Philosophy

POLITICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF CANNABIS LEGALIZATION
Posted by doctork on @ 8:12 am
Article printed from speakeasy: http://blogs.alternet.org/doctork
URL to article: http://blogs.alternet.org/doctork/2010/05/22/politics-and-philosophy-of-cannabis-legalization/

Most of the people remember the KGB, that powerful and ruthless organ of repression whose ultimate task was the preservation of the Soviet Communist empire by whatever means necessary. Not everyone, however, remembers as clearly the KGB Fifth Chief Directorate, a department specifically responsible for disinformation effort, that is manipulating of the world public opinion in such a way that it would become favourable to Marxist doctrine (Marxist doctrine as interpreted by a particular “leader” of the moment, of course).

Current DEA disinformation campaign with respect to Medical Cannabis is clearly reminiscent of the Fifth Chief Directorate tactics, that is that “anything goes” as long as the “ideological goals” are accomplished, in the DEA case this being the denial of the safe access by patients with serious illnesses to medical marijuana. In particular, the DEA “desinfo” agents continue to insist that we “already have” medical marijuana and that its name is Marinol, or the synthetic THC “analogue” brought to the market in the 1980-s but never living up to the expectations that had been raised upon its introduction.

The very reason of Marinol’s limited success is that this medication and medical marijuana are two completely different things. Philosopher Georg Hegel would have had a lot to say about it, I am sure, and this is why. Medical marijuana, the whole plant with its dozens of active compounds acting in concert with one another constitute that Hegelian “whole”, which is much greater than the simple sum of its parts, and infinitely greater than any one individual part, even if such a part is a synthetic THC “analogue”.
The Whole is made that by the delicate interaction of the parts, and every individual part of the plant is what it is because of the unifying influence of the Whole. Having been a Professor of Logic at one time, our President should easily see the validity of these scientific and philosophical concepts.

On May 21, 2010 CNN interviewed the current “Drug Czar” Gil Kerlikowske and as CNN put it, the first “Drug Czar”, Bill Bennett. I was impressed with Mr. Kerlikowske’s calm and reserved demeanor during the interview, and the only truly regrettable statement that he made was that “marijuana legalization is a non-starter in the Obama administration”. Silly me, for I would have thought that the public opinion should at least have a potential of influencing of what is a “starter” or “non-starter” in the Obama Administration, at least according to the President’s own pledge during his election campaign and again quite recently, when Mr. Obama stated that the “government must be given back to the people”. Well, Mr. President, every single poll indicates that 80%+ of the electorate favor the legalization of at least medical marijuana, and yet the DEA which is a part of your Administration, uses KGB-style tactics in order to prevent the will of the voters from being realized.

Another notable point of discussion during the CNN interview with two “drug czars” was that they both admitted, albeit somewhat reluctantly, that alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana. Just to say that alcohol is “more dangerous” is a gross understatement, as it is much, much more dangerous than cannabis, to such an extent in fact, that if cannabis had even a fraction of alcohol’s harmful effects individually and collectively, we would not be having this legalization discussion at all. In this respect, the moral and ethical philosophers would probably question the moral authority of the prohibitionists to keep marijuana, which is less dangerous illegal, while alcohol, which is infinitely more dangerous, legal and available to adults as it is. In my view, one of the compelling reasons to legalize cannabis is that its use has been definitely shown to suppress violent behavior, and what can be more important than this, especially with regard to young people! This moral dilemma becomes even more pronounced when we talk about medical cannabis which is still illegal in most of the States despite the people’s will and despite its relative safety compared with alcohol and most controlled prescription drugs.

Recently it has become apparent that the president’s political opponents, and even those sympathetic to “Tea Party” movement, recognize the necessity to change the cruel, anti-scientific and failed marijuana laws in this country. I believe that it would be a political blunder for President Obama to allow his opponents to embrace the issue that should have been his own from the very beginning! Indeed I, quite frankly, don’t care if the people who advocate for personal liberties with respect to marijuana legalization call themselves “Tea Party” or “Orange Juice Party”, or “Coconut Milk Party”. In this particular respect, that is that it is a matter of personal liberty to be able to legally use the less dangerous substance when the more dangerous is already legal, the Tea Party supporters (and whoever else shares the same ideology) are most definitely on the side of the truth.

On November 2, 2010, the voters of the State of California will act to legalize Cannabis use for recreational purposes by the responsible adults. According to my information, the country’s best Constitutional lawyers are behind this noble Initiative. It is extremely “telling” that the City of Oakland City Council, as well as that City’s DA have endorsed the Initiative. These people have acted from experience, as they’ve had an ample opportunity to observe the societal effects of Cannabis Liberation.
In the end, ladies and gentlemen, we will all be judged by history. Those of us who support the legalization of cannabis will be remembered as pioneers of yet another liberation movement, but those who oppose it, the obstinate “drug-warriors”, like Bill Bennett, will live in our memory just like the “cold warriors”, the architects of the Berlin Wall, the ideological “heirs” to disinformation campaigns once conducted by the KGB and its infamous Fifth Chief Directorate.
I am a physician specializing in addiction medicine, and I also hold a "Doctor of Divinity" degree from the American Institute of Holistic Theology. Currently I am dedicated to making medical marijuana legal in all 50 States and making it available to our veterans just like it is available to Canadian veterans where the government even pays for it.