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WikiLeaks: Alcohol Industry Bribed Congress to Denounce Cannabis

AnaSCI

ADMINISTRATOR
Sep 17, 2003
8,625
18
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When one compares the effects of marijuana to alcohol, there really is no competition. To begin with, alcohol is responsible for approximately 88,000 deaths in the United States each year and marijuana 0.

In addition, people can die from overdosing on alcohol but it’s nearly impossible with marijuana. Salon relays that while alcohol use damages peoples’ brains, marijuana use does not. Of course, we’re not saying smoking isn’t likely to eventually take a toll on one’s lungs, but toking the herb has been found to be far less detrimental to one’s bodily health than regularly consuming alcohol. It’s also pertinent to note that according to research, alcohol is by far the more addictive substance.

Sadly, the average individual in America has not been informed of these facts and still believes that marijuana is a “gateway” drug to harder substances down the road. This is mainly because the U.S. government has blatantly lied about cannabis – and its multitude of uses – for decades.

The widespread use of cannabis as a medicine can be traced back millennia, where early Chinese doctors used the herb as an anesthetic by reducing the plant powder and mixing it with wine for administration before surgery. In Egypt, the plant was utilized to treat a range of illnesses, including hemorrhoids. And in India, cannabis was commonly relied upon to treat a variety of ailments, including insomnia, headaches, GI disorders and pain.

Until the early 1900’s in the United States, it was still considered perfectly acceptable to grow and harvest cannabis. Things took a turn for the worse, however, when fear of the herb arose during the Great Depression and marijuana was banned in over 20 states.

Ignoring the fact that the Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper and that the cannabis plant can be used for a number of applications – not limited to industrial, clothes, and medicine – it is still a herb that, more often than not, is denounced by mainstream media.

Could this possibly be a result of the alcohol industry bribing officials to discredit and trash the herb? According to recently exposed information by WikiLeaks, that’s exactly the case.

Recently, a blogger for the cannabis industry website Marijuana.com dug through hundreds of leaked DNC emails for any reference to the misunderstood herb. What they found was in the May 24, 2016, edition of Huddle, which is a daily e-newsletter for Capitol Hill insiders produced by the Politico website.

Reportedly, the issue included a paid advertisement from the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA). A portion follows:

While neutral on the issue of legalization, WSWA believes states that legalize marijuana need to ensure appropriate and effective regulations are enacted to protect the public from the dangers associated with the abuse and misuse of marijuana… In the years since the state legalized medicinal use, Colorado law enforcement officials have documented a significant increase in traffic fatalities in which drivers tested positive for marijuana…

Congress should fully fund Section 4008 of the FAST Act (PL 114-94) in the FY 2017 Appropriations process to document the prevalence of marijuana-impaired driving, outline impairment standards and determine driving impairment detection methods.”

In addition to appearing on the WikiLeaks website, that particular bit of information can be found on InboxCart, a website that archives e-newsletters. However, because the WSWA statement does not appear with the text of that issue in the Huddle archive on Politico, it seems the advertisement and sponsorship credit seems to have only appeared in the version sent directly to the inboxes of Congress members and Beltway insiders.

According to HighTimes, the government will conduct a year-long investigation and then make recommendations, including for an “impairment standard” for driving under the influence of marijuana as required by The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which President Obama signed last December.

In a press release, the WSWA said the following about the legislation:

“There is currently no scientific consensus regarding the level at which marijuana consumption impairs a driver and no effective way to measure this impairment in the field. This is problematic for law enforcement who, in contrast, can quickly and effectively establish a scientifically and legally-supported measure of alcohol impairment.”

Many believe that the alcohol industry is aware that as recreational use of marijuana becomes legal and less taboo, more people are likely to opt for the herb rather than sacrifice their health and sanity of mind with spirits. This will lead to diminishing profits for beer, wine and liquor manufacturers and sellers.

In result, the industry is doing whatever it can to impede cannabis legalization, something Morgan Fox, the communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, says it should be wary of doing. Fox says:

No one should be driving while impaired by marijuana, and we should certainly be doing more research into all aspects of the substance, including its impact on driving. However, given that driving under the influence of marijuana is already illegal and that the existing research shows marijuana’s effect on driving ability is significantly less than alcohol, it is difficult to see a legitimate reason for the alcohol industry to be taking up this issue. They would do better to fund research on how to decrease drunk driving.”

Without question, the destruction of roads and highways in the U.S. is a critical issue, but the topic of “marijuana-impaired driving” is vastly misunderstood. For example, Colorado has witnessed an increase in fatalities since the herb was legalized in 2012, but the increase in deaths is consistent with the national trend and is more than likely related to low oil prices (and the influx of migrants to the state).

And, the WSWA failed to mention that in 2011, a study found a reduction in traffic fatalities in states that had legalized medical marijuana.
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
Weed will be legalized throughout the states soon

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Let’s not get too crazy, now. Even if it gets legalized on the state level in all 50 states, which is likely still several years away, if it ever happens, it’s still something completely different for it to be legalized on the federal level. The current administration has absolutely no sympathy or wiggle room in their views for what they believe to be one of the most harmful and dangerous drugs in existence. Hard liners and T-totaler’s don’t tend to soften their views, either, when the states exercise their limited autonomy against the direction of the federal government.

At this point, the war on drugs has become a business unto itself. There are hundreds of thousands of employees in multiple sectors of both private and public industry that make a living based on the policy of zero tolerance for the drug trade. Any legislative change that would threaten the ever increasing funding for fighting even one, mostly harmless, substance is going to be fought over vehemently by those that might have anything to lose. And this includes votes for politicians.

I fully support an individuals right to put any substance in his body that he so chooses. Whether that be AAS, marijuana, opiates, amphetemines, etc. But the process of changing legislation to make any of these things legal, is both long, expensive, and incredibly difficult. But, I definitely hope it happens.
 

lycan Venom

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Nov 22, 2013
1,963
7
38
I have too much to say on this topic with my current business endeavor. Every aspect is all about $ and not the betterment of society.
 

Victory

Registered User
Dec 26, 2008
656
0
0
The world is backwards. Anywhere there is alcohol there is usually trouble. Many people can't control themselves. It causes so many problems and it's bad for your health but you can get drunk for next to nothing. But if you want to smoke to chill and pretty much not be a bother to anyone you can get put in prison.
 

IRONFIST

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Apr 20, 2007
2,046
10
38
after over 5 decades in this world nothing that has to do with gov surprises me anymore.
 

woody

AnaSCI VIP
Oct 30, 2012
300
0
16
makes sense...theres always corruption going on...i dont like weed cause it makes me fall asleep...i like beer though
 

odin

AnaSCI VET
Feb 2, 2007
1,769
0
0
I don't like either these days. Maybe an odd beer every few weeks. No surprises about the corruption going on.
 

Bighank

Registered User
Feb 9, 2018
28
0
0
I have too much to say on this topic with my current business endeavor. Every aspect is all about $ and not the betterment of society.

I agree 100%.you can go buy a bottle of vodka and drive your car and kill people, but cant smoke weed.makes no sence to me.i smoke weed and function fine.when i drink. A 6 pack or more i deffinetly should not drive