids are impressionable -- which is why they have parents, who are supposed to keep them out of such situations. The subset of children who have parents that would allow such a situation are probably especially susceptible to such things.I've heard of pimps who brag that if they have 24 hours with anyones 13 year old daughter they can turn her into a prostitute, one of the methods involves a cigarette soaked in opium.
It seems likely few if any such places exist.If cocaine supplies fill a need in the system and making them unavailable has unforseen effects, then what about countries or places where its simply never been available.
n*kBolt*Te = B**2/(2*mu0) and B^.25 loss scaling? Or not so much? Hopefully we'll know soon...
choff wrote:Sorry for the delay replying, in Calgary on business this week.
A lot of teenagers go through a rebellious phase, combine this with disposable income and shrewd marketing and the result is the higher drug usage in the under 25 crowd.
I've heard of pimps who brag that if they have 24 hours with anyones 13 year old daughter they can turn her into a prostitute, one of the methods involves a cigarette soaked in opium.
The point being that after eons of observation the criminal underworld has passed down accumulated experience in how to recruit and sell to young, rebellious, inexperienced teenagers with disposable income.
If cocaine supplies fill a need in the system and making them unavailable has unforseen effects, then what about countries or places where its simply never been available.
A case could be made that if all the refined sugar, caffeine, cocaine, THC, opiates, and nicotine disappeared the N. American economy would collapse because people couldn't keep up the pace of life anymore. But I've also heard the N. American economy has some 50 trillion in debt, perhaps more fiscally sound decisions would have been made without the drugs.
I've known pimps that recruited young girls. They are always on the prowl. They start off chatting them up and trying to get them to "Party" with them. They start off with Alcohol or Marijuana, and try to get them to try crack. If they balk, they try to get them to do a "doobie". (cocaine (or other drug) laced joint.) With enough jive talking and drugs, they get the girls to start needing the stuff, and then they make them trade sexual favors, and finally have them "Jack balling" which is hooking for drugs. Some pimps can move quickly, others may take weeks or months (depending on how charming is the pimp and how naive\stupid is the girl.)
On another point, you have some of the most clear insight into these issues that i've seen in any of these discussions. I look forward to reading your comments.
TallDave wrote:Not surprising, kids are impressionable -- which is why they have parents, who are supposed to keep them out of such situations. The subset of children who have parents that would allow such a situation are probably especially susceptible to such things.I've heard of pimps who brag that if they have 24 hours with anyones 13 year old daughter they can turn her into a prostitute, one of the methods involves a cigarette soaked in opium.
Suppose we are talking about wolves. Surely children have parents that will keep them away from wolves. The best way to accomplish this is to hunt them down and exterminate them, not by watching the kids all the time lest a wolf come along. It is unreasonable to believe that working people would be capable of a constant watch for wolves or drug dealers.
TallDave wrote:It seems likely few if any such places exist.If cocaine supplies fill a need in the system and making them unavailable has unforseen effects, then what about countries or places where its simply never been available.
Misses the point. At one time, the entire world was completely free of Meth. (it hadn't been invented yet.) The point is, it wasn't needed, and neither are any of the other drugs. They too went through a period of time when they didn't exist as far as mankind was concerned.
MSimon wrote:But if the cocaine supplies a need in the system then making it unavailable to the system may have unforeseen effects.Betruger wrote:http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1 ... caine.html
This is in fact political science at its finest.
Sometimes you write comical stuff. Unforeseen effects caused by the ABSENCE of a drug that tampers with your endocrinal system?
Over the counter Meth.
A legitimate point for you drug advocacy types. Who do you sue for the harmful effects of meth?
Does your theory give blanket immunity to the manufactures of such drugs?
If so, does this blanket immunity apply to the manufactures of pharmaceutical drugs?
What an un-thought-out can of worms you people believe in.
A legitimate point for you drug advocacy types. Who do you sue for the harmful effects of meth?
Does your theory give blanket immunity to the manufactures of such drugs?
If so, does this blanket immunity apply to the manufactures of pharmaceutical drugs?
What an un-thought-out can of worms you people believe in.