source October 9, 2014 - By Dr. Malik Burnett and Amanda Reiman, PhD, MSW source So, how many of you still align yourselves with the prohibition of cannabis? If so, you are on the side of historical racism. You are on the wrong side. The immoral and racist side. If this is all new to you, don't feel bad. I didn't know any of this until I listened to Ron Paul speak on it back in the Republican primaries. A lot of people were calling him a racist. So, I did a little research and found a speech he gave in 1988 which completely refutes that claim. I know this is a lot to process, but it is the truth. How can we be focused on ending racism and correcting past racial inequalities, yet ignore the history of racism in US drug policy?
Apparently nothing that ever happened in America or is happening now or will happen in the future is not based on racisim.
Ah, so this is the new race card eh? Next thing you know they will be accusing those defending free speech of racism, oh wait...
Wow you didn't Know what was common knowledge about weed till recently? Yes prohibition on weed was based on racism so is the minimum wage laws What do they teach in these schools now a days
Actually, this race card was being played back in the 1930s when cannabis was outlawed because of fear of immigrants.
So you say. Drug addiction whether alcohol or any other drug is an issue whether you want to recognize it or not.
I'm not debating that. Why shouldn't drug abuse be treated as a medical problem instead of a criminal one?
The movement of drugs is what is considered criminal. Drug abuse is considered a medical issue and in conservative Indiana that considers distributing syringes a terrible thing even changed tact to distribute syringes to help the AIDS spread by shared needle use.
I am no progressive, but I agree with changing policy regarding illegal drugs. It is an epidemic that is killing people from every part of our society. In fact, since I got out of the Army in 2005, two of my buddies from my platoon have ODd, and my wife has 2 friends that ODd in the last 3 years. My signature is linked to a study that shows the effectiveness of cannabis, both medical and recreational, to reduce the harm of opiate addiction. Anyway, the point of this thread is to show people that the old ways are descended from racist policies and that we should all change the way we look at these things.
Actually the motive, as is normal with these things, was financial. Marijuana in its various forms threatens the finances of a number of industries including drugs, alcohol, lumber, among others. The racist propaganda used in the 1930's to push the prohibition of Marijuana was simply a convenient tool to achieve a financial goal. The REAL race problem occurred during the 1960s and early 70s when Hoover pushed for inclusion of pot as a schedule 1 narcotic (despite a complete lack of any medical evidence) because Black and ant-war activists often used the drug. Marking pot as a "dangerous" narcotic gave the FBI and local LE excuses to infiltrate political groups to gather intelligence. This, of course, led to the war on drugs, the use of children as mules and street level dealers, and the violence we see today. Thanks to you Misters Hoover and Nixon.
