The Crux Blog: Marijuana Haters Say the Darnedest Things

E.J. Montana, opinion columnist for the Arizona Republic, noted:

"Opponents (of Marijuana legalization in Arizona) already have demonstrated a strategy of scare tactics based on questionable information, something they should know better than to do, since several of the bigwigs in the campaign are prosecuting attorneys.
"That will be the irony of this campaign.
"While the people promoting legalization deal with facts, opponents will try to alter voters’ sense of reality." (*1)

Indeed, with many of their anti-marijuana quotes, one doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Some of their taradiddles are farcical on their surface; others require a rhetorical question to clear the haze.

Following the twitter account of "Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy" (@az4rdp), the political action committee founded by Shelia Polk, and chaired by radio pundit Seth Leibsohn, requires an emoji with rolling eyes.

First, there's this tweet from 11/30/15:
"Why legalize a substance that would wipe out all the progress we've made to improve education?"

Undoubtedly, the greatest improvement to education in the history of mankind is the internet. The internet is the library of the world! Many classes are now held online; teachers can use programs to test for plagiarism.

Would the internet turn to dust and blow away if marijuana were legalized?

On 6/24/15 they tweeted (or bleated): "...lack of standardized educational material in high schools covering the risks of marijuana use cause misperception."

My God, man! Have you never heard of DARE? Do you know how many tax-dollars have been poured into it? Is it DARE that lacks "standardized educational material" to cover "the risks of marijuana use...in high schools?" ...or is it MATTForce??

Speaking of DARE, another argument this PAC has used is that teen use of marijuana is up in Colorado. This is good to know and should be addressed, but how?

DARE was founded to try to reduce the demand for illegal drugs. It was meant to get kids to "Just Say No," even if a joint were under their nose. If DARE is only successful in places where the drug is unavailable, then it truly is a colossal waste of tax-payer dollars!

Another dubious prophecy by @az4rdp was tweeted 7/2/15: "To legalize marijuana would be the end of decades of work in healthcare system to prevent substance abuse."

Is our healthcare system's prevention of substance abuse entirely dependent on the prohibition of marijuana? Was it ever dependent on the prohibition of alcohol? Will opioid abuse prevention come to a complete halt if marijuana is legalized?

In fact, some have testified that medical marijuana helped them beat an addiction to opioids:

"Former Super Bowl champion and Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon says an unfairly demonized drug helped him recover from the pain of his football career: medical marijuana.
"McMahon got his medical marijuana card in Arizona, where he lives... Before that, he said, he'd been taking 100 Percocet pills a month for pain in his shoulders, neck and arms.
"They were doing more harm than good," he said. "This medical marijuana has been a godsend. It relieves me of the pain — or thinking about it, anyway." (*2)

In an October 28th, 2015 podcast, Seth Leibsohn interviewed Shelia Polk. Seth made the point that "For the last 30 years, basically, where many on our (anti-marijuana) side haven't been talking about it until recently, many on their side have. (Laughs)" (*3)

Yep, that's a joke, alright.

"Obviously, the first big spender of anti-drug campaigns is the government. To give you an idea of the scale of spending, $1.4 billion was spent between 1998 and 2005 on a single coordinated anti-marijuana campaign. A $43 million study, again paid for by the federal government, stated that the campaign had been a failure." (*4) (Italics mine.)

"Nonprofits are the next group of agencies that promote the anti-drug message, but the huge number of nonprofits devoted to anti-drug messages means it's difficult to estimate how much money is spent on them. In addition, quite a large number are financed by the government, so it's hard to keep track of it all. A reasonable estimate might be around $200 million per year, much sourced from donations and government funds." (*4)

So, obviously, there has been no anti-marijuana message out there for the past 30 years.

Another example of the "marijuana apocalypse" was tweeted on April 25th of last year by Kevin Sabet (@kevinsabet) and retweeted by Shelia Polk (@yavapaicntyatty): "Just the beginning: Colorado company says pot pushed them out of state."

It links to a news story about a Denver business called "Little Spider Creations (which) builds custom props and sets for haunted houses, museums and amusement parks." (*5)

The owner said he was moving to Myrtle Beach, SC because "too many employees were coming in high after the drug was legalized for recreational use." (*5)

Really? When it came to ballot in 2012, 1.064 million Coloradans (45.1%) voted AGAINST legalization. (*6) Are the vast majority of them now stoners?

If marijuana were legalized in Arizona, would Seth Leibsohn become a stoner? How about Shelia Polk? Why do they assume everyone else will?

Perhaps you, the reader, are against legalization: if it turned out you were in the minority, would YOU become a stoner? If the answer to these questions is NO, then this attack is pure demagoguery.

Although this tweet billed this occurrence as "just the beginning," we're pushing toward a year later and there have been no further tweets nor news about businesses leaving Colorado over pot.

In fact, Colorado set records for tourism in both 2014 (*7) and 2015, with tax-revenues from tourism crossing over the $1 billion mark for the first time in the state's history. (*8)

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When facts are weak, people turn to straw-men, monster-creation, and demagoguery. Perhaps Seth and Shelia would do well to readjust their undies into a more comfortable position.

I'm sure it would make them safer drivers.

Do you know a ridiculous quote by a marijuana hater?
Post it in the comments below!

Also by Drew Desmond:

CLICK HERE for Prescott AZ History (Includes Tourist Tips!)