Dr. Joycelyn Elders: Marijuana, Masturbation and Medicine

[marmar]

from AlterNet:




Watch: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/10/20/dr-joycelyn-elders-marijuana-masturbation-and-medicine/


Laura Flanders: Quick response to those who say those things: it harms children, it’s a gateway drug and it’ll just do terrible things to law enforcement.

Joycelyn Elders: I would say that if it does anything it will help law enforcement because they could spend more time taking care of … … very harmful things. Proposition 19, as I understand it, is really for adults over 21, they can have only one ounce, it’s to be smoked in their own home or in a place that … authorized. Now, the drug cartels regulate who buys the drug and if we regulated it or decriminalized it, it could be sold and taxed and we could use the money to do more valuable things for our bright young people.

Laura: But what about the fear of the impact on young people? You’re an associate there at a children’s hospital. A lot of parents, not even very political folks, but parents are worried, ‘if they smoke marijuana, who knows what happens next?’

Joycelyn: Well, they don’t mind that they drink alcohol, that they smoke cigarettes, both of which are much more harmful. Marijuana has been used for 5000 years. It’s never been associated with a toxic death or death from marijuana so I feel that it’s more of a medicine and we should use it, regulate it, and tax it. And stop all of our fears and our myths that are going on. .............. (more)

The complete piece is at: http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/10/20/dr-joycelyn-elders-marijuana-masturbation-and-medicine/

[lunatica]

1. Joycelyne Elders is one of my heroes

I'm glad to see she still doesn't bow to 'Beltway common wisdom'.