I'm beginning to think that CBS News is sweet on MJ. Two days since its article showing record support for marijuana legalization, they're out with another article indicating the progress made in the war on cannabis prohibition. I'm not quite ready to report that "Only CBS" is reporting along such lines, but they are certainly representing "Everyday People" in their reporting.
So light up a Guiding Light, find some Evening Shade and join me after the fold.
Oh, and by the way, This is how I met your mother...
The article, written by Elizabeth Sprague, details the lack of anti-pot action being taken recently regarding the anti-drug campaigns. The article states to open
Over the last several years, without many people realizing it, the U.S. government has changed the focus of its anti-drug efforts, deemphasizing marijuana in favor of prescription drugs.
A CBS News survey of government and nonprofit anti-drug groups has found a retreat from anti-marijuana campaigns over the past several years as prescription and over the counter drug abuse has grown amongst teens.
In fact, the Partnership for a Drug Free America, the nation's largest creator of anti-drug messages, hasn't produced a single anti-marijuana public service advertisement since 2005.
I'm sure you all remember the Partnership for a Drug Free America. If not, perhaps this will jog your memory.
It seems that the different focus is more centered on less teens smoking marijuana, and more teens abusing prescription medication.
Meanwhile prescription drug abuse has held steady over the past five years according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, with nearly one in five teens (19 percent) abusing prescription medications to get high.
"There is a new threat in town," Robert Dennisoton of the Office of National Drug Control Policy said.
The concern about pills has been highlighted by a string of high profile deaths like that of Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, and possibly Michael Jackson -- all tied to the abuse of legal prescription drugs.
Pretty scary isn't it? Especially considering the recent report from marijuanaprocon.org indicating that prescription drugs are substantially more dangerous than marijuana. I don't know about you, but I applaud this change in focus. I'm from a rural area that has felt the scourge of Oxycontin over the past few years, and with the easy accessibility of prescription medication, this is definitely a more appropriate target.
Another report recently issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement indicated that prescription drugs caused more deaths than illicit drugs - even including alcohol-related automobile accidents. Prescription drugs were the cause of more than 25 percent of drug related deaths in the state. Marijuana was not listed as a cause of death last year in Florida.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Study can be found here.
Again, 0 deaths attributed to marijuana.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a marijuana user. I am just a citizen concerned by the unnecessary and unwarranted criminalization of cannabis. I'm sick and tired of people not being allowed to legally use the drug for medical purposes. I'm sick of tax dollars being needlessly spent on marijuana investigations, adjudication and incarceration. I'm also sick of my friends going to jail and having their lives ruined.