Originally posted by Jeffro
Can you back-up your statement please by providing stats, sources, etc...?
For lack of me spending the time typing... I will just take the liberty to cut and paste what most of us already know...
-Drunk driving is the nation's most frequently committed violent crime. (MADD, 1996)
-Drunk driving deaths have reached a plateau. Preliminary alcohol-related traffic fatality statistics show that 16,652 people died on the roadways in 2001. (NHTSA, 2002)
-An estimated 513,000 people are injured in alcohol-related crashes each year, an average of 59 people per hour or approximately one person every minute. (NHTSA, 2002)
-An estimated three of every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash at some time in their lives. (NHTSA, 2000)
-Americans rank drunk driving as their No. 1 highway safety concern. (Allstate-MADD survey, 1997)
P-reliminary research for 2000 shows that alcohol-related crashes cost the public an estimated $114.7 billion annually -- this includes an estimated $63.9 billion lost in quality of life due to these crashes. (Ted Miller, 2002)
-The societal costs of alcohol-related crashes average 80 cents per drink consumed. (Ted Miller, 1999)
The current consensus is well stated in the 20th annual report of the California Research Advisory Panel (1990), which recommended that personal use and cultivation of marijuana be legalized: "An objective consideration of marijuana shows that it is responsible for less damage to society and the individual than are alcohol and cigarettes."
Alcohol Abuse
Definition:
Alcoholism is an illness marked by consumption of alcoholic beverages at a level that interferes with physical or mental health, and social, family, or occupational responsibilities.
Alcohol also affects other body systems. Irritation of the gastrointestinal tract can occur with erosion of the lining of the esophagus and stomach causing nausea and vomiting, and possibly bleeding.
Vitamins are not absorbed properly, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies with the long-term use of alcohol.
Liver disease, called alcoholic hepatitis, may also develop and can progress to cirrhosis.
The heart muscle may be affected. Sexual dysfunction may also occur, causing problems with erections in men and cessation of menstruation in women.
Alcohol also affects other body systems. Irritation of the gastrointestinal tract can occur with erosion of the lining of the esophagus and stomach causing nausea and vomiting, and possibly bleeding.
Vitamins are not absorbed properly, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies with the long-term use of alcohol. Liver disease, called alcoholic hepatitis, may also develop and can progress to cirrhosis.
The heart muscle may be affected.
Sexual dysfunction may also occur, causing problems with erections in men and cessation of menstruation in women.
Achohol also has these complications...
Pancreatitis
Heart muscle damage
Nerve damage
Esophageal bleeding
Brain degeneration
Cirrhosis of the liver
Delirium tremens (DTs)
Depression
Erectile dysfunction
Fetal alcohol syndrome in the offspring of alcoholic women
High blood pressure
Increased incidence of cancer
Insomnia
Nutritional deficiencies
Suicide
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
Marijuana Overdose
No evidence exists that anyone has ever died of a marijuana overdose
-Tests performed on mice have shown that the ratio of
cannabinoids (the chemicals in marijuana that make you stoned) necessary
for overdose to the amount necessary for intoxication is 40,000:1 [1]. For comparison's sake, that ratio for alcohol is generally between 4:1 and 10:1
-Alcohol overdoses kill about 5,000 yearly [3] but
marijuana overdoses kill no one.
Some Possible Medical Uses of Cannabinoids :
Antiemetic activity (e.g., with chemotherapy)
Decrease pain sensation
Increase appetite (e.g., in patients with cancer or AIDS) Tremor reduction
Antispasmodic
Anticonvulsant
Treatment of glaucoma
Immunomodulation
It's basically a no-brainer... the adverse effects of a naturally grown product of this earth that was meant and given to us to be consumed can in no way be compared with the man made poisen we call achohol.
References:
1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2003). Alcohol Traffic Safety Facts 2002:
Washington, DC.
2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2003). Open Container Laws Traffic Safety
Facts 2003: Washington, DC.
3. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2002, May). The Economic Impact of Motor
Vehicle Crashes 2000. Retrieved February 13, 2004, from
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/economic/EconImpact2000/summary.htm
4. National Commission Against Drunk Driving (n.d.). Taking a Stand on Impaired Driving.
Retrieved February 13, 2004, from
http://www.3dmonth.org
5. American Medical Association (2003, September). Reducing Underage Drinking
etc...etc...etc..etc...etc...etc..